First full week in Bhubaneswar
on Jen's Indian Adventure (India), 19/Dec/2009 19:26, 34 days ago
Well, it was an exciting week this week. I found good coffee, pasta and peppers that weren’t green in the shops. Mind you I did pay quite a lot for them. A bit different than going to the local market stalls. But never mind, I’d rather pay for them than not have them at all.The idea of being vegetarian was very nice six weeks ago, but I am missing meat (apologies to all you veggies out there). Here in Bhubaneswar it is possible to buy chicken pieces but they tend to be covered in a spicy batter (chicken pakora) so they are generally eaten with another dish, rather than being a part of a dish.As you know there are plenty of cows around here but unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your beliefs, beef is not sold. I did see a pig on a farm earlier, but also just like beef I have yet to see pork for sale. There are no butcher shops as we know them at home– in fact no shop is like a shop at home apart from the chain store supermarkets – but even they don’t stock everything. You really need to shop around.This can then end up being a bit costly as they are spread right across the city and I have discovered there is no point into telling an auto rickshaw driver‘Me volunteer hu. Mere pas zada bese nahi hai’ (I’m a volunteer. I have no money) as most of them wouldn’t know what a volunteer is and will only see me as a westerner who must have lots of money. This is where the will power in bargaining must kick in and I’m getting very good at walkingaway when I have to argue a price. In most cases I get called back as the auto driver will eventually give in to what you originally offered for the journey, except for rush hour when they don’t have the time to bargain. But I don’t mind that as I’ve started to walk to and from work, and despite the lack of foot paths and walking in the dark in the evening I am quite enjoying it.Walking anywhere here is an interesting adventure in itself if somewhat stressful. Unfortunately the novelty of having every man on the street, and I do mean every man (at least that's what it feel like sometimes), stare at me as I walk by is becoming a bit tedious. I appreciate I’m in a poor state and the most of the locals have never had the opportunity to leave Orissa, never mind India but they have seen a woman before, even if she’s not European. I have stopped counting the number of times men will shout out of cars or vans as they drive by, that stare from buses asthey’re stuck in traffic, that stop their motorbikes and make up some feeble excuse to talk to you (yesterday one guy pretended he was doing a college survey before proceeding to ask me for my friends’ contact details), never mind the bikers and cyclists who will slow down and continue to look back at you while their vehicle is moving forward. I’m surprised that no one has gotten injured yet. I’m getting good at pretending I don’t notice, but it’s hard to avoid, and quite annoying.And the big news of the week is I have finally managed to source toilet paper. All individually wrapped rolls so it was important to buy a good few in case there are none available when I need to go back for more. I never would have thought it would be so hard to find. I had been warned but thought I’d be safe coming to a city – so wrong. I’ll never take a roll of loo paper for granted again.I’ve been struggling to find trousers since I arrived in India. Indian women are generally not as tall as I am so all trouser legs are too short and in a lot of cases too narrow. I’m enjoying shopping around for kurtas (the long shirts) but in most cases the colour schemes are a bit mad for my taste. They all look lovely on Indian skin, but really don’t do anything for my pasty white arms. So I’m generally sticking to plain colours and hoping for the best. It’s also been difficult to find clothes that fit into our volunteer’s monthly living allowance, but persistence does succeed.I’m looking forward to receiving a package from home in the next few weeks as it will contain some of my trousers I left in my wardrobe when packing my suitcase 7 weeks ago.Can’t wait for Christmas. I and two other volunteers have booked into a local hotel for Christmas Day. It will be a bit different this year. Christmas Day is recognised here as a national holiday, even if Christians are in the minority. After breakfast we will venture to the hotel spa for some luxurytreatments, and relax for the afternoon. No turkey this year for any of us. We have yet to decide whether to target the southern Indian food restaurant or the Chinese restaurant. Both have been recommend so I think we’ll have to wait until the day itself before deciding. We’re all living in lovely accommodation but who doesn't like a treat now and then?Work has been quite this week. Unfortunately my manager is out of the office, so I have just spent the time finding my way around and meeting my new colleagues. I don’t mind really as I’m sure there’ll be lots to do once Christmas is over and I am told what the targets for 2010 are. I’m getting the impression it will be quite busy.A final note on my four weeks in Delhi: Just before leaving Delhi, I went to see the Mahatma Gandhi memorial. It’s in the grounds of the house where his life ended.I thought I’d share some of the pictures with you.The pictures show:the cane he used to support himself on his famous salt marchhis few personal belongings, including his famous glasseshis last foot stepshis bedand a note written in his own hand in April 1930 'I want world sympathy in the battle of right against might'