We spoke too soon!

So much for the perception of Germany abroad... ;)



After coming back to Darjeeling Town from the Permaculture Course where we all were pretty much cut off I am now using my regained internet access to tell you more about the weeks before leaving for the course. (The course itself will hopefully be depicted in the following entry!) I just hope my fingers won't frostbite in the meantime (I'm more than 2000 m above sea level here) and there won't be any power failure...

As a title for this entry I chose the phrase which Sara and I found to be the most useful one when travelling in India. (German version: "Zu frueh gefreut"). It starts with an enthusiastic "Oh wow, this bathroom has a shower!" and ends with a disenchanted "Oh, no water..." ;) And that's just one of many examples...

In the meantime I did a wonderful trip to McLeod Ganj (near Dharamsala) with Sara and Parmod. This gave us amazing opportunities to have an exchange about our cultures since it was the first time for Parmod to come to a place overrun with Westerners and even adapted to their wishes (Sara and I made sure that we didn't take a single Indian meal during our time there but rather indulged in Japanese, Tibetan and Italian food ;) ). Also we learnt a lot about Tibet and its culture and situation since McLeod is the home of thousands of Tibetan refugees.

So now I know that it is perceived as absolutely repulsive to blow one's nose in the public, but not disgusting at all to sniffle back one's snot nor to loudly hawk and spit. Also it is most indecent behaviour to take off one's jumper in public, no matter how many layers one might be wearing beneath. And of course it is absolutely offensive to kiss in public, whereas it is no problem to pee standing at the roadside. :)

My English might also have adapted to the Indian style by now. People use the word "too" extensively (it's just too much! ;) ), they say "less" instead of little, they pronounce "s" as "sh" (the other day somebody offered me "take a sheat" :)) and they love saying "yes ma'am", "thank you sir", "as you wish"... It also doesn't happen rarely that someone approaches you in the middle of the street and aks for "one photo pliiize" or simply throws a brusque "you're from?" into your face and walks away contentedly once you've given the answer (sometimes after telling you how beautiful your home country is, though I'm sure I could also say I'm from Honululu and they'd say "ooh, Honululu, veerry beautifull..." ;)). It also took Sara and me quite a while to convince our Indian friends that "brinjal" (eggplant) is not an English word... In Darjeeling we were told about the opportunity to visit the "jew" and figured out after a while that this hadn't to do with the many Israeli travellers in India (actually I haven't met any of these here, but rather tons of British people), but was meant to be the "zoo". :)

The day after tomorrow I'll be leaving for Assam where I'll be meeting my Couchsurfing friend from Delhi again and travelling for two weeks... Enjoy the pics!

View of the Ashram where I spent a few days (near Raiwala)

My favourite quote at the Ashram was a temporary one
(ok, there is nothing such as a "favourite quote" for me...)

A nearby small mandir (Hindu temple) with the national bird of India (peacock) depicted -
a cow shouldn't be missing either of course!

View of the Ganges river near the ashram

I've come to enjoy taking pictures of butterflies here...

Small celebration of the birthday of one of the adopted children at the ashram

For the agriculturalists: Jatropha plant

The two spiritual leaders whose teachings are studied and lived in the ashram -
Mira Alfassa and Sri Aurobindo

I told you about my butterfly passion ;)

Thought this could be a good "India calendar" picture ;)

Whatever it is, it is colourful!

On the way back to the farm I passed this Bavarian mosque ;)

What else would I introduce to the farm if not a fruit basket? ;)

Louise and Parmod working on the school project

The farewell dance for Dayana - can you read her name?

Louise is not doing a surgery, but a henna on Dayana's hand ;)

... that's the result

I like the "if desired" part ;)

Sachin, me and Parmod in front of the Sai Baba temple in Dehradun

Before entering a temple you can buy a "prasad", a basket with things to offer to the deity or saint,
usually marigold, sweets and popped lotus seed

Inside the temple - the peacocks again and representatives of different religions since
Sai Baba taught the unity of all religions

Sai Baba statue in the temple - it is here where the offering is given
to the saint and then received again to be ingested

Ever ridden an "Om bike"? ;)

The only swimming spot I saw in India so far (not very deep though)

Hooray, a metrocable! :)

Views from the cable car cabin

Traditional way to draw up water from the fountain

Da koennen wir vor Neid nur erblassen, was Vivi? ;)
The prayer flags in my room can't really match up to that...

Building a bee hive at the farm

Henna can also look nice on the feet!

Teaching children of a nearby school about climate change and organic farming

Including outdoor exercises...

... and dance presentations :)

The school project caravan :)

At the bus terminal of Dehradun - I can tell you, this sign at toilets
can be understood as a warning...

Our night ride to Dharamsala got quite delayed by a tyre change -
nothing unusual in India...

Having lunch at our Couchsurfing host's place near Dharamsala

Did I mention that Indian cows have the most beautiful eyes ever??

An interesting tree I saw...

Rice paddies in the surrounding area where we went for a walk...

Note the mountain in the background...

I love Lantana for its smell, but it can also serve as a nice hair accessory :)

Sara and me with our Couchsurfing hosts Uma and Ramnik

I didn't have the impression that people in McLeod have ever seen a German Bakery...

... but form your own opinion :)

Feel like having a Swidish massage? :)

The hostel we stayed in...

One single room was 200 Rupees per night! (2,90 Euros or 3,90 USD)

Another picture for you to find the irony in ;)

I know where I'll be staying next time! :)

Sara and me on a walk

I kinda liked this toilet sign ;)

Parmod, Sara and me during our momo cooking class!
It's far more difficult than I thought!

... there are different possible shapes and fillings -
we also did chocolate ones which is not exactly traditional ;)
The readily shaped momos are cooked in a special steaming dish

Chopstick lesson while waiting for the momos :)

Parmod and me at the Gompa (Tibetan monastery) of McLeod

Seems familiar :)

View from the monastery

Tibetan prayer wheels - they usually have the mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum"
written on them in Sanskrit and are to be turned clockwise by the passing people

Map of Tibet in the Tibetan museum

While we are buying self-tanning lotion in the West,
people here are mad about fairness cream!

Not the only sign in Hebrew I saw - McLeod is one of the places
in India which are very popular with Israeli travellers

Women on construction sites are a very common sight in India...

Hey Raffi, von so einer Auswahl koennen wir auf deutschen Flomaerkten nur traeumen was? :)
We bought one of these on a German flea market for our flat...

At the river after a pleasant walk...

Another picture for the India calendar ;)

A Tibetan monk is enjoying the site as well...

An "art cave" made by previous travellers, mostly Israelis as it seems...

No, this didn't have anything in common with a German bakery either ;)

Typical sight in India...

A car that's been decorated for a wedding

And another pleasant walk...

Sunset over McLeod

The "dormatry" we spent our last night in...

... and what it looked like from inside

Well then... nutzen den Tag! :) (written on a menu of a
restaurant with the same name)

Painting of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet

On the way back to Dharamsala... most taxis in India are so crowded that the driver has
to reach over a few legs to get hold of the gear change :)

On the bus to Chandigarh where we stopped for one night to see the capital of
two states and the first planned city of India

Sara and me with our Couchsurfing hosts Aman, Manpreet and and Sukhwinder -
thanks again so much for the lovely hospitality!

Transport service was included :)

I needn't go to Rajasthan to see a camel...

Visit to the Rock Garden of Chandigarh

A wall made from electric sockets - recycling art at its best!

Somehow felt reminded of Hobbiton... :)

Only one of some very funny mirrors :)

Three types of dosa (South Indian rice crepes with or without filling)

Yummy - carrot halwa covered with nuts and raisins

Italians would throw their hands up in horror at this sight ;)

This is how people "queue" in India... ;)

On the bus back to Dehradun with a Sikh driver

One final hand laundry at the farm...

... and one final yoga session on the roof...

MISS YOU, NAVDANYA!!!

To be continued...