“Don’t wait. Meditate.”
I read this quote a couple of days ago on the back of a car and I just thought it would be nice to put it somewhere in the blog.
Ok. It has been nearly a week since our arrival to India and during this week I have managed to collect both bad news and good news for you. Before I proceed with telling you these ‘news’ though, I will give you a brief photographic summary of what our current location ‘is all about’. 
[Lately I have been realizing that my photographic skills are not so much developed. On the contrary they are very underdeveloped (…they suck). Consequently I’ve had some trouble with taking pictures of things that I have found ‘curious’. Especially when these things are moving, or when I’m moving.
I am so slow! It almost seems as if all of a sudden for a moment my ‘brain system’ would be replaced with my ‘digestive system’ (just like the ‘beautiful illustration’ on the right shows).
…the process goes something like this:
1. I see something that’s worth taking a picture of.
2. I think: “Wow/nice/weird/beautiful/interesting/first time I see something like this/etc.”
3. I ‘analyze it’.
4. I compare it to something similar I have seen before.
5. I think: “I will let my parents/friends/brother/sister/grandparents/uncles/aunts/dogs/cats/horses/Etc. know that I saw this”
6. I stop… and think: “I think I’m missing something!”
7. Then, I realize it: …Oh the “CAMERA”!
8. (…Another 120 seconds to figure out where my camera might be).
9. By then, the whatever thing that was worth taking a picture of… is GONE!
This is my scientific explanation. I’m trying my best though! Now I wear the camera around my neck; hopefully this will help.]
Ok. Coming back to the topic, here you go -
India’s daily life things that differ from what I am, and probably many of you are, normally used to:
The language
Pune’s local language “Marathi” is what you mainly listen to over here. In general though people would speak both Marathi and “Hindi”.
The food
From left to right: Idli, the white puffy looking kind-of-thing. Vada, the donut looking kind-of-thing. Sambhar and Chutney, the red and white sauces. Hakka Noodles, Parathas and the last one with the spoon I have no idea. At first I thought they were insects (because they look kind of weird), but it was a vegetarian restaurant (…Haha), so it was not possible. One of my Indian office colleagues (…sounds so ‘professional’!) explained they are ‘mints’ kinds of things Indians eat after finished “eating” (or “mouth freshener” …duh).
The transportation
Currently my every day nightmare!
Once they see your ‘tourist-like face’, these guys will try to rip you off big time! India is a cheap country, until you start using these ‘three-wheelers’/‘Tuk-Tuks’ things as your transportation mean. Now I’ve learned to look for the elder drivers, in general they tend to be the ‘most reliable’ ones.
The currency
The goddesses and gods
…and the little gifts they leave behind.
The “What species are you?” kinds of looks
The 24/7 HOOORNING
The ‘tidy’/’neat’ looking shoes
…after walking India’s streets
The western point of view misunderstandings
I ran into this kind of ‘Nazi’ looking symbol many times when I had just arrived. The symbols’ lines endings are different though, and of course the meaning is different; it stands for good luck, so there is people who might put it in front of their houses/doors and apparently it is also popular amongst hotels to use it as a logo.
The TV
…and the “Bollywood” obsession.
The (hhmmm…… …) The toilets
No further comments about this!
The views!
Elephants, camels… …Mickey mouse, Minnie mouse, Dumbo; be aware because India may be more entertaining than you are!
The… my ‘demolished’ laptop
[This is exactly what happens when you tell your friends: “Ok. This is the last laptop I’ll ever buy in my life!”
With this all said, you are basically left with two possible outcomes:
A. You either die really young (then, for sure you won’t have to buy a laptop again)… OR
B. This (‘demolished’ laptop picture) ends up happening six months later after you bought it/said it, just to prove you were completely wrong and that you will possibly find yourself buying another laptop 3 months from now!
Can’t complain that much though, luckily it was option B what happened.]
Ok. Again, coming back to the topic –
It is now time to break you the bad and good news readers! (It has to be in this bad-good order, because from the bad news comes the good news)
Bad news: Dear readers, I regret to inform you that your dear writer ‘Maria’ is at the moment sort of homeless in India. Finding a place to live here in Pune has proven to be a great challenge (to put it in good words) or a pain in the @#s (to put it in less appropriate words).
Good news: Fortunately, something very good came out of this bad news. As the organization’s director and my company internship supervisor are currently abroad in Korea, and don’t want me wandering around Pune looking for flat, they have decided to send me to the field! Which is great. Readers, we are going to the field!
But, I think now I’ve lost you, right?
Because after taking a look at my previous ‘India related posts’ I have noticed that I have not yet told you where (meaning in what organization) and what exactly am I doing here regarding the internship.
Very briefly explained: I am We are (I will write in a “we way”, because I’m trying to involve you in the whole experience… you know- SO ROMANTIC…) currently doing an internship at an NGO that is mainly dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity. This specific organization is very developed in the ‘field area’, so they have various offices and field stations (that is the reason why we are now going there).
I know you might be thinking that this kind of thing is for zoologists, geologists, biologists and all the career related words ending with “IST”.
(In these cases, don’t worry about studying an “IST” kind of bachelor degree, and just add an “IST” to the end of your career studies name. So simple. Don’t sweat it!)
BECAUSE who ever doesn’t need a marketer, definitely need a marketIST!
Ok. I’ll stop it with this!
So yes, dear readers it is time to move again: “We stumble, we fall, but we move!”.
Our next destination: The North Western Ghats! More concretely, we will be going to a place called “Sangameshwar” located in the area of ‘Ratnagiri’.
Home to the tiger, the hornbill, the elephant, and one of my personal favorites the mysterious, silent and clever… leopard! (and many other animal/plant species I have no idea about!)
[I know that from first sight I might not seem like the type, but for someone that spends 90% of its school/horse free time watching wildlife documentaries (I know… …Maria’s “grandma-side”), this is like a dream come true. It is amazing. I’m excited!]
So, we leave either tomorrow or in 3 days, for 8 to 10 days (in the wild! HAA). I might be a little bit disconnected, but I will try to be writing short-frequent posts. Luckily I get my ‘resurrected’ laptop back by tomorrow.
(I just realized this is a very long post. I wrote like a second bible or something! Hopefully it is an entertained one. Otherwise I’m sorry to have bored you for such a long time!)
Greetings dear readers :)
O.K. Maria Andre: After seeing the pictures you have finally managed to take I feel you do need some help: I want to see monkeys, pigs, more cattle, snakes, strange animals we don't have here and ahhhh, weirder people than we do have here in... you know where!
ReplyDeleteI also have a suggestion: since you are so very good at drawing fast, well draw some pictures of India while still looking for the camera...after all you can get on a fast horse and jump and almost fly even at the same time! And if you can't find a horse of your liking ( or "Laaaaaahking", like they say in Texas 8-D!) can't you get on an elephant and show us how?
By the way, do elephants run loose all over the place? Has your appetite come back? Are you sleeping better now? Do you still want to fly back??? And...back where? Guatemala, Venloo or Aachen! Oh my, you lucky niece, love aunt Olguita