Home not even for one weekend

and I am escaping the heat and heading to the mountains. Dharamsala here I come!

Saabira, my roomie got into Grad School at NYU and she is going to be leaving me in May to head home to Bangalore before she moves to the States. Because of this we are finally holding each other accountable for all of the trips that we said that we were going to take, but never got around to. Congrats Saabs, and bring on the weekend trips!

It wasn't as Traumatic as I thought...

When my Taxi driver neared closer to the Delhi International Airport my heart started racing..."what if I have picked up some strange habit that I don't even realize, and all the kids at school make fun of me" I starting thinking... It had been seven months since I had been home, and I have been away for almost that long while I was in Australia, but AU and India are two different planets. The worst that can happen in Aussie world is that you call everyone 'Mate' become obsessed with Rugby, Aussie Rules and you become a master griller on the barbie. Can't say I would complain about that.

In India my non-verbal communication has completely altered. I have totally picked up the head bobble, confusing the heck out of people that I talk to, if I am not aware. My personal space bubble has become limited, I have been known to bump into people, not think it is strange and not apologize. I push through a crowd, I don't smile at strangers and I avoid eye contact when not communicating...unless I am starting...yeah, I do that now too. It is a very easy one to pick up. Everyone just watches everyone else. I knew that if I brought these things home to the US they would not be received well and I may offend strangers and my good friends alike.

As soon as I got home the questions were a firing away and often times people asked me the one question that I asked myself constantly...is it strange to be home...and the answer was simple. No. It was nice. It was pleasant, quiet, relaxing and I really enjoyed seeing everyone. I think that India and the US are on such completely different sides of the spectrum in almost every way, that I was able to compartmentalize the two worlds and have a Quinnen in each of them. From my limited perspective, friends, you can disagree, but I felt like I fit right back into things with ease.

Little things that I noticed and thought were funny:

• I couldn't wait to eat a normal American breakfast, with eggs, french toast, hash browns, bacon, and when I did, I couldn't stop.
• A girl smiled at me and I panicked, until I realized that the proper thing to do was not just stare and walk by, but smile back. I started thinking that Westerns smile a lot.
• When someone's coffee lid fell on the ground I was shocked that she picked it up.
• I had to remember to put my seatbelt on. I am used to sitting in the back and cars not having them.
• I was excited to wear a dress that showed my knees.
• I was appalled at what the young girls were wearing and constantly shocked by how short skirts were and how low women shirts were.
• I found myself putting pepper on EVERYTHING and I couldn't wait to eat Indian food.
• I saw a man standing against a wall with his back to me and I assumed he was peeing in public.

Overall I had an amazing time at the wedding, loved catching up with friends, hanging with my fam, eating delicious food for restaurant week and I have all of you to thank for that! I can't wait to see you again in June.

"Welcome Home" said India

sarcastically as it smacked me in the face with 100 degree weather and laughed.

Thanks for Sharing Todd!

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/03/holi_2010.html

Thanks for sharing Todd!

Playing Holi

Whenever your day consists of:

• Squirt Guns filled with bright staining color
• Water Balloon ambushes by strangers
• Watching people roll up their car windows as they approach you running down the streets towards them
• Dumping bags of colors on little children
• Using a rickshaw as a get-away/attack vehicle
• Riding in an open back truck filled with people and extra ammo
• Parties with free food, beer, buckets of water, and color
• Farm houses with DJs and crazy colored people
• Getting stuck at said farm house because your ride got pushed into a purple pool with his keys.

You know you are in for an amazing time!

I have been waiting to celebrate this day since I first heard about it from Chad a few years back and needless to say, I was not let down. The day started the night before where I bought a new outfit just to be destroyed the next day. Basically I had been told, more cautioned to be careful when walking outside because if you look clean - you will be attacked, you will be hit. You will be colored and you will be soaked. That is just the way it is. I took those words carefully and made sure to be the aggressor and douse those around me before I could get colored (in a non-violent country I think I was a hit...).

When my alarm went off at 7:00 am. I woke up, dressed, started to think about how I was going to brave the outdoors and get to the Saket Mall where Annabelle's hotel was. Luckily Satya called me and offered to have his taxi pick me up. I ran out the door and straight into the back seat locking eyes with three young men on my road who I could tell were upset that they missed a great chance to hit an unsuspecting target.

We drove away surprised that the rukus had not yet started, ate breakfast and then filled the squirt guns with bright pink and purple colors. We ran the streets sprinting and squirting each other as the guards watched and ran away from us. Cars would roll up their windows as they passed us and we chased a few strangers around the corners. Realizing that nothing was happening in our area we hailed a rickshaw and took the fun on the road.

We slowly approached three hooligans on the left and we knew that we were in for trouble. I started to pump the pressure guage on my gun to prepare for the drive-by when the driver stopped in front of them. We all paused momentarily when the kids started launching water balloons at us. "Challo! Challo!" we screamed and the driver took off. He totally betrayed us, but we were all laughing and having fun along the way. We got dropped at the office where we reloaded and attacked a few more people around as I waited for my ride to come.

Christine pulls up with her friend Abhishek in his car fully lined with sheets, a gun and a bucket of balloons in the back...seriously seasoned veteran. Along the way to his friend's house he preps us that this guy is a huge lover of Holi and by the time that we leave the house you won't be able to see any of our skin. I though he was joking...

3 buckets of water over the head, 25 people at the house, and tons of sented green and orange powder in my mouth - later, the truck arrived. You know the ones that I am talking about...the big U-haul minus the sides and just an open exposed frame for you to hold on to. Highly illegal in the states, but in the land of crazy traffic and no rules we all piled in handing each other super soakers and buckets of balloons.

Where were we going? Did it even matter, it's not the destination that counts. We launched our supplies at everyone and anything that passed us: open windows of cars, people on motorbikes, and of course the HOLI Cows!

When the truck stopped we hopped out at someone's house. I watched as people were being checked off the guest list and I started to get nervous that I wasn't going to make it in being a tag-a-long and all. I heard someone yell, "we're from the truck!" The doors opened and I was in an oaisis of Holi. It was someone's backyard transformed into a playing field. There was an open bar on one side, cooks preparing food on the other and in the middle bowls full of color, buckets of water to shoot at people and a DJ and stage!

I couldn't believe it. We ran around like idiots for about 3 hours. I was drenched to the core with all of my color fading into a dark green-black when someone decided it was time to roll out. The group was herded back into the truck and we headed out to a Farm Party. Again, when I walk into this amazing yard - it was transformed into a wonderland with a bar, and pool and DJ. You couldn't tell what anyone looked like and everyone was bright pink, yellow, green, purple and smiling. Even though it is a city of 12 million people, and I originally only knew one person that I started my day with most my friends in Delhi ended up at this place and we danced the night away.

I loved Holi, I wish that it was celebrated in the states, but knowing us...we would just make it violent and people would get hurt. It was one of those times where you really understand the true being of India. Where everyone puts the community before themselves just to keep the peace. We hit so many strangers in the heads with water balloons and I got hit many times too on my way to work. You are not always happy but you shrug it off and laugh and go one with your life. It was just a great day, and a great environment.

Happy Holi!

Pre-Stepping Outside

At the end of the night...

Temporary

The life of an expat is so temporary...you know that you are not going to be here for long, your friends are constantly leaving and changing, you focuses adapt and you constantly have to decided who and what is worth your time in a world where everything is new and needs to be explored.

When I first moved to Delhi everyone told me that no one stays here long. They are stationed here for work. Most of the people who I have met who are not here for NGO work don't ever quite seem to leave their comfort bubble and don't really let India in. It is not an easy place. This means that there is a disconnect and a desire to finish your time and move on.

As a fresher, one of the first questions that I was asked was, "How long are you here for?" Within the seconds that it takes to answer the question, your audience has decided whether or not you are worth their investment. It sounds sad, but it is true. There is no point spending the time and energy getting to know someone new who is going to be leaving in a month.

Now that the summer is coming and the heat is starting to role in, those who have half of a brain and no contract holding them here are heading home, and shipping out. I hear the summers are miserable and you band together inside ACed rooms to survive. My roommate Alex left for Thailand last week and I miss him incredibly. Now Alison, the other rock in my Indian life is flying out tonight. Nadia, a new girl from France is my new housemate and although she is old to the city she is new to me. The dynamics change once again...