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Well who'd have thought it… me, a tea drinker!But its true.Chai is fricking awesome - I can't get enough of the stuff.Even when its 50̊ outside (or at least feels like it) I'll quite happily sit down to a good brew.Its probably the fact that it is made from equal parts tea to sugar mixed into boiling milk, but if that means I can finally engage in a sociable cupper, then I'm happy.I'll be shipping the stuff back in droves when I come home.
Other than tea drinking, a multitude of things have been making me happy these past couple of weeks.
I finally got a go on a motorbike and am proud to say I took to it like a fish to water.It's all the same as a car - just in a different place.I think it's just a matter of practising and getting used to the new functions of my hands and feet, and then I'll be away.My balance is pretty good from the miles a day I used to cycle around London!Oof, if I can survive that, I'm confident in my ability to survive a motorbike on these roads.Just beep a lot - that appears to be the key!I'm just waiting now to sort out my drivers license form and have a few more goes off road and hopefully my boss will endow me with the keys… watch this space.I don't think its overly usual for women to be seen riding motorbikes so we shall see if it transpires.
Talking of my bicycle - oh how I miss it.And exercise in general!My new lifestyle doesn't really permit for running around alone and, even if I did buy a bicycle, there'd be nowhere to ride it too since the villages are too far away and my office too close.In short, I'm getting fat.Who'd have thought it - but no amount of Delhi belly can account for the amount of ghee, sugar and salt I am consuming, and not burning off.Going on a fricking diet… in India?It just feels wrong, but I am starting to limit my intake for fear of developing diabetes.Oh and an exercise DVD is definitely a must - I'll be buying one asap.
In other news, I made my way down to the market for a good girly shop, rather than one dominated by buying rice and the like.I had my eyebrows threaded, which was quite an experience.Don't ask me how they do it but the twisting of thread, pain, and a great result, are involved.I then, naively, asked for a hair cut, since the ends needed to come off.This comprised of the women brushing my hair straight with a comb and taking to it with a pair of scissors 'bowl-cut' style, without a fricking bowl!Still, I wear my hair up everyday anyway so it matters not, and hopefully it will grow a bit quicker now.And at Rs. 20 for the whole packaged (24p) I came away smiling.I also bought a new Salwaar Kameez which, with personal tailoring included, cost Rs 310 (around $3.80 - no pound sign on this keyboard).So it looks like I'll be comfortable enough living off my wage.
I have also booked a train ticket to visit Delhi in a couple of weeks, about which I am tres excited.I will be staying with the sister in law of my friend from MRDF, who I call Didi (which means big sister, but it is used as a term for women who are older to you and are close to you here - i.e. I am the didi of a younger girl that lives around the corner).That's all very exciting because Nowgong isn't the most happening of places.There's no pretty things to look at or buy, since there are no tourists, which incidentally means that I am gawked at quite a bit.I don't really mind though - I dunno what ethnic minorities in Britain are moaning about, being stared at makes you feel special!
The purchase of a mosquito net also had me smiling early last week.Having come to the end of the rainy season, the bugs are out in force.I felt like I was in the middle of a plague of locusts - I definitely would have let the Jews go, if only I knew how.I couldn't even read by my little head torch at night because beetles and other winged things would simply fly at my face.But now, thanks to Raheesh Ji and Deshrash, I have a nice little haven from which I can read, and dally on the puter without fear of insectal intrusion.Well, almost, but some of the b*****s are small enough to fit through the mesh.
Work is going ok.I'm slowly starting to understand how things work and have begun to relax into my role a bit more.I'm working hard and hopefully well but I'm still watching and learning about how the organisation operates.
I can't believe I've been away for nearly a month already.The time does go slowly here but a month sounds a lot longer than it actually is.My Hindi is coming along and I think I'm getting to grips with tenses and things.One problem is that people don't slow down their speech or speak clearly around me, so I have no hope in hell of understanding what they're saying.Still, I'm trying to be patient - a virtue that I definitely need to develop, and hoping that it will come more with time.I mainly want to be able to speak to residents of villages really, so I can know what they know and engage with them without the need of a translator.
Other than that, no real news.I'm not allowed to go anywhere on my own since women don't really do that in India.I'm trying to persuade the powers at be that I'm perfectly safe, however, but again, only time will tell my success.I think this is perhaps the most difficult thing I've come across from being here.I'm so used to my independence and being in control of my life, but now I have to be escorted just to buy a bottle of water.I appreciate that Nowgong probably wouldn't cope with me on my own though, and I probably wouldn't cope with it for that matter, but I really want to go to a nearby tourist spot to see if I can make friends with some travellers but even this is not really permitted.I appreciate my bosses concern though so will do as I'm told I guess.
It is so fricking hot here, I feel like I'm in a sauna from which I can't escape.My room has the sun shinning directly into it too so I wake through heat every morning at 7am, if I'm lucky enough to get to sleep in the first place that is!Even more upsetting, I've been told this is nothing compared to the months of April to June, during which the 'air is so hot' it's hard to breathe.I just don't know how I'll cope!
Thanks for the packages I received and the messages and emails.Its so good to hear about what you're all up to at home.And I'm so pleased that Kerr is out of hospital at last - if he's up to it of course!Randy, Rachel - those books and the DVDs will keep me occupied for months, thank you so so much.Anna - I'm still asking daily about your package, I'm sure it'll get here any day.
As always, come and visit if you wish, you're always welcome.Well, boys aren't really because it would look really dodgy but if you're in the area I'll try and get a few days to pop by.
Hope you're all good.
Lots of love
Mandie xx
PS - photos winging there way to a STA blog near you soon.
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