Pune

Here are a few pictures from around Pune!

My host mom, Preeti, and me buying Indian flags on Republic Day last Thursday. Republic Day is the Indian version of Constitution Day, but here it's a much bigger deal!

Temple to the God Ganesh that Preeti and I visited on Ganesh's birthday or "Ganesh Ganma." The line to get into the temple was crazy long, but it was really beautiful inside.

Preeti buying a lotus flower from a woman on the street outside of the Ganesh temple.

Vegetable carts are all over Pune, which helps make the congested streets a little more colorful. People lay fruits and vegetables for sale out on blankets on the sidewalks too. They look so tempting, but we've been told a lot of them are not safe to eat. It's funny to see people wheeling these carts down big hills in the middle of traffic to set up shop in a new spot!

Viveka and I with our new friend.

Elephant Crossing

I am in a place where more people stare when I walk down the street than when an elephant walks down the street.

I am here with my American roommate from the program, Viveka, in our host mom’s apartment in Pune. We spent one night at a hotel in Mumbai when we first arrived and then left the next morning for orientation at a nature retreat in Durashet, which is halfway between Mumbai and Pune. Durashet was beautiful and calm. There, we learned culturally appropriate behavior, like how to eat with only your right hand, and a little about our classes and our host families. It was really nice to get to meet the other thirty five people on the program before being thrown into the insanity of Pune. The other kids are great! Everyone seems to definitely have an adventurous, positive spirit and I think they will be excellent travel companions.

Our first night with our host mom, Preeti, was last Friday. Preeti is absolutely wonderful. She drew Viveka and I a detailed map of our neighborhood and wrote down directions to and from Ferguson College in English and Marathi (local language) for the rickshaw drivers. She took me to the tailor to get my new clothes altered (for 70 rupees = less than $1.50) and found me a new laptop charger when mine broke. Her food is to die for. We’re eating lots of cooked vegetables, dal, curry, chipati (like a flour tortilla, but more delicious), and interesting new sweets! Turns out I have a sweet tooth in all cultures. I also realized that “Three Cups of Chai” is the perfect title of this blog, since Viveka, Preeti and I sit down and have three cups of chai tea together multiple times a day!

Everyday Viveka and I risk our lives (not really, Mom) taking a rickshaw to and from Ferguson College campus. The roads are crazy here; no lanes, motorcycles, buses and cars everywhere. It’s a little stressful to walk down the street.

Some people have gotten frustrated with being constantly stared at wherever we go, but it doesn’t bother me too much. Everyone is probably just wondering what I’m doing here- and for good reason! I have never been somewhere where just looking at me I seemed interesting and exotic. When I went for a short run today around the neighborhood, I just tried to smile and nod at people in a way that said, “Yes, I know I am making a huge spectacle!”

Packing Up!

Only four more full days left in Seattle and then the adventure begins! I am studying abroad in Pune, India from mid-January to mid-May. I choose the program, through the Alliance for Global Education, because the classes focus on development, public health and environmental issues; all perfect for an Economics major. Plus, as always, I was looking for a crazy adventure. I'll be living with a host family in Pune- a woman and her adult daughter. I'll also have another student from the program as a roommate. The home stay is one of the things I'm looking forward to the most and from just her short bio, the woman I am staying with sounds lively and welcoming!

I don't know a lot about what this semester will bring, but I'm anticipating whirlwind of new experiences. I can't wait to meet the rest of the students on the program and start to explore Pune. I was sad to leave Georgetown, but I'm also excited to have some time away from hectic campus life. These next few months definitely promise to be radically different from a semester at school. Thank you to everyone who gave me such wonderful goodbyes at school, in Seattle, and everywhere else! I hope to update this blog atleast once a week and give a taste of what's going on.

See you on the other side of the world!
Catherine