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Training in Aurroville
On Tuesday I spent the day preparing for the training course, getting equipment together and ensuring everyone present was clued in on what we were doing. We quickly realised we were just going to wing it so stopped preparing!! I went back to sleep, then Yaniv turned up with some shopping and made me shaukshkah, which is an Israeli dish. It was excellent we had wine and chilled looking at his photos of India. It was very civilised! That evening Mandar, Sameer and the gujariti paramedic had been out till late so they all crashed at the flat too.
Early next morning Yaniv headed off to Mumbai to get his train and we headed off for the training. It was a long but useful day. We talked out the issues we had had both internally and with HCC in relation to the trsaingings we had conducted. At the end of the day I went back and with no dinner plans called up Yonat to see if she was free, we met at E street and Guy joined us (it wouldn’t be right to go without him!). SO I caught up on Guys wanderings in Goa and had a relaxing evening. The next day we had all the HCC representatives for the training to discuss where wse needed to coordinate better. We had expected it to go badly, but actually it was really positive and a lot of issues were sorted out. I had a long chat with Niyati, who offered me a job out of university and oddly enough Sarbjit offerecd me one too with RedR, 2 offers in one day, not bad! At the end of the day we all went for dinner and drinks. I only had the drinks and then went with Ankur to Koregon park as Yonats boyfriend was playing with a funk group. It was great (jesse is an awesome sax player!), but another late night so I was exaughsted.
Saturday morning I made it for a run and met Sonali so she invited me back to tea and breakfast as she often does if I have time. As it was the weekend I finially met both her daughters. Breakfast took a while and I ended up rushing back to the office to find noone there!! I had intended to be in the office only a short while to tidy up a few things, so by 3 I left to have a nap. Yonat was going to an Indian classical concert in Koregon park so I said I would join her before meeting Guy for dinner as it was my last chance to see him before he returned to South Africa. We all met at the greman bakery and made contingency plans incase we got bored to meet elsewhere. At first I wasn’t so interested, however Yonat is studying Indian classical singing and once she explained the basics I was much more interested! I don’t feel the need to go again but its much more interactive then western classical music, the performer talked to the audience, allowed heckling, got the band to sing and you felt part of the concert. After the first half we decided we were cultured enough to leave!
We headed to MG road as it is pedestrianised on Saturdays, Guy needed to buy a few more things for home so we went to my favorite shop! I met up with a guy from couch surfing who a friend from Mumbai had asked me to meet up with and he joined us. Inevitably we ended up in E street which was really busy, but they promised to move us to where our favourite waiter was working when they had space. In the mean time we were else where. While sitting a guy was smoking a cigar right infront of the fan so the smoke was being blown straight onto us. Yonat wasn’t happy so we asked the manger to say something and when that didn’t work Yonat went up to him. He was really arrogant and would not take a step to the right, she got really angry and left. The whole of the staff were concerned and even called her to get her to come back, but she was half way home (she has been promised a free pizza on her next visit!)> The three of us continued and as usual Rahul the waiter kept us supplied with free drinks and treats! After goodbyes to Guy I headed back to crash (still no early night).
The next morning I had to head off to Pune airport, the first time I had flown from there. I met Sarbjit there and we headed off to Chenni via Bangalore. At Chenni we met Dave and Loren, both ozzies from Canbra, who were joining the shelter training in Arouville. Dave is a shelter consultant based in yogyokata and Loren is a shelter project coordinator also based in Indonesia but in a less civilised place! We all drove down to Auroville (3 hours). Dave had worked with Sarbjit in Bangladesh recently and he is the man to know in the area when it comes to shelter. It was an intresting journey down, espically as I had never seen Sarbjit swear nor tell dirty jokes!! When we got to Auroville it was not what I had expected at all (it didn’t help I thought the training was in Pondicherry), it is a beautifully green place that is a little weired. The area is a 35km commune, which is designed to be a lot like a kibbutz but with possessions. It is 1/3 indian and the rest are forigners. We went straight to the guest house which, even though it was dark, was obviously beautifully located. After boring ashram style food me Dave and Loren sat around drinking Perno before bed.
The next morning I attempted to go for a run, I got up and headed off, dog in tow, the area is all forestry broken up with crazy architecture and various gust houses. I got lost. My usual half hour run became an hour and I rsturned with scratch marks, mozzie bites and dirt everywhere! To top it off the dog left me half way round! Sarbjit and Dave were working on the course and as me and Loren were participants we had a free day. SO we hired a bike to go and explore the area. The idea was to head up the East coast road to see if we could make it to some caves I wanted to see. We made it to pondicehrry and ambled along the promenade and had a coffee. Loren made friends with one of the street sellers and then we decided just to drive.We went down as many small roads as possible and just explored. It was a lot of fun and I deffinatly see the benefits to biking around India, you see the real parts. Eventually we decided lunch was in order and on the 3rd attempt found somewhere near the beach. Earlier I had found Batman Uno in a shop and had not been able to resist. SO over lunch the Uno tournament began!! After lunch and a few beers it was decided that a walk along the beach with ice cream was in order. While there we bumped into Lorens friend so they played a game of chess! After our walk we decided to head back towards Auroville, Loren wanted to visit the swimming pool, La PIcine, as it is the pool that the guy from ‘The Life of Pi” is named after. After driving down the same road 3 times (the road had the sign ‘drive friendly’ on it so Loren insisted on being friendly ot everyone we encountered) we eventually found the pool on a completely different road. However, in true comedy style, it was closed for refurbishment!! So we decided that was our cue to head back. Most of the participants of the course had arrived, so after dinner we chatted a bit before calling it a night. I had a night cap with the boys, but then a storm atrated. What a storm!! Full thunder and lighting, it was righ overhead and the lighting even hit a tree right by where we were causing Lorens cigrettte to go flying!! In all the rain I battled back to my room.
The next morning the course started, we all got issued bikes to cycle to the training centre on! It was the first time we had such a europen mix. There were not only three girls (me included) but we were all British, for the first time in ages I could quote Monty Python and talk about neighbors!! Chloe is based in Bangkok and Hannah is a structural engineer who was working at the place we used for the training. We used the Auroville earth institute which develops structures made from earth and is basically an architects playground!! The first day of the course we did some theory and then spent the afternoon in the sun putting up tents!! After the day was over it was back to the ranch for another quiet evening. I went out with Raju to the shops to pick a few things up, on the way we picked up a guy whos motorbike had got a puncture (we were in the car not on the bikes) I was chatting to him, he is a travel writer for a company bsed in California and he had just finished writing a guide to Israel (obviously he was jewish) and was now writing about communities in India, interesting guy. Dave talked about his experiences responding to the earthquake in his village, which was really interesting, and then a night cap before an earlyish night. As Auroville has no public drinking places or much else of a night life I managed to get reasonably early nights, however I was up early so I don’t think I caught up on my sleep!
Another early morning and leisurely cycle to the training, I finally got a bike with a basket I can be such a princess when I want something! (I don’t think ive ever attended a training that started as punctually every morning!) another morning of theory followed by an afternoon of pratical. This time we were making compressed earth block (a type of brick) I had great fun! After the days work it was back early to chill out eat dinner and do our homework. I had an early night (10.30) before the third day. The third day of the course we had our usual structure. The praticle involved making a cement roofing support. It was cool. I got to trowl on the cement and get the shape and thickness, I was rubbish but I enjoyed it! And we got to lay some bricks, I layed 2! After the day we headed into pondicherry for some night life. Chloe and I decided to be civilised. We found a hotel on the promenade, funnily enough called the promenade, and sat in the roof top bar for drinks and dinner. Oddly enough Chloe was moving into the hotel the next days as her work was putting her up there, she saw it as a taste test! Obviously everyone joined us and we all enjoyed some of the best food I have had in India I had tuna and chole and I shared a bottle of sine on her company!! It wa thoroughly civilised. Then we headed back before the last day of training.
The last day was not as punctual as we were all a little tired from the night before but none the less we ploughed on. We got through the morning and onto the pratical which was checking our concrete from the day before and looking at how to make rammed earth walls. I found I really enjoyed getting my hands dirty but also seeing these principlesin action. Its all very well learning about them in Uni but the use of the methods is needed too. Anyway after goodbyes we headed back to the guest house to shower and jump in a car to Chenai as our plane was that evening. So right now I am on the plane writing this as tomorrow morning we have a workshop on using bamboo in emergencies. We land in Mumbai at 2300 arrive to Pune around 0200 and start again at 0700 but thankfully I have Sunday off to sleep!!
Sleepless in Pune
We made it back to Pune at 4am and had to be up for 7am. So 3 hours sleep later and we were on our way out of pune to someones home in the country. It was beautiful, it was somewhere I hadn’t been around Pune and the quiet was lovely. We spent the morning discussing the use of bamboo in disaster situations as a shelter solution, especially issues such as harvesting and treatment. It was the start of project being organised by Oxfam but coordinated by Dave there was a mix of humanitarian experts and bamboo experts so we got both sides to the story. After lunch we went exploring around someones bamboo plantation and to his factory where he experiments with different uses of bamboo and different types of coating. It was a lot of fun but I also learnt a lot!! After the course Me, Sarbjit, Dave, Lorren, Pradeep and a few others went out for dinner even though we were exaughsted and desperately needed sleep.
I didn’t get my sleep Sunday but instead ended up in the office for a meeting then taking Dave out for the day round Pune we had a civilised lunch and played on the internet before heading to Laxmi road to get some material and Dave wanted a sari as a present. While there we discovered a newly renovated building which we had to explore. It was once a small place, then a school but it has been recently unused. It was beautifly renovated. We were discovering the upper rooms when a local dance group arrived to reherse for a show. They do a dance show that can use anywhere between 70-250 people!! I had read about it in the paper, it is about the local warrior Shavji and his life story. They let us stay and watch, it was great it is local style dance and really intresting! After some of them helped us with the Sari shopping which ended up taking 2 hours. I bought a local sari and a Kashmiri sari, the kashmiri one I intend to turn into a western cocktail dress. After this Dave and I went to e street as it seemed as good a plce as any at 10pm and was open. At 2am we got home, I had to be up at 7.
So bright and early and beyond sleep deprived I got in the car with Rahul Pathk to go to Sangli for the day. It is about 4 hours, 200km, from Pune. We were going to Kiloskar Brothers, a pump manufacturer company, to meet the doctor who had asked us to conduct a monsoon rescue training course. We eventually got there and had the relevant meeting with the doctors. Kiloskar is a bit like the Cadbury family and have a complex with cool facilities for the workers. We discussed the course then went to look at the local village that we wanted to use for the water rescue part of the training. When we got there we had to meet with all the elders and discuss our plans. Obviously they were thrilled to have people intrested in helping their village with monsoon preparation. After our discussion they thanked me for coming from UK America, and we all got a coconut as a thank you! After lunch we headed back to Pune, I slept most of the way and after 8 hours driving went to Rahul’s for tea and to meet his family before going back.
I didn’t feel like going to the gym, but neither did feel like eating alone. SO I called Sonali who I go for tea with in the mornings after running and asked if I could eat with her family. So I went round and watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with dinner, it was great! Even if I did fall asleep before her 4 year old!!
Tuesday was back to the office where I was prepearing for the training course so pottered around the office and tried to make arrangements for Passover in Mumbai. I slept in the afternoon and meet up with Yonat in the evening, she came round for pizza and to watch Prime. It was a lot of fun!
Wednesday Again was preparation in the office and I don’t rembemebr doing too much, I did make it to the gym in the evening. Thursday was similar and again it was the gym then bed. SO Friday was a bit stresful our water rescue trainer cancelled on us at the last minute, so we spent the day desperately trying to find another before we were due to leave at 5pm. We didn’t do so well, the best we got was a guy who works with the merchant navy who would join us in the evening on Saturday, so we had to make do. This didn’t give the greatest feeling about the training but we had no choice. So we finially set off collecting Dr Vivek and his family on the way. After breaking one of our beer bottles we were finally on the 4 hour journey. At 10.30 we stopped for dinner and beer and made it to Kiloskar at around 12.30.
A nice early start and we set up the traing hall before the course was opened by various important people. The course was being conducted in Marathi so I did nothing all day except watch and offer help when I could. After the sessions eneded Me and Charu went to the pool so I could give him a crash course in water rescue, while the Vivek’s went for a swim. When we got back Ajeet (from the merchant navy) had arrived so we chatted as a group, with our beer before dinner and bed.
The next morning we were to head to the river where the water rescue was to be conducted. Once there the villagers did an inauguration ceremony and gave us all flowers. Then Ajeet started his session and I went in the river to swim. This caused quite a stir and many of the villagers started messing around. However the focous of the training was completely ignored, there was locl press there who didn’t photograph the training, only me-it was like being a celebritiy on holiday!! So the mornings sessions was not overly successful and many lessons have be learnt. The afternoon was more theory, I spent a large part on the phone to mum. After the training course we packed up and left, I was allowed to drive for 10 min, though the Marati van was sooooo heavy to handle it wasn’t much fun! SO we stopped for dinner at 11 and left around 12.30. SO I got back to pune around 1.30.
My body clock woke me up early but my knee was hurting so id dint go for a run, instead I went to Sonali’s for tea and frosties before I went to the office. I was hanging around in the office waiting for my laptop to be delivered form the project it had been used for, then I was heading to Mumbai for the week. 2 hours after my laptop was supposed to arrive and a hissy fit later I left laptopless. I finally got to Shailja’s at about 7.30 to be handed a glass of red wine as I walked thorugh the door. That set the tone of the next few days…Monday night we had 2 bottles between us and not much food (we resisted eating the birthday cake early), then we went for crepe before we both fell asleep in the same bed. Shailja left when her husband called her to see where she was, so she stumbled next door!
On my BIRTHDAY moring, I woke Shailja as she is getting old and cannot handle her wine anymore! She went off for a mornings job interview while I had a lazy morning. After she came back we went to take my dress to be made then lunch and cocktails before my first haircut in 7 months! It was drastic! We went home and continued with the wine and birthday cake, though Shaulja’s daughter blew out my candle as pratice for her birthday on the 4th of May! So after more wine Me Shailj and her husband went for dinner and ice cream before coming home and crashing with drunkedness!!
The next morning Shailja and the family were getting ready to go to Dehli that afternoon. So we chilled then collected Anithi from school before they left. I was hangiong around as I had keys to the apartment. I decided to go and find Chabad Mumbai as I was palning to stay near by from Friday for shabbos and Pesach. I went over to COlaba to find Chabad there, which is a whole apartment building with 2 floors of exc rooms for people who get paid more than me to stay in, a study floor, free internet and a massive eating area, which was being renovated before Pesach. I chilled with Rifki the Rabbis wife and had a good time, it’s the ususal story of if only I had met them sooner! After leaving them I met up with Joe from couch surfing, who is a pilot for the navy, apparently he is not allowed ot mix with forigners incase he gives away secrets!! We had dinner then went out to some of the POSH places around the gateway to India. While in Indiago I met some random people and joined them onto a club for an hour, before it closed at 1.30-India is far too strict on mid week drinking!!
Late the next morning I finally got up and successfully did nothing, its been a long time since I did that. Eventually I headed out to meet Neesha and Aparna to go to their Caperoia class to see wat it was all about. It was fun to watch but the heat in Mumbai kills you in the afternoon so I was still tired. On my way back I bought essential supplied for when Shailja gets back (wine, bread, ice cream and Heinz baked beans) and had beans on toast for myself for dinner, its deffinatly true, Heinz Meanz Beanz!!
Guess wat I had for breakfast? After fuelling up on beans on toast I headed over to Colaba with my stuff to stay in the hostel. The beans kept me going nicely and after a chilled morning looking at the tourist stuff I got chatting to a girl who happened to be in my room in the hostel and we had just missed each other in the morning. Due to the afternoon heat we went back to sleep away the afternoon, then I headed to Chabad for candle lighting. Having gotton on so well with Rifki I disappointed with the firday night. I was the only non Hebrew speaking person present and spent the whole night bitting my nails for lack of anyone to speak to. At the end of it I was dreading the seder, was I going to have another night of talking to noone and not know what was going on. However I spoke to Rifki after and she promised if I needed to to sit next to her and she would translate, I didn’t have any other options.
The next morinig I headed back to Chabad for lunch which was early to get round the not eating bread thing. Once there I chatted to the guys a bit then to Limor who became my saviour. Her English was great and she really made an effort to speak in English or translate. She was staying at chabad So after food I headed back to the hostel to sleep, the afternoons here are getting soo hot, its up to 45 degrees. After my nap I was hungary so went back to chabad to hang out in the air con! I chilled out until just before the seder when all the Israelis started to arrive, most young Isrelis speak English so most of them would talk to me or Limor would flip the conversation in to English. There became a small group of us who sat together through the seder and it was a lot of fun. There were around 50 people form all over the world. There were locals (some of them ex pats), isrelis, south African, french, Belgian all sorts. The seder itself was relatively painless and finished around 11.30 I left around 12 as I had a cerfew. It was weired though all the isrelis were there to get drunk on the free wine and feel like they were in Israel it had nothing to do with religion, but still they were there.
I wont annoyingly early the next day and again headed off to chabad, lunch was supposed to be around 12, but the men woke late so at 1.30 we ate, I was so hungary. After lunch me and Limor and her dad went down the gatway to India with sam an American guy it was so hot. Limor and her dad went off to see some sights so me and sam decided to explore the Taj. We walked around the foyer and decided to try to explore the residential part of the hotel. SO we got in the lift and started exploring, we expected to be thrown out at any moment, but wernt. We didn’t get into any rooms but did get into the free internet and paper part and chilled there! It was cool. The inside is quite Victorian inside and reminded me a bit of Jonathns in brum. After our explorations I decided to take sam to watch the locl cricket and explain the rules to him, as he is American I kept it simple!! We decided to nap the afternoon away, which I didn’t manage. Then we had arranged to meet to go to the seder together. However Sam overslept so I went without him. When I got to Chabad I felt guilty and so me and Limor went back to wake him (its 12 mins each way) so we rushed back to chabad for the second seder and of course we were late! So we caught up and downed out cups of wine and that was the theme for the evening, our ‘gang’ had doubled in size form the previous night but we still tried to drink anything alcoholic in sight! It was fun and there was much singing, espically to who knows one!
This time after the seder we decided to go to a club nearby. I got a box of matzos and left with the others the club was called ‘polyesthers’ so I couldn’t not go! We didn’t need money as it was free in and we just wanted to dance. At 3 me and sam headed back expecting to be locked out for the night as the cerfew is 12. The watch man hadn’t locked the gate properly so we just walked in!!
I was up at 7 to head back to Pune and show myself in the office. I got back around 2 and was starving. After a brief introduction to my new room mate Tushita I went shopping for veg to cook for the week. After much discussions in the office over various projects we called it a day. I headed back with Tushita and cooked. I attempted to make shakshuka after Yaniv had taught me how. I basically made lots of veg and tomato sauce and kept most of it for lunch and the rest I cracked eggs over and had for dinner.
The next day was the start of the Public Health Promotion (PHP) in emergencies course. So we headed off early for the first day of that, me with my lunch of veg and hard boiled egg. The group was of a large siz and is quite intresting. While im not interested in the course it is useful to be aware espically for Watsan engineers. The first day all the participants went out for the usual social dinner which I had to skip, I was gutted, while I went to Chabad for a cooked dinner. I met Shlomi there as he is leaving Pune so it was our farewell.
Another day on the PHP and as always it was long. This time Tushita and I made it back quite late so she ate at BIAF and I made Matzah bry when I got in, which she quite liked. I am very pleased that the two of us get on so well. Its nice to have company but everything takes twice as long cos we talk so much, so I always get to sleep later than planned!
So Thursday and another day of PHP, which I was beginning to get pretty bored of. This time we had to continue our group work in the evening. Tushita and I were in the same group but our other 2 group members disappeared so we just got on with it. At 9pm we left, both of us exausted. When we got back I had run out of pre cooked veggies so had to make salad for lunch and ended up making matzah bry again (im beginning to like this cooking, I espically love my chapatti plate!).
Signing out from Pune
So this is my last entry from Pune. Tomorrow I head up North to see some sights.
The last day of the PHP saw Tuhita and I do our presentation of the work we had prepared the previous night. We were supposed to go to a wedding that evening but we finished quite late so didn’t make it. I spent 3 hours in a call first to Lydia then to Alex, so I didn’t mind too much. We thought we would have been to late for the ceremony so decided not to try to go, it turns out the wedding was an hour late so we would have made it, but anyway what can you do! I had received a parcel from Lydia that day, which contained a book about a guy who took up the French horn after 22 years off, so I started reading that. That night I took Tushita for dinner in East street to see why I liked the place so much, I got my usual table in front of the TV so I could watch the cricket.
Saturday was a normal day in the office. After which Tushita and I decided to go out in Koregon Park. After an hour of walking around trying to find a place we liked, we went back to the first one we tried!! We chilled in high spirits for the night, then had Ice cream before getting in around 2.
On Sunday we chilled, I read lots of my book. Then we went to MG road for dinner and to shop and watch the cricket, we do spend too much time in there, but its worth it, we get such good service! Ankur came to meet us as well. Monday we intended to have a cheap night and eat local, at Tushita’s mess, then have a much welcomed early night. However we went to Deccan to get some new shoes for, we then ended up in McDonalds to watch the cricket, however the match was such a disappointment we left after the first 5 overs! On Tuesday we tried to eat at the mess and go to east street for desert but couldn’t resist the paneer! On Wednesday We went to East street and met Yonat and her friends. The 5 of us had a very cheap dinner, as yonat was owed a free pizza from her previous trip when she left early due to the rude guy. So there were the group of us (two of Yonats friends) and we celebrated my second birthday, with cake from Rahul!! It was really good fun!
Thursday was my last day in the office with the boss. He was leaving for an assessment. So I had to say bye to him. We had a small ceremony in the office in which they gave me some jewellery, a necklace and anklets, all silver of course! And in exchange I gave the office some stuff from Brum and some other UK things as well as a specialised RedR t-shirt for the boss! Though I know we will see more of each other, it marked the end of an era. That night we ended up in East Street after I dropped off my last bits of tailoring, where else would we go, as it is the best place to watch the cricket at my usual table!
Friday, due to having finished all my work I was going to Bombay to stay with Shailjia. So about mid day I headed off on the bus. I forgot to get off in the right place, so took an extra hour and a half to get there as I had to get local transport back. As usual it was a boozy night we had a boring healthy pizza and then headed out in Bombay. We went to the times of India café for our free drink for ladies night, then to zenzing. There we started talking to a guy who turned out to be the head chef for the taj at lands end, and guess what, he was Jewish. This seemed like shailjia’s excuse to set me up with him. At 4.30 (fairly squiffy and in a lot of trouble with the husband) we got home.
Saturday was Anhiti’s Hindi birthday (by the lunar calendar) so about 4 when we could move again, they went to the temple and I went shopping. That night due to being in trouble we went to see Iron man at the cinema. Then home to sleep. Sunday morning we spent preparing for the brats birthday. I went to see someone in the morning then came back to help with the party, which was lavish! Unfortunately due to the party I couldn’t go to the cricket, but I was useful anyway. I helped with general stuff and tried not to get in the way. The party had a clown, face painting, balloon art (that was a bit shoddy) and obviously games with the DJ! Then after there was a mini train, bouncy castle and dahba (street) food. On top of that there was a BIG Dora the explorer cake and pinyada! After the party we were all exhausted so went back and allowed the child to open her presents, even though her birthday was the next day. That child is a lucky one! There was a lot of Dora paraphernalia!
Monday I was due to head back to work. I rung in to find out what needed doing and how the cyclone was going. At this point we still thought it was a small job so I didn’t rush back. We had a leisurely day. We went for breakfast then took the child back from play school, after that we took her to day school, with yet another birthday cake. Then Shailjia and I tried to go for lunch but it was too late for most places so we went shopping instead! My haggling skills we appreciated by all. We bought stuff we didn’t need as well as junk for Anhiti! We headed to the bagel shop near the school, where I had a smoked salmon crème cheese bagel, yummy!! Then we all headed howm fro dinner before I finally head off on the bus. I got home at 2.30 then stayed up talking to Tushita for another hour!
Tuesday morning the full scale of the cyclone was being reported, so we started deciding what to do. I wanted to get out there ASAP, however soon after that the issues with Visa’s became apparent, so we talked it out and found out pries of tickets as that was all we could do. I also developed a few more schedules and some new modules while checking the news everyday. That night a group of us from work went to see a disaster management exhibition, which turned out to be all fire service stuff so we left to the nearby fairground to eat street food that I like. Charu’s wife and daughter met us there and Charu got told off for not taking us home to eat!! After they left Tushita and I went for cold coffee before heading home. I started my packing (there is so much) then went out with Tanmay for a goodbye drink. Guess where we went?... East street! We were there till close, I was home about 1.30. Wednesday I was umming and arhhhing if I should cancel my train tickets and hang around in the office hoping the visas would become available for Burma. That night me and Tushita went back to east street to meet Roni, he is from the Jewish community in Pune and wanted to say bye and ask about planning a trip on his own and how to go about it. It was good fun, though I couldn’t watch the cricket due to the bloody lamp post!
Thursday I talked to they guys about delaying my travel, we couldn’t decide so I emailed the boss for advice. I taught the guys some first aid that they wanted to know more about, with my wonderful casualty Tushita. After I picked up my tailoring I had a brief nap before going to Sonali’s for dinner to say bye to the kids. It was great chilling on the sofa watching a film eating the most amazing Bengali style fish! I sorry to say bye to them and only wish I had chatted to her sooner, but im pleased I did eventually talk to her!
So Friday was D-day for decideing what to do, and we had no internet to check the news nor see if the boss had replied. So I called him. He said go and call every 3rd day, and as the news wasn’t promising that is what I have decided to do. I spent the afternoon packing up the last bits of my stuff and catching up on the last few episodes of neighbours. After a nap and clearing my laptop I got a call from the guys to come to the office to chat. At that moment in time Dr Vivk walked through the door so we chatted for a bit then went fro cold coffee, im gonna miss Durga. After cold coffee I went to the gym to say bye, I had an hour before I needed to leave for Chabad, and hour and a half later I left! I love my gym, they really did help me feel part of the community, and I cannot thank them enough for that, if it went for them I may have packed things in sooner! So I rushed off to Chabad to thank them and say bye. After an hour there I rushed off to East street to meet Ankur and say bye to him and hear about the girl his parents want him to marry! At 2am after drinking with some random brits I got home.
So this morning at 7.30 I headed back to Sonalis for breakfast and a chat. At 10.30 I rushed back to change for work. I have worn my sari for the first time, which they all loved. We are having a farewell lunch, sponsored by me, then I have to take my box to the post office. After work today we are all going to east street for my last goodbye!
On the one hand I am pleased to be leaving as the work has reached a natural stop, on the other I have built a life here. I am sorry to leave that. I have accomplished so much in the last 8 months some work related but the majority about myself. I am comfortable in my own company, I have developed my self confidence and I have decide who I want to be a bit more. I am very proud of myself for sticking it out and it can only benefit me in the future. Most of all I will always have friends and a job here!!
So tomorrow I head to Mumbai to get a train to Jaipur, form there I got to Varanasi, then Agra then Delhi. In Delhi im going to the IPL then off to Amritsa before back to Delhi for my flight out. I cannot believe how quickly everything is going!!
So that’s it from Pune!
The good Samaritian
So the work lunch was great, there was lots of food and of course my favorite Gellebi! After lunch I did a quick change and took my stuff to the post office, only to find it needed repacking into lots of smaller boxes, typical. SO we went back and I repacked it for the guys to sort after I left. After that it was another quick change before heading off to east street. At first there were five of us, and Praveen gave me the most amazing leaving present. Then more came and eventually we were about 17 people. After a lot of beer and some food I had my leaving present from the east street gang, yet another cake, but it was an amazing night that summed up the time I had in Pune, and I felt very lucky to have known everyone and have them come to say bye (I didn’t cry though!!). I did donate my cricket t shirt to the east street staff as I always watched the cricket there! So Sunday morning I had breakfast with Charu, Rahul and Dr Sanjay. Then they took me to the bus and said goodbye, it was hardest to say bye to Charu. On the bus I managed not to get emotional, and in the end didn’t get to see Shalija one last time as I ended up in the wrong part of Mumbai with a big bag. So I went to the train station to kill 5 hours. I had intended to go to a film next door but as it was Sunday it was packed, so I slept instead, which I defiantly needed. So then it was on the train and defiantly the end of working! 18 hours later I was in Jaipur, my first stop. I went straight to the hotel I had booked into then to the tourist info. I wanted to book on their day tour the next day so I could fit everything in. While there I met two guys traveling together who had hired an auto for the day so I joined them. We went to a few shops to look at stuff, and I let rip on them with my haggling skills saving Tristan and Sebastian a lot of money and annoying the shop owners. After this we went for dinner in an ‘Italian’ restaurant that serves beer in mugs and tea pots as it dosent have a license. After dinner we went to drink at my place, but having seen theirs for the same price a night I decided to move. I lost a bit of money doing it but the room was amazing, with a double bed, tv, comfy chairs and massive bathroom. Not to mention room service. So we chilled there and were up till 3am chatting and drinking. Eventually I slept as I have do be up at 8.30 for the tour. At 8.30 I was just about awake. After 4 pieces of toast and a cup of tea I was ready to go! It was a packed tour, and unfortunately it is a bit of a blur. It started with a temple followed by the pink city where we saw the palace which has lots of stuff in, and some amazing architecture. After that we went out of town to a fort and then another fort for lunch. Then we went to the amber palace which is vast. I got lost form the group there, had a bit of hassle from some school kids, but eventually escaped. After the fort we got taken to the tourist shop then some gardens before we got back. I was exhausted after all that. I had moved room from the night before due to availability and this room and no tv. I asked for one as I wanted to see what was happening in China and Burmer. Within 10 mins of it being in my room they announced 4 bomb blasts in central Jaipur. So what do I do? I head off to find a police man to take me there! I found a police man who misunderstood me and thought that disaster management meant bomb disposal! SO they initially took me to the scene. I got there within 30 mins of the bomb blasts and the sight was clear, so they took me to the hospital, SMS, once I lied and said I was a doctor. So I got to the hospital and walked through the ER doors to chaos. There were people with gloves on lining both sides of the corridor. I asked to speak to a doctor, apparently they were all doctors, and all wanted a casualty to treat. I suddenly realized I done the wrong thing and would get in the way. However I turned to a guy to ask for gloves just incase. He introduced himself, I explained I was closest to a triage nurse, bandaging assessing, cleaning etc, nothing intrusive. He understood. Rajkumar turned out to be an OT nurse. So we went upstairs to where the majority of the casualties were. We walked around trying to see if we could do anything. For each casualty there were about 4 people trying to treat. After being dragged over to a casualty with a chest injury needing a tube and explaining I was a nurse not a doctor. We decided to bandage the smaller shrapnel wounds. We grabbed cotton and bandages and started waling around. There were a lot of casualties but once we looked closer the majority were shrapnel wounds. So between us we applied pressure bandaged, found the wounds checking backs, cutting clothes and generally making people comfortable and stopping bleeding. After about 3 hours of this there were no more casualties and those there were, were stable or in surgery. SO Rajkumar offered me a much needed cold drink and a lift back to the hotel. My phone batter6y had died and while many people knew I was ok I had to inform the rest. So I went back to the hotel and ordered VERY sugary tea and some sandwiches. I sat in my room taking everything in. After I felt a bit calmer I went to find the guys as I needed a drink. Which they supplied. They were chilling with some girls they had met so we all chatted and I got wat I needed out my system. I arranged to meet one of the girls in 2 days in Varanasi. Eventually I slept, I had about 4 hours. The next morning the guys who run the hotel showed me my photo in the local paper under the caption looking for loved ones, which I wasn’t! So a curfew was imposed over the city and no tourist sights were open. A lot of people were hanging around the hotel just chatting and chilling. Rajkumar had asked me to go back to the hospital to see it in normal circumstances. SO he picked me up. I met all the OT staff and chilled. It was weird as I didn’t recognize any of the staff or the casualties the whole thing was one big blur. The majority of staff though hadn’t noticed me in the bedlam of things so it was the first they heard of my presence the night before. However the press did hear. SO I spent 3 hours doing tv and paper interviews for local channels, one of which asked me to bandage one of the casualties, I felt such a fraud as it was so posed. When I finally got away I crashed out as I was exhausted. I had agreed to talk to Tristan who is a freelance journalist so he could do a profile to try to get published so that took about an hour. After which we just chilled at the hotel as nothing was open. After a relatively early night I packed up as I was moving on. However I went to the hospital one last time as Sonia Gandhi was visiting and the guys were going to try to get me to meet her. However we missed her. Instead I ended up doing yet more interviews. One of which for the times of India, who may help me meet the IPL teams! Anyway after that and seeing the news story on me I left. I was glad to be leaving Jaipur as I was becoming a celebrity, which I didn’t want to be. I just did what I though was right, and even then im not sure I did the right thing, I probably just got in the way. All they glory was coming to me not to the hospitals teams. So I finally boarded my train and 15 hours later was in Varanasi. (I still got calls from the press). In varanasi I went to this hostel in the old city that you have to walk to, a bit of a pain. But its awesome. The view over the Ganges is amazing. I really like it here. I arrived yesterday and did a boat trip along the river at sunset to see the evening Puja. We also saw the bits of people that wash up as they cant have cremation if they are pregnant, a priest, under 18 or another one. Sometimes the bits get washed up, so you can see skulls and stuff, not to mention the brain we saw floating around! SO after the boat trip we chilled in the very sociable hotel restaurant. I eventually crashed out no longer able to talk due to exhaustion. So this morning I was up relatively early and so with anna and Karen we went ot the sight of the first sermon form Buddha after his enlightenment. It is also where the 4 headed lion statue that is the symbol on India was found. After a siesta we got an auto the the fort. It was the craziest auto ride ever, we went over this pontoon bridge! The fort itself is very run down and a symbol of the dying raj system. But it was fun. Then after the most amazing lassi ever we came back. And so now I am getting ready to leave for Agra tomorrow afternoon. I have just read on the net that people think im a terrorist for helping at the hospital, so need a beer to calm down. I hope all is well in the UK!