I forgot about the biggest update of all! I finally got my nose pierced J Maha style! (on my left side like the tradition in Maharastra)
Some of you know I wanted to do it way back 4 years ago, and then again I desperately wanted to do it after 2 weeks here in India, but for one reason or another it took me until it was already half way through my time here.
The other week before our event we had a staff “piercing party” where we went out to Silver Street in the modern area of town and all got stuff done. Vivi and I got our noses pierced, Mary T got her ears re-pierced, Anna got her 2nd holes re-pierced, Christa got her tragus pierced, and CL got her tragus pierced on both ears and her belly button pierced so she can wear something elaborate and shiny on her wedding day in December! It was very exciting, and didn’t hurt nearly as much as I thought it would.
The fun part was getting reactions from all the local staff the next day. I went into to place my egg order at breakfast and Padma noticed but didn’t say anything to me. Apparently when I walked out the door she told the other ladies so when we showed off later on at breakfast it was already old news. It really truly is like a small town here – the local staff sometimes know things before I manage to hear about it, the rumor mill is in full swing here. But all in all the ladies were very impressed and even for a few days afterward people were still noticing.
Then later over chai Aruna mentioned that piercing is significant for a girl, and that we should give out sweets and get our “good names”. For those of you who don’t know, it is common for Indians to have pet names and good names. When I reserve something or formally meet someone they ask for my good name. So I told Aruna and Minakshi that I would give them sweets if they gave me a good Indian name. So over a long and hilarious chai break they came up with names for all of the staff. The other staff names are: Kavita, Venu, Aboli, Sarita, Saloni, and Monisha. And my good name is Jui (but pronounced like Zui) and it is a beautiful flower here in India. Pictures will be coming soon…
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
Aga Khan Palace
So, Education for All ended yesterday and half of the participants left that day. It was hard saying goodbye to such a great group - one of the best in my time here so far. But since the event was over I got some much needed time off! We spent the evening out with the rest of the participants who were still here and all the staff at Sizzlers, a restaurant that actually has beef - something I have been seriously missing out on! (Dad, when I come home you're gonna need to BBQ me up some fantastic meals!) The meal portions are so large that they really should be split with others, but since we had been looking forward to this for a week we all ate our own meal. Big mistake! haha. It was the most painfully delicious meal I'd had in ages. After a good meal with good friends and good beers I called it an early night. I had been reading Shantaram, a brilliant novel by Gregory David Roberts for the last few weeks (it's almost 1000 pages), and finally finished it! And there was one quote that was so good I wanted to share it,
"This is not like any other place. This is India. Everyone who comes here falls in love - most of us fall in love many times over. And the Indians, they love most of all. Your little friend may be beginning to love you. There is nothing strange in this. I say it from a long experience of this country, and especially this city (Mumbai). It happens often, and easily for the Indians. That is how they manage to live together, a billion of them, in reasonable peace...more than any other people in the world, the Indians know how to love one another". It's so true, its something you find time and time again - when people welcome you into their home, offer themselves to you easily and genuinely. It's something I've managed to find here at Sangam especially with the local staff. It has been slow getting them to become comfortable with me, but whenever I manage to have a joke with one of them, or one of the ladies notice when I am missing it reinforces the fact that India is a place ruled by the heart.
"This is not like any other place. This is India. Everyone who comes here falls in love - most of us fall in love many times over. And the Indians, they love most of all. Your little friend may be beginning to love you. There is nothing strange in this. I say it from a long experience of this country, and especially this city (Mumbai). It happens often, and easily for the Indians. That is how they manage to live together, a billion of them, in reasonable peace...more than any other people in the world, the Indians know how to love one another". It's so true, its something you find time and time again - when people welcome you into their home, offer themselves to you easily and genuinely. It's something I've managed to find here at Sangam especially with the local staff. It has been slow getting them to become comfortable with me, but whenever I manage to have a joke with one of them, or one of the ladies notice when I am missing it reinforces the fact that India is a place ruled by the heart.
Anyway, today Christa and I had decided we would use our days off this week to discover the places in the city we had been wanting to see. So we started off at the Aga Khan Palace, which is where Gandhi was held and his ashes remain. It's this gorgeous building only like 15 minutes from Sangam, so I can't believe I didn't make the time to go see it until today.
The building had been converted into a museum that chronicled the life of Gandhi. It was really interesting to read about it, and see pictures and paintings depicting his life. There were personal affects of his wife left behind in the museum, and quotes from Gandhi were on plaques throughout the museum. It was really interesting walking through the grounds and reading the signs saying "Gandhi walked this path to the samadhi daily"...really cool but eerie at the same time. It was strange to be in the same place that someone so brilliant and influential lived. It 
made me think of this quote I once found of Gandhi's "I do not want my house to be walled on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible." It was a quote I saved a year or so ago because I thought it was a beautiful concept, but only after coming to India do I think I really get what was meant by it. 
Tomorrow I'm hoping to check out the Pataleshwar caves in the city. And I promise to post pictures soon, I lost my USB cord so until I find it you're outta luck...
made me think of this quote I once found of Gandhi's "I do not want my house to be walled on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible." It was a quote I saved a year or so ago because I thought it was a beautiful concept, but only after coming to India do I think I really get what was meant by it. Tomorrow I'm hoping to check out the Pataleshwar caves in the city. And I promise to post pictures soon, I lost my USB cord so until I find it you're outta luck...Thursday, August 9, 2007
Splendour Country
So, after a long 12 day event with a 4 day kids camp Ambassadors for Children came to an end and we were itching for a BREAK!
So Mary T, Christa and I checked ourselves into the Splendour Country resort on the recommendation from our manager CL. We were told that it was beautiful and quiet and that’s about it – but it was enough for us. We hired a driver and headed out in the morning. It took about an hour and a half to get there, but it was a great drive through the city to parts I’ve never seen before and through the countryside. It was so gorgeous and green everywhere it was great. I think Mary T – who is from Ireland appreciated the green rolling hills more than anyone.
We drove past a dam and on the other side was this huge lake with some houses and other hotels littered along the hills. Our driver dropped us off and we checked out the grounds…incredible! The resort was built on the side of big hill and all around were these gorgeous mountains. There were a ton of steps leading down to the pool and dining area, which made the hike between our cottage and the pool seem like climbing the Himalayas but we survived. The pool was an infinity pool, the kind with no edge so it looks like you’re swimming in the ocean. In our case it looked like you were swimming out into mountains but it was still tons and tons of fun. The resort was completely deserted so we basically spent our days hanging out at the pool, reading books and soaking up the silence. We had delicious Indian and Chinese food there, with actual spice to it which was nice. During event time at Sangam the food is basically spice-free because the participants can’t all handle it, so its nice to get some spicy stuff in the mix outside of work. Sadly we only had 2 days at the resort and had to leave the second afternoon. Our co-worker Minakshi’s brother-in-law owns and manages a restaurant on the other side of Pune so on our drive back home she called and recommended we stop in for some chai. Its those kind of invites that remind you how incredible the community culture in India is. It’s not a rare occurance to meet someone once and be welcomed into their home. So we stopped at Sandeep’s restaurant and had the largest and most delicious cup of chai I’ve had in my two months here. It was nice to get to meet someone in Minakshi’s family as well. So after a brief chat with Sandeep we heading back home to Sangam. The resort had worked its magic on me and we came back so relaxed I was practically sleep walking through the halls until I hit the bed!
I also got a chance to check out a homeopath last week before our event started, it was very interesting. I thought since I’m so comfortable with doctors back home I would be fine, but as I sat down in her office I got nervous. It was interesting to have a doctor who wanted to listen to the full details of their patient, and it was funny to hear some of the questions she asked. I had started to get a little cold so I was asking her to help me with that and the questions that came we’re pretty unique:
-do you crave fish?
-do you like sweet foods or salty foods?
-when you perspire does it leave a stain on white clothing? (that was my favourite)
And she asked a ton of other questions, some really in depth ones about my life, others about personal relationships, it was cool. I have to admit I walked out of there feeling unsure about the whole thing, but after taking the medicines she gave me my cold died down a bit. I think it was a really cool experience, but I’m still undecided on how I feel about the whole thing.
This week has been busy with “Education for All” our event that included spending 3 mornings at different schools in the city. It’s been a lot of fun hanging out with the kids from 1st-10th standard (grade). We still have a few more days of the event left so I should probably go work on sessions and get things together for our Bollywood movie night tonight!
Love and miss you all…xo
So Mary T, Christa and I checked ourselves into the Splendour Country resort on the recommendation from our manager CL. We were told that it was beautiful and quiet and that’s about it – but it was enough for us. We hired a driver and headed out in the morning. It took about an hour and a half to get there, but it was a great drive through the city to parts I’ve never seen before and through the countryside. It was so gorgeous and green everywhere it was great. I think Mary T – who is from Ireland appreciated the green rolling hills more than anyone.
We drove past a dam and on the other side was this huge lake with some houses and other hotels littered along the hills. Our driver dropped us off and we checked out the grounds…incredible! The resort was built on the side of big hill and all around were these gorgeous mountains. There were a ton of steps leading down to the pool and dining area, which made the hike between our cottage and the pool seem like climbing the Himalayas but we survived. The pool was an infinity pool, the kind with no edge so it looks like you’re swimming in the ocean. In our case it looked like you were swimming out into mountains but it was still tons and tons of fun. The resort was completely deserted so we basically spent our days hanging out at the pool, reading books and soaking up the silence. We had delicious Indian and Chinese food there, with actual spice to it which was nice. During event time at Sangam the food is basically spice-free because the participants can’t all handle it, so its nice to get some spicy stuff in the mix outside of work. Sadly we only had 2 days at the resort and had to leave the second afternoon. Our co-worker Minakshi’s brother-in-law owns and manages a restaurant on the other side of Pune so on our drive back home she called and recommended we stop in for some chai. Its those kind of invites that remind you how incredible the community culture in India is. It’s not a rare occurance to meet someone once and be welcomed into their home. So we stopped at Sandeep’s restaurant and had the largest and most delicious cup of chai I’ve had in my two months here. It was nice to get to meet someone in Minakshi’s family as well. So after a brief chat with Sandeep we heading back home to Sangam. The resort had worked its magic on me and we came back so relaxed I was practically sleep walking through the halls until I hit the bed!
I also got a chance to check out a homeopath last week before our event started, it was very interesting. I thought since I’m so comfortable with doctors back home I would be fine, but as I sat down in her office I got nervous. It was interesting to have a doctor who wanted to listen to the full details of their patient, and it was funny to hear some of the questions she asked. I had started to get a little cold so I was asking her to help me with that and the questions that came we’re pretty unique:
-do you crave fish?
-do you like sweet foods or salty foods?
-when you perspire does it leave a stain on white clothing? (that was my favourite)
And she asked a ton of other questions, some really in depth ones about my life, others about personal relationships, it was cool. I have to admit I walked out of there feeling unsure about the whole thing, but after taking the medicines she gave me my cold died down a bit. I think it was a really cool experience, but I’m still undecided on how I feel about the whole thing.
This week has been busy with “Education for All” our event that included spending 3 mornings at different schools in the city. It’s been a lot of fun hanging out with the kids from 1st-10th standard (grade). We still have a few more days of the event left so I should probably go work on sessions and get things together for our Bollywood movie night tonight!
Love and miss you all…xo
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