Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Uncle Jaya's school - by Ishaan
When we went to visit my brother at his school, Ishaan took a few photos. Also there's a few shots of the school my brother goes to. Its so beautiful, I didn't even get good shots.
Monday, March 28, 2011
And so life begins
Its been an eventful few days...
#1 - I got a SIM card for my cellphone. SO now I have an Indian phone number which makes me feel more Indian already. hmmm a weird thought I know.
#2 - We went to visit my brother at his school yesterday.
He is in the ashram at the school, which basically means he is at boarding school. He's there 7 days a week, and parents can visit every Sunday between 4pm and 6pm. Its great to see how much he has grown, not just in height, but also just grown up. He still talks as minimum as he can... but his face says it all... and yesterday his face said he was excited and pleased as punch to have his big sister and nephew here. He took us for a tour around his school - its beautiful! (I'll put photos up soon and you can judge for yourself!)
#3 - Ishaan started school today!!!!
He's in the nursery at the Sri Mayapur International School, and he only goes from 9am till 12.30pm, but they treat it like school. He goes to assemblies, he'll get a school report, take part in other school activities, school trips etc. He was all excited to go this morning. We don't have a school uniform yet, we'll go and get one made later this week.
Life has definitely begun here in India, whether we're ready for it or not!
#1 - I got a SIM card for my cellphone. SO now I have an Indian phone number which makes me feel more Indian already. hmmm a weird thought I know.
#2 - We went to visit my brother at his school yesterday.
He is in the ashram at the school, which basically means he is at boarding school. He's there 7 days a week, and parents can visit every Sunday between 4pm and 6pm. Its great to see how much he has grown, not just in height, but also just grown up. He still talks as minimum as he can... but his face says it all... and yesterday his face said he was excited and pleased as punch to have his big sister and nephew here. He took us for a tour around his school - its beautiful! (I'll put photos up soon and you can judge for yourself!)
#3 - Ishaan started school today!!!!
He's in the nursery at the Sri Mayapur International School, and he only goes from 9am till 12.30pm, but they treat it like school. He goes to assemblies, he'll get a school report, take part in other school activities, school trips etc. He was all excited to go this morning. We don't have a school uniform yet, we'll go and get one made later this week.
Life has definitely begun here in India, whether we're ready for it or not!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Final destination - Mayapur
I've learnt the way to pack my bags on the luggage trolley, kind of like a jigsaw, so they won't come tumbling off, and so Ish can sit right up on top. Thats what happens when you have to lug around four bags and a laptop bag, PLUS a 3 year old!
After piling on the bags to the final trolley in Kolkata's domestic terminal, we pushed to the exit, surveying the crowds for either of my parents. The crowds surveyed us right back. Oh how I had forgotten how much the Indians like to stare at anyone slightly foreign! I felt right at home.
It wasn't hard to spot my dad - the only whitey in among the crowds. Although it had only been a few months since I had seen him in NZ, it was great to see him again so soon - and in the motherland too. Hugs all round! We headed straight to the busy parking lot, and proceeded on the very last leg of our trip.
After almost 4 hours in the rickety Tata-Sumo, with me and Ish drowsily nodding off in the backseat, we suddenly stopped, the car engine turned off, and silence. I woke up with a start, thinking we were already home! But when I sat up and looked outside, all I saw were police officers, army soldiers, villagers, taxi drivers.... I couldn't figure out what was happening! HOw far were we from Mayapur? Why can't we just go home? I'm tired, why are we stopping? SOMEONE ANSWER ME!
My dad had gotten out of the truck and wandered around outside to find out the happs, and came back about 15 minutes later. Apparently earlier that morning there had been a riot in one of the villagers close by, and two men had been killed. The road had been closed all day and it wasn't expected to open anytime soon. And since there was only one road and one way to get to Mayapur, we just had to wait. For how long no one knew.
AAAAHHH SO CLOSE! We were literally a 5-7minute drive from my parents place, and after the last three days of travelling, I was over it. But what could I do? I lay down next to Ishaan and tried to get some more sleep. The mosquitoes were buzzing round my ears and the heat was making me sweat in places I'd rather not say.
Thankfully we only had to wait 40minutes, and by 9pm I was sitting safely in my parents lounge, chatting a mile-a-minute (like I do) and happy to be home.
After piling on the bags to the final trolley in Kolkata's domestic terminal, we pushed to the exit, surveying the crowds for either of my parents. The crowds surveyed us right back. Oh how I had forgotten how much the Indians like to stare at anyone slightly foreign! I felt right at home.
It wasn't hard to spot my dad - the only whitey in among the crowds. Although it had only been a few months since I had seen him in NZ, it was great to see him again so soon - and in the motherland too. Hugs all round! We headed straight to the busy parking lot, and proceeded on the very last leg of our trip.
After almost 4 hours in the rickety Tata-Sumo, with me and Ish drowsily nodding off in the backseat, we suddenly stopped, the car engine turned off, and silence. I woke up with a start, thinking we were already home! But when I sat up and looked outside, all I saw were police officers, army soldiers, villagers, taxi drivers.... I couldn't figure out what was happening! HOw far were we from Mayapur? Why can't we just go home? I'm tired, why are we stopping? SOMEONE ANSWER ME!
My dad had gotten out of the truck and wandered around outside to find out the happs, and came back about 15 minutes later. Apparently earlier that morning there had been a riot in one of the villagers close by, and two men had been killed. The road had been closed all day and it wasn't expected to open anytime soon. And since there was only one road and one way to get to Mayapur, we just had to wait. For how long no one knew.
AAAAHHH SO CLOSE! We were literally a 5-7minute drive from my parents place, and after the last three days of travelling, I was over it. But what could I do? I lay down next to Ishaan and tried to get some more sleep. The mosquitoes were buzzing round my ears and the heat was making me sweat in places I'd rather not say.
Thankfully we only had to wait 40minutes, and by 9pm I was sitting safely in my parents lounge, chatting a mile-a-minute (like I do) and happy to be home.
Main Entrance to Mayapur
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Three budget airlines
So although I've never really travelled budget airways before, its not really as bad as one may think. Ok sure, I had to pay a whopping $15 for a mini-dvd player to keep Ish entertained throughout the flight, and another whopping $12 for a pathetic meal of pasta and plastic cheese.... but in the grand scheme of things it wasn't that bad. We got the seats to ourselves and Ish got to look out the window at the boring blue sky (and try to watch out for other planes so we don't crash into them - his word exactly!).
We arrived in Singapore airport at 6pm, and our connecting flight to Chennai left at 9pm, so I had under three hours to collect my luggage, head to the budget terminal 2 and line up to check into the next flight. Thats the bummer about my flights, I had three different flights with three different budget airlines, so my luggage had to be collected at each place and re-checked in. The budget terminal in Singapore was just that - budget. There was not queue system in place, and in fact there was only two check-in counters open when I got there! After about 15 minutes waiting in line, another counter opened up, and true Indian style, everyone rushed to that one, trying to slot in any available gap they could find.
Me? I stayed put. Once everyone in front of me had successfully rushed to the counter next to me, I had plenty of room to push forward, and was checking in my luggage within minutes. Ish was suitably tired and grumpy by this time - and no wonder, it was nearly 1am NZ time, and he hadn't slept at all! Thankfully the people behind us in the queue were from Auckland, and they managed to keep him entertained while I dragged my (slightly heavier than) 20kg bag onto the conveyor.
Due to the time difference, and the lack of sleep we'd both had, the flight from Singapore went by quick. We slept the whole way, and arrived in a hot humid and stuffy Chennai at 11pm (local time). My mother had arranged for a taxi to be there waiting for us, and he took us directly to our pre-booked hotel room. It was rather exciting stepping outside the airport and seeing my name on a professional-looking sign... and by professional I mean written - and then scribbled and written again with black permanent marker on a white A4 sheet. The taxi to the hotel had AC - thank God!
The hotel room however, did not. The minute I walked into the room, I definitely felt like I was in India. There are some things that Indians just cannot get right, thought bless them, they do their very best. The lobby of the hotel room looked flash and modern, and after a brief scan of the room, it looked pretty modern as well. BUt after careful inspection, we found no water in the jug, and no place close by to buy any, the plug socket next to the bed had no current (which meant no power to charge my phone, or switch on the bedside lamp) and the bathroom had empty soap and shampoo bottles. Ahhh life in India had begun!
The journey ahead of us is exciting. I'm not one to just pack up and leave.... but yet here I am, life packed into two 20kg bags. We leave Chennai in an hour, and the year ahead of me stretches out, waiting to be discovered.
We arrived in Singapore airport at 6pm, and our connecting flight to Chennai left at 9pm, so I had under three hours to collect my luggage, head to the budget terminal 2 and line up to check into the next flight. Thats the bummer about my flights, I had three different flights with three different budget airlines, so my luggage had to be collected at each place and re-checked in. The budget terminal in Singapore was just that - budget. There was not queue system in place, and in fact there was only two check-in counters open when I got there! After about 15 minutes waiting in line, another counter opened up, and true Indian style, everyone rushed to that one, trying to slot in any available gap they could find.
Me? I stayed put. Once everyone in front of me had successfully rushed to the counter next to me, I had plenty of room to push forward, and was checking in my luggage within minutes. Ish was suitably tired and grumpy by this time - and no wonder, it was nearly 1am NZ time, and he hadn't slept at all! Thankfully the people behind us in the queue were from Auckland, and they managed to keep him entertained while I dragged my (slightly heavier than) 20kg bag onto the conveyor.
Due to the time difference, and the lack of sleep we'd both had, the flight from Singapore went by quick. We slept the whole way, and arrived in a hot humid and stuffy Chennai at 11pm (local time). My mother had arranged for a taxi to be there waiting for us, and he took us directly to our pre-booked hotel room. It was rather exciting stepping outside the airport and seeing my name on a professional-looking sign... and by professional I mean written - and then scribbled and written again with black permanent marker on a white A4 sheet. The taxi to the hotel had AC - thank God!
The hotel room however, did not. The minute I walked into the room, I definitely felt like I was in India. There are some things that Indians just cannot get right, thought bless them, they do their very best. The lobby of the hotel room looked flash and modern, and after a brief scan of the room, it looked pretty modern as well. BUt after careful inspection, we found no water in the jug, and no place close by to buy any, the plug socket next to the bed had no current (which meant no power to charge my phone, or switch on the bedside lamp) and the bathroom had empty soap and shampoo bottles. Ahhh life in India had begun!
Ishaan having a bucket bath in the hotel bathroom
The journey ahead of us is exciting. I'm not one to just pack up and leave.... but yet here I am, life packed into two 20kg bags. We leave Chennai in an hour, and the year ahead of me stretches out, waiting to be discovered.
Monday, March 21, 2011
1 Year in India
Tomorrow I leave for the mystical land of India. To me, its not so mystical, because it has been part of my life for ... well... all of my life. I guess that happens when you're half Indian right. hmmm... moving on.
I was born and have been brought up in New Zealand, Christchurch to be exact - or Quakechurch as it is more recently known as. I'm not leaving Christchurch because of the earthquakes, let me make that quite clear. This year in India was planned a long long time ago.
I'm happy to be leaving. There's nothing for me in New Zealand anymore, nothing to miss, nothing that I could actually DIE living without. Ishaan doesn't start school until September 2012, and although I'm a bit apprehensive about taking Ishaan away from his father, I know its only for a year and they can keep in touch vis skype/phone calls. I don't own a home in NZ, I'm not studying or on some massive career path. I'm just being, just living, so why not try living somewhere else, somewhere that will excite me or challenge me. Plus how eye-opening would a trip to the motherland be for Ishaan? What a great experience!! So off to India we go.
Actually I lie. I will miss my friends and the few family I have here terribly. Quite frankly they are the only thing that are bringing me back after a year (other than the fact that my visa only lasts a year). My closest friends/family I plan on writing to often of course, but I thought this might be an interesting way for everyone to see what life is like for us, living in a new "mystical" land.
This blog is for you, friends.
I was born and have been brought up in New Zealand, Christchurch to be exact - or Quakechurch as it is more recently known as. I'm not leaving Christchurch because of the earthquakes, let me make that quite clear. This year in India was planned a long long time ago.
I'm happy to be leaving. There's nothing for me in New Zealand anymore, nothing to miss, nothing that I could actually DIE living without. Ishaan doesn't start school until September 2012, and although I'm a bit apprehensive about taking Ishaan away from his father, I know its only for a year and they can keep in touch vis skype/phone calls. I don't own a home in NZ, I'm not studying or on some massive career path. I'm just being, just living, so why not try living somewhere else, somewhere that will excite me or challenge me. Plus how eye-opening would a trip to the motherland be for Ishaan? What a great experience!! So off to India we go.
Actually I lie. I will miss my friends and the few family I have here terribly. Quite frankly they are the only thing that are bringing me back after a year (other than the fact that my visa only lasts a year). My closest friends/family I plan on writing to often of course, but I thought this might be an interesting way for everyone to see what life is like for us, living in a new "mystical" land.
This blog is for you, friends.
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