Last Sunday evening was as usual my trip to 'Selomonis' house for
dinner (Selomonis is one the Keepers at the Crocodile Bank), only this
week I was not to go to his house but to a wedding.
I’m not quite sure how to do a blog…I’ve never done one before. The
only thing I’ve decided is that I won’t start it with Dear Diary. I’ll
just dive straight into it.
I left for
Bangalore
on Friday and have pretty much been jet lagged ever since! India is an
inconvenient five and a half hours ahead, which puts you out of sync for
a while. The first day was very disorientating (this is now Saturday)
but made it out for a walk. One of the best introductions to India was
the ride from the Airport. Roads have no lanes, traffic lights have no
meaning but somehow everything seems to work. This continued on my walk,
unfortunately with pedestrian crossings. I’ve taken the technique of
looking at what the locals do and following the across the road…although
this won’t feel safe it is the only thing you can do.
On Sunday we (myself and the other 5 gappers in
Bangalore,
Molly, Alice, Alice, PJ, Katharine) went on a tour of the city. On the
tour we all noticed a couple of things. One, without avoiding the
cliché, is the gap between the rich and poor. What is interesting though
is that the gap is not physically separated, one often seeing a slum
building right next to a new shopping mall. The other was the western
vibe to the centre (where fortunately I live) and of course a more
genuine suburb…although not any less busy. Going to the gardens we often
found we were stared at (especially the girls) for being white, but you
soon become very used to it, and most locals are used to it. The
hardest thing to get used to so far (other than being away from home),
was the eating. Eating with your hands sounds fun, and is…but isn’t
easy. I think I’ve just about mastered it now, but am still nervous to
eat in front of my host family. They told me yesterday I could only eat
with my right hand…I wish I had never asked why. Apparently you “clean
yourself” with your left after going for a number 2.
On Monday it was straight to work. Everyone at the office was very
friendly and I was introduced to Bobby and Rajesh who run the sports
program I will be working in. They then told me that on the weekend
everyone was going to Mumbai for the marathon (not the full one) and I
was invited. I have decided to go along…but have for some reason decided
to get the train back. This takes 24 hours!!! Will be an experience (or
so I tell myself every night before I go to sleep). On Monday I also
got to see a table tennis session and a football session. It was really
interesting to see the difference in all the programs around Bangalore.
The first place I saw was a school in the edge of the suburbs with
picturesque but old grounds. The next place I saw was slightly
different. In this place there were Children from all over India who
were either there because they had committed a crime, run away from home
or been abandoned by their parents. It was really good to see them
playing football, they seemed to be having a good time, and especially
enjoyed the food after that we gave them (Rajesh let me hand it out to
gain some popularity).
Food is amazing in India. Even the lunches which cost me about 30
pence. I’ve been eating at a place that has been nick named the Cholera
Café…although I have not felt the symptoms yet I can see why. On the
first day people at Dream a Dream (the NGO I am working for) would not
even let me inside…having seen it since I see why. Rajesh who unlike
myself opted for some meat has been suffering since. He was on a drip
all of Wednesday, Imodium all of Tuesday and assures me he was 60
seconds away from embarrassment in front of me on Monday. Sticking to
veg is really safe though and at the home stay it’s safe to have some
meat which is always great. The breakfasts though I still have not got
used to (like cous cous) and have cereal in the morning (a bit of a cop
out I know).
On Wednesday I had the day off. India seems to have at least 3 times as
many festivals as days so I think I’ll have a lot of 3 day weekends and
mini breaks which is good. All of the gappers went to see a Bollywood
movie…which had a name I still can’t pronounce. It was interesting…but
had not words in English and the plot got a little complicated. It was 3
hours! They don’t do montages which explains the length. It was good
but tiring so I think I’ll leave it a month or two till I see my next.
Now this brings me to now…
Today I’ve been going to meetings at my NGO. Which is very interesting. I
even got a suggestion put up on the board. It’s a very friendly
atmosphere and every time I have something to say everyone laughs
because I still put my hand up (haven’t realized I’m no longer at
school).
One of the great things has been the support from the people in Gap Guru in Newbury, Omdip gave me a call, and here in
Bangalore. The local coordinator Hema is extremely welcoming and I’m going over with everyone later.
Will keep this updated…hopefully.
Will xxxx