The Little Things
on Jane in India (India), 09/Apr/2011 19:21, 34 days ago
After almost 5 months here in India I feel quite settled. But there are certain things about everyday life which are still a hassle. Like going outside. I have to admit I find myself delaying leaving the house at the weekend, when I don't have to go to the office. Outside my gate is a crazy world of sunshine, heat, honking and staring faces. So leaving the precious little haven of my home can be a bit of a shock to the system. It takes a while to acclimatise, but then once I'm out there I come across these great little things..Par example, today I had to go out to the post office and the supermarket. It was all a little intimidating at first after a morning of serenity at home. But then once I got in the auto I was loving watching the world go by - this man selling watermelons drifting off to sleep and jumping awake when his head fell back heehee, the rickshaw drivers chatting and messing, generally being in a good mood and bopping along. I jumped on a bus and managed the entire encounter in Oriya (using only 2 words but still impressing the people around me!). Then on the way home a young girl touched my hand, pointing out my (weird foreign) skin and we had a nice little chat, once again a beautiful, genuine and lovely Indian girl paying me(!) incredible compliments. That encounter put me in a good mood, and I stopped off at a little Orissan craft shop to pick up a housewarming gift for one of the new VSO vols. The guys in the shop were really nice, and my 2 words of Oriya again broke the ice and I left the shop with some nice little Lord Jagannath trinkets, feeling quite happy with myself.This place is a world of contradictions; when it's irritating it's irritating but when it's good it's good.