This has indeed been a crazy month, I’ve been so overly busy and I can honestly tell you that blogging hasnt been a top priority on my list. Ill try to make up for it now though.
There was the country celebration with the rotex and amazing danish pastries! I went to Safala with Shaila-auntie (my hostmom) and Janina, and enjoyed the beautiful sunset over the arabian sea.
The ‘october heat’ has indeed been equally draining and energizing. I love it in spite of the dull feeling you sometimes get after too long a day in the sun. Its one of the main reasons of why I came to India - the sun! As long as I remeber to drink a lot of water during the day I can just enjoy the light and totally recharge on energy. All in all I appreciate this bright season that is coming and replacing the monsoon.
Last weekend Janina and I went for a weekend in Lonavala with Janavi from rotex. She was turning 18, and we went there by bus along with all of her friends. We had a lot of fun, and this time it wasnt the sunset but the sunrise that I was fascinated by ;) We left from Charni Rd station on saturday morning and were back late in the afternoon on sunday.
I recieved a parcel from my Grandma with a couple bags of (very needed) liqourice and a donald duck magazine :) And Anna (my best friend from home) sent me a package that I am not allowed to open untill the 31st - my birthday - she wrote it like 10000 times on the outside of the parcel! tusind tak søde unge.
I already slowly started celebrating my birthday, Janina had taken me for the breakfastbuffet in the Taj Mahal Hotel (I have to do the same at her birthday though)! We were all dressed up, and decided to take a cab there, even though its like 100 metres from her house. It was soooo classy! I loved it, doubt I have ever eaten that much for breakfast. We had been fasting since noon on the previous day becouse we wanted to be able to eat like crazy. We ate non-stop for 2 hours and 15 minutes when we just couldnt have any more without cracking, and even around dinnertime I was still uncomfortably full! But it was good - definately good.
Later that same day, we went to meet with Nishita, rotex member who had gone on exchange to Germany, and her friends. We met in one of the many hookah-bars ( på dansk: vandpibe-caféer), smoking and talking all night. Then we walked across the street to see the scarred building across from Nariman Point, where the terrorists had hit 2 years ago, it was a bit odd to see how they, in preparation to Obamas upcoming visit, had repainted the entire front and made small red circles around the bulletholes in the brickwall and doors...
On the 30th I will be moving my hostfamilies. I will leave the Vyas-family to go live with Bal and Nilima Inamdar. They too live in Goregaon west, quite nearby to my current family. On my 2nd day there, we will be hosting a birthday dinner for all the inbounds, it will be really fun! Im so excited.
My parents, brother and grandmother sent me money for my birthday. I have already spent the money from my brother on buying the most amazing orange sari with a gold and purple border, and I have already handed it in to get the blouse stitched:)
111 days, almost 4 months, 2 hostfamilies, 2 trips outside Mumbai, 10000000000 new friends, a new language, a new culture, a new country... one third of my exchange-year has gone by, and Im still enjoying every moment. It still feels like I just arrived, just when I have fallen into a slow rythm something happens and all things are shaken up again (in a good way). This is indeed Incredible India.
Since my small (blue) camera drowned during the junglewalk in the monsoon season, my photoghaphy is only possible with my big Nikon. Because of the overly crowded trains, I prefer not to bring that to townside, and therefore I do not have a lot of photos from the past month :( ill upload some as they magically appear on my memorycard...
take care
Maria
28 October 2010
16 October 2010
End Ganpati, Village pictures and 'ek'-ratri (!)
Two pictures from tonight (and the last 9 nights)'s festival -Nav raatri (nine nights). People dance and play with sticks for nine nights in a row. tonight my host mom had rented me an amazing costume and jewellery and we danced all night long !
A bit of snapshots from Safala (the village)
The last Ganpati photo!
A bit of snapshots from Safala (the village)
The last Ganpati photo!
10 October 2010
A weekend in the countryside!
This weekend I went with my host mom and Janina to a small village in Safala. It is the most beautiful place 2 hours north of Mumbai. We were visiting some friends of my hostparents, they are originally from that village but now they live in Mumbai and own a bungalow there.
Day one:
While driving up there friday before noon, it was very hot! Both janina and I were wearing the most comfortable punjabi suits (Salwar-Kameez) so it didnt really matter. We talked all the way up there and had a great time. Half way there we made a halt at a dairy. We got the most amazing mango-lassi’s to drink, and we totally recharged for the remaining hour in the car...
Upon our arrival we were served the first of the many meals of the day. The moment we were done eating we went upstairs to change in to our festive clothes. (Janina and I looked fabulous in our sarees!) And we were off to serve food for the village! See, the family we were hosted by are in to a lot of socialwork for their village, and they had funded a giant food give-away, serving dinner for over 1000 villagers during a religious procession. So we helped hand out the meals for the locals! It was incredibly hot standing there in the sunny afternoon, but it was totally worth it! When we were about to leave, some villagers and the uncle who owns the bungalow we lived in came over and gave us a wool-shawl and a coconut each! We thanked them in hindi (Dhanyawaad/Shukhria)! :)
After serving the village we had gotten an invitation to go to a small farm half an hours driving away... When we came driving up the dirt road in the middle of the indian jungle, we came to a point where we couldnt drive any further. So we got out and walked in our fancy sarees and festive wear for the rest of the way, it wasnt that far, and since it was in the afternoon so the temperature was actually quite pleasant! When we came there we sat down on the porch of a small farmers house built in cow-dunk and sticks! We had energizing fresh coconutwater and ate an amazingly well prepared smoked fish-curry off freshly picked banana leaves! It was great!
I got a tour af the farm with one of the aunties. There were a bunch of banana-, mango-, sitaphal/custard apple- and guavatrees also coconut palmtrees, jasmin flowers, rice fields and the most amazing flower, an ethnic looking white lily, and it had the sweetest most enchanting smell I have ever experienced!!! We plucked some sitaphals and ate them while walking the fields and my host mom brought home a big bag of jasmin flowers that we were to use the next day!
When we came home we were to have dinner, but I wa soooo full from all the earlier meals that I only just tasted before I went to bed after an amazing, beautiful and very tiring day!
Day two:
We woke up at early (7 o’clock) and sat in the kitched drinking chai all morning while we were tying all the jasminflowers from yesterday onto strings that we could tie in our hair or offer to the god in the temple.
After lunch we all got in the car and drove through the sketchiest little jungle roads untill we arrived at the temple. We went inside, did prayers, got prasad (a couple of white sugar-balls some raisins and peanuts that you get in return for your worship) and then we went outside and fed the fish in the temple pond.
Then we walked down a small path and arrived at the beach (or as they spelled it in hindi: Beej)... The arabian sea was one of the most beautiful things I have seen in my life! We rode the most beautiful small horsewagon (actually it was pulled by donkeys) and enjoyed the beauty of nature! The sun was slowly setting and it was arund 6 o’clock. A camel was walking on the beach, Janina and I got a ride on this huge fantastic animal, feeling the rythm of its steps while wathing the sun go down over the indian ocean, the camel was named ‘beautiful’ in hindi and that was excactly what this day was, Beautiful!
Me and Janina really wanted to go all the way out to where the actual water was (the tide was low, so there was over 100 metres of sand we had to walk to get to the ocean). Auntie saw that the sun was about to set, and told us that we had 5 minutes and not more! So we pulled up our salwars and ran as fast as we could out to the beautiful ocean. The black sand mixed with the seawater drenched our pants, but nothing could ruin the magical moment when we reached the edge of the arabian sea! We just stood there for a moment next to eachother, enjoying the silence and seeing nothing but water and sand ! A guy came over and took a photo of us and our amazed and happy faces, and then we went to a small jugle resort to have an overwhelmingly great meal of chicken tikka kebabs, grilled kingprawns almost the size of my palm, fish curry and fried bombay duck (a fish only available in mumbai, with very small eatable bones and a fantastic taste!) before we went home to the bungalow!
But the day was not over yet! Tonight was the 2nd night of the nauraatri festival (it means ‘nine nights’) and you are supposed to dance every evening for 9 nights in a row! Earlier today a woman had come to our house to teach us some Garda (the traditional dance that everyone does when dancing on the streets) so we were all prepped and ready after changing out of our muddy suits!
So first we just went outside the gate and danced with the neighbours, then we got in the car and drove to a bunch of different places, one even bigger than the other! we danced all night, had a blast and when we came home, we went straight to sleep out of pure exhaustion from this amazing day!
This morning we drove home, and I was(and I am still) extremely tired. So after dropping Janina at the station I went straight home, had my lunch and a nap :)
I didnt take too many photos since I have thought a lot about how I dont want to experience everything through the lens of my camera, the ones I did snap will be uploaded once I am done editing and sorting them out (maybe tomorrow, maybe next week)
Day one:
While driving up there friday before noon, it was very hot! Both janina and I were wearing the most comfortable punjabi suits (Salwar-Kameez) so it didnt really matter. We talked all the way up there and had a great time. Half way there we made a halt at a dairy. We got the most amazing mango-lassi’s to drink, and we totally recharged for the remaining hour in the car...
Upon our arrival we were served the first of the many meals of the day. The moment we were done eating we went upstairs to change in to our festive clothes. (Janina and I looked fabulous in our sarees!) And we were off to serve food for the village! See, the family we were hosted by are in to a lot of socialwork for their village, and they had funded a giant food give-away, serving dinner for over 1000 villagers during a religious procession. So we helped hand out the meals for the locals! It was incredibly hot standing there in the sunny afternoon, but it was totally worth it! When we were about to leave, some villagers and the uncle who owns the bungalow we lived in came over and gave us a wool-shawl and a coconut each! We thanked them in hindi (Dhanyawaad/Shukhria)! :)
After serving the village we had gotten an invitation to go to a small farm half an hours driving away... When we came driving up the dirt road in the middle of the indian jungle, we came to a point where we couldnt drive any further. So we got out and walked in our fancy sarees and festive wear for the rest of the way, it wasnt that far, and since it was in the afternoon so the temperature was actually quite pleasant! When we came there we sat down on the porch of a small farmers house built in cow-dunk and sticks! We had energizing fresh coconutwater and ate an amazingly well prepared smoked fish-curry off freshly picked banana leaves! It was great!
I got a tour af the farm with one of the aunties. There were a bunch of banana-, mango-, sitaphal/custard apple- and guavatrees also coconut palmtrees, jasmin flowers, rice fields and the most amazing flower, an ethnic looking white lily, and it had the sweetest most enchanting smell I have ever experienced!!! We plucked some sitaphals and ate them while walking the fields and my host mom brought home a big bag of jasmin flowers that we were to use the next day!
When we came home we were to have dinner, but I wa soooo full from all the earlier meals that I only just tasted before I went to bed after an amazing, beautiful and very tiring day!
Day two:
We woke up at early (7 o’clock) and sat in the kitched drinking chai all morning while we were tying all the jasminflowers from yesterday onto strings that we could tie in our hair or offer to the god in the temple.
After lunch we all got in the car and drove through the sketchiest little jungle roads untill we arrived at the temple. We went inside, did prayers, got prasad (a couple of white sugar-balls some raisins and peanuts that you get in return for your worship) and then we went outside and fed the fish in the temple pond.
Then we walked down a small path and arrived at the beach (or as they spelled it in hindi: Beej)... The arabian sea was one of the most beautiful things I have seen in my life! We rode the most beautiful small horsewagon (actually it was pulled by donkeys) and enjoyed the beauty of nature! The sun was slowly setting and it was arund 6 o’clock. A camel was walking on the beach, Janina and I got a ride on this huge fantastic animal, feeling the rythm of its steps while wathing the sun go down over the indian ocean, the camel was named ‘beautiful’ in hindi and that was excactly what this day was, Beautiful!
Me and Janina really wanted to go all the way out to where the actual water was (the tide was low, so there was over 100 metres of sand we had to walk to get to the ocean). Auntie saw that the sun was about to set, and told us that we had 5 minutes and not more! So we pulled up our salwars and ran as fast as we could out to the beautiful ocean. The black sand mixed with the seawater drenched our pants, but nothing could ruin the magical moment when we reached the edge of the arabian sea! We just stood there for a moment next to eachother, enjoying the silence and seeing nothing but water and sand ! A guy came over and took a photo of us and our amazed and happy faces, and then we went to a small jugle resort to have an overwhelmingly great meal of chicken tikka kebabs, grilled kingprawns almost the size of my palm, fish curry and fried bombay duck (a fish only available in mumbai, with very small eatable bones and a fantastic taste!) before we went home to the bungalow!
But the day was not over yet! Tonight was the 2nd night of the nauraatri festival (it means ‘nine nights’) and you are supposed to dance every evening for 9 nights in a row! Earlier today a woman had come to our house to teach us some Garda (the traditional dance that everyone does when dancing on the streets) so we were all prepped and ready after changing out of our muddy suits!
So first we just went outside the gate and danced with the neighbours, then we got in the car and drove to a bunch of different places, one even bigger than the other! we danced all night, had a blast and when we came home, we went straight to sleep out of pure exhaustion from this amazing day!
This morning we drove home, and I was(and I am still) extremely tired. So after dropping Janina at the station I went straight home, had my lunch and a nap :)
I didnt take too many photos since I have thought a lot about how I dont want to experience everything through the lens of my camera, the ones I did snap will be uploaded once I am done editing and sorting them out (maybe tomorrow, maybe next week)
3 October 2010
A quarter of my exchange is done!
Everyone at home has now been asking for a new post for quite a whilenow. Im sorry for the long gaps between my updates but I must point out that before Im able to write amazing posts about all my new experiences, I actually have to experince them!
So much has happened since last time I made a blog-post, and I wont write about everything, because that would bore both me and my readers to death before i finish.
3 months has passed, and a quarter of my stay is now completed... Yesterday I got a mail informing me about my returnticket - I am leaving on the 7th of july, after 362 days in incredible India! I felt so surreal to be reminded that at one point this year will come to an end, I still remember the thrill of reading a mail wherein I was referred to as an Inbound instead of an outbound!
October has now come, and with it came overwhelming temperatures(yesterday we reached 39∘and today its even hotter!)... Its vital that I remember to bring my waterbottle everywhere I go, and I try to have fresh coconutwater on a daily basis.
A couple of days ago Janina, my good american friend, slept over at my place. We had spent the entire day shopping for fabric and dressmaterials, and my hostmom had taken us to this big wholesale place where we could get some amazing materials for our indian outfits - cause thats another thing I have to tell all of you! I am going to start wearing traditional indian clothes (salwar kameez and stuff like that) every monday, wednesday and friday(because those are the days I have my kathaklessons, and for the danceclasses one must wear traditional indian. It’s really a royal pain to be carrying all the clothes around all day until the lessons and indian clothes are soooo comfortable, so the easiest thing is just to wear it on a daily basis!)!
2 Days ago Rotex Bombay arranged a country celebration, 4 countries were subjects of the day and Denmark were one of them. Since 11 o’clock in the morning I had been at Aanchals place (indian girl who had gone on exchange to Denmark 5 years ago) and we had been baking a danish pastry called Kringle! It turned out perfect, and I totallyburned my tongue when I tried to eat a small piece the moment it had come out of the oven. It was good that we had baked the pastry, because that was just about all that we had to showcase for all the other in- and rebounds, Christian had brought a retro style football jersey from ‘88 and we played Nephew on the stereo!
And yesterday, Janina and I went to Oneza’s place and we baked pastry all day again! This time we tried to make Hindbærsnitter (?raspberry chops?) and again everything turned out great!
A lot more has happened in the last couple of weeks, but this is all I am giving you for now... I hope everything is going great back in little Denmark.
So long
Maria
So much has happened since last time I made a blog-post, and I wont write about everything, because that would bore both me and my readers to death before i finish.
3 months has passed, and a quarter of my stay is now completed... Yesterday I got a mail informing me about my returnticket - I am leaving on the 7th of july, after 362 days in incredible India! I felt so surreal to be reminded that at one point this year will come to an end, I still remember the thrill of reading a mail wherein I was referred to as an Inbound instead of an outbound!
October has now come, and with it came overwhelming temperatures(yesterday we reached 39∘and today its even hotter!)... Its vital that I remember to bring my waterbottle everywhere I go, and I try to have fresh coconutwater on a daily basis.
A couple of days ago Janina, my good american friend, slept over at my place. We had spent the entire day shopping for fabric and dressmaterials, and my hostmom had taken us to this big wholesale place where we could get some amazing materials for our indian outfits - cause thats another thing I have to tell all of you! I am going to start wearing traditional indian clothes (salwar kameez and stuff like that) every monday, wednesday and friday(because those are the days I have my kathaklessons, and for the danceclasses one must wear traditional indian. It’s really a royal pain to be carrying all the clothes around all day until the lessons and indian clothes are soooo comfortable, so the easiest thing is just to wear it on a daily basis!)!
2 Days ago Rotex Bombay arranged a country celebration, 4 countries were subjects of the day and Denmark were one of them. Since 11 o’clock in the morning I had been at Aanchals place (indian girl who had gone on exchange to Denmark 5 years ago) and we had been baking a danish pastry called Kringle! It turned out perfect, and I totallyburned my tongue when I tried to eat a small piece the moment it had come out of the oven. It was good that we had baked the pastry, because that was just about all that we had to showcase for all the other in- and rebounds, Christian had brought a retro style football jersey from ‘88 and we played Nephew on the stereo!
And yesterday, Janina and I went to Oneza’s place and we baked pastry all day again! This time we tried to make Hindbærsnitter (?raspberry chops?) and again everything turned out great!
A lot more has happened in the last couple of weeks, but this is all I am giving you for now... I hope everything is going great back in little Denmark.
So long
Maria
17 September 2010
Festival season and college start
Again it has been a little while since my last post, and I want to inform you all that I have now started college. Im in FYJC (First Year Junior College) at Jai hind college. In my class there is two other exchange students; Marion from france and Severin from Germany. Everyone at the college is so nice and helpful.
Last week there was a festival here in India called Janmashtami. They celebrate the birth of Krishna. A little jar of curd or butter is hung in a string high above the ground (because krishna used to really like dairy-products :) ) and people form human pyramids and try to break the jar. Usually theres a price for the team that breaks the "dahi handi"...
Then there were Ganpati festival wich is the celebration of Lord Ganesh (the elephantgod), I build a big thermacol temple with my hostfamily and we held a big celebration in the apartment all my host cousins and aunts (i guess?) were there for the celebration.
In the society we had a ganpati too, and on monday I moved back with my first host family, and wednesday we were to emerse the ganpati idol into the water, and there were held a big celebration... Everyone were dancing on the street, it was a GREAT experience.
Last week there was a festival here in India called Janmashtami. They celebrate the birth of Krishna. A little jar of curd or butter is hung in a string high above the ground (because krishna used to really like dairy-products :) ) and people form human pyramids and try to break the jar. Usually theres a price for the team that breaks the "dahi handi"...
Then there were Ganpati festival wich is the celebration of Lord Ganesh (the elephantgod), I build a big thermacol temple with my hostfamily and we held a big celebration in the apartment all my host cousins and aunts (i guess?) were there for the celebration.
In the society we had a ganpati too, and on monday I moved back with my first host family, and wednesday we were to emerse the ganpati idol into the water, and there were held a big celebration... Everyone were dancing on the street, it was a GREAT experience.
1 September 2010
25 August 2010
Indian folkdancing
Right above my hostfamily's apartment, there lives a gujerati family. The daughter is called Karishma, and she is a dancer... Last monday she took me along, her dancetroop (indian folkdancers) had the grand rehearsal before the big show tuesday night. They were great! Everyone were so nice, and I ws invited to come and see the big show the next day.
I went along with Karishmas parents and watched the show... Once again it was great! at least the dancing part was (I must admit that a guy speaking for hours in Gujerathi-language, isn't exactly my cup of tea)
20 August 2010
Yesterday I went to the YMCA boys home (for streetchildren) and vocational training center... Augustinho Fernandes, a rotarian from my club were so nice to show us the place. I had been talking about it with Janina and Trevor, two other inbounds, and they were interested and came along!
These children (all boys in the age of 4-18 yrs) were so excited, at the first place, a boy danced for us, and we got a big group photo with all 25 boys. In the vocational training center, which houses 65 boys, the smallest ones started putting oil in their hair and coming it to look nice for our photos...
It was really great seeing what work the YMCA does for these children, and I think that all three of us were really keen on coming back to do some voluntary work...
18 August 2010
Inbound orientation
Soo... Just a short post ... I went to the inbound orientation last sunday, so great to meet everybody! got to use my french a bit :) and made some friends: a couple of us (Severin and Caspar from Germany and Janina from New HApshire, USA) met up yesterday and went for lunch!
Yesterday I changed hostfamily for 8-10 days, now I live with Arun, Jyoti and Prajwal Chaudhari :) and the day before yesterday we made Chicken Biryani, I think thats my favourite indian dish so far!!! Today I went with Jyoti (hostmom) to the medical center where she works as a dentist. A nurse called Nilima showed me around, and I took some photos.
Next sunday Im having a couple of inbounds over for lunch at my host fam's place...
In a couple of hours we'll be going to my hostdad's sisters place, because her son has his birthday... I gotta get ready!
-Maria
15 August 2010
News
So a short update:
Yesterday I took the train to Bandra to meet up with some in-, out- and rebounds. It was really nice to finally meet someone besides Christian and Neha... We went walking on Carter road and shot a bunch of pics with the indian and the danish flag (I dont have them, but once theyre on facebook they will somehow find their way to the blog :)) Then we went to mcDonalds for lunch (just needed somethin non-veg and non-indian)...
Then when I got home I had to go to the rotary meeting. My 3rd host mom came and told me that she'll pick me up monday around noon, and then Ill live with them for 8-10 days because thay cannot host me at the end of the year. A rotarian came over and invited me to come and see the YMCA-boyshome and vocational training - So ill probably go there in the upcoming week, I think it will be really interesting to see the work that is done for the street children...
Today is the inbound orientation, it will be great to meet all the inbounds (all14) in Mumbai !
-Maria
Yesterday I took the train to Bandra to meet up with some in-, out- and rebounds. It was really nice to finally meet someone besides Christian and Neha... We went walking on Carter road and shot a bunch of pics with the indian and the danish flag (I dont have them, but once theyre on facebook they will somehow find their way to the blog :)) Then we went to mcDonalds for lunch (just needed somethin non-veg and non-indian)...
Then when I got home I had to go to the rotary meeting. My 3rd host mom came and told me that she'll pick me up monday around noon, and then Ill live with them for 8-10 days because thay cannot host me at the end of the year. A rotarian came over and invited me to come and see the YMCA-boyshome and vocational training - So ill probably go there in the upcoming week, I think it will be really interesting to see the work that is done for the street children...
Today is the inbound orientation, it will be great to meet all the inbounds (all14) in Mumbai !
-Maria
11 August 2010
one 10th of my stay is now completed!
Now Im back again, we passed the first month, my host sis (Janhavi) has left India and gone to Denmark and I have gotten through my one-month-crisis (although; to call is a crisis might be to overstate it just a tiny bit)... I knew when coming here, that there would be more rules than I was used to in Denmark. But when I was not allowed to travel alone for 7 stations by train to meet with some other inbounds, outbounds and rebounds. I felt as though I was being treated like a kid. Luckily we sorted things out. My host mom took me to the station during peak hours to show me what it could be like. Seeing that, I were able to see that there might be some sense to their restrictions, and we made a deal that I could go if it was out of peak hours.
2nd class in the Ladies compartment during peak hours (7pm)
And yesterday I actually went, by train, alone, all the way to churchgate (a one hour journey) and then to my college to pick up another sigature needed for the FRRO registration (have lost all respect for anything that has anything to do with the bureaucracy that going on there)... And I met up with Stuti, one of Janhavis friends from the college. We went for ice cream, and she followed me to the station where i took the train to Goregaon and a rickshaw home.
2nd class in the Ladies compartment during peak hours (7pm)
And yesterday I actually went, by train, alone, all the way to churchgate (a one hour journey) and then to my college to pick up another sigature needed for the FRRO registration (have lost all respect for anything that has anything to do with the bureaucracy that going on there)... And I met up with Stuti, one of Janhavis friends from the college. We went for ice cream, and she followed me to the station where i took the train to Goregaon and a rickshaw home.
6 August 2010
Im busy!
Hi everybody whos reading my blog... Its been a while since my last post, but im just going to make a quick update.
Wednesday i was at lunch with my third host family, the Chaudari family, and rushed home for my kathak-lesson (fell very big and clumpsy, and im afraid Ill hit the fan with my hands, if I stretch them over my head!)... Thursday was pretty nice, the sun was shining (!finally!) Janhavi and I went to see eclipse (I have senn it in DK, but she really wanted to go). In the evening we went to dinner at my second host family, the Inamdars. They have a huge apartment, pretty new building and very modern decorated. Really liked talking to their daughter and niece(but she's going back to US in a week).
Today we went to the southside pretty early, and started out by going to the college to get some more papars for the FRRO registration (bureaucrazy !) ... Then we went to grab some lunch at Subway with Stuti, Alisha and Charmi(some of Janhavi's college friends)... After that Thea, a rebound who had gone to France, picked us up, we went for a coffee, and talked for a while :) Thats to be done again!
All for now
Maria
Wednesday i was at lunch with my third host family, the Chaudari family, and rushed home for my kathak-lesson (fell very big and clumpsy, and im afraid Ill hit the fan with my hands, if I stretch them over my head!)... Thursday was pretty nice, the sun was shining (!finally!) Janhavi and I went to see eclipse (I have senn it in DK, but she really wanted to go). In the evening we went to dinner at my second host family, the Inamdars. They have a huge apartment, pretty new building and very modern decorated. Really liked talking to their daughter and niece(but she's going back to US in a week).
Today we went to the southside pretty early, and started out by going to the college to get some more papars for the FRRO registration (bureaucrazy !) ... Then we went to grab some lunch at Subway with Stuti, Alisha and Charmi(some of Janhavi's college friends)... After that Thea, a rebound who had gone to France, picked us up, we went for a coffee, and talked for a while :) Thats to be done again!
All for now
Maria
2 August 2010
Rotary family-meeting
Last night we went to me second rotary meeting. It was "friendshipday" (didn't know what that was until yesterday, and the indians claimed it was a european thing!). And family-night at rotary!
All the rotarians had brought their children. The ladies had a sari-draping before the meeting (a pro sari-lady came, and showed all the different regional ways to drape a sari), Amazing experience. And all of the women had an opinion about how many times you had to fold the end, or if it was 1 or 1,5 times that you had to take the sari around the waist in a southindian wedding draping... The room was buzzing and it only got better when the waiter brought a big plate of pakoras!
then the time for the actual meeting occurred, and Because of family-day, it was filled with Games and people were singing and dancing... Amazing! It sure was different from what I have seen at the meetings in my home club...
Picture from the sari-draping
<3 Maria
All the rotarians had brought their children. The ladies had a sari-draping before the meeting (a pro sari-lady came, and showed all the different regional ways to drape a sari), Amazing experience. And all of the women had an opinion about how many times you had to fold the end, or if it was 1 or 1,5 times that you had to take the sari around the waist in a southindian wedding draping... The room was buzzing and it only got better when the waiter brought a big plate of pakoras!
then the time for the actual meeting occurred, and Because of family-day, it was filled with Games and people were singing and dancing... Amazing! It sure was different from what I have seen at the meetings in my home club...
Picture from the sari-draping
<3 Maria
31 July 2010
Stuff...
Yesterday I spoke to my mother on Skype for the first time in three weeks. She told me that she had just recieved a letter saying that she is accepted at the University of Copenhagen at Psychology, so congrats to my cool mom (and credits to her for having the courage!)... I am also very curios to hear how its going at home, because today is the day that Erica (the american inbound) will arrive in Copenhagen to live with my family!
Back to India: I am getting sort of restless, really wish that college would start soon so I could meet some other people my age (beside Janhavi, Neha and Christian)... But its still nice to have a good amount of time to get used to everything!
The weather is still rainy, and i would like to see the sun sometime soon. Within the last three weeks I have lost every hint of a tan I had when I left Denmark (who would have thought I'd go pale in India?!)... Although I think that in October (one of the two hottest months in India) I'll look back at these days, wishing It could go back to being cloudy! :)
I still love it here, weather and all!
Take care <3
Maria
Back to India: I am getting sort of restless, really wish that college would start soon so I could meet some other people my age (beside Janhavi, Neha and Christian)... But its still nice to have a good amount of time to get used to everything!
The weather is still rainy, and i would like to see the sun sometime soon. Within the last three weeks I have lost every hint of a tan I had when I left Denmark (who would have thought I'd go pale in India?!)... Although I think that in October (one of the two hottest months in India) I'll look back at these days, wishing It could go back to being cloudy! :)
I still love it here, weather and all!
Take care <3
Maria
29 July 2010
So yesterday (wednesday) I was supposed to have dinner with the Chaudari family (my 3rd host family), but the club president asked us all over for a small party. All of my host families and the presidents family was gathered, and had tons of food (I have noticed that I love the food, but I'm not too crazy about the sweets/desserts!)... overate Again, again! The president gave me a lovely rotary-mug. His family had gotten me a traditional indian dress in a nice green color.
Still enjoying... take care
:) Maria
Still enjoying... take care
:) Maria
27 July 2010
One big binge!
I'll just start off by answering one question which i get all the time: I am extremely grateful that I (yet) have not experienced any 'stomach problems' caused by the indian spices!.. And its certainly not because I don't eat them: just last saturday I forgot to search my food for remaining chilies, and accidentally chewed half a small green chili (that doesn't make it any better, cause when it comes to chilies, the smaller and greener, the spicy'er!) and what did I then do? I drank almost a liter of iced water, and when that didn't help, I (on advice from Dadi) started eating the pastries we had baked the previous day, that finally helped, but I felt a slight but constant burn on my tongue for the next two days! ... What did that teach me? Danish pastry rocks! -even in India !
Well to get back to the main topic, my bingeing, I went to a dinner at my counsellors on sunday. My last host-family and a couple from rotary had also come, and all in all we were 14 people (one were an infant, but what the hell)... I think they must have been cooking for 20 hours or something like that, first we had massive amounts of starters, some deep fried vegetables wit green chutney, shallow fried fish, raw vegetables with dip, idli and I think that was about it... The main course consisted of a giant pot of vegetarian pasta, one kind of indian curry, two kinds of thai-curry (one veg and one non-veg), rice and homemade garlic-breads... For dessert we had this indian thing (i don't remember the name, but it was a deep fried dough dipped in sirup) had they put a but of raspberry jam inside, and rolled them in sugar instead, could i easily have been convinced that they were a small edition of what we in Denmark call "Berlinere"
Well to get back to the main topic, my bingeing, I went to a dinner at my counsellors on sunday. My last host-family and a couple from rotary had also come, and all in all we were 14 people (one were an infant, but what the hell)... I think they must have been cooking for 20 hours or something like that, first we had massive amounts of starters, some deep fried vegetables wit green chutney, shallow fried fish, raw vegetables with dip, idli and I think that was about it... The main course consisted of a giant pot of vegetarian pasta, one kind of indian curry, two kinds of thai-curry (one veg and one non-veg), rice and homemade garlic-breads... For dessert we had this indian thing (i don't remember the name, but it was a deep fried dough dipped in sirup) had they put a but of raspberry jam inside, and rolled them in sugar instead, could i easily have been convinced that they were a small edition of what we in Denmark call "Berlinere"
23 July 2010
bureaucracy and a pair of shorts.
So now I'm back in English.
Today we were very busy, left the house around 7.45 to avoid the worst traffic jams(not with much luck if you ask me!)... It was raining heavily all morning(and when I say heavily, I mean HEAVILY!!!). First we went to the danish consulate, no problems there.
The bureaucracy didn't start until we reached the police station. Hoping for the best, expecting the worst; we went into the station, The receptionist sent us to the 3rd floor where we had to wait for half an hour just to be informed of all the documents that were missing (apparently my passport, Visa, copies of both, guarantee form, school admissions, letter from Rotary, host families electric- and telephone bills, passport sized photo with red background and a perfectly filled out police form weren't enough!). But this receptionist wrote down my name, verifying that I had been there, and gave us till monday to get everything right, and then we could finally move on to the fun part of the day! :)
After this, Neha, Christian, Janhavi, uncle and I were all craving for some lunch, so we went for lunch in a small south indian restaurant (actually more like a cafeteria)... Great food!!! But you see: One car, 4 teenagers, one host father and a driver. How can that work? well, it can't really! But the smallest person (happens to be me) is to sit on top of the others. But when the smallest person (weight-wise) happens to be one of the biggest persons (height-wise) a problem occurs... This person (still me) has to bend her head more than what good is (consider that I under normal circumstances are just about 0,5 centimeters from touching the sealing with my head)... We drove to a mall wherein Christian were dragged around in all the girlie shops advising Neha and Janhavi about what would be fashionable in Denmark... I bought a nice pair of shorts (not that short though)...
Finally we went up to the food court and split two slices of pizza, 4 hot wings, a portion of fries and two sodas (all for Rs. 410 = 51,25 kr.)... And I owed christian Rs 100 from a bet we had last week, so he got himself a two scoop chocolate icecone :) and then he was happy!
Today we were very busy, left the house around 7.45 to avoid the worst traffic jams(not with much luck if you ask me!)... It was raining heavily all morning(and when I say heavily, I mean HEAVILY!!!). First we went to the danish consulate, no problems there.
The bureaucracy didn't start until we reached the police station. Hoping for the best, expecting the worst; we went into the station, The receptionist sent us to the 3rd floor where we had to wait for half an hour just to be informed of all the documents that were missing (apparently my passport, Visa, copies of both, guarantee form, school admissions, letter from Rotary, host families electric- and telephone bills, passport sized photo with red background and a perfectly filled out police form weren't enough!). But this receptionist wrote down my name, verifying that I had been there, and gave us till monday to get everything right, and then we could finally move on to the fun part of the day! :)
After this, Neha, Christian, Janhavi, uncle and I were all craving for some lunch, so we went for lunch in a small south indian restaurant (actually more like a cafeteria)... Great food!!! But you see: One car, 4 teenagers, one host father and a driver. How can that work? well, it can't really! But the smallest person (happens to be me) is to sit on top of the others. But when the smallest person (weight-wise) happens to be one of the biggest persons (height-wise) a problem occurs... This person (still me) has to bend her head more than what good is (consider that I under normal circumstances are just about 0,5 centimeters from touching the sealing with my head)... We drove to a mall wherein Christian were dragged around in all the girlie shops advising Neha and Janhavi about what would be fashionable in Denmark... I bought a nice pair of shorts (not that short though)...
Finally we went up to the food court and split two slices of pizza, 4 hot wings, a portion of fries and two sodas (all for Rs. 410 = 51,25 kr.)... And I owed christian Rs 100 from a bet we had last week, so he got himself a two scoop chocolate icecone :) and then he was happy!
20 July 2010
mælk smager mærkeligt i Indien...
Okay jeg ved godt at jeg sagde at jeg ville skrive på engelsk, men indimellem må i altså finde jer i et par danske indlæg...
Jeg skulle her til morgen (for første gang i 10 dage) have lidt vesterlandsk morgenmad. Jeg glæder mig til mine cornflakes med mælk på, indtil jeg oplever at danskere og indere altså IKKE har den samme opfattelse af hvad mælk er: De får mælken ved at en doodh-walla (mælkemand) dagligt kommer på sin cykel med to mælkejunger som han så bærer op af trapperne i alle opgangene. Vil man have mælk kommer man ud med en skål han så fylder op... Men den her 'mælk' er så fed og klumpet et det for en minimælks-drikker som mig, virker som den rene fløde, hvilket ville være okay hvis man var forberedt på det; men nå man sidder klokken halv et, lige er stået op (og vælger en gang cornflakes fordi man ikke lige overskuer chili, karry, og alle de andre inden man har fået øjne) Så er det ikke lige det man helst vil ha...
Så vær på vagt hvis i har lyt til en skål havregryn, allbran, weetabix eller en hver form for müsli... you never know what you're gonna get !
Jeg skulle her til morgen (for første gang i 10 dage) have lidt vesterlandsk morgenmad. Jeg glæder mig til mine cornflakes med mælk på, indtil jeg oplever at danskere og indere altså IKKE har den samme opfattelse af hvad mælk er: De får mælken ved at en doodh-walla (mælkemand) dagligt kommer på sin cykel med to mælkejunger som han så bærer op af trapperne i alle opgangene. Vil man have mælk kommer man ud med en skål han så fylder op... Men den her 'mælk' er så fed og klumpet et det for en minimælks-drikker som mig, virker som den rene fløde, hvilket ville være okay hvis man var forberedt på det; men nå man sidder klokken halv et, lige er stået op (og vælger en gang cornflakes fordi man ikke lige overskuer chili, karry, og alle de andre inden man har fået øjne) Så er det ikke lige det man helst vil ha...
Så vær på vagt hvis i har lyt til en skål havregryn, allbran, weetabix eller en hver form for müsli... you never know what you're gonna get !
18 July 2010
rotary-meeting and more...
SO... Yesterday we were very busy.
Slept till 11 o'clock, had breakfast and then auntie, Janhavi and I we over to the place where I will be doing Yoga... I was shocked by the prices! (Rs 500 for one hour, 5 times a week for 3 months) And I felt bad just thinking about how much we had payed for our yoga class in Denmark.
After this, we went to meet the sir. who will be teaching these classes. Then we went and had a cup of south Indian coffee with some friends of auntie.
When we came home, we had one and a half hour to change into the clothes we wanted to wear to the rotary meeting. I, of course, wore my blazer... by the way, how come the danish RYE-symbol on the blazer sais: Danmark, Rotary Youth Exchange???
well... The rotary meeting was a lot different than the ones I have seen in Denmark, so many speakers with so many causes they all support. Im very happy that I have come to such an active club... We started out by having a light indian dinner, then the national anthem were sung and then the actual meeting had started... I gave a small improvised speech, telling everybody why I was here and how grateful I am to be here. I met all my host families and were invited to like a million dinners and lunches (Im not going to starve while Im here, thats for sure!)
Slept till 11 o'clock, had breakfast and then auntie, Janhavi and I we over to the place where I will be doing Yoga... I was shocked by the prices! (Rs 500 for one hour, 5 times a week for 3 months) And I felt bad just thinking about how much we had payed for our yoga class in Denmark.
After this, we went to meet the sir. who will be teaching these classes. Then we went and had a cup of south Indian coffee with some friends of auntie.
When we came home, we had one and a half hour to change into the clothes we wanted to wear to the rotary meeting. I, of course, wore my blazer... by the way, how come the danish RYE-symbol on the blazer sais: Danmark, Rotary Youth Exchange???
well... The rotary meeting was a lot different than the ones I have seen in Denmark, so many speakers with so many causes they all support. Im very happy that I have come to such an active club... We started out by having a light indian dinner, then the national anthem were sung and then the actual meeting had started... I gave a small improvised speech, telling everybody why I was here and how grateful I am to be here. I met all my host families and were invited to like a million dinners and lunches (Im not going to starve while Im here, thats for sure!)
Så skal der snakkes dansk
After my first week in Mumbai, I talked to Christian and Neha, and we decided to spend the day together. They came by bus all the way from Navi-Mumbai (1,5 hours) and Had lunch with me and my host family. Chistian and I were both very happy to speak some danish again, but since neither Neha, Janhavi or Juhi understood, they told us to come out of our little 'danish world', and so we did.
First we had planned to go to the cinema, but the movie we were planning to see had already started, so instead we went over to the gamezone and played videogames and other fun things all afternoon... Finally we had an Ice cream! great!
Before Christian and Neha caught a Rickshawdriver who actually knew where their busstop were, I made a small calculation, and found out that I had only spent about 65kr. all day !!! Oh my, I love India !
First we had planned to go to the cinema, but the movie we were planning to see had already started, so instead we went over to the gamezone and played videogames and other fun things all afternoon... Finally we had an Ice cream! great!
Before Christian and Neha caught a Rickshawdriver who actually knew where their busstop were, I made a small calculation, and found out that I had only spent about 65kr. all day !!! Oh my, I love India !
15 July 2010
Mumbai trains and my college
So today Janhavi and uncle wanted to show me how I am supposed to travel by train. We went by rickshaw to the station and already then, it looked very crowded. But once we got into the ladies-compartment and sat down, it actually wasn't as bad as I had pictured. There were many people and lots of pushing, and it was nice to finally arrive at Churchgate... Then Janhavi and me walked to Jai hind college where we were to take my admissions, but it had just opened today, and the madam said that the 11th grade (in wich I will be going) didn't start untill the 20th of august, so I have plenty of tim to chill and get to know the city...
One thing that worries me, is the lack of aircon at the college... It was extremely hot, and I was sweating like a pig all the time we were in there, wonder if ill ever get used to the temperatures ?!
The janhavi and I met up with uncle, and we went to the waterfront, nice view! We all had coconut-water in the roadside, it was really refreshing in the otherwise exhausting heat (a man took a fresh, green coconut, cut a hole in the top, and put in a straw. So delicious!)
We went for some great wok-food and then home just in time for pakoras, popped rice and masala tea !
10 July 2010
Incredible India
It sure is !
Me and christian travelled all day, and finally we arrived (1 hour later than scheduled) at Mumbai airport. MAny people had come to welcome us to India, and a lot of photos were taken... I was soon in the car with both my host sisters and my host dad. As soon as we opened the door to their apartment a chain of flowers were put around my neck, and I felt very welcome. Got some diner and went to bed.
Now we are all awake, Im unpacked and I must say, it feels great to finally be here :)
I have to go eat lunch now.
PS: Theres cows outside my window, how cool is that!?
Me and christian travelled all day, and finally we arrived (1 hour later than scheduled) at Mumbai airport. MAny people had come to welcome us to India, and a lot of photos were taken... I was soon in the car with both my host sisters and my host dad. As soon as we opened the door to their apartment a chain of flowers were put around my neck, and I felt very welcome. Got some diner and went to bed.
Now we are all awake, Im unpacked and I must say, it feels great to finally be here :)
I have to go eat lunch now.
PS: Theres cows outside my window, how cool is that!?
8 July 2010
One day in Denmark
Hi everybody... This is only going to be a short status.. I am leaving Denmark tomorrow, and theres still at least a billion things left to do. I was wondering as to weather the State Bank of India would accept my visa electron or I ought to bring travelers checks. So I found there number and called them up. I got to talk to a man who's english weren't at the top of the class, but I asked my question and (I think) got the answer that it was indeed possible...
Ill get back to packing, and the next you'll hear from me, will hopefully be from India...
Ill get back to packing, and the next you'll hear from me, will hopefully be from India...
5 July 2010
A new beginning
The holidays have kicked in, and I am very relaxed... Theres 5 days left in Denmark before I take off for India. Im so excited, and have my doubts to weather or not I'm able to wait until friday.
Got home from the departure-briefing yesterday, and I feel ready to go. I have a that a lot of the other outbounds from Denmark will be following my every step on facebook for the first couple of weeks (most of them wont leave Denmark until august).
10 days ago I went shopping with Joanna, and I bought all the presents Im going to need in India (and more)... I wont reveal what I bought, because my host families and counsellors might be reading this...
All in all, I just cat wait!
Got home from the departure-briefing yesterday, and I feel ready to go. I have a that a lot of the other outbounds from Denmark will be following my every step on facebook for the first couple of weeks (most of them wont leave Denmark until august).
10 days ago I went shopping with Joanna, and I bought all the presents Im going to need in India (and more)... I wont reveal what I bought, because my host families and counsellors might be reading this...
All in all, I just cat wait!
23 June 2010
Tale i klubben og sprogskift på bloggen !
Jeg vil bare lige oplyse om at jeg fra nu af kommer til at skrive indlæggene til bloggen på engelsk så Indere også kan følge med... Så find ordbøgerne frem, hvis fremmedsprog ikke er jeres stærke side ! :)
Var forresten til møde i min Rotaryklub: Kongens Lyngby imorge, hvor jeg holdt et lille oplæg på 10 min. om min kommende tur, det gik fremragende! Nu tæller jeg bare dagene til afrejsen... 16 tilbage ...
Var forresten til møde i min Rotaryklub: Kongens Lyngby imorge, hvor jeg holdt et lille oplæg på 10 min. om min kommende tur, det gik fremragende! Nu tæller jeg bare dagene til afrejsen... 16 tilbage ...
20 June 2010
18 June 2010
Visum, flybillet og afskedsfest
Nu er der 21 dage til afgang. Jeg snakker jævnligt med Juhi og Janhavi (mine værtssøstre) og det indiske par der lærte mig hindi er nu taget til Indien.
Jeg har modtaget mit visum (godt med glitter)og har travlt med at planlægge den afskedsfest som vi holder iaften.
I forgårs snakkede jeg i laang tid med Janhavi og hendes mor Shaila. De er rigtig søde (lidt svært at forstå deres engelsk på en i forvejen skrettende forbindelse via Skype)og de fortalte mig, at jeg kommer til at have ca. en time til skole via "Mumbai train"... Det er lang tid !
Den sidste eksamen er overstået, og nu venter man bare på dimmisionen i næste uge.
Rotary blazeren hænger på min gine, stort set hele værelset er pakket ned i flyttekasserne som vi købte i Silvan forleden, flybiletten kom igår, visum blev hentet fra den indiske ambassade i mandags, hele mit medicinarsenal (der er mod alt fra malaria til racermave) er i hus og om ni timer ankommer gæsterne til min farvelfest...
3 June 2010
36 dage tilbage... det kommer tæt på
så .. nu skal der ansøges om visum.. skal afsted om lidt over en måned. På fredag har jeg min sidste arbejdsdag i grandteateret. Har også læseFERIE..
Nu vil jeg gerne snart afsted, for selvom man godt kan mærke at sommeren er på vej her i Danmark, så går man ind og ser at der er mellem 25 og 32 grader i Mumbai... Godt nok er det regntid dernede med 559mm vand i denne måned! ''
Har haft mine sidste hindi-timer.. .og er så småt igang med at lære at læse :) Det er faktisk mere logisk end man skulle tro...
12 April 2010
Alle de mange indere, hidi undervisning og forældrebriefing...
Nå.... Nu er det ved at være noget tid siden jeg sidst har skrevet et indlæg, så her kommer seneste nyt på rejsefronten:
først og fremmest har jeg fået mig en afrejsedato... d.9. juli (min lillebrors føs'dag) klokken 5.30 skal jeg være i lufthavnen. Jeg skal flyve til München, være der i 3-4 timer og så videre mod Mumbai lufthavn... Mig og den éne dreng fra Ringsted skal vist nok følges ad. Vi bliver de aller første i hele Rotary-Danmark der skal afsted. og: My God! hvor jeg glæder mig ...
Derudover har jeg fået Hindi undervisning af S-togs inderne... Mera naam mariya. Ap ka naam kya hei? Meri Hindi kucch khaas nahi hei...Chinta mat karoo! :) bare lige en smule blær!
Endnu en inder er min ven på facebook... og jeg er forvandlet til en online sprogportal... Hvor mange gange har jeg laaangsomt udtalt 'hvad hedder du? Jeg hedder Maria' højt og ty-de-ligt over skype? jeg har ikke tal på det, men der er FOR mange gange! ... But its fun...
Og hvad mere? Nårh jo, vi fik et brev der sagde at vi skulle have en amerikaner ved navn Erica boende hos os i de første 3 måneder efter jeg er taget afsted... Hende taler vi allesammen meget med, også over skype of Fjæsbogen...
Så var mine forældre og jeg til forældrebriefing (sjovt nok!) her i søndags. Selvom jeg vidste det meste i forvejen var det bare super skøønt at få NOGET at vide, og da jeg så min afrejsedato oppe på storskærmen kildede det da også heelt viildt i maven... og så fik jeg spist masser af chocoladekage!
det var det for denne gang, nu er der kun 88 dage til afrejse. Og nedtællingen ræser afsted...
først og fremmest har jeg fået mig en afrejsedato... d.9. juli (min lillebrors føs'dag) klokken 5.30 skal jeg være i lufthavnen. Jeg skal flyve til München, være der i 3-4 timer og så videre mod Mumbai lufthavn... Mig og den éne dreng fra Ringsted skal vist nok følges ad. Vi bliver de aller første i hele Rotary-Danmark der skal afsted. og: My God! hvor jeg glæder mig ...
Derudover har jeg fået Hindi undervisning af S-togs inderne... Mera naam mariya. Ap ka naam kya hei? Meri Hindi kucch khaas nahi hei...Chinta mat karoo! :) bare lige en smule blær!
Endnu en inder er min ven på facebook... og jeg er forvandlet til en online sprogportal... Hvor mange gange har jeg laaangsomt udtalt 'hvad hedder du? Jeg hedder Maria' højt og ty-de-ligt over skype? jeg har ikke tal på det, men der er FOR mange gange! ... But its fun...
Og hvad mere? Nårh jo, vi fik et brev der sagde at vi skulle have en amerikaner ved navn Erica boende hos os i de første 3 måneder efter jeg er taget afsted... Hende taler vi allesammen meget med, også over skype of Fjæsbogen...
Så var mine forældre og jeg til forældrebriefing (sjovt nok!) her i søndags. Selvom jeg vidste det meste i forvejen var det bare super skøønt at få NOGET at vide, og da jeg så min afrejsedato oppe på storskærmen kildede det da også heelt viildt i maven... og så fik jeg spist masser af chocoladekage!
16 March 2010
Første værtsfamilie afsløret, en hinditime udført og laaang samtale med indisk pige der skal til Danmark...
Igår havde jeg besøg fra de indere jeg opsøgte i s-toget i sidste uge... Raja Belgudri og hans kone... hvor var de bare søde (og små) de var så venlige, og vil lave et intensivt Hindi/Marathi-kursus for mig iløbet af de næste 6 uger... Allerede på fredag skal jeg ud til første sprogtime, og søndag skal jeg hjem til dem og have en 'rigtig' indisk morgenmad (og et lille shot hindi).
Smriti, min host-counsellor, satte mig i forbindelse med Janhavi Vyas. Hun er en rigtig sød indisk pige som bor i Mumbai og skal til Danmark her til sommer... Hun fortalte, at Smriti har sagt, at jeg skal bo hos Janhavi's familie når jeg er i Indien... Hvor er det fredt, for hun var bare så rar at snbakke med, tror vi chattede i 3 timer :D
Hun fortalte at der i de indiske skoler er mkring 50-100 elever, lærerne skal kaldes for sir, ms eller mrs. og sidst men ikke mindst:
Skoleuniformer ... Jeg ved atså ikke hvordan det skal gå mig! (dog sagde hun at der på nogle skoler fandtes en 'casual friday' hvor man må have sit eget tøj på)...
Smriti, min host-counsellor, satte mig i forbindelse med Janhavi Vyas. Hun er en rigtig sød indisk pige som bor i Mumbai og skal til Danmark her til sommer... Hun fortalte, at Smriti har sagt, at jeg skal bo hos Janhavi's familie når jeg er i Indien... Hvor er det fredt, for hun var bare så rar at snbakke med, tror vi chattede i 3 timer :D
Skoleuniformer ... Jeg ved atså ikke hvordan det skal gå mig! (dog sagde hun at der på nogle skoler fandtes en 'casual friday' hvor man må have sit eget tøj på)...
8 March 2010
International food day og tilfældige indere i S-toget
Det var rigtig hyggeligt at se alle igen. Jeg fulgtes fra buddinge station sammen med Helena, som også har gået på min skole. Men derudover er det mest Lise og Jasmin, som jeg er sammen med... Men ALLE er bare så rare, og vi snakker alle sammen om hvor meget det kribler og krabler i maven når vi tænker på næste år... DET BLIVER FOR VILDT ! ! !
Men på vej hjem i toget sad jeg igen sammen med Helena, og vi sad og snakkede om hvilke sprog vi skulle igang med at lære, hun var allerede igang med spansk, det lærer hun af sin mor det taler det flydende. Jeg sagde noget om hvor meget jeg var på spanden, da det er så godt som umuligt at finde en hindi/marathi - lærer i Glaadsaxe : D I samme øjeblik kom en indisk dame med kasteprik, sari og hele molevitten ind af døren til cupéen... først tænkte jeg ikke over det, og jeg snakkede videre med Helena, men inderen satte sig bag mig og rykkede helt ind til vinduet så jeg kunne se hendes spejlbillede i glasvæggen
Jeg vendte mig om og spurgte om hun kom fra indien, "Ja", jeg spurgte hvorfra; "Mumbai", jeg spurgte om hun talte marathi, det gjorde hun, hun talte også hindi. Så jeg spurgte om hun måske ville lære mig lidt. og så tog hun mig og Helena med ud til hendes mand der sad ved cyklerne, og han arbejdede i novo og sagde at de boede lige ved buddinge station...
Inderen ville meget gerne lære mig noget af sit sprog, hvis jeg ville lære ham lidt dansk... Så jeg fik hans mail og telefonnummer, og skal kontakte min kommende hindi-lærer iaften... Det bliver spændende!
23 February 2010
Har kontakt med min Counsellor på Face
For noget tid siden gik jeg ind på Databasen og kunne konstatere at der endelig var skrevet noget i feltet med 'Host District'...
Distrikt 3140 i Indien er det område jeg kommer til at tilbringe et helt år af mit livi, en forstad til Mumbai i delstaten Maharashtra. Jeg googlede det, og det er lige ved den røde cirkel på kortet til venstre...Sammen med distiktet kom der også et navn på pladsen ved 'host counsellor' : Smirti Gulwady, en dame fra Thane Hills Rotary-Club, og jeg ansøgte hende på Facebook...
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