11.07.08

here its fashionable to be late. everyone is late to everywhere, except for prayer. everyone is so pious, and they accept each other for whichever religion you belong to, as long as you believe there is a god. They stare at atheists in awe.

life here is good. India is seemingly divided in two. The rich part, which has beautiful shopping malls, amazing gardens, great pubs and discos... Then there's the poor part. where the government doesnt give a shit about people coz tourists never get to know about these places coz they dont come here. You could easily spend 2 weeks in india and say 'what a beautiful place this is'. I used to live in the poor area for the first 5 days. it drove me insane. Nothing can surprise me anymore now, I've seen and lived the worst of the worst of india i think, well there might be worse but i dont know about it. People stare at you like an alien just coz you're white, some try to strike up conversation. Not because they're annoying per se, but because they're so not used to seeing foreigners. This part of the city is forgotten, they feel forgotten, and it shows.

It is so sad to think about what these people go through. A treat for them is the Mango milkshake which they can buy for 10 rupees (67rup make 1 euro) and its seriously the yummiest thing ive ever tasted. i take that and spicy pancakes everyday. At work they now call me Macarodosa, (the spicy pancakes) , because everyone knows i like them so much. But im so fed up of the spice that i just eat the pancakes without the spice hihih, but no one knows... I try to fake I'm becoming indian lol.

At work I wear Indian clothes. They're actually soooo comfortable, and i dont need to stay thinking about what to wear, its like a uniform, you just throw on a Salwar (a long long shirt) on a pair of jeans and flip flops and you're done. I'm now wearing running shoes though,
because at work mosquitoes are attracted to my feet even though i spray on the mosquito repellent.

The indians love the word 'nemusa'. they think its so cool and now tell me 'look! nemusa!' hehe
Malta has a very good name with the salesian brothers. The brothers are great. Sometimes the director just calls me in the evening to make sure i got home ok, they are very protective of us girls, and got seriously pissed off that time when the AIESECers sent me home alone.
They shouted at them on the phone and I was grateful coz I didnt like going alone either.

Its amazing what you can see here. I dont take too many pictures, especially when im alone, because i dont like attracting more attention to myself than I already do. People call me Madam and think Im so rich, which compared to them, even the poorest person at home is. This morning I saw a squirrel, and on my second day I saw a camel walking in the road. Goats and cows roam the streets, but the streets dont smell bad. i dont know how they do it but i didnt see any cowshit
on the streets.

I get most stares when I'm eating. indians have this technique, they mix their rice and spice with their right thumb and forefinger, and eat only with their hand. i refuse to do it, hehe, i might give in and try one day, coz the technique looks really cool, but thank god for my lovely forks in the kitchen... at least i know no one else is using them apart from me hihi.

i think the most amazing thing i saw here however, are the streetchildren.

When i go next to them they all run to me and try to speak to me in english.

They call me aunty and one particular 7 year old, who is sooo tiny, called Kotik, always runs up to me, hugs me, then makes his way up and makes me carry him. He is adorable.

They love it when I tickle them, and everytime I go next to them, they steal my phone without me realising. They are used to pickpocketing, but now they do it more to show off. Whenever they steal something they give it back, even if i dont realise they took it. They know I am there to help them and they wouldnt dare harm someone who helps them.

They have no one in the world apart from us.

Yesterday two twelve year old boys were crying. They ran away from home from Nepal to find work here. Everyone told them that bangalore looks like heaven, and you get paid a lot of money when you work.. then they got here with no money and found nothing.

Another boy was with his mother and younger sister on the train 3 years ago. he was 9 back then. He slept on the train, then woke up to find that his mother and sister had left, without him. he spent the past 3 years in our centres, desperately searching for them with our help, but his family are constantly on the move, always changing house, and as soon as he gets there, they would have just left.
It just makes you ask... why does a mother do that to her child? And how
would you feel to be him? constantly rejected.

And he is sooo intelligent and cute. he goes to his classes and he is well behaved and everything.

But anyway, I guess we're not all born under the same lucky star...

ANYWAY

yesterday i ate pizza. it was the first time i didnt eat rice. god i wasss sooooo happy hehe....im now living in the rich part (compared to where I was), and im really grateful now. if i neevr lived in the poor part for a while i wouldnt have seen this side of the story.... sometimes its better not
knowing though...

anyway enough for now!! happy reading, im back to work!!!

Vio xxxx