It's true that the pollution in this country makes me feel claustrophobic at times, that a distant view of Mulshi Lake doesn't replace the Pacific Ocean and that I miss a bed of pine needles beneath my feet but everything I get in return is slowly settling into place;
Yesterday we had the weekly farmer's market organized by the Gomukh organic farm team which I am a part of. It felt like home with home made soaps, incense and lip blams and organic veggies and fruit on the library lawn with couches and music overlooking the sunset. We all ate 2 pomegranates together sitting overlooking the mountains. I now have lemons, tomatoes, assorted fruits, organic laundry detergent and incense and am so happy with all of it.
After a brief stop by karaoke in the social center where Britney Spears was sung so loudly the villages probably heard it in Paud, me and Lam (Finland) watched Amelie Poulain in my corner until 1am with more of our pomegranate haul, chocolate and tea. It was lovely.
This morning it was an early Saturday start because its UWC Day and also Satat (sustainability) action day. This meant the whole school met up in the MPH and was divided into main action groups that then went out and did things like picking up garbage on the river road down in the valley, planting trees on campus, building dams to harvest the water that runs down the hill behind campus and getting rid of invasive species for several hours.
Then, lunch. Cucumber, corn and coconut salad, chopsuey, rice and dal, and so much chapati.
A little while ago it was Ganesh Chaturthi, which meant we celebrated the lord Ganesha by bringing a statue of him from campus down to the river below in village Khubavali, all the while throwing pinkredpurple powder and dancing to bollywood through monsoon rains. Whatever was originally white is now permanently orange. Most of the blond people on campus now have very pink hues.
I still can't really believe I'm here yet it's starting to feel so normal. The campus is tiny and it's so incredible to have some of your favourite people a 1 minute walk from home and you can't run away from problems and I'm grateful.
So much has happened in one month. One month of India. One of the biggest struggles I had coming here was finding myself, who I was and could be in this community and country. A big part of my identity, taking walks around Swan Lake and sitting by the ocean, are far away here and I felt a little lost in the beginning. I also realized what my being Dutch-Canadian meant to me. Being here has made me realize that in Canada I was always the European, while in the Netherlands I'm always the Canadian yet I lived half my life in both. It was weird feeling like I didn't have a claim anywhere until I realized my claim is the little things in those countries that make them feel like home therefore rooting me there.
Last night I went to the treehouse by myself to gather my thoughts and I was completely filled with happiness and a kind of peace only the night can instill in me. That I'm here, in India. Finally. Though it's different than anything I might've imagined, it's more than I could've dreamed and there's no place I'd rather be.
Me and Andrea (Norway) during Ganesh
A (un)usual evening at MUWCI with Daan (Netherlands), Sam (USA), Zelma (Denmark) and Safieh (Bangladesh)
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