I really think this post title says it all. This is the first time I've had a moment to myself and my homestay had wifi at the same time....well...that and I wasn't passed out. It's been quite a learning experience so far and that's an understatement.
When we arrived in Nilambur, we were greeted at a hotel by a small party of men that were the organizers of this project. We had tea (this is a reoccurring theme) and introduced ourselves. Afterwards, we were taken to where we would be staying. At the beginning of it all, we were assured that we would have our own house and housekeeper. This was not the case at all. Three of us would be staying with a family. This did not go over well. This, too, is an understatement. Thankfully, I think we were too tired to put up a fight so everyone had a little cry in their bed and fell asleep.
The next morning I decided to treat this as an adventure and hopefully things would look up. So, I put on the Bonjour song from Beauty and the Beast as I sat in bed and looked out the window. That helped tremendously. I think we all need a little Disney therapy once in a while.
We were supposed to go shopping for little things we needed but we weren't able to because the shops were on strike and everything was closed. Instead we met at the other homestay house and met together to discuss the upcoming months. That quickly turned into tea time and nap time. No complaints here. Eventually we had dinner and went home to our wifi-less house. No bitterness here.
The next few days were VERY long. I have been going to bed at 9:45 and waking up at 5:30 or 6:00 each day. Mostly this is because there is a mosque nearby that has the call to prayer (adhan) at dawn. Actually I fould out that Nilambur has a mix of Muslims, Hindus, and Christians all living together in what seems to be harmony...from what I can tell. It's quite nice. Except for the 5:20 am wake up call. Anyways, we've been meeting with our Indian teacher colleagues that will be helping us with class in a seminar/workshop that has been preparing us for what is to come. I loved meeting them and I can't wait to get to know them better! I'll have to make a post about them soon. The workshop goes until about 5:00 pm and for the past two days we first went to the oldest teak plantation in the world and then the next day, the teak museum...so if you have any questions about teak...I'm your woman.
Today was the last day of the workshop and the Minister of Tourism in Kerala stopped by to say hello. I was asked to sing (I also think this will be a reoccurring theme) and so I did a quick O mio babbino caro. Maybe this is the beginning of my Indian career?
Right now I'm trying to relax before it's time to leave for dinner with some fancy people at a fancy place. In the meantime tell me: what was the biggest culture shock you've ever had? I'm still trying to catch up to it all and the wifi isn't always there to catch it with me so until next time: Namaskaram!
When we arrived in Nilambur, we were greeted at a hotel by a small party of men that were the organizers of this project. We had tea (this is a reoccurring theme) and introduced ourselves. Afterwards, we were taken to where we would be staying. At the beginning of it all, we were assured that we would have our own house and housekeeper. This was not the case at all. Three of us would be staying with a family. This did not go over well. This, too, is an understatement. Thankfully, I think we were too tired to put up a fight so everyone had a little cry in their bed and fell asleep.
The next morning I decided to treat this as an adventure and hopefully things would look up. So, I put on the Bonjour song from Beauty and the Beast as I sat in bed and looked out the window. That helped tremendously. I think we all need a little Disney therapy once in a while.
We were supposed to go shopping for little things we needed but we weren't able to because the shops were on strike and everything was closed. Instead we met at the other homestay house and met together to discuss the upcoming months. That quickly turned into tea time and nap time. No complaints here. Eventually we had dinner and went home to our wifi-less house. No bitterness here.
The next few days were VERY long. I have been going to bed at 9:45 and waking up at 5:30 or 6:00 each day. Mostly this is because there is a mosque nearby that has the call to prayer (adhan) at dawn. Actually I fould out that Nilambur has a mix of Muslims, Hindus, and Christians all living together in what seems to be harmony...from what I can tell. It's quite nice. Except for the 5:20 am wake up call. Anyways, we've been meeting with our Indian teacher colleagues that will be helping us with class in a seminar/workshop that has been preparing us for what is to come. I loved meeting them and I can't wait to get to know them better! I'll have to make a post about them soon. The workshop goes until about 5:00 pm and for the past two days we first went to the oldest teak plantation in the world and then the next day, the teak museum...so if you have any questions about teak...I'm your woman.
Today was the last day of the workshop and the Minister of Tourism in Kerala stopped by to say hello. I was asked to sing (I also think this will be a reoccurring theme) and so I did a quick O mio babbino caro. Maybe this is the beginning of my Indian career?
Right now I'm trying to relax before it's time to leave for dinner with some fancy people at a fancy place. In the meantime tell me: what was the biggest culture shock you've ever had? I'm still trying to catch up to it all and the wifi isn't always there to catch it with me so until next time: Namaskaram!
My biggest culture shock was adjusting to the general bathroom situation in Europe - specifically Vienna. They have a TOILET room, and THEN they have a bathroom with a shower and a sink. The toilet room did not have a sink. Also, there is no water in the toilet bowl. So when you go, it ends up on a shelf at the bottom of the toilet until you flush it. That was a weird adjustment. And there are no bathroom fans to make safe noises while you use the facility.
ReplyDeleteI was dining with friends and family in a large modern barn in Spain, and when I asked where the loo was, several of the adult women walked me outside where we found a semi-private wide open field, squatted and did the "circle-squirt" (from what I could tell). Very nice to carry on and chat with friends whilst taking care of your bladders.
ReplyDelete"I have con-fi-dence in confidence a-lone...."