Farewell India…

I cannot believe that it has been a year and eight months since I arrived here. Especially since I barely made it through the first weekend (aside: if you have a broken foot don’t come to India…especially in monsoon season). But I made it through that first weekend and then some. So what do I think of India after all this time? Well, I wouldn’t say that I love India; I don’t hate it either; I would say that I love parts of it and I don’t like other parts of it. But this is a beautiful country and I think that most people (assuming you aren’t a neat freak or germaphobe) would enjoy experiencing India.
So, as I get ready to take off and bid farewell to India and to my blog I thought I’d list my top 5 India experiences that are in my head right now:
1 – seeing the Taj Mahal for the first time with my parents (cliché, yes, but true)
2 – getting caught in monsoon rains
3 – sitting in the Kerala backwaters looking up at the stars
4 – a crazy autorickshaw ride when I first got here (check Oct 2, 2008 post for full details) which was a wild goose chase as well as an amazing bonding experience across cultural/religious lines
5 – experiencing the India/Pakistan border ceremony
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my blog because I’ve definitely enjoyed writing it.
Bye!!!

Things I will/won’t miss

As I go over in my mind on an almost daily basis the things I’ll miss about being here I also think of things I won’t miss.
Certain likable/not-likable things are making themselves very prominent this week; like the bougainvillea which are blooming like crazy and are so pretty and bright right now and I will miss seeing them so much; or like banking which I’m currently arguing with…why is it that one person says one thing but when that person is out someone else says the exact opposite and they don’t understand why I’m frustrated. My personal favorite response last night was: “well if there is a problem I’ll be here next week”…to which I said: "yes, but I won’t be”.
Anyway…here’s a list of some of my favorite/least favorite things:
I will miss flowers blooming year round
I won’t miss the summer at all
I will miss having a driver and a maid
I won’t miss having to rely so much on others and not being able to drive myself
I will miss all the random animal sightings; in particular the peacocks and elephants
I won’t miss the street dogs; they weird me out
I will miss being able to take great weekend trips for such a small amount of money
I will and won’t miss all the crazy transportation I’ve had to take to get to places; they are an adventure but sometimes it would be nice for life to be less adventurous
I will miss my awesome and crazy cheap facials and massages
I won’t miss the dirty dusty air that make monthly facials almost a necessity
And on and on….
I have a sneaking suspicion that my first month home will involve a lot of me getting excited over things that I have missed about being home. And then I’ll start to miss things about being here. As long as I can find a good Indian restaurant near where I end up I'll be happy...if I can find a south Indian restaurant I'll be thrilled!

Happy Holi (again)

Well Holi this year was much crazier than last year; no doubt because this year Holi fell on a Monday and last year it was on a Wednesday. On Sunday (the day before) I got thwacked with a water balloon; it hurt like crazy and I’m amazed I don’t have a bruise. I was in an auto rickshaw and saw something out of the corner of my eye…it was some kids pointing at me and then one of them threw (like a baseball pitcher pitches) a balloon at me at top speed. Luckily I was able to crouch a bit so it only got me on my leg. And today there is dried paint all over the place on the sidewalks. I did go out for a bit yesterday; just a quick walk; but only got sprayed with water guns, no color; I think that was just luck because just a few minutes later I heard a bunch of kids running down the street. A very odd holiday. Everyone complains about it before the day saying how annoying it is but then they all celebrate. Oh well, it is over and so my last week in India started with a bang (so to speak).
Nothing much to blog about today. Tomorrow I’m off to the bank to close down my bank account…hard to figure exactly how many rupees I’ll need before I leave but I’m trying. Just enough to eat my meals but not too much so I can’t buy anything else…no more room in my luggage.