So, this is my favourite part of travel blogging: cultural observations. I feel as though these are the funny posts you can laugh at back home, and also the ones that give you a true sense of the colloquialisms abroad. Keep in mind that these observations do not apply to ALL Indians, but are just general themes I have noticed during my time here.
THE INDIAN HEAD WOBBLE: This is not a gesture made up by comedians wishing to make fun of brown people; this is actually India’s most commonly used action of non-verbal nature… as nodding or shrugging would be in Canada. The problem is that this gesture does not have fixed meaning. At home, if you shake your head, it always means no. Here, the wobble can mean many things depending on the context. So far, the I have found the bobble-head-esque action to take the place of yes, maybe, okay, I’ll consider it, I hear what your saying but choose not to acknowledge it in any formal way, and I don’t know. Now you can see how this would become confusing when asking people different questions, like, “do you know how to get where we are going?”, “Is this meat cooked?” or “Is 50 Rupees okay?”. Now, a head wobble in response to all those questions could mean that every one could be answered yes, in which case all is merry. However, what this might mean is: I don’t know where we are going, I choose not to acknowledge whether or not this meat is not cooked, and I’ll consider your 50 Rupee offer. Which of course will lead to a lost, broke, diarrheal state. See how this can be different…
Malik and I are both trying out the head wobble here and there, but for you whities out there, the actual action is harder than you would think. You really have to act like your head is not attached to your neck and just wants to move from side to side. I vow to perfect this before my time here is over.
THE DIRECTIONS: As expected, a lot of the roads here don’t have names, and if they do have names, no one really knows what there are. Directions here are given on a landmark basis, but the problem with that is, if they are vague and you can’t directly see the landmark, you really have no idea where you’re going. Let me take this opportunity to refresh your memory of the fact that I am extremely directionally challenged in the first place and have never in my life been able to figure out which direction is north without a proper map. However, to compensate for this lack of geographic awareness, I make it an effort to ask for directions along the way when I don’t know where I’m going. This works out fine at home, because at home, if the person you ask doesn’t know the way to the place you’re trying to go, they will simply tell you that they don’t know. Here, they like to just point confidently in a random direction. Sweet.
THE ATTIRE: For those of you from outside of Peterborough, who look down upon our fashion style of white socks in Birkenstocks, I have a new one for you. Pleated pants with flip-flops. It’s so common around here you almost feel like it’s the dress code. Also, the mustache rumours are true, early statistical data indicated a prevalence rate of 60%, 10% of which are of the long, curly variety.
THE SECURITY: If you are a person that complains about going through security at the airport, do not come to Delhi. Every mall, hotel, subway station, public park and market place is complete with a walk-through metal detector, pat-down security, and x-ray bag searches. I have had my inner thigh stroked more times in the last two weeks than in my entire life… by mustache bearing men in pleated pants and flip-flops of course.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Cubicle Geeks Working 40-hour Weeks
I have not posted about what it is I am doing in India yet because I have been really busy. So, as I mentioned before, I am working with the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). It’s a relatively large organization (80 employees) with some relatively important people. The office that I’m working is really nice – a three-floor building filled with window offices for the important people and cubicles for the not-so-important people (most of whom still have the Dr. prefix… and me!). Now for the science babble:
What I am doing is mapping the institutional laboratory capacity to combat zoonotic disease in India. A zoonose is a pathogen that passes from vertebrate animals to humans, which accounts for roughly 70% of all infectious diseases (rabies, anthrax, Japanese encephalitis, avian flu etc). Because of the nature of zoonoses, the parties contributing to the research on this topic span several sectors. Scientists within the realms of human health, veterinary practice, infectious disease specialties and wildlife health are all contributing research, yet the distribution of this research is really only done within their own respective work silos. Thus, within a specialty that already has sparse resources and funding, professionals are unable to work efficiently, as it is not known who is doing what in what sector. Enter me. My job is essentially to compile a database consisting of all the research institutions in India currently contributing to zoonotic combatance in some laboratory capacity, listing also the key information associated with each lab. The rationale behind this is that when this information is disseminated, it will promote inter-professional collaboration, make it easier to mobilize public health outbreak interventions, and provide accurate information to funding bodies, highlighting neglected or duplicated areas of research.
So, what I’m doing is a lot of data entry, but at least its data entry with a purpose. The workday here starts at 10am (WOO!) and goes until 6. So, I work those hours within the office. There are a lot of really great people at PHFI, and my floor (3rd floor, whaaaaat uuuuuup?) is the best place to be. There are quite a few young people (when I say young, I mean 25-30; Malik and I are the only ones under 25), and most of them are American educated. It’s a good time. We went out to our first Bollywood movie in India with a bunch of them, and Malik and plan to organize a bowling night in the near future – the nearby bowling alley is glow in the dark and has a live DJ ☺. I like my work so far, and the people are great and super helpful, even though a lot of them have credentials that, when though about, can be quite intimidating.
Well, that’s all for now… I’ll post something that’s more fun soon.
What I am doing is mapping the institutional laboratory capacity to combat zoonotic disease in India. A zoonose is a pathogen that passes from vertebrate animals to humans, which accounts for roughly 70% of all infectious diseases (rabies, anthrax, Japanese encephalitis, avian flu etc). Because of the nature of zoonoses, the parties contributing to the research on this topic span several sectors. Scientists within the realms of human health, veterinary practice, infectious disease specialties and wildlife health are all contributing research, yet the distribution of this research is really only done within their own respective work silos. Thus, within a specialty that already has sparse resources and funding, professionals are unable to work efficiently, as it is not known who is doing what in what sector. Enter me. My job is essentially to compile a database consisting of all the research institutions in India currently contributing to zoonotic combatance in some laboratory capacity, listing also the key information associated with each lab. The rationale behind this is that when this information is disseminated, it will promote inter-professional collaboration, make it easier to mobilize public health outbreak interventions, and provide accurate information to funding bodies, highlighting neglected or duplicated areas of research.
So, what I’m doing is a lot of data entry, but at least its data entry with a purpose. The workday here starts at 10am (WOO!) and goes until 6. So, I work those hours within the office. There are a lot of really great people at PHFI, and my floor (3rd floor, whaaaaat uuuuuup?) is the best place to be. There are quite a few young people (when I say young, I mean 25-30; Malik and I are the only ones under 25), and most of them are American educated. It’s a good time. We went out to our first Bollywood movie in India with a bunch of them, and Malik and plan to organize a bowling night in the near future – the nearby bowling alley is glow in the dark and has a live DJ ☺. I like my work so far, and the people are great and super helpful, even though a lot of them have credentials that, when though about, can be quite intimidating.
Well, that’s all for now… I’ll post something that’s more fun soon.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
A Suitable Epic
I have had some hesitation about posting this, and at the end you may see why.
Also, sorry for the length haha.
In order to properly tell this story I will have to venture back to when Aubrey and I first arrived in Bangkok. On our first day, the plan was just to walk around and eventually make our way to Chinatown – a market district where you can buy cheap souvenirs.
Our plans became sidetracked when we stopped an asked a man on the street for directions. He greeted us enthusiastically with near perfect English, explaining that he too was on vacation in Bangkok and that we were very lucky to be traveling because that day was actually a national holiday. He was from the north of Thailand and was visiting his mother and sister in the city. He eagerly took our map from us, circling all the tourist attractions that he had visited earlier in the week, giving us the time it should take for each adventure and the cost so we wouldn’t get ripped off. Wrote down and recommended a riverboat ride to see the city, a stadium to watch Moi Thai boxing, a cashmere suit factory (very popular in Thailand), and two major temples that we should see. He then called over a tuk-tuk for us and negotiated a really good price for us to go to the riverboat place. This was one of the really nice people we met, someone who helped us without expecting anything in return, as mentioned in the last post.
So, we embarked on our first journey, getting a taste of Bangkok from the river. The mix of what we saw was extremely interesting. Amongst the elaborate gorgeous temples and five star hotels were modest stilted Thai homes and a river filled with fish ready to gobble up and bread thrown to them by boat-ridden tourists like ourselves. We left the boat ride happy that we had done it and thankful to the kind man who had helped us.
We then walked around for a while longer, weaving through markets and eating the amazing street food. Around 3 hours after our encounter with the Thai tourist, we decided to go to one of the temples the man had told us about. This temple was famous for its 3 huge gold Buddha statues, one standing, one seated, one laying down. As soon as we got to the temple we were greeted enthusiastically by another Thai man who spoke near-perfect English. He was excited we visited the temple on the holiday and explained how he was taking the day to worship. He told us about the core concepts of Buddhism and showed us inside the temple. We talked for quite some time, him explaining that he was a “master”… meaning that he had obtained a masters degree and worked for the Bank of Thailand and had actually recently returned from a trip to New York. After a while, he asked us what else we planned to do while in the city and asked to see our map. He pointed to many of the same locations and then stood up excitedly. “How did you hear about this place?” he said, pointing to the marked cashmere factory that the man before had mentioned. He told us that that is the place where he buys his suits. He explained that it is a factory only for export for high name brands like Gucci and Armani and that once a year their showroom was open to the public. He said that the quality is so good that he waits to buy it during that time each year, which is planned around the week of the current national holiday.
And so, we thought we would check it out. The man told our tuk-tuk driver where to go and we headed there. We entered a beautiful showroom where the walls were filled with beautiful fabrics and the mannequins were sporting really nice suits. The men greeted us and welcomed us to the shop on the holiday. They were both very smooth, and you could tell that they were very good salesmen. I am doing this trip on a very limited budget, but I had flirted with the idea of buying a tailored suit in India before I left, and these guys looked like they knew what they were doing. After a lot of humming and hawing I decided to make a purchase. The deal was: 1 three-piece cashmere suit (light grey), 2 silk or high quality cotton shirts (one plain white, one flashy dark green), all tailored for me specifically and 1 silk tie for around $400. I left after them taking all my measurements unsure about the purchase; I knew the quality and price would be unmatched at home, but I was on a tight budget. Oh well… I got a good deal.
So after that, we caught our train south and left for the beach and had an amazing time there. When we returned a couple days later, and I went back for the fitting. Everything fit really well, and I was very happy with it… only a few minor alterations were necessary and they had to put the final touches on: sew the buttons in place etc. So, we caught our train north to Chiang Mai to play with the elephants. We had an amazing time there, as I’m sure you can see if you have me as a friend of Facebook. We arrived back in Bangkok, and the next day we went to pick up the suit. I tried it on and it fit really well, so did the shirts. Happy with the purchase, I even wore one of the shirts out to dinner on our last night.
The people that helped a long the way, including the salesmen at the tailors were incredibly nice. Our experience in Bangkok was to end in the theme described before, one of a very positive nature. And then, I missed my flight because of a wakeup call that never came. It wasn’t a problem rescheduling it to the next day, thank goodness, but it meant that I would have one day alone as Aubrey left that morning. I planned on just relaxing and maybe getting another Thai massage ($4 for one hour…. WOOO). After I dropped Aubrey off at the airport, and we said our goodbyes for another three months, I went back to the hotel, checked in for another night, and hoped on one of the computers in the lobby. I was greeted by a screen that said something of the following:
Beware of the Thailand Tailor Scam, people have been making money off this for at least a decade. This is how it works:
A man who speaks English very well approaches tourists on the street and tells them it’s a ‘national holiday’, he then gives them some legitimate information about tourism in the area, but also slips in the name of a tailor. The man then calls another man in on the scam and tells him the appearances of the tourists and the place they seemed most likely to go from his recommendations. The other man then waits at this separate location, and once the tourists arrive, earns their trust by conversation and information about the attraction, once again confirming the supposed holiday. The man then excitedly talks about the tailor casually mentioned before and provides falsified information about a one time only sale for the holiday. The tourists are then tricked into buying counterfeit products from the tailor, usually polyester suits claiming to be cashmere at mark-up prices. The tailoring done is often very poor, and in some cases, the product is never delivered.
My heart sank; my stomach went into my throat. Never have I felt so embarrassed and betrayed. I had been conned. The very people we had met in Bangkok that we believed to be so selfless and nice were really just part of an elaborate scam, which I fell for. I consider both myself and Aubrey to be good tourists. We don’t typically overpay for products; we can usually sense when tours are fake, and we know that if a taxi driver/man on the street offers to take you to his shop, its probably not a good idea to go. I would also say that I am very good at reading people – being able to tell if someone is being sincere or bullshitting. Still, even now, I look back and cannot believe that these men were lying to us. They seemed so honest and genuinely helpful – something I can truly not convey through this blog. But, I had been had. I was alone in Bangkok, no computer of my own, no phone to call someone. I have been alone before, but never had I felt that feeling of loneliness that accompanied my embarrassment. All I could do was go to my room and cry. It wasn’t really even about the suit. It was about the lies. The fact that humanity repeatedly shows me that no stranger can be trusted. That is such a depressing thought, one that I really try my best not to accept as truth.
Now, days later, I consider myself very lucky. My suit actually fits very well and looks good, and the shirts fit better than any I have had before, regardless of their fabric. After researching the scams online, many involving the same tailor shop, most people received a much worse product. I think the only saving grace was the fact that I went in twice for fittings, thus making sure the product I was getting was well made… even if I was not able to tell the difference between cashmere and an imitative synthetic.
The sad part is that after an amazing vacation, this experience left a real sour taste in my mouth. In my last post, I described the Thai as beautiful selfless people, but a great deal of that thought was based off of the two ‘nice’ strangers who had helped us on our way. I am sure this may be still true, but I might not be so quick to feel at home at another place again – a protective, yet very depressing thought.
Also, sorry for the length haha.
In order to properly tell this story I will have to venture back to when Aubrey and I first arrived in Bangkok. On our first day, the plan was just to walk around and eventually make our way to Chinatown – a market district where you can buy cheap souvenirs.
Our plans became sidetracked when we stopped an asked a man on the street for directions. He greeted us enthusiastically with near perfect English, explaining that he too was on vacation in Bangkok and that we were very lucky to be traveling because that day was actually a national holiday. He was from the north of Thailand and was visiting his mother and sister in the city. He eagerly took our map from us, circling all the tourist attractions that he had visited earlier in the week, giving us the time it should take for each adventure and the cost so we wouldn’t get ripped off. Wrote down and recommended a riverboat ride to see the city, a stadium to watch Moi Thai boxing, a cashmere suit factory (very popular in Thailand), and two major temples that we should see. He then called over a tuk-tuk for us and negotiated a really good price for us to go to the riverboat place. This was one of the really nice people we met, someone who helped us without expecting anything in return, as mentioned in the last post.
So, we embarked on our first journey, getting a taste of Bangkok from the river. The mix of what we saw was extremely interesting. Amongst the elaborate gorgeous temples and five star hotels were modest stilted Thai homes and a river filled with fish ready to gobble up and bread thrown to them by boat-ridden tourists like ourselves. We left the boat ride happy that we had done it and thankful to the kind man who had helped us.
We then walked around for a while longer, weaving through markets and eating the amazing street food. Around 3 hours after our encounter with the Thai tourist, we decided to go to one of the temples the man had told us about. This temple was famous for its 3 huge gold Buddha statues, one standing, one seated, one laying down. As soon as we got to the temple we were greeted enthusiastically by another Thai man who spoke near-perfect English. He was excited we visited the temple on the holiday and explained how he was taking the day to worship. He told us about the core concepts of Buddhism and showed us inside the temple. We talked for quite some time, him explaining that he was a “master”… meaning that he had obtained a masters degree and worked for the Bank of Thailand and had actually recently returned from a trip to New York. After a while, he asked us what else we planned to do while in the city and asked to see our map. He pointed to many of the same locations and then stood up excitedly. “How did you hear about this place?” he said, pointing to the marked cashmere factory that the man before had mentioned. He told us that that is the place where he buys his suits. He explained that it is a factory only for export for high name brands like Gucci and Armani and that once a year their showroom was open to the public. He said that the quality is so good that he waits to buy it during that time each year, which is planned around the week of the current national holiday.
And so, we thought we would check it out. The man told our tuk-tuk driver where to go and we headed there. We entered a beautiful showroom where the walls were filled with beautiful fabrics and the mannequins were sporting really nice suits. The men greeted us and welcomed us to the shop on the holiday. They were both very smooth, and you could tell that they were very good salesmen. I am doing this trip on a very limited budget, but I had flirted with the idea of buying a tailored suit in India before I left, and these guys looked like they knew what they were doing. After a lot of humming and hawing I decided to make a purchase. The deal was: 1 three-piece cashmere suit (light grey), 2 silk or high quality cotton shirts (one plain white, one flashy dark green), all tailored for me specifically and 1 silk tie for around $400. I left after them taking all my measurements unsure about the purchase; I knew the quality and price would be unmatched at home, but I was on a tight budget. Oh well… I got a good deal.
So after that, we caught our train south and left for the beach and had an amazing time there. When we returned a couple days later, and I went back for the fitting. Everything fit really well, and I was very happy with it… only a few minor alterations were necessary and they had to put the final touches on: sew the buttons in place etc. So, we caught our train north to Chiang Mai to play with the elephants. We had an amazing time there, as I’m sure you can see if you have me as a friend of Facebook. We arrived back in Bangkok, and the next day we went to pick up the suit. I tried it on and it fit really well, so did the shirts. Happy with the purchase, I even wore one of the shirts out to dinner on our last night.
The people that helped a long the way, including the salesmen at the tailors were incredibly nice. Our experience in Bangkok was to end in the theme described before, one of a very positive nature. And then, I missed my flight because of a wakeup call that never came. It wasn’t a problem rescheduling it to the next day, thank goodness, but it meant that I would have one day alone as Aubrey left that morning. I planned on just relaxing and maybe getting another Thai massage ($4 for one hour…. WOOO). After I dropped Aubrey off at the airport, and we said our goodbyes for another three months, I went back to the hotel, checked in for another night, and hoped on one of the computers in the lobby. I was greeted by a screen that said something of the following:
Beware of the Thailand Tailor Scam, people have been making money off this for at least a decade. This is how it works:
A man who speaks English very well approaches tourists on the street and tells them it’s a ‘national holiday’, he then gives them some legitimate information about tourism in the area, but also slips in the name of a tailor. The man then calls another man in on the scam and tells him the appearances of the tourists and the place they seemed most likely to go from his recommendations. The other man then waits at this separate location, and once the tourists arrive, earns their trust by conversation and information about the attraction, once again confirming the supposed holiday. The man then excitedly talks about the tailor casually mentioned before and provides falsified information about a one time only sale for the holiday. The tourists are then tricked into buying counterfeit products from the tailor, usually polyester suits claiming to be cashmere at mark-up prices. The tailoring done is often very poor, and in some cases, the product is never delivered.
My heart sank; my stomach went into my throat. Never have I felt so embarrassed and betrayed. I had been conned. The very people we had met in Bangkok that we believed to be so selfless and nice were really just part of an elaborate scam, which I fell for. I consider both myself and Aubrey to be good tourists. We don’t typically overpay for products; we can usually sense when tours are fake, and we know that if a taxi driver/man on the street offers to take you to his shop, its probably not a good idea to go. I would also say that I am very good at reading people – being able to tell if someone is being sincere or bullshitting. Still, even now, I look back and cannot believe that these men were lying to us. They seemed so honest and genuinely helpful – something I can truly not convey through this blog. But, I had been had. I was alone in Bangkok, no computer of my own, no phone to call someone. I have been alone before, but never had I felt that feeling of loneliness that accompanied my embarrassment. All I could do was go to my room and cry. It wasn’t really even about the suit. It was about the lies. The fact that humanity repeatedly shows me that no stranger can be trusted. That is such a depressing thought, one that I really try my best not to accept as truth.
Now, days later, I consider myself very lucky. My suit actually fits very well and looks good, and the shirts fit better than any I have had before, regardless of their fabric. After researching the scams online, many involving the same tailor shop, most people received a much worse product. I think the only saving grace was the fact that I went in twice for fittings, thus making sure the product I was getting was well made… even if I was not able to tell the difference between cashmere and an imitative synthetic.
The sad part is that after an amazing vacation, this experience left a real sour taste in my mouth. In my last post, I described the Thai as beautiful selfless people, but a great deal of that thought was based off of the two ‘nice’ strangers who had helped us on our way. I am sure this may be still true, but I might not be so quick to feel at home at another place again – a protective, yet very depressing thought.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
If I Stay for 2 Years, Can I Get 1/2 Price?
The streets are busy with tuk-tuks, motorcycles and pedestrians. The alleys are filled with amazing smells from the local flavour of street food. The rivers run through the city, complementing its cultural beauty amongst the expanding urbanization. The people offer smiles and a helping hand for the lost tourists, blank-faced holding a map and trying to pronounce the street names. The city is Bangkok, and it may very well be my most favourite place of all.
Aubrey and I approached Bangkok as a central port between the places we really wanted to go, thinking we would see the things that you “need” to see but spend a great deal of time out of the city. We did not anticipate falling in love with Asia’s urban center. Bangkok is huge, home to nearly 10 million people, yet it is homey. The little markets spread intermittently throughout the city provide a means for small-scale, local shopping. The street vendors sell the most amazing food for next-to-nothing prices. You can get your hands on just about all of the comforts from home we have grown accustomed to. But most importantly, the people of Thailand are beautiful.
The concepts core to Buddhism, peace and selflessness, are evident within those we meet. Unlike other major cities that we have traveled to abroad, people here have helped us just for the sake of helping us. From previous experience, when someone offers to help you carry your bag from the taxi or tells you they’ll show you the way to your destination, you assume it’s for a tip (I can still remember the yells for “baksheesh” in Cairo). Here, people just do those things, bid you a safe journey, and turn around before you would even have a chance to reach for your wallet.
The other thing that has made our travels so enjoyable is that people here haven’t really tried to rip us off because we are tourists. We are quoted the same prices as the locals for the street food, merchandise and tuk-tuk rides – something that was a constant battle in Tanzania and became exhausting towards the end. There is still room for bartering at the markets (which I love), but most of the time the starting price is the same for us as the locals.
The bartering system has led to me buying more things than I would have normally. Aubrey says it is because I am really competitive so I treat it like a game, and I can win if I feel like I get a good price. Sometimes I just want to see how low they will go, and then I just end up buying it because I invested the time, Haha. She also gets frustrated because I would gladly spend five minutes in a stare-down with a vendor to save 30 cents. What she can't seem to grasp is that we not only save the 30 cents, we also won! ☺
I have never found a city outside of Ontario that I wanted to live in rather than just visit. But, we could live here. And someday, we just might…
Aubrey and I approached Bangkok as a central port between the places we really wanted to go, thinking we would see the things that you “need” to see but spend a great deal of time out of the city. We did not anticipate falling in love with Asia’s urban center. Bangkok is huge, home to nearly 10 million people, yet it is homey. The little markets spread intermittently throughout the city provide a means for small-scale, local shopping. The street vendors sell the most amazing food for next-to-nothing prices. You can get your hands on just about all of the comforts from home we have grown accustomed to. But most importantly, the people of Thailand are beautiful.
The concepts core to Buddhism, peace and selflessness, are evident within those we meet. Unlike other major cities that we have traveled to abroad, people here have helped us just for the sake of helping us. From previous experience, when someone offers to help you carry your bag from the taxi or tells you they’ll show you the way to your destination, you assume it’s for a tip (I can still remember the yells for “baksheesh” in Cairo). Here, people just do those things, bid you a safe journey, and turn around before you would even have a chance to reach for your wallet.
The other thing that has made our travels so enjoyable is that people here haven’t really tried to rip us off because we are tourists. We are quoted the same prices as the locals for the street food, merchandise and tuk-tuk rides – something that was a constant battle in Tanzania and became exhausting towards the end. There is still room for bartering at the markets (which I love), but most of the time the starting price is the same for us as the locals.
The bartering system has led to me buying more things than I would have normally. Aubrey says it is because I am really competitive so I treat it like a game, and I can win if I feel like I get a good price. Sometimes I just want to see how low they will go, and then I just end up buying it because I invested the time, Haha. She also gets frustrated because I would gladly spend five minutes in a stare-down with a vendor to save 30 cents. What she can't seem to grasp is that we not only save the 30 cents, we also won! ☺
I have never found a city outside of Ontario that I wanted to live in rather than just visit. But, we could live here. And someday, we just might…
Friday, September 2, 2011
Disorganized Awesomeness
Many people, including Russell Peters, have told me that your first step off the plane in Delhi is accompanied by a rushing “smell of shit directly into your nostrils”. My first step fortunately did not yield poo filled nostrils, however there WAS a glasses-fogging rush of humidity that accompanied the excitement of knowing I had arrived.
Another warning I received many times was to beware of the terrifying driving in Delhi. Yet, throughout my taxi ride to my homestay apartment, I could not stop smiling. The driving was crazy, I admit, but this craziness filled my need for disorganization that hasn’t been satisfied since my time in Tanzania. By the first ten minutes and first three almost-accidents, I could tell that India could become another place to call home.
I arrived in the dark to the place where I will be staying for the next three months – a three bedroom apartment in Vasant Kunj, a district of New Delhi. Krishna, one of the men that work at PHFI, is allowing Malik and I to stay with him during our time there - Malik being another student in my program who will be meeting me in India after my time in Thailand. The apartment is quite nice, your standard size for a three bedroom, and Krishna is great. The morning before I left for Thailand, I woke up early and took a walk around Vasant Kunj. I found it to be a very nice neighbourhood with two parks, two temples, some little stores and a community center with basketball hoops and badminton courts within a minute’s walk of the apartment.
I left India excited to return, knowing that I would find love for a new country once again.
Another warning I received many times was to beware of the terrifying driving in Delhi. Yet, throughout my taxi ride to my homestay apartment, I could not stop smiling. The driving was crazy, I admit, but this craziness filled my need for disorganization that hasn’t been satisfied since my time in Tanzania. By the first ten minutes and first three almost-accidents, I could tell that India could become another place to call home.
I arrived in the dark to the place where I will be staying for the next three months – a three bedroom apartment in Vasant Kunj, a district of New Delhi. Krishna, one of the men that work at PHFI, is allowing Malik and I to stay with him during our time there - Malik being another student in my program who will be meeting me in India after my time in Thailand. The apartment is quite nice, your standard size for a three bedroom, and Krishna is great. The morning before I left for Thailand, I woke up early and took a walk around Vasant Kunj. I found it to be a very nice neighbourhood with two parks, two temples, some little stores and a community center with basketball hoops and badminton courts within a minute’s walk of the apartment.
I left India excited to return, knowing that I would find love for a new country once again.
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