Pune!

Before I bombard you with many photos from Pune, I will start with a few others from the days leading up to my journey there:

We went swimming!...

...With these awesome people...

...at this awesome pool! We were celebrating a birthday, and the chosen venue was this refreshing pool at Hindustan Hotel! If you look closely, you can see a ripple in the water, and a blurred shadow to the right of it = a bat. There were about 5 of them, eating the bugs on the surface of the water. It wasn't so nice though, waiting by the side of the pool until the men playing sports stopped staring so I could strip down to my togs... or when we got out and a man jumped in, and continued to 'hoick' back phlegm and spit it into the water. Ugh.

Chicken burger at the hotel!

And this is the kitchen at Hindustan Hotel.

Okay, so now some photos in Pune!

I love this cow. It just chilled in the middle of the road for about 20minutes, chewing its cud, without a care in the world.

I also love the numerous motivational signs around Pune. You will see a few in my photos.

Behind this fence, and directly below the buildings, there lies a slum of corrugated-tin.

Holi is in the air! Tomorrow (Thursday) marks the beginning of the two day colour-festival.

Pure gold. I mean, 'performance'?

Check out this guy's awesome orange beard!

Only in India...

I have finally bought some authentic Indian clothes! And I have some fabric that I am going to have sewn into a garment.

I absolutely love the way that Hindi and Bengali looks written.

To justify the reason behind taking a photo of a random man's behind, is to show you that there are many men who wear jeans with be-jeweled pockets...

We went and visited Kasba Ganpati Temple in Pune - inside we could not take photographs, but I can tell you that it was like nothing I have seen before. Everything was coated in either silver or gold, and people were chanting and making offerings.

So there are still way more photographs, some more for my own use (i.e. to trigger certain memories). It was a great experience to be in another part of India - I flew there via Dehli, and returned through Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport in Gujurat. Try wrap your mouth around that.

My first impressions of Pune were the contrasts between it and Kolkata; smooth roads, open spaces, less horns and traffic, cooler temperature, and peacefulness. The first night I fell asleep to the sound of insect calls, and birds - but awoke up at least 7 times to the sound of a mosquito buzzing past my ear. The second night was just bliss - I slept solidly and awoke refreshed! But my final night was one of confusion as at about midnight, in the state between sleep and dreams, I heard fireworks in the distance, but it sounded like a round of ammunition being fired - the conscious half of my mind said, relax, it is just fireworks. The dream half told me, no, you are in danger, there are people out there with guns letting loose. I woke in the morning thinking I had managed to survive a war. Good times.

So I have seen a few things in the past couple of days, that I have not seen yet since my arrival in this country; a few mongeese rummaging through rubbish with cats, two boys riding hungry camels who only wanted to stop and eat the trees above them, and a family of 6 crammed on the back of a scooter. People here transport the most miscellaneous items around. Name it and I have probably seen it.

On the first day of Orientation, we visited the homes of a couple of families who lived in near-poverish homes. One home looked like it wouldn't survive the next monsoon. Yet still they invited us in, and offered us chai to drink.

Judy and I also visited a lady's house at Freeset on Saturday (just as a side note), which I will talk about another time, as I am still trying to take in the experience.

Afterwards we travelled to an air-conditioned cafe, to show how easy it is to contrast the way some people live to others. It really makes you wish you never took anything for granted.

A few more things happened while I was there, but there is too much to write about! If you want to know more, just ask :)

x

Pancakes, egg-rolls, and saris.

Justin adding the finishing touches to the pancakes I made for our dessert this week - including a chocolate sauce he created, yum! 

Don't you just wish you could eat this right now?

And the resulting mess...

These are the water bottles we re-fill with filtered water as the tap water isn't that safe for us to consume.

Some of the beautiful saris out to dry, that FS uses on some of their products.

Above the sari with diagonal stripes, can you see the small hole in the tarpaulin hung from the roof? N saw one of the ladies poke her head though to shout at someone on the ground floor, from the 4th floor. Just an example of the 'intercom' system I have mentioned in earlier posts.

I love seeing this every day when I am walking up the stairs to the office! I always wonder who's hand it is.

The little friend that joined us in our Bangla lesson this morning. I feel like I should name him...

See us?!

Tonight we decided to get egg-rolls for dinner. This is guy at the same shop that is cooking chicken.

This is the boy that served us. What I love about this photo is that the face of the man staring at me in the background, is that it is the same look that every man I pass gives me/any white woman - it en-captures that expression perfectly. Imagine walking through a crowd of that face. Yeah.

Seriously, come to India so I can buy you an egg-roll. You know you want to.

I am a tiny bit fearful of these delicious egg-rolls, they made my stomach a bit sore last time, so I guess we will see. But honestly, they are so worth it. It is basically a flat bread placed on top of a egg mixture in a pan just before it cooks entirely, and when completely cooked, it is wrapped around veges like red onions, capsicum, cabbage etc. I am going to learn how to make them myself. Although it is probably cheaper to buy them already cooked - 17 Rupees.

Today I skyped my brother, which was the first time I have seen him since about 5 days before I left NZ! It was so good to see him, as I really miss his friendship. Love you Joe! I also saw our cat, who apparently was super confused at where my voice was coming from. Cute.

Tonight our flat watched Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and I am so in love with it! It has the best humour, so I highly recommend you view it, I was cracking up the who way through.

We skyped Gabs too, before the movie, and it was so lovely to see her again! Gabs, we miss you here! Cannot wait for you to come back in 4 weeks :)

I am quite content right now. I am in an often-overwhelming city, in a foreign country, and I am surviving. I think when I first knew I was going to be in India for a year, I was excited and nervous. As the days drew closer, I began to doubt whether I would be able to handle it, or whether I was ready for something like this. So far, I think I am proving myself wrong.

Tomorrow J and I are going to one of the FS ladies' house for a cup of 'cha'/tea, ("Aami cha chai!" = I want tea!), and afterwards heading to a hotel for P's birthday at a hotel so we can use their swimming pool! Sooooo excited.

And, on Sunday I will be flying to Pune!

Something I am not so keen on, is the increasing temperatures. Currently most days are above 30 degrees Celsius, but if we complain to anyone who has been here through summer, all we hear is, "Just you wait!" It is freaking us out... I think if anything, that will be the decider for whether I can prove myself wrong and can cope with it. In August I have to leave India, under the conditions of my visa, but I am not sure where I will go as this is the time of the year where monsoon rains are heaviest! I really want to go to Nepal, but I may not be able to view the mountains very well, and most treks will be out of season. Maybe I will go anyway and tour some of the temples in Kathmandu or something. Any suggestions? I am also considering Thailand...

Well bed is calling me, my eyes are drooping, so I think it is time to go to sleep.

Much love always.

x