Bye.....for now

Well, this is it. The last day in India. I am sitting by the window, the spot that quickly became my usual spot, looking out at the grey buildings. I remember my first morning here, looking out over these same buildings and the same pigeon, who has been keeping me company for 56 days.

Last night we went out and had a wonderful time with newfound friends. I wish so much we could have explored Bombay further, because I feel there is so much more to this city than just the grey, dirty buildings, trash and slums.

Looking back, I have met so many people and seen so much. India is far from the story book India so many of us need to imagine, but rather a mirror, reflecting all of humanity’s traits, including our own. I have cried and laughed, listened and spoken, seen and hidden.

The images of the children in Delhi and Mumbai will forever be in my mind and even this morning I wonder, worry, how these little unanimous ones are faring. But I also remember the smiles and kindness of total strangers who would come to my aid whenever I needed it.

My professor told me that India was a land of extreme opposites and it would simultaneously rip me apart and build me up. She was more right than I could ever have imagined.

To all who have supported, followed and encouraged me to complete this assignment, THANK YOU. I am not sure where this will take me but I hope to see you again India.

What to bring back?!

Whenever I have traveled or lived somewhere, I have always brought home with me some elements of the culture that I liked and our household is by now quite a collection of all my husband’s and my travels and experiences, both in cuisine, decorations and philosophies. East, west, north and south all come together, blended in a liberal and conservative setting. Yes, we have quite a household, but I love it.

This trip should be no different and I have already been searching the internet for spices and ingredients I will need for some of the delicious dishes and flavors I have been introduced to. Indians have a gift to take the most boring ingredients in the world (like lentils) and make them taste like the best dish on earth.

I have also found several attitudes and lessons in India I wish to emphasize stronger in our home. After our son David was born, I learned that true perfection lies in the ability to reach beyond perfection and live despite imperfection, or rather with imperfection. Incorporating it again into our household, our home.

That lesson has allowed me to bring back other elements from India. Here, you really need to look beyond the preconceived notions in your mind. If you had come here, expecting the “perfection”, some kind of experience of the India in the novels and gone-by days, you would have been immensely disappointed. India is nothing like your imagination, the story books. As we flew back in over Mumbai, the pilot gave his usual speech of weather conditions etc. and he started out by welcoming us to “Mumbai, the city of dreams”. I nearly chocked, wondering if he actually had visual contact or was flying blind only. Surely, he did not mean that this filthy, grey, trash and slum filled area sprawled out over miles and miles, was someone’s dream. It made me wonder about Bombay and the hopes and dreams of the people who live here. Even in the wonderful places we have visited, I have seen things that are so remote from the visions of “mystical India”.

If you had come here, expecting the “perfection”, the fortunate Westerner who has come to graciously save the poor people of India, they would have let you have your hallucination and you would have brought back nothing more than more building blocks to your pride.

If you had come here, expecting the “perfection”, seeking to be treated to the “experience of mystical India” you will get that, but in that case you bring nothing home with you. The “experience” is like cotton candy, worth nothing.

There is nowhere on earth you will be treated to the mystical experience we Westerners think we are entitled to, just because we can travel to far and distant places. This trip has reinforced my belief that nobody is entitled to anything! We like to think we are but in reality our place on earth is about duty, not self serving. Even in India.

When you come to India, you need to be able to see beyond "perfection". Leave your preconceived notions and pride and story books behind. It is just clutter taking up valuable space in your suitcase. The only thing you should bring with you is your willingness to share without needing something in return. Then, suddenly your suitcase will overflow with treasures.

Goa

For the first time while in India, I slept past 5 am and got up at 6:30. I haven’t felt this rested so long. We enjoyed a great breakfast buffet and then treated ourselves to a massage to the astounding price of $14. Nearly felt guilty.

Afterwards, we headed for the beach. The hotel is only about 200 m. from the beach and we had all these weeks looked forward to a long walk on the beach, a walk that is not interrupted by people, cars, dogs, trash, water, and anything else we have had to dodge. Just a walk.

We had no intentions of swimming in the ocean and that was a good thing too. During the monsoon season, the ocean gets really rough. Unfortunately, it also meant that it rained a lot. But, we still managed to walk for an hour, albeit a little interrupted by a minor shower. The Arabian Sea roared angry at us and once it got us really good. The beach meets the water at a fairly steep incline which means that the water is fairly deep close to the beach. It also means that the height of the waves can easily be misjudged and sneak up on you. Thank goodness it was warm and windy. It helped drying out.

During our walk, I saw fishermen casting their nets in this rough ocean. One man would stand on the beach while two others would run far out into the wild ocean with the nets. Along the beach, I saw straw huts made of palm leaves, the fishermen’s houses. I was again reminded of how easy my life is.

After a wonderful, but soaked, walk, we returned for some lunch and then headed out to see what Goa had to offer. We were prepared for off-season slack, but Goa completely shuts down during the day. There was nothing to do. When we arrived the night before, I saw a very different Goa, full of life and fun and I had looked forward to exploring that. We had also heard about renting some scooters and sightseeing that way, but unfortunately we didn’t get around to doing so. I wish we had had another day, but at the end of the day we enjoyed another great supper at the grill & bar and retreated for a short night. Our cab left for the airport at 5:00am next morning.

Last day of internship

Today is our last day of the internship!!! I can hardly believe I am writing these words. The last day. Looking back, there were days I felt like I was stuck in cold molasses and other times it went by so fast.

The last two days have gone by writing our final report. The weather was perfect for this task: it rained nearly non-stop. Unfortunately, Hanna got sick. Initially, it looked like she came down with whatever I had caught in Indore/Delhi, but then her stomach decided to join the party. I felt so bad for her; we had hoped so much to be able to make it through without any Delhi-Belly. At least she seems to be coming back on track.

We went in to the office for the last time today to go over our final report with them and it sounds like the liked it. And then it was time to say goodbye to so many wonderful people we have met.

Tonight, we headed to Goa. This is supposed to be a resort area and we decided a long time ago that we would treat ourselves for a day after 7 weeks of intense immersion. We landed at 6:30pm in a completely different India. Goa is an immensely beautiful area with gorgeous mansions and island huts tucked away in rich and lush vegetation and palm trees adding the final architectural touch.

From the airport we took a cab and an hour later, we reached our hotel. During our many travels here, we have already learned that booking a hotel is somewhat like playing Russian roulette. First of all, you prepay the hotels and they are non-refundable. At least the ones we have been in. So it is always a little “exciting” what hides behind door 220. But, just like in Delhi, we lucked out.

The Resort Terra Paraiso is a fabulous place at a very affordable rate. We have a wonderful clean room, a balcony with a table and two chairs and …..HOT water. All day. The grounds are really neat and host a bar & grill that serves really good chicken. Wow, just what we needed after 7 weeks. Unfortunately, we are only here one day, but we will make the most of that day tomorrow.

Wrapping it up

Today was an interesting day. We were invited to a (long!) meeting and were asked to explain our findings to not only the company we are interning with but also a director for another company and a trustee. But, I felt it went very well and we received a message later that they were very impressed!! YAY!

Afterwards, Hanna and I needed a little down town and we went to see the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. It is nothing less than spectacular. I did not take pictures inside, because naturally security is extremely tight, but if you are ever in Bombay, stop and take a look. It is so worthwhile. After having walked through nothing less than a mini-mall with all the exclusive name brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Mochino etc, we decided to have a cup of coffee and cake. A quick look at the prices and we suddenly heard our favorite place in town, Leopolds, calling our names. Leopolds is just a short walk from there.

We splurged and took a cab back to Malad. It is still such a strange feeling to bargain for a cap fee, but it is worthwhile, unless you get a prepaid cab or a Meru cab. One thing about cabs in Bombay: you need to know how to get to your destination because 99% of the cab drivers and rikshaw drivers actually don’t know how to get there. This is such a strange concept for me, coming from a country where a cab is your sure way to get where you need to be. But here, they expect you to give them directions. They also see no problem in stopping for gas, mouth fresheners, bottle of water, bathroom break or any other errands they need while you are in the cab. It took us over 1.5 hour to get back. In a hot cab.

All in all, a good day. I am definitely so richly blessed.

Our first goodbye

Today we headed down to Utan to say goodbye to one of the fabric producers. Zia, Shameema, and their three kids will for always be in our memories and they have taught us so much. They managed to reach across the cultural barriers and explain some things that others left out. They treated us like family.

We also picked up some items they had specifically produced just for us and we were after another delicious Shameema lunch treated to fresh coconut water.

If everything goes according to schedule, today should have been the last day we took the trains. I will not miss it. I am so tired of being pushed and pulled in a way that resembles more a fighting ring than a public transportation method. If you are the unlucky one at the end of the line trying to get out of the train you have quite a fight ahead of you. By the time the first passenger has tried to get off the train, the 100 waiting on the platform have decided that they have excerpted enough patience and start pushing their way in. Good luck getting off. No, I will definitely not miss the commuter trains in Mumbai.

Tomorrow, we have a meeting with the president of the NGO we visited in Kutch. I should be getting some sleep but instead my head cannot rest, thinking about what to do with all the things I learned today.

And then there were 10 left

Unbelievable, we have only 10 days left in India!!

We have started writing our final report and looking back on all my notes and research I am amazed how much I have learned and accomplished in such a short time. There were times we really worried about our productivity, but it is now all coming together.

We also took some time this weekend to recover a little from last week’s strange trip and I am again so happy we have this apartment where we can just retreat, even if it was horribly expensive.

Upon much request (and with permission from our landlord), I have posted some pictures of our little haven. It has a room that functions as living room/dining room and entrance, one bedroom, two bathrooms and a kitchen. May not look like a lot, but it has done exactly what we needed, except for the water situation. Not sure what exactly is going on, but it seems like we have even less water since we came back from Indore, and yet Mumbai has not tightened the restrictions. In fact, they have been talking about opening up more water. Hm..

The little spigot a feet from the ground (last picture), right next to the stool has been my cold “shower” for the past nearly 7 weeks, except for the two warm showers I enjoyed in Delhi. I will not miss this aspect. But it has been good to have a place we could claim for ourselves and leave the strong impressions of India on the doorstep.

It is a strange feeling going into our last week here. Part of me cannot wait until I board the plane that will carry me back to my family and part of me feels I am not done here. I have learned so much in such a short time and just hope I will be able to do something useful with it all. For now, I just hope that I can leave something behind that can be useful for the phenomenal people I have met.