Last night we had a thunderstorm and it rained hard. The sound of the thunder and the rain was soothing and wonderful to hear as I was sleeping, but it soaked my almost dry underwear that was outside drying for two days already. This is a little bit of a problem, because now I have no clean and dry underwear for today. Guess I will be going commando for one more day.
So we are all settling in now to life at the park. We are bonding as a group and just waiting for one more volunteer, the film maker, to arrive from Nepal. He is coming with a cast on his foot, so they have asked me to help him with his film making since I know how to use a camera. I'm not sure what that means exactly, but in the spirit of cooperation, and it sounds interesting, I said yes.
So as it stands now, the volunteers live in two houses that are not that far apart. The one we live in is called Sound Proof Hall, but we call it the guest house. It is ironic because it is made with tile and marble and you can hear someone sneeze from anywhere because there is no insulation. The walls do not go to the ceiling in the bathrooms, which takes a little getting used to in this country...I won't go into detail but leave that one to your imagination.
I live in the guest house with Sarah and Anita. Sarah is my roommate and she knows Hindi and lets me use her Internet wi-fi, so I am the winner in the roommate lottery. She is working on her masters on "appreciative language" to correct behavior in interns. She reminds me of Michelle very much. The other housemate is Anita, who is a mosaic artist from Britain.
The other house is called the Guru House, because Nek Chand built it for his Guru who has now passed on to the cosmic cosmos. It is about a five minute walk by the walls, and it is literally a grotto hidden behind the great waterfalls. I posted two pictures after this post. I am experimenting with new software.
The other volunteers are in the Guru house: Jody,Sue, Adam and soon to be, the filmaker. The Guru house is a bit more cozy and like a home, but it is cold and chilly because it is by the waterfall. It also has a bit of mold, so everyone seems to be pleased with their choice of a house.
Jody is a graphic designer from Oregon, and we started our friendship several months ago by e-mail and skype. Sue is a wild child with bright hot pink hair and a razor necklace with drips of plastic blood coming from it. She is Scottish, but lives in a squatter sculpture park in Italy outside Bologna, Italy. I think she lives in a car, but I am not sure. Adam is probably the most qualified to be here. He is a professional mosaic artist who works with public schools in Britain and does alot of public art projects. I already told him I would like to apprentice with him during our stay. Jody is 60, Anita and I are in our 50s, and the rest are in their 40s, so we are a mature group.
So far, the personalities for the most part are all easy to be with, positive and fun. There is an easy going, it-happens-when-it-happens spirit of cooperation and acceptance, which makes some of the frustrations of dealing with India more bearable.
As far as basic needs, the only thing we are missing is active cell phone service so we can communicate easily. Right now, like the old days, we have to pre-arrange a time to meet, and if that doesn't happen for one reason or another, we end up floundering or worse, spending an entire day on our own.
Nek Chand's driver took us into town yesterday and helped us to get phones and sim cards, and in my case, serve as my local reference. India has become very security conscious because of its relationship to Pakistan and to potential terrorists, so you have to provide two local references with phone numbers and addresses. They thought I was nuts when I said I lived in the Rock Garden, so we had to come up with Nek Chand's driver who would serve as a reference.
Also, we had to get photocopies of our passports and actual photos of our selves for the phone application, which would not be a problem in our country, since most of us have access to printers, etc. easily. Not here. You have to go to a special shop for a photo copy and there is only one photo taker here in town, so it took almost an entire day to complete the requirements of the application.
To add insult, they tell you it will take a day to get service, but most of them take up to a week to get turned on. So we wait, and maybe we get it and maybe we don't. That is settling in the India way!
lots of love and friendship across the world,
namaste,
j
So we are all settling in now to life at the park. We are bonding as a group and just waiting for one more volunteer, the film maker, to arrive from Nepal. He is coming with a cast on his foot, so they have asked me to help him with his film making since I know how to use a camera. I'm not sure what that means exactly, but in the spirit of cooperation, and it sounds interesting, I said yes.
So as it stands now, the volunteers live in two houses that are not that far apart. The one we live in is called Sound Proof Hall, but we call it the guest house. It is ironic because it is made with tile and marble and you can hear someone sneeze from anywhere because there is no insulation. The walls do not go to the ceiling in the bathrooms, which takes a little getting used to in this country...I won't go into detail but leave that one to your imagination.
I live in the guest house with Sarah and Anita. Sarah is my roommate and she knows Hindi and lets me use her Internet wi-fi, so I am the winner in the roommate lottery. She is working on her masters on "appreciative language" to correct behavior in interns. She reminds me of Michelle very much. The other housemate is Anita, who is a mosaic artist from Britain.
The other house is called the Guru House, because Nek Chand built it for his Guru who has now passed on to the cosmic cosmos. It is about a five minute walk by the walls, and it is literally a grotto hidden behind the great waterfalls. I posted two pictures after this post. I am experimenting with new software.
The other volunteers are in the Guru house: Jody,Sue, Adam and soon to be, the filmaker. The Guru house is a bit more cozy and like a home, but it is cold and chilly because it is by the waterfall. It also has a bit of mold, so everyone seems to be pleased with their choice of a house.
Jody is a graphic designer from Oregon, and we started our friendship several months ago by e-mail and skype. Sue is a wild child with bright hot pink hair and a razor necklace with drips of plastic blood coming from it. She is Scottish, but lives in a squatter sculpture park in Italy outside Bologna, Italy. I think she lives in a car, but I am not sure. Adam is probably the most qualified to be here. He is a professional mosaic artist who works with public schools in Britain and does alot of public art projects. I already told him I would like to apprentice with him during our stay. Jody is 60, Anita and I are in our 50s, and the rest are in their 40s, so we are a mature group.
So far, the personalities for the most part are all easy to be with, positive and fun. There is an easy going, it-happens-when-it-happens spirit of cooperation and acceptance, which makes some of the frustrations of dealing with India more bearable.
As far as basic needs, the only thing we are missing is active cell phone service so we can communicate easily. Right now, like the old days, we have to pre-arrange a time to meet, and if that doesn't happen for one reason or another, we end up floundering or worse, spending an entire day on our own.
Nek Chand's driver took us into town yesterday and helped us to get phones and sim cards, and in my case, serve as my local reference. India has become very security conscious because of its relationship to Pakistan and to potential terrorists, so you have to provide two local references with phone numbers and addresses. They thought I was nuts when I said I lived in the Rock Garden, so we had to come up with Nek Chand's driver who would serve as a reference.
Also, we had to get photocopies of our passports and actual photos of our selves for the phone application, which would not be a problem in our country, since most of us have access to printers, etc. easily. Not here. You have to go to a special shop for a photo copy and there is only one photo taker here in town, so it took almost an entire day to complete the requirements of the application.
To add insult, they tell you it will take a day to get service, but most of them take up to a week to get turned on. So we wait, and maybe we get it and maybe we don't. That is settling in the India way!
lots of love and friendship across the world,
namaste,
j
I just realized my posts are anonymous..I don't know how to add my name...but it is me!!!Melanie
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Jan, reading about your first finds about the quirky ways of other countries, reminds me of our trip out to the Galapagos for our volunteer trip. at midnight they would shut off all electricity to San Cristobel where we were staying. after that we we at the mercy of heat and everything that crawled, flew, or slithered. The showers were also rigged with electricity, Ron got shocked once and knocked out power to the hotel. lol. also they shut the airport down at night. I so enjoy reading about your adventures. They bring back the memories. love you. Denise Landwerlen
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