Blogs from Gurgaon, Haryana, India, Asia

The small stuff that entertains us.... On the way to the slum one day Natalie decided that she should initiate a poll to determine which is the worst smell in India and the choices would include: a) body odor, b) livestock (cows, pigs, goats, chickens, rabbits, dogs, monkeys), c) cow patties drying in the sun (actually not that bad), d) human feces from the communal toilet (large holes dug in the ground), e) burning garbage/plastic, f) side walk urinal stations with urine streaming down the street, g) my roommates after weeks of eating beans. It's a pretty tough call.... but I think it might be a tie between d), e), and f). India is a country full of many contradictions and each day we add another to our list. Examples include but are not limited to ... read more

The month of February brings it's own set of distractions and emotional challenges for me. Even though I find myself on the other side of the world, entrenched in a different culture/language/environment, my thoughts are often drifting back to my family back home. My protective nature leads me to worry about my Mom and siblings as I wonder how they are coping this month? The month of February brings with it the date of my Dad's passing and some of my most cherished and heart wrenching memories of the last few weeks of my Dad's life. The 26th of February marks the two year anniversary and I find comfort in knowing that my mom will be surrounded by our never failing support system. But still i wish i could be there. I still replay the same ... read more

India has gone relatively smoothly so far. My airport pick up went well and then I waited for another volunteer's flight to arrive before we were driven to our home stay. Because it was very late (1:00 a.m) we went straight to bed. It wasn't until morning that we would have a chance to explore our new environment so of course, my anticipation didn't allow for a very restful sleep. Not only that, it was difficult to sleep because I was freezing cold. How come nobody told me that winter in India was going to be cold? I guess skipping one Canadian winter has made me weak as I can't put on enough layers of clothes to keep me warm. The evenings cool to around 6 degrees Celsius (no heater in the home stay) and warm ... read more

well up at 2:37 am could not sleep anymore went to bed at 8:30 or so just want to be tired when i fly out to Delhi tonight at 9 pm. Different things are my going trough my head, being so far away from Tammy and the cats, again and to be so close to a dream that is to be for filled it is very surreal this . have to take the train to schiphol at 9:44 am so i have a few more hours to linger and surf the web.... read more

Kashmir e Ladakh hanno ben poco a che spartire con il subcontinent indiano. Cultura e tradizioni islamiche per il primo, buddismo e forte influenza storica del Tibet per il secondo. Oltre i confini anche in virtu’ del fatto che sono luoghi non solo piuttosto isolati dal resto dell’India, ma dal mondo in generale. Politiche imperialiste e guerre per i territori contesi hanno plasmato i confini e travolto le popolazioni che si affacciano sul versante pakistano o cinese. Entrambe queste regioni fanno nominalmente parte del distretto Jammu & Kashmir. KASHMIR. Olla’, Olla’ Coca Cola --- Mira, Mira Kashmira Un gioco di interessi e geopolitica fa si che l’India continui a tenere sotto stretto controllo il territorio con ingenti forze militari. Srinagar, capitale geografica della regione kashmira, e’ una citta’ divisa in due. Se da un lato ci ... read more

Una giornata intensa. In tarda mattinata mi intrattengo a chiacchierare con la guardia dell'hotel. Scopro che ******** (provate voi ad imparare i nomi) è originario di un paesino dell'Himachal Pradesh, a 6 ore a nord di Delhi. Lasciata moglie e figlio, ha deciso due anni fa di venire nella grande città per trovarsi un lavoro adeguato. La retribuzione dell'hotel (78 € al mese) lascia un po' a desiderare, comunque pare compensi il fatto che possa raggiungere la famiglia solo ogni 3 mesi. Tanuj, compagno di studi in Bocconi, mi suggerisce con una discreta insistenza e cordialità a trasferirmi da lui per i prossimi due giorni. Nel primo pomeriggio accetto l'offerta e suo cugino passa a prendermi in hotel. Nonostante fossi un po' incerto sull'aver lasciato la mia cameretta in hotel, mi rallegro quando scopro che Tanuj ... read more

Hi there , My name is Luisa Im 51 years old and Im spanish, married to a nice sweet German .We are looking for anyone who can give us some info about living conditions around Bawal, Bewari. My husband and I will be moving to Gurgaon in April, although his company is in Bawal, and because of the driving time we would like to go closer to his company , but from what we saw , (we just came back) is not the right area, specially for me , because I have to do the every day life, so the only other alternative is Gurgaon (which is my favorite ). Please , if someone out there can help, be kind and contact me. Until then, hasta la vista LUISA... read more