Finally, after three days of orientation, we hit the road for our 2.5 hour bus ride to Pune. Because of the monsoons, there are many potholes in the roads which just adds to the generally terrifying experience of driving in India. Many roads have no traffic lanes and are shared between cars, buses, auto-rickshaws, motorcycles, pedestrians, cows, elephants, horses, and stray dogs. Although I did see a sign that read “Please Follow Traffic Rules”, I can’t seem to figure out what exactly these rules are. All of the vehicles simply honk at each other to communicate and let the others know they’re coming, and you generally just have to push your way into an intersection to get anywhere. Not only are all of these different vehicles sharing the road, but they’re all close enough to touch. Also, fun fact: there was recently a huge traffic jam caused on Laxmi Road (a big shopping area) because an elephant stopped to pee.
Upon arriving in Pune Friday afternoon, we had lunch at the Program Center and met our “Indian Buddies”, a group of Indian students from Pune who show us around and interpret for us when we do our internships later in the semester. After a small tour of Fergusson College with our “buddies”, my roommate, D, and I went to our home-stay to meet our new family. [I will use first letters to refer to everyone going forward] Our host-mother is wonderful and her english is very easy to understand. They also have a younger daughter and a son who’s closer to our age. So far, we’ve been eating much lighter food and everything has been delicious and not too spicy. I’m learning to eat with my hands too! Well, just the right one - the left hand is dirty. I’m trying to write down everything I eat so I can make some when I come home! Most of the dishes are not made with meat though, so I may end up sort of accidentally becoming a vegetarian this semester.
After spending some time getting settled into our new homes yesterday (Saturday), we went around the city with our Indian Buddies. We went to an amazing temple dedicated to Ganapati/Lord Ganesha. The part where the idol sits inside was exquisitely decorated, the walls surrounding it were covered in silver and gold designs which I was told was actually pure gold. It was incredible. After the temple, we collected our shoes and headed to a fruit and vegetable market. (Side note: at home, at the program center, in some of our classrooms, and at any temples, you remove your shoes which I love, it’s so comfy!) We stopped for ice cream later on and I ordered a delicious Mango Mastani which is a mango milkshake with a scoop of mango ice cream on top. It cost me Rs 40 which is about 80 American cents. Yep, I could get used to this. Then we traveled to Pune University and our last stop, the Pune Okayama Friendship Garden which was a beautifully peaceful Japanese garden. A small escape from the noise and pollution of the city. Unfortunately, I’ll be spending a lot of time with my face covered to protect my lungs from the dust and pollution. I guess that just means I’ll have to buy lots and lots of beautiful scarves!
xo A
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