I am now going home in under 48 hours, it's very strange and the last 2 months have gone by very quickly. Nepal seems like a lifetime ago and last time I was in England there were Christmas trees up!
I have loved India. It is an absolutely amazing country, and it's HUGE. 2 months does not do it justice in any way, you need at least 2 years to be able to see a decent amount of it. But what I have loved most about it is the people, people always make a place.
The time that best describes why I love the Indian people is when I had insommnia. I hadn't slept well for a couple of days and was walking in Kollam and had originally planned to find somewhere to sit by myself. However, this country has over 1 billion people and being by yourself is not very possible. I ended up sitting on a bridge watching the road. In England I may have worried about looking strange, but I'm a white person in India and therefore am automatically strange and so might as well live up to expectations.
I was essentially people watching and wasn't concentrating very hard on what was going on. However, people walked past me and noticed I was there and were openly curious. Back in the UK people would just have pretended I didn't exist, but this is India, people are not subtle. Sure, I got bemused looks but I have long ago got into the habit of grinning at anyone who stares at me. And most people grin back. Some of the old women looked genuinely happy, if slightly surprised. True, I did get the obligatory lechy looks from many men, but by then I had learnt to ignore that. I got smiles from the men, women and children some of whom even waved at me.
It's very hard to be wrapped up in your own problems in a country when few people seem to walk around wrapped up in theirs. I wasn't really looking to be cheered up, but I was simply by the people walking past me. It's hard enough to be able to be able to cheer someone up if you are trying to, but without even realising it is quite a skill. Before I came I was told to be careful and that Indians would try and rip me off. Yes, the autorickshaw drivers do. But you should never go to a country expecting the worst. I have been helped by many Indians, who have been genuinely willing to help and friendly.
When in Puri I was given a tika by a women on the street simply because I was wearing Indian clothes. She literally took it off her head and gave it to me. I was once sitting on a beach and a random child came up and had a chat with me, for no reason other than I was there (and I was white). The guest house manager in Mumbai was so helpful and always willing to have a chat with me. There are many many more examples over the past 2 months.
I have only been given the opportunity to see this gorgeous country because of AV. They are a wonderful company. When first arriving in Nepal it is slightly daunting, but AV hold your hand when you need it but also let you make your own way when they know you can manage. Any time we had a problem they immediately helped us and we knew that we could ask them anything. Even whilst being in India I would not hesitate to contact AV if we were in serious trouble, and I have no doubt they would do their best to help us. I would recommend Africa, Asia and Americas Venture to anyone.
I am going to miss India a lot and I plan to come back. There is so much more to explore and see and, as is often said, India always serves up surprises!
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