So, here I am...

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... landed in Bangalore, the IT-city of India.

And I enjoy it! So far... I am not saying that things are that easy here, that I enjoy seeing kids begging for money or people living in tents, unexpected holes in boardwalks, smelly and grazy traffic or waste in almost any corner. No, but it's part of it, part of that energy here, the flowing, the "go, go, go" and the pretty relaxed atmosphere at the same time.

You see cows walking in incredible slow motion over waste hills, you see them even lying in the middle of the street or finding their way over a street full of autorikschas, motorcycles, bikes people, cars... with a "all at ease" attitude - I wish I had that attitude:-) You see poor people, rich people, modern clothes and traditional ones, you see mosques, hindu temples and buddhist temple, sometimes quite hidden in tiny streets - you'd pass by without noticing if they didn't have those powerful colours - you have parks (where people in the morning go doing sports, which means go walking around in circles, a bit faster than usual maybe, in their normal dresses) full of tropical plants, flowers, birds and people selling all kind of fruits. You have shopping malls looking like La Fayette in Paris and food sellers selling mais cooked on a little fire place on the street, you can spend a fortune or hardly 5 Euros a day - and you could even spend less and still eat well.

I am sure you' ve read all a bit about India. All is true and the opposite as well. That's what people say and what you read about this huge country of contrast and that's what I feel... though I have not even started to really see and live it all. It's just an impression after 3 days being here - but a quite powerful one.

Thanks to a really nice indian guy, I found a flat in an area where I haven't seen any other foreigner so far. I live in a mint coloured house on the top floor (I seem to like that) with only women in the other flats beneath me. It's a bathroom, a toilet, a kitchen and a sleeping room, all unfurnished for the moment (I'll do that if I really stay here (depending on my job interviews, the flow and whatever comes along) but quite big concerning to my Parisian standards: incredible 30m3 !! And let's not talk about the price... 4.000 Rupies a month which would be around 80 Euros.

OK, so far... let's see if I can get some photos on here tomorrow.

Take care...

Bangalorian greetings,
ULRIKE

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