I've been busy with final term assignments for the last 3 weeks or so because school is coming to an end in a few short weeks. Because of this I haven't left Pune for almost a month, since returning from Leh, but I hope to change that next week for the Diwali festival. I've been writing down some observations, good and bad, and some moments that left me smiling, over the last few weeks and I thought I'd share.
1) Monsoon season is over, and the heat has been intense over the last 2-3 weeks. This has brought some intense thunderstorms which have been amazing to watch. Pune is sort of in a valley so the thunder has a nice echo. The warm weather also means arriving at school extremely sweaty from the bike ride.
2) The end of the Monsoon has also opening my eyes to how sheltered I am in my residential area in Pune. Our main road is now most days filled with people selling every possible item imaginable, and at night the streets are full of people sleeping. The overpass in front of the campus has a community of about 50 or so people living underneath of it cooking and setting up shelter. Leaving campus and seeing this immediately is such a stark contrast.
3) Riding my bicycle around Pune is STILL one of my favourite things to do. Especially when a bus passes me that is full of people and children hanging out the doors yelling Baba or Hello Hello trying to get my attention.
4) Booking a train ticket in India is quite the process. First you have to book months in advance on popular routes if you want to even have a shot at getting a confirmed seat. If you are like me and book only 3 weeks in advance, you get waitlisted and have to wait until the few days before to see if you get a seat or not.
5) I went to a tailor to get a custom made shirt last week, and it will cost $8 for both the fabric and the labour!
6) I am definitely immersed fully into daily life now, which is great because I feel comfortable and like it is part of home. However, the wonder and excitement that accompanied everything I saw the first month or so isn't as frequent. So when a cow stops traffic near our house, a dog comes into class during lecture to hang out, when I have to fight to stay ahead in line, or when I see a family of 5 on a bike, it doesn't seem so different. I am excited for Phil to be coming in one month, as I'm sure seeing all of these things through his eyes again will be tons of fun, and bring me back to my first few weeks here.
7) Everyday after class myself and a few other classmates head over to the canteen on campus for chai and some snacks. The man that runs the kitchen is straight out of a cartoon, and is quite the character. I often order ek (one) chai and teen (three) wada pao, which is basically deep fried mashed potato balls with spices inside served with bread, it is delicious and the ones on campus are not very greasy. The street food wada pao is dangerous though!
As for my plans for the next few months, I am off to Mumbai for 3-4 days next week to celebrate Diwali, likely stopping in Matheran after Mumbai before returning to Pune to finish off school. After that I travel to Nagpur to volunteer for one week, and then I pick up Phil in Mumbai for 2 weeks of traveling in Maharashtra and Kerala. Erin then comes to visit a week or so after, and our tentative plans are to visit Tamil Nadu, and parts of the North East of the country that is less explored. I am also really looking forward to showing her around Pune and sharing all of the things I have been experiencing these last few months with her. Should be an amazing few months ahead.
1) Monsoon season is over, and the heat has been intense over the last 2-3 weeks. This has brought some intense thunderstorms which have been amazing to watch. Pune is sort of in a valley so the thunder has a nice echo. The warm weather also means arriving at school extremely sweaty from the bike ride.
2) The end of the Monsoon has also opening my eyes to how sheltered I am in my residential area in Pune. Our main road is now most days filled with people selling every possible item imaginable, and at night the streets are full of people sleeping. The overpass in front of the campus has a community of about 50 or so people living underneath of it cooking and setting up shelter. Leaving campus and seeing this immediately is such a stark contrast.
3) Riding my bicycle around Pune is STILL one of my favourite things to do. Especially when a bus passes me that is full of people and children hanging out the doors yelling Baba or Hello Hello trying to get my attention.
4) Booking a train ticket in India is quite the process. First you have to book months in advance on popular routes if you want to even have a shot at getting a confirmed seat. If you are like me and book only 3 weeks in advance, you get waitlisted and have to wait until the few days before to see if you get a seat or not.
5) I went to a tailor to get a custom made shirt last week, and it will cost $8 for both the fabric and the labour!
6) I am definitely immersed fully into daily life now, which is great because I feel comfortable and like it is part of home. However, the wonder and excitement that accompanied everything I saw the first month or so isn't as frequent. So when a cow stops traffic near our house, a dog comes into class during lecture to hang out, when I have to fight to stay ahead in line, or when I see a family of 5 on a bike, it doesn't seem so different. I am excited for Phil to be coming in one month, as I'm sure seeing all of these things through his eyes again will be tons of fun, and bring me back to my first few weeks here.
7) Everyday after class myself and a few other classmates head over to the canteen on campus for chai and some snacks. The man that runs the kitchen is straight out of a cartoon, and is quite the character. I often order ek (one) chai and teen (three) wada pao, which is basically deep fried mashed potato balls with spices inside served with bread, it is delicious and the ones on campus are not very greasy. The street food wada pao is dangerous though!
As for my plans for the next few months, I am off to Mumbai for 3-4 days next week to celebrate Diwali, likely stopping in Matheran after Mumbai before returning to Pune to finish off school. After that I travel to Nagpur to volunteer for one week, and then I pick up Phil in Mumbai for 2 weeks of traveling in Maharashtra and Kerala. Erin then comes to visit a week or so after, and our tentative plans are to visit Tamil Nadu, and parts of the North East of the country that is less explored. I am also really looking forward to showing her around Pune and sharing all of the things I have been experiencing these last few months with her. Should be an amazing few months ahead.
