Today is the first day that I have seen it rain. I've always loved the rain, especially the smell of it when it's first beginning to rain. Here, I don't smell the rain as much as I hear it. The huge rumbles of thunder, the birds squawking & trying to find a dry tree branch to fly to.
Boy am I glad that I walked around this morning! Almost everyday I've had people wanting to show me around and meet up with me. And it's been great to see the different parts of the city. But I haven't really explored much on foot.
.....forget all about that. Cynthia just told me that having two people live with her is a strain. She talked to her doctor & they thought it was best that I go somewhere else to live. Now I completely understand that Cynthia's getting to the point where she just wants a retired lifestyle, without many things that she has to do everyday. But this is sooo frustrating!! Just when I'm kind of, barely able to know my way around and start fitting in, my life changes. Why do these things have to happen to me? Do they think that I can handle the challenge? I probably can but it takes every ounce of me to be able to handle the change.
We were supposed to go tonight to get me registered so that I can stay here. I asked Cynthia about it and she said that the new lady could take me. I talked to the woman that showed me an apartment tonight and she said that the school would have to take me. Grrr! I hope that I can get all of this done before Tuesday! I had really wanted to get all of this done before my internship and classes. But life changes, I guess. This probably shouldn't be a big deal but this change is making me so homesick right now. Not being able to talk to anyone from home about it is killing me.
The new apartment that I'll be staying in is very small. I'm living with a couple who seem to be very nice, but it's hard to understand their English. The room that I'll be staying in is a nice size. Right now, there's no dresser in the room. Just a small end table and bed. I have my own bathroom which is nice...very pink I might add. The monthly rent is 12,000 rupees ($300) + 300 rupees ($7.50) for the maid. The woman that I will be staying with told me that she'll look into getting internet, as she doesn't have internet at her apartment. So it's going to be very hard for me to communicate after today, unless she gets internet soon. For meals, they don't really have a full kitchen so I have to eat out or have food delivered to me for every meal. For breakfast, I figured I can buy a box of cereal but that's it. It's going to be very hard for me to adjust to life here.
So don't send anything to the address that I gave you before. My new address is: (I'm pretty sure)
Blue Heaven
Flat 301
C Wing
Rebello Road
Mumbai, India (I don't know the zip code)
I hope that I will somehow have the strength to carry on these next few months. I will be sooo happy to come home though. Right now, I don't know how I'll find the strength to even go through the next day.....very homesick :( I'll probably be moving on Saturday so I'll let you know how it goes.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
A diamond in the rubble
It's so hard sometimes to get your bearings and see where everything is, without a useful map. Last night I went online and was able to find a map on google of the area where I'm staying. The only difficulty was that in Indian there are two names for everything...one in Hindi and one in English. On google, some of the streets are in Hindi and others in English. I guess the best way to find where everything is, is just to explore.
As I was writing, I heard music and a parade outside my window. I went to look out the window and see if I could see the parade from here but I couldn't. But while looking out the window, I did happen to see a beautiful lime green parrot! It's the small things like the music and the parrot flying about, that make me smile. I hear the birds chirping all day long--as I have my tea, eat my breakfast and read. But to actually see the bird that was causing all that chirping ruckus, and to realize that it wasn't just a pigeon made me smile. I'm glad I was able to get a picture of it!
I'll have to find a way on this blog site to start posting pictures. I haven't taken too many, but once I do, I'll definitely put them up to show everyone.
As I was writing, I heard music and a parade outside my window. I went to look out the window and see if I could see the parade from here but I couldn't. But while looking out the window, I did happen to see a beautiful lime green parrot! It's the small things like the music and the parrot flying about, that make me smile. I hear the birds chirping all day long--as I have my tea, eat my breakfast and read. But to actually see the bird that was causing all that chirping ruckus, and to realize that it wasn't just a pigeon made me smile. I'm glad I was able to get a picture of it!
I'll have to find a way on this blog site to start posting pictures. I haven't taken too many, but once I do, I'll definitely put them up to show everyone.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Where in the world is.....
Just to give you a little look to where I am....
View Larger Map
If you see St. Andrew's Grounds in the middle of the map, and St. Andrews Road, I'm the next road over on the right. It's not labeled, but it's St. Leo's Road.
I'm just a short rickshaw or walk away from the water. Near the water, there's a really nice walking path and Jogger's Park, a little park with a pond and gardens. It can get very crowded though so I'm sure I'll be avoiding that area during the evening. But it's certainly a gorgeous view of the sunset. Dennis' wife and I took a walk along that area during sunset, and even though there were beggars on the street and trash on the ground, the sunset was breathtaking. Mumbai is certainly a city where you'll find a diamond among the rubble.
View Larger Map
If you see St. Andrew's Grounds in the middle of the map, and St. Andrews Road, I'm the next road over on the right. It's not labeled, but it's St. Leo's Road.
I'm just a short rickshaw or walk away from the water. Near the water, there's a really nice walking path and Jogger's Park, a little park with a pond and gardens. It can get very crowded though so I'm sure I'll be avoiding that area during the evening. But it's certainly a gorgeous view of the sunset. Dennis' wife and I took a walk along that area during sunset, and even though there were beggars on the street and trash on the ground, the sunset was breathtaking. Mumbai is certainly a city where you'll find a diamond among the rubble.
It's been only a week
I can't believe I've only been gone a week. Sometimes it feels like it should be more like a month and other days only a day or so. The Indian culture is sometimes very aggravating to get used to and at the same time very rewarding. There are always two different sides to everything it seems here. The traffic, congestion and the amounts of people will be something to get used to. I'm glad that I've had this week to get acclamated to the culture and all of my surroundings. Once I do get used to the area though, I think that it will be a wonderful experience. It's nice every so often to jump outside your own culture and live in another one. Different food, different language and different people will make this semester that much more enjoyable....once I understand all of it :)
As for all of that traffic and different ways of transportation, I'll be taking a bus every time I go to school. This morning I took the bus to the school but took the bus that went in the complete opposite direction as the school! I had to call the director of the college for him to show me where to go. In the end, he picked me up and brought me to the school, which was really nice of him. It's hard to navigate the bus system but after I do it every week, I'll start to get used to it. I only have to go to school for one class on Wednesday...unless I have to have a meeting with someone.
Other than the bus, I'll probably be doing a lot of walking and hailing rickshaws (motorized 3 wheeled carts) to get from place to place. Everything that I need seems to be close by which is nice. If anyone has ever been to Europe, it's the same way as here. There are markets for fruits and vegetables, little shops to get chocolates, little stores for dresses & shoes, etc.
Hopefully I'll have the time to visit every little market and store around here. I'm having an internship at an orphanage that's about an hour away by a combination of a train ride & bus ride. The orphanage, St. Catherine's Home, is run by a Catholic order or nuns. This past Saturday I went with my Social Work professor to see the orphanage and meet with one of the sisters. After meeting with them, I found out that the sister wants me to be at the orphanage 5 days a week!! I'll be starting the days at the internship probably around 7am (and getting there by 8-8:30am), being with some of the older girls in the orphanage til about 11am, then being with the little babies and infants til about 12:30 or 1pm and then heading back to the apartment. It's not a long day as so much as an exhausting day. I guess it's a good thing I don't have to start the internship until September 9th! Now I have the time to rest up and see the local sights.
After visiting the orphanage though, I realized that was what I pictured India to be. The beautiful side of India. I wish I had taken pictures because it looked just like Key West or the Everglades....like a tropical garden surrounding all of the cottages & buildings on the dusty road. I couldn't believe how many children were there though! I thought it would be like a one room school house but there were so many cottages (for each age level) there. I'm hoping the long commute to and from the orphanage will give me time to reflect on everything. It will give me a chance to think about my days so far and what I've thought of them.
I'm hoping that I'll be able to get a good night's sleep once I start the internship. Since I arrived, I haven't been able to get a good night of sleeping in. It is normal not to be able to sleep well for the first week or so because of the time change and new surroundings, but it's killing me! I'm so exhausted yet when it gets time to sleep, I can't. It's so frustrating. I think I'm about ready to take a nap after writing this long journal entry. Taking a nap and trying to recharge my energy will be a daily thing I'm sure.
As for all of that traffic and different ways of transportation, I'll be taking a bus every time I go to school. This morning I took the bus to the school but took the bus that went in the complete opposite direction as the school! I had to call the director of the college for him to show me where to go. In the end, he picked me up and brought me to the school, which was really nice of him. It's hard to navigate the bus system but after I do it every week, I'll start to get used to it. I only have to go to school for one class on Wednesday...unless I have to have a meeting with someone.
Other than the bus, I'll probably be doing a lot of walking and hailing rickshaws (motorized 3 wheeled carts) to get from place to place. Everything that I need seems to be close by which is nice. If anyone has ever been to Europe, it's the same way as here. There are markets for fruits and vegetables, little shops to get chocolates, little stores for dresses & shoes, etc.
Hopefully I'll have the time to visit every little market and store around here. I'm having an internship at an orphanage that's about an hour away by a combination of a train ride & bus ride. The orphanage, St. Catherine's Home, is run by a Catholic order or nuns. This past Saturday I went with my Social Work professor to see the orphanage and meet with one of the sisters. After meeting with them, I found out that the sister wants me to be at the orphanage 5 days a week!! I'll be starting the days at the internship probably around 7am (and getting there by 8-8:30am), being with some of the older girls in the orphanage til about 11am, then being with the little babies and infants til about 12:30 or 1pm and then heading back to the apartment. It's not a long day as so much as an exhausting day. I guess it's a good thing I don't have to start the internship until September 9th! Now I have the time to rest up and see the local sights.
After visiting the orphanage though, I realized that was what I pictured India to be. The beautiful side of India. I wish I had taken pictures because it looked just like Key West or the Everglades....like a tropical garden surrounding all of the cottages & buildings on the dusty road. I couldn't believe how many children were there though! I thought it would be like a one room school house but there were so many cottages (for each age level) there. I'm hoping the long commute to and from the orphanage will give me time to reflect on everything. It will give me a chance to think about my days so far and what I've thought of them.
I'm hoping that I'll be able to get a good night's sleep once I start the internship. Since I arrived, I haven't been able to get a good night of sleeping in. It is normal not to be able to sleep well for the first week or so because of the time change and new surroundings, but it's killing me! I'm so exhausted yet when it gets time to sleep, I can't. It's so frustrating. I think I'm about ready to take a nap after writing this long journal entry. Taking a nap and trying to recharge my energy will be a daily thing I'm sure.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Not feeling local yet
It's now Friday afternoon in India and I've been here almost 3 days already...but it feels like a week. At first I didn't know what to expect of how I'd feel or when it would actually hit me that I'd be living in India for 4 months. I don't think it really hit me until a day or so after I landed in Mumbai. Walking around Mumbai and seeing the beggars on the street and yet the beautiful dresses the women wear, really made me snap into reality that I'm here.
A part of me doesn't know how I feel about Mumbai or even India for that matter. A part of me is saying this is too much for me to handle. The big thing is that it's very tiring learning the ins and outs of the city & culture, all at once and all by myself. I'm hoping that once school starts it will get easier.
During this semester, I'm living with an older woman, Cynthia. She seems nice so it shouldn't be a problem living with her. She and everyone else I've met in India so far have been very welcoming. Everyone is always telling me the best shops to go into and the best places to go, as well as what not to do, where I shouldn't be going alone, etc.
Everything is just hitting me all at once though. It's been very difficult so far. The time difference, the different food, culture, etc. There's so much to learn all at once and it's getting very mentally exhausting. I've been told though that I will have frustrating days and I will have great days. Some days I won't want to leave India and some days I won't be able to wait to jump on that plane home.
Well there you have it. The run down and brief explanation of the beginnings of my semester in India. Once I figure out where the best internet is and how to upload my pictures, I'll definitely show everyone pictures of the sights so far.
A part of me doesn't know how I feel about Mumbai or even India for that matter. A part of me is saying this is too much for me to handle. The big thing is that it's very tiring learning the ins and outs of the city & culture, all at once and all by myself. I'm hoping that once school starts it will get easier.
During this semester, I'm living with an older woman, Cynthia. She seems nice so it shouldn't be a problem living with her. She and everyone else I've met in India so far have been very welcoming. Everyone is always telling me the best shops to go into and the best places to go, as well as what not to do, where I shouldn't be going alone, etc.
Everything is just hitting me all at once though. It's been very difficult so far. The time difference, the different food, culture, etc. There's so much to learn all at once and it's getting very mentally exhausting. I've been told though that I will have frustrating days and I will have great days. Some days I won't want to leave India and some days I won't be able to wait to jump on that plane home.
Well there you have it. The run down and brief explanation of the beginnings of my semester in India. Once I figure out where the best internet is and how to upload my pictures, I'll definitely show everyone pictures of the sights so far.
Friday, May 2, 2008
And so the journey begins...
It all began when I purchased my $1,600 plane ticket.....ouch! I keep thinking of all the debt I could possibly be in after this trip. But then I realize something. When am I ever going to be able to have the freedom to do it after college? It's a perfect time now to be able to see another world, another culture. More importantly though, I'll be able to grow as a person...and you can't put a price on that.
So on August 25, 2008 at 4:35pm, I will be boarding a plane to Mumbai, India. At first I couldn't believe that I was actually doing it. It was like a cloud in the sky. A dream that was just a dream. And I was standing on the ground with no way up to the cloud. To be honest, I don't think that it will actually hit me that I really am going to India until I board that plane. Who knows, maybe it won't even hit me until I smell the new smells and see the new sites in India.
I've always known that I wanted to study abroad in college. For me, I knew that it would be much harder to travel around the world if I waited til after college, so college was the time to do it. Professor Stracke's sociology class really opened me up to different cultures. He opened me up to so much and I am forever thankful. I've always been interested trying new things and going new places. But at the time, I thought new places meant going out to Colorado or something. But India? Why not! And when I want to study abroad, I want to go all the way. Throw myself out of my comfort bubble and travel to a completely different culture. Turn me upside down, twirl me and let me experience something I have never seen before. I won't know until next fall if ripping myself out of my comfort zone was the best thing for me, but we'll see. You never know until you try it, right?
The independence factor will definitely be interesting. Until high school, I was so unbelievably shy and wouldn't do anything without someone else there with me. In high school though, I had to stand up for myself due to some learning disability issues. I needed to stick up for myself and make sure that I got the education that I deserved. That was when I slowly started to break out of my shell and become who I am today. Today for me, it's always nice to have someone else there with me experiencing the same things that I am, but it's surely not necessary. Having people around me makes me feel more comfortable in that environment, but also being able to experience things on my own is great. I have come so far from being that shy girl in middle school.
So here I am, being thrown out of my comfort zone and into a new culture. No safety nets included on this one. So thanks for reading this and listening to my experiences in India. It's going to be a very interesting journey come August 25th.
So on August 25, 2008 at 4:35pm, I will be boarding a plane to Mumbai, India. At first I couldn't believe that I was actually doing it. It was like a cloud in the sky. A dream that was just a dream. And I was standing on the ground with no way up to the cloud. To be honest, I don't think that it will actually hit me that I really am going to India until I board that plane. Who knows, maybe it won't even hit me until I smell the new smells and see the new sites in India.
I've always known that I wanted to study abroad in college. For me, I knew that it would be much harder to travel around the world if I waited til after college, so college was the time to do it. Professor Stracke's sociology class really opened me up to different cultures. He opened me up to so much and I am forever thankful. I've always been interested trying new things and going new places. But at the time, I thought new places meant going out to Colorado or something. But India? Why not! And when I want to study abroad, I want to go all the way. Throw myself out of my comfort bubble and travel to a completely different culture. Turn me upside down, twirl me and let me experience something I have never seen before. I won't know until next fall if ripping myself out of my comfort zone was the best thing for me, but we'll see. You never know until you try it, right?
The independence factor will definitely be interesting. Until high school, I was so unbelievably shy and wouldn't do anything without someone else there with me. In high school though, I had to stand up for myself due to some learning disability issues. I needed to stick up for myself and make sure that I got the education that I deserved. That was when I slowly started to break out of my shell and become who I am today. Today for me, it's always nice to have someone else there with me experiencing the same things that I am, but it's surely not necessary. Having people around me makes me feel more comfortable in that environment, but also being able to experience things on my own is great. I have come so far from being that shy girl in middle school.
So here I am, being thrown out of my comfort zone and into a new culture. No safety nets included on this one. So thanks for reading this and listening to my experiences in India. It's going to be a very interesting journey come August 25th.
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