I had actually been looking for a job in India for a few months... I knew I had friends there and it is a country that has always, somehow, been part of my life. When I was a little kid my parents went on a few trips to India and they came back with amazing photos and stories about that place. My mom also used to write me letters every day, and those are the first things I read in my life.. I actually learned how to read on letters describing India... That, of course, created this magical image of India in my mind, and then, when I was living in California, I got to meet some people that made me realize I was just destined to go there. Then there is also an official excuse, India is the country of the future. Lately I have been dreaming about the idea of living in one (or more) of the BRIC countries, and India is the only one where I know the language (for now..)
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| the BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China |
So here I am, 1 month later, writing about my first month living in one of the biggest cities in the world, in one of the most special countries in the world, once again thousands of miles from home, and, this time, I am actually working! It is so weird right now to believe all that happened since the end of the summer. It's like a dream that came true... after spending weeks and weeks in Bologna, where my only activity was checking my email, I just had a month full of events, emotions, life lessons, and crazy days.. and I really need to sit down and write about it to "digest it".
The first few days were pretty weird... It didn't help that I left Italy with a high fever and an ear infection, I couldn't hear anything until the third day I was here.. and it was kind of a cool experience.. I got to see India for the first time with only my eyes, without noises... some of my friends told me that I missed the strong emotions of the first impact with the loud city of Mumbai, but I see it more as a way to slowly adapt my ears to a whole new level of noise that was pretty shocking to me in the beginning, but now I'm used to it. (or maybe something in my ears broke and loud honking doesn't affect me anymore)
So let's see.. people ask me: "How is India?"... the first answer that comes to mind is: "I don't know". Something that I noticed is that this place is way more difficult to describe than any other place I have visited... So, for now, I will only say that I really, REALLY like it, more than I was expecting.. and I can think of some first impressions, that I know will change with time. For sure, though, I have been learning a lot.. every day so many new lessons about this place, the world, and myself. These are a few things I learned in a month, in no particular order: (Some/most/all of them sound exactly like what everybody else said in their blogs about India... but it is fair that I list my first, not-very-original, impressions, so that I can laugh about them in a few months)
- I will never complain about traffic in Bologna ever again.
- There is no such thing as a “full bus/train”. There is ALWAYS room for more people.
- A car accident is not a car accident until the cars actually touch each other. It doesn’t matter how incredibly close they are.
- In Mumbai you can eat a full, good, complete meal for 40 rupees (50 eurocents) or for 10 000 rupees (150 euros).
- No matter how fancy, quiet, peaceful, different the neighborhood is, being on the street will always remind you that you are in India.
- In Mumbai one single person can have more money than 1 million people all together. And it is likely that they share the same neighborhood.
- Taking an auto rickshaw is one of the most fun things I have ever done.
- So is taking a busy train during rush hour.
- Both things mentioned above can be really frustrating and make you hate Mumbai if you happen to be in a bad mood that day.
- NEVER say "I can't believe I haven't had any health problems yet". The day after you'll wake up with a fever.
- It is useless to stress out over being late because of traffic or late buses/trains. Everybody in Mumbai is aware of the commuting situation and, most likely, they will be late too.
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| Diwali 2011 |
- Diwali is a beautiful celebration. After 5 days of scary loud fireworks at every hour of the day and night right outside of my window like it was world war 3, I was praying for it to be over soon, but, yeah, it was great! :-)
- I am really lucky to know people here. If it wasn't for them I would be living the "expat life", which is fun, but maybe too detached from the place where we all are. I was able to have some amazing authentic Indian experiences right after I got here, and I am so thankful for that.
- The idea of going from A to B gets a whole new meaning in this city. Every time you have to go somewhere, take into account that it might take a few hours, no matter how close your destination is.
- I am so privileged and lucky for all the things I have done in my life. I realize it more and more every day.
- Indian food is delicious! I do not understand how so many people back in Italy think it is so crazy and weird.. it is really good and, I think, also very easy to like for even close-minded people like Italians, it is just a little spicy, which is really something that people should get over. I feel like Italians are scared as soon as they taste the first spiciness and think that it will burn them alive.. but it really is something you should try once and you will understand that nothing happens. Really.
- Most of the people here are really nice, honest, open-minded, hard-working, and they will try to help you, even if you don't ask them, even if you don't want them to help you, even if you told them 3 times that you don't need their help.
- Either be aggressive and push people... or get home from work 2 hours later: you choose.
- It really is amazing to see so many different religions in the same place, all peacefully respecting each other (especially after going to Israel..)
- India is a beautiful, modern country, where everything is possible.
