Today is exactly two weeks in India. Huh.. it has been hectic. I'm taking it as a challenge that I am going to endure and come out stronger.
My initial culture shock that lasted 2 days where I had my heart pounding 24/7 and wanted to get tickets back I subsided and I am feeling pretty much relaxed. Even though the trafic is still a huge challenge for me. Crossing the street always involves risking my life, getting horned at . Well, horn is used here for everything all the time. It means, watch out, hello, I'm coming, I'm going, get out of my way, go, don't go, bye, hello beautiful, hello ugly... etc. Just all the time horning. My office is located in a suburban area, very beautiful, reminds me of Nõmme a lot, all one family houses with garderns, only exception is that there are palm trees :D So and these streets there are very quiet and when I walk around them and a car or a bike passes they always horn, its not that we hadn't excanged looks, its just I dunno for what. Used to freak me out, but now I'm practicing selective hearing.
In the street I am being looked at a lot. In Chennai there aren't almost at all tourist, so being white here really sticks out. Anyhow I learned that the best weapon against the looks is to look back and smile. Then always I get back a huge warm smile with big black eyes and flashing white teeth. Children just sometimes come to me touch my arm and then look at me and smile so happily, thats ok, thats cute.
So to work I go by train, I feel like a grown up already haha, taking two trains and it takes me about one hour from home to office if the trains come instantly. Here there are in the trains such things as ladies compartments which of course means these compartments are only for women. And in these I feel much better than in the mixed ones, since the looking at me is lil bit mure subtle. Of course they look, but not so intensly. But in general I feel that I am in a zoo and I am the animal, some people turn their heads so much that it seems that they're almost braking their necks in the process.... so after being few times in the mixed compartments, I switched to ladies one. Even though I hate this kind of segregation of sexes.
Anyhow, but the aiesec guys were like yeah Eva you should take the ladies one and pick someone up haha. That actually almost happened another day. Well I was picked up. Some very beautiful woman dressed all in yellow in this Indian dress (not sari, but the other one, made from three pieces) smiled and started a conversation like where are you from etc. And then said yesyes, I saw you also yesterday in Fort station. Haha, I replied, but I didn't see you, Yeh, this is the thing here, they all see me, but I don't see them. Well I see, but there is just so so many people.. 7 million... Tallinn was 400 thousand. I was this close to ask her out for a coffee, since she was cool, beautiful and educated, but then I said, ok so see you again on the train. If it happens nice, if not, well there will be another one :)
Its hard to get contact with women here. All the aiesecer are men who I've met until now, and women are usually in the shadow of men. One day V invited me to join his family to Pulicat lake and I met 11 members of his family. It was very nice we took a boat over a lake to a small sandy island. It was a lagoon, on the other side of the island was the see. Oh and there was also this cutest girl ever 1,5-year-old Mithu, ufff so big black eyes and such a sweet smile. First she didn't dare to look at me and always looked away when I took a look at her, but by the evening she was playing with my hands and bracelet, it was so so sweet :)
I am trying to get the female perspective of India. So me and her aunt went for a lil walk (about 200 m from the others) and then she said, wait, lets wait for the gents as well. I was like, why can't we walk to the sea alone? And she said, yes, but was better like that and that she was brought up that way. So her husband and another joined. Yeh.. my European upbringing by hippi parents is totally abnormal here. Haha..
Uff and today I finally bought a camera and will start documenting the contrasts. And the masses of people.
Now I' realizing without how many luxuries is totally OK to live. So I don't have hot water, but its ok, if the coldest weather is +26 :D and soon it will be like +40, so I'm not complaining. Just the morning shower is a bit challenging. The washing mashine is from stone age, I have to let the water in, then make it spin, then drain, then new water in, then spin, .. hard work :D and then squeeze it by hand. The fridge is almost not working, milk goes bad by the second day.
About the apartment - I decided to stay in this dump called Egmore :D because V (my boss, who has become more of a friend by now, he is 25 and an exaiesecar himself, has been to 2 internships, one in Ghana and another in France, so he knows whats this trainee life about) organized 3 cleaners to come and clean it. They of course did it the Indian style, using the same mop first on floor then on shelves. That kind of cleaning, no comments. No matter.. all the piles of garbage were cleared out and I cleaned once more after them using the European Eva style and now its tolerable. Since first days I was alone in the apartment, but now I have a Chinese roommate, a Kenyan and a Indonesian, until now all girls and well the apartment is pretty full now. Umm and I chose actually the wrong room--- I finally took the one with balcony, but now I understand that its not such a great thing, since everyone are constantly coming and going to the balcony and also I have to share the bathroom with four people. Oh well.. so much about privacy in this country :D
My initial culture shock that lasted 2 days where I had my heart pounding 24/7 and wanted to get tickets back I subsided and I am feeling pretty much relaxed. Even though the trafic is still a huge challenge for me. Crossing the street always involves risking my life, getting horned at . Well, horn is used here for everything all the time. It means, watch out, hello, I'm coming, I'm going, get out of my way, go, don't go, bye, hello beautiful, hello ugly... etc. Just all the time horning. My office is located in a suburban area, very beautiful, reminds me of Nõmme a lot, all one family houses with garderns, only exception is that there are palm trees :D So and these streets there are very quiet and when I walk around them and a car or a bike passes they always horn, its not that we hadn't excanged looks, its just I dunno for what. Used to freak me out, but now I'm practicing selective hearing.
In the street I am being looked at a lot. In Chennai there aren't almost at all tourist, so being white here really sticks out. Anyhow I learned that the best weapon against the looks is to look back and smile. Then always I get back a huge warm smile with big black eyes and flashing white teeth. Children just sometimes come to me touch my arm and then look at me and smile so happily, thats ok, thats cute.
So to work I go by train, I feel like a grown up already haha, taking two trains and it takes me about one hour from home to office if the trains come instantly. Here there are in the trains such things as ladies compartments which of course means these compartments are only for women. And in these I feel much better than in the mixed ones, since the looking at me is lil bit mure subtle. Of course they look, but not so intensly. But in general I feel that I am in a zoo and I am the animal, some people turn their heads so much that it seems that they're almost braking their necks in the process.... so after being few times in the mixed compartments, I switched to ladies one. Even though I hate this kind of segregation of sexes.
Anyhow, but the aiesec guys were like yeah Eva you should take the ladies one and pick someone up haha. That actually almost happened another day. Well I was picked up. Some very beautiful woman dressed all in yellow in this Indian dress (not sari, but the other one, made from three pieces) smiled and started a conversation like where are you from etc. And then said yesyes, I saw you also yesterday in Fort station. Haha, I replied, but I didn't see you, Yeh, this is the thing here, they all see me, but I don't see them. Well I see, but there is just so so many people.. 7 million... Tallinn was 400 thousand. I was this close to ask her out for a coffee, since she was cool, beautiful and educated, but then I said, ok so see you again on the train. If it happens nice, if not, well there will be another one :)
Its hard to get contact with women here. All the aiesecer are men who I've met until now, and women are usually in the shadow of men. One day V invited me to join his family to Pulicat lake and I met 11 members of his family. It was very nice we took a boat over a lake to a small sandy island. It was a lagoon, on the other side of the island was the see. Oh and there was also this cutest girl ever 1,5-year-old Mithu, ufff so big black eyes and such a sweet smile. First she didn't dare to look at me and always looked away when I took a look at her, but by the evening she was playing with my hands and bracelet, it was so so sweet :)
I am trying to get the female perspective of India. So me and her aunt went for a lil walk (about 200 m from the others) and then she said, wait, lets wait for the gents as well. I was like, why can't we walk to the sea alone? And she said, yes, but was better like that and that she was brought up that way. So her husband and another joined. Yeh.. my European upbringing by hippi parents is totally abnormal here. Haha..
Uff and today I finally bought a camera and will start documenting the contrasts. And the masses of people.
Now I' realizing without how many luxuries is totally OK to live. So I don't have hot water, but its ok, if the coldest weather is +26 :D and soon it will be like +40, so I'm not complaining. Just the morning shower is a bit challenging. The washing mashine is from stone age, I have to let the water in, then make it spin, then drain, then new water in, then spin, .. hard work :D and then squeeze it by hand. The fridge is almost not working, milk goes bad by the second day.
About the apartment - I decided to stay in this dump called Egmore :D because V (my boss, who has become more of a friend by now, he is 25 and an exaiesecar himself, has been to 2 internships, one in Ghana and another in France, so he knows whats this trainee life about) organized 3 cleaners to come and clean it. They of course did it the Indian style, using the same mop first on floor then on shelves. That kind of cleaning, no comments. No matter.. all the piles of garbage were cleared out and I cleaned once more after them using the European Eva style and now its tolerable. Since first days I was alone in the apartment, but now I have a Chinese roommate, a Kenyan and a Indonesian, until now all girls and well the apartment is pretty full now. Umm and I chose actually the wrong room--- I finally took the one with balcony, but now I understand that its not such a great thing, since everyone are constantly coming and going to the balcony and also I have to share the bathroom with four people. Oh well.. so much about privacy in this country :D
Evita, tore sinust lugeda. Tundub, et päris keeruline on kõige selle uuega harjuda. Aga sa oled tubli. Ma tahaksin ka saada endasse täiesti uusi mõtteid ja emotsioone. See oleks väga hea. Ole tubli ja keep posting! Fotosid tahaks kõigest näha- sinu korter, tänavad, töökoht jne
ReplyDeleteEva, sain just Riinult su blogi aadressi. Nii põnev on su tegemistest lugeda! Soovin sulle jõudu ja jaksu ning muidugi ootan huviga pilte! Tervitused Marburgist.
ReplyDelete