India, you say?

So, I promised a proper post about India, and of course I very much want to fulfill that promise. Arriving in India was such a rush for me, I literally had to keep calming myself down on the plane, incase I got too excited or something. Who knows. I didn't sleep, like at all, but I wasn't feeling too bad when I landed. Keep in mind, I had left Istanbul in the snow, so being in a rather humid feeling airport was a pleasant surprise. I was still calming myself down when I finally stepped out the doors and into the city air of Mumbai. I had been told to not freak out because there probably would be people jostling and pushing and shouting for taxi's, bag help etc. But, I suppose arriving at 4 a.m. has it's perks. It was quiet and I found the guy who had come to pick me up quite easily.

I slept during most of the 4 hour ride to Pune. But, I did get a glimpse of the driving here. Wow, it is insanity. You just sit and pray that everyone will have the same mindset while they duck and dodge between lanes and each other. I did get to watch the sun rise and welcomed the dawn with a nice hot cup of coffee, Indian style. Mumbai was quite, quite hot, even before the sun rose. But as we got closer to Pune, it became considerably colder. It's on a higher elevation and not right on the coast, so geographically, it would be. Once I arrived at the house I would be staying at for the next couple of days, I got a chance to eat some food, shower, and then crash. I felt kind of bad because I wanted to stay awake and what not, explore the markets with the lady I was staying with, but I was rather tired. I slept for a solid 3 hours.

The next few days in Pune were great. I got to see more of the city and get a feel for life in India; the food, public transport etc. But, this was not where I would be spending most of my time. Just two days after I arrived, I was heading off the Kedgaon, a town about an hour's drive away from the main city center of Pune. I would be staying in Mukti Mission, a home for destitute women and children. This was rather exciting as it was the same place my mum had been at (on a visit) around 25 years ago. She had described some of it to me, but after 25 years, you have to expect a lot of changes. I was in no condition to take in my surroundings the night I got there. It had been a long, dusty journey, and I was still rather jetlagged. But, the following few days held ample chances to get to know the place. The grounds are beautiful, and gigantic! I had imagined a small couple of buildings and some trees and not much else. But it just stretched out before you, all dusty and serene. Well, not completely serene, it's rather active.

There are so many great people here, staff and residents, who all greet you with a cheery "Good morning/afternoon/evening" and make you feel so welcomed. It's so wonderful to just talk to the children and women here, even though I speak next to nothing in their language (Marathi). But you get by on smiles and nods and frequent hand gesturings. The kids are especially fun to talk to, though I'm sure they spend a lot of time making fun of me! ;)

Unfortunately, my health has not been perfect since I got here. I caught a cold type thing that went away quite quickly, but this very annoying, harrowing-old-man-style cough has lingered. So I frequently have to cough to the point where I sound like I'm going to puke a lung, and then have to gasp and try and breathe to settle myself again. It's rather annoying. But, PTL, it seems to be getting slightly better.

So there you go, I'm in India :)

Peace.