Some observations...

Everytime I sit down to write about my trip, I end up with way too many thoughts, and only about a tenth of them end up being written down. There are some day to day experiences which don't really qualify as stories, or events really. But are things that deserve to be mentioned. So I have decided to include an "observations" section, where I can write random things that I have forgotten to blog about at the time.

This morning, on my way over to Erica's house, I saw goat, balancing on a wall, so it could eat off of a tree. The area I was walking through was residential, with a few construction projects going on. There are often cows, and bulls laying around, but i've never seen a goat!




The traffic in Bangalore is beyond insane. At any one time, there can be three different streams of traffic converging onto one road. There are no lanes, there are no rules. It's basically every man, woman and lop-sided bus for himself. I am completely shocked that I have not seen an accident yet. And here when you want to turn or changes "lanes" no one checks their mirrors, they merely cut in, and hope that whoever is behind them has good brakes. The auto rickshaws are the worst, they are like tiny street vermin that squish into the tiniest of spaces.

And everyone here spits. They spit out of windows, they spit onto sidewalks, they spit onto walls, they pee on the walls. It's like the street is one giant public toilet. There are signs that says "Keep Bangalore beautiful. Do not litter or urinate on the walls." And there will be people standing there and urinating on the sign.

It also gets dark here very quickly. By 7 o'clock, its nightime. And it's odd, but as soon as night falls, it seems that all the women disappear and there are only men on the street. I wouldn't say it is dangerous to be out at night as a woman. But it is definitely risky. Especially if you need to tak a rickshaw, they will automatically triple their price because they know you have no choice but to pay them.

Being in India also has its perks. Namely that everything is cheap. Especially food. And almost everyone here speaks at least functional English, so it's easy to find your way around.

Off to my homeland! (The other homeland)

I am very, very, very excited that I have finally confirmed my ticket for Bangkok, and will also be visiting Hong Kong and Shanghai as well! Finding destinations in visa-sensitive South East Asia was not easy. And after finally conceding that I would not be able to visit Vietnam for lack of time to obtain a visa, and nixing Singapore because it's so damn expensive, I am glad that I at least get to visit Hong Kong which on the top of my "must visit" list. More importantly, and thus the title of this entry, I will be visiting Shanghai, China, my other homeland! For all of you who delight in calling me an immigrant and love pressing my "immigrant button", I use the term homeland for you.
As for visiting China, i'm really not sure I know what i've got myself into. I have no idea what to expect, but like reading an unknown author or a watching an unfamiliar movie, I am often strangely surprised, and so I hope the same fate for my experience in China. If there is anything you want from there, please let me know. And if you don't know what to ask for, just remember all the times you turned over that obscure plastic product, or a cheap cotton tank top, only to see a "made in China" sticker on its bottom! I am very lucky to have an aunt in China, and so I will not be completely hopeless.
1 more week til I leave for Bangkok, whopeee!

A Diwali Pooja

Last night I attended a Diwali Pooja at my aunt's cousin's house. It was a small gathering of family and friends.
When we entered the house we had to remove our shoes, and sit or kneel before the home-made shrine. On the shrine, there were silver and gold statues of deities adorned with jasmine wreathes, there were diyas burning(traditional Diwali oil lamps), offerings of sweets and fruits, and a container with silver coins.
The pooja began with the preparation of a pooja tray. The man of the house (in this case, Erica's cousin Harrish) decorates the tray with red ink, he marks an Om, and a Swastika, both sacred Hindu symbols. On the tray, he placed a lit diya, some sweets, a small container of milk.
The container with silver coins is opened, and a series of symbolic ingredients are added. The woman and the man of the house do this first, taking turns adding a pinch of rice, a pinch of sweets, 2 drops of milk, 2 drops of water, flowers, tumeric powder and a dab of red ink, everything must be added with the right hand only, and in a specific order. Then you place both hands into the container and mix all the ingredients with the coins, while silently praying for whatever it is you want on this Diwali. Following the man and the woman of the house, each person attending the pooja does the same ritual, going in order from the eldest to the youngest present. After the money has been sufficiently blessed, it is place on the alter as an offering in return for the blessings of wealth.
Then the Diwali tray with the symbols is adorned with incense and a diya and each person takes turns rotating it in a cirlce in front of the Pooja shrine while a Hindi song "Om Jagga Jai" (forgive my spelling) is being sung. After this everyone kneels before the elders and asks for a blessing, out of respect. Now the pooja is over.
After the Pooja, we had a delicious vegetarian meal, and the host and hostess gave us presents and sweets when we left, which is apparently a Diwali tradition. I was very grateful to be allowed to participate in Harrish & his family's Diwali pooja. It was a strangely spiritual experience, and proves that regardless of what faith you may be, prayer and family are inherently what is most important to these spiritual holidays.

Houstonji, we have arrived

22 hours after leaving Toronto, I found myself standing in the Bangalore airport waiting for my luggage. First of all, kudos to Lufthansa for being so incredibly punctual with all of its flight times. And kudos to me for flying halfway across the world on my own for the first time! It was late and very hot and humid when I disembarked. The luggage took over 1 hour to come out, but I am so very thankful that it is here at all. Erica and Lalu greeted me at the airport and dropped me off to Mossglam (my grandparent's house) at around 1 am. Everything was exactly the same and completely different than I had remembered it. Mosslgam had the same smell as when I left it 4 years ago! I think thats more a bad thing than a good thing. Anyways, have spent the last 2 days galavanting around Bangalore. The traffic here is incredible, I don't ever remember it being so bad. And its almost impossible to get an autorikshaw, eventhough I've been told there are about 65,000 of them registered in Bangalore. I think I still have jet lag as I wake up at 5:30 am everyday (mum you would be so proud), but I'm sure it won't last long.
Grandma, Erica and I went to breakfast this morning at Konark. The idlis and vadas were soo good, and although I can honestly say the stuff you can get in Canada comes in a close second, you just can't beat the 20 Rs pricetag on 2 idlis and 1 vada. And the coffee, it's soo good! I think its the milk here. It's delivered fresh everyday to people's houses.

It's Diwali this weekend. Every school and office will be shut down for the next 5 days as we celebrate diwali, also known as the "festival of lights". People are supposed to buy new clothes and jewellry, they buy boxes and boxes of sweets and luxurious fruit baskets and go and visit each other and exchange these presents. Diwali symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. The date marks the return of Lord Ram (the good) after killing Ravan (the evil demon) during his exile for 14 years. It is a very special time of year here. Since such a huge population of India is Hindu, the festive feeling is reminiscent of a North American Christmas. And just like Christmas, I think the greatest joy is having so many days of vacation! Grandma is leaving tomorrow to go to the estate with Gerard, Uncle Ben, Aunt Rita and Ruth to celebrate Grandpa's birthday (October 22nd). So I'm celebrating at Erica'a place with Aaron and Lauren. We've splurged on junk food, sweets, movies and beer (for E & me only of course), and we're going to stay up late, burst firecrackers and sleep in for the next 5 days!

Oh, and happy to report, no devastating malarial-like illness symptoms so far!

T minus 4 hours and counting!

Ready to Go! And with 1 1/2 hours to spare. So here I sit, at my laptop, writing my last blog in Toronto, and hopefully making you all very envious. I finished most of my packing last night, thanks to Neeks and Ray, and here is a picture of my very helpful packing assistant hard at work...



I also wanted to say thanks to Mum and Pullu for the fabulous crab curry dinner last night. And to Paully, Ken, Ray, Neeks and Lauren for making my last night here uber memorable, oh and Rachna and Linds too of course. My fingers still smell like crab curry this afternoon!

Looking forward to the airplane food and freeee booze...my next blog will be from India, yay!

Namaste

The road to India is paved with good intentions...

Hi all! Only 5 more days til I leave. With some unnecessary difficutly, I finally received my Indian visa today. And I am also happy to report that we have booked a hotel for the first few nights in Thailand.

I have officially opened my suitcase and started tossing random stuff into it. Minus the last minute crap my Mum and Aunts will try to sneak in, Kraft singles, hot chocolate powder etc. (don't ask), I could leave tomorrow!

A special thanks to all those who came out to the "farewell" party last weekend at the Madison. From what I remember it was a crazy fun night, and I hope it's only a precursor to the months ahead.

I will try to update you guys as much as I possibly can while I'm away, and post lots of pics.

See ya'll later, and don't miss me too much! (notice I didn't say GOODBYE!!??! ...you know who you are)