So it has officially been one week since I have arrived in India--
We spent a total of one night in Mumbai before we headed over to a retreat location in Durshet- which was about a 3 hour bus ride. For the next 3 days, we underwent orientation at a forest lodge. It was interesting to say the least, just because I've never really been camping or anything, but I saw a ton of unique insects and slimy creatures... took some pictures, so I'll add them as soon as I can!
During orientation, we became introduced to the types of foods that we would be eating for the next 4 months, we went over things like culture shock & cultural sensitivity, etc. Beyond that, we also went on a hike up a mountain to visit two tribal villages. It was eye-opening seeing how the women of the village started their early mornings with all of the work they had for the day- including getting water from the well, washing their clothes and dishes in the rainwater, and preparing for the multitude of tasks that lay ahead of them. The trek was also filled with beautiful views of the scenery surrounding us, and LOTS of slips and falls. It is currently rainy season here, so there is intense rain pretty much every day. It's taking a lot to get used to but apparently it is supposed to end by the beginning of October... so I am looking forward to that!
After a long 3 days, we got on the bus and headed to PUNE! Once there, we were paired off into groups of 2 and each group was given an Indian buddy to show us around- where to eat, where to run errands & where to get stuff done. Later into the evening, we were dropped off at our homestays :)
I live with a 53 year old woman who is absolutely wonderful. Her son is a practicing lawyer in the Mumbai high courts & thus lives in Mumbai with his wife. I haven't met him yet but hopefully in the coming months I will have a chance to. As I have spent the last week or so getting to know my host mother, I have come to realize how lucky I was in being placed here. She had heart surgery in July so her health is not the greatest at the moment but she's incredibly strong & loves to talk and laugh. She has her own terrace and in her free time she loves to look after her plants and flowers. She uses some of these in her cooking as well! She uses her own mangoes to make sweet mango pickle (which is super yummy by the way), she uses her own garlic, and much more. I think my favorite though, is the fact that I am able to go up onto her terrace and pick myself some jasmine flowers... which is BY FAR my favorite flower, and smell. I'll have to get some pictures up asap :)
I am also super lucky to be living about a 5 minute walk from where the program center & classes are. So every morning I am able to leave the house at 750am, get to the program center at 8am, eat some yummy breakfast and then head over to classes at around 820! Unfortunately most others have about a 10-15 minute auto/rickshaw ride as they live a little whiles away from the main road that we are on.
Classes began on Monday and I'm taking: Environmental Perspectives, Development Economics, Social Justice, and Contemporary India. I like all of them so far and the professors seem to be great- especially for environmental perspectives. He's got an amazing sense of humor and is extremely witty- which I am definitely a fan of. My internship doesn't start until November but I think I like the way the program has set it up. I will have classes for the first 2 months (Sept & Oct) and the month of November is focused entirely on our internship- we will be working 6hrs a day, 5 days a week right up to the week we leave.
All in all, it has been anything but boring so far, here in Pune. I definitely miss AU and everyone in the states (a lot a lot) but I'm excited for what the coming weeks and months have in store for me... and of course, I'll be updating this blog now that I finally have some internet connection of my own. Stay tuned! :)
Love,
Sai
P.S.- Today is a holiday here in India known as Ganpati (for Lord Ganesh) so there are no classes. I did a puja with my host mom & even helped cook some food (yeah, for some of you reading this, shocked?) BUT I'm saving all this for another blog entry. Don't want to make this one too long ;)
I live with a 53 year old woman who is absolutely wonderful. Her son is a practicing lawyer in the Mumbai high courts & thus lives in Mumbai with his wife. I haven't met him yet but hopefully in the coming months I will have a chance to. As I have spent the last week or so getting to know my host mother, I have come to realize how lucky I was in being placed here. She had heart surgery in July so her health is not the greatest at the moment but she's incredibly strong & loves to talk and laugh. She has her own terrace and in her free time she loves to look after her plants and flowers. She uses some of these in her cooking as well! She uses her own mangoes to make sweet mango pickle (which is super yummy by the way), she uses her own garlic, and much more. I think my favorite though, is the fact that I am able to go up onto her terrace and pick myself some jasmine flowers... which is BY FAR my favorite flower, and smell. I'll have to get some pictures up asap :)
I am also super lucky to be living about a 5 minute walk from where the program center & classes are. So every morning I am able to leave the house at 750am, get to the program center at 8am, eat some yummy breakfast and then head over to classes at around 820! Unfortunately most others have about a 10-15 minute auto/rickshaw ride as they live a little whiles away from the main road that we are on.
Classes began on Monday and I'm taking: Environmental Perspectives, Development Economics, Social Justice, and Contemporary India. I like all of them so far and the professors seem to be great- especially for environmental perspectives. He's got an amazing sense of humor and is extremely witty- which I am definitely a fan of. My internship doesn't start until November but I think I like the way the program has set it up. I will have classes for the first 2 months (Sept & Oct) and the month of November is focused entirely on our internship- we will be working 6hrs a day, 5 days a week right up to the week we leave.
All in all, it has been anything but boring so far, here in Pune. I definitely miss AU and everyone in the states (a lot a lot) but I'm excited for what the coming weeks and months have in store for me... and of course, I'll be updating this blog now that I finally have some internet connection of my own. Stay tuned! :)
Love,
Sai
P.S.- Today is a holiday here in India known as Ganpati (for Lord Ganesh) so there are no classes. I did a puja with my host mom & even helped cook some food (yeah, for some of you reading this, shocked?) BUT I'm saving all this for another blog entry. Don't want to make this one too long ;)
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