The crazy house

“I’m going to India, where I’m gonna work as a center coordinator”. That’s how it started and I had no idea what I was about to do. Arriving in the center… after few days I understood better my role and things started.

Rait house: interesting people, interesting personalities, interesting characters. A movie could be made out of this house. From drama to lovely moments, all the emotions changing so fast that will exhaust you quickly if you can’t manage these feelings. 

This house has been mixed with people that would have never talked to each other if they had been put in the same party. 

How should I manage a center with these people? What to do with this hyperactive guy, this impulsive girl, that quiet girl, the one who can sleep for an entire day or again the one who will work on the computer all the day?

I have been told that the other interns see Rait house as crazy and how many times did I hear “how do you feel? Is it okay now? Is it better? That should not have been easy for you.”?

So yes, full of drama, full of conversation, full of repetition… You have to be full of patience to work here and understand why certain people are acting like that. But at the same time, you are living with so different people that you are learning from everybody and discovering more things every day from them. You have to go through ups and downs to be a family and this house wanted to be a very strong family, apparently. From the dance moves on the dance floor of Rait, eating so much yummy food cooked together that we could not move sometimes, sharing and finding a solution together to personal issues or, again, travelling together during the weekends, watching movies or doing your hair mask.

It’s crazy to see how you can feel so close to people so quickly. After 5 months here, you start to see people coming and leaving. You wish these people didn’t leave and you have to try to start new things in the same place but with new people. It’s not easy and it takes adaptation from you and from the others, but with laughs, talks, food and other crazy moments, it can work! 

So far, this experience made me go through different stages, but what do you keep from it? Victor’s stupid jokes that you will still laugh at; Ines’s conversations about what we can do here and deal with personal issues; Pooja’s food even though I am ready to hear my aunts telling me that I gained weight; Ashna’s talks even though I have to tell her to slow down every time to understand; Rizwan’s support to deal with the craziness things and keep it cool or again Craig for remind us the time to eat.

Besides that, I have to add that being a center manager is not just dealing with people's feelings. It’s also about coordinating the projects and make sure that all the projects are going well, looking at the house’s needs, the expenses and the communication. It’s quite a lot so being well surrounded and supported by this family is very important. To all these people, brothers and sisters who came here, I am waiting for the next adventure together and for the news that are coming, you better have to be as crazy as these idiots!

Yummy food cooked all together! 

Sylvia Rajaonah - France

Rait Centre Coordinator, Rait (Himachal Pradesh)