PuneXpat

For me, the 12 days of Christmas began yesterday. Twelve days of counting down until I leave India. I literally can't wait and I am yearning for it with every fibre of my being. Now, my darling husband is going to be reading this and internally cringeing.  He will be feeling a crushing guilt and will be trying, right about now, to formulate a plan to 'fix' things.  That's him, and one of the many reasons I love him.  However, what he perhaps doesn't fully appreciate is that my current, somewhat negative, frame of mind is perfectly normal.  In fact, it is even documented and has a name. And I have been there before. I am undoubtedly experiencing true culture shock right now. Being a teacher, I love a good visual aid, so I put together my own version of what this is like in a graph. Stage 1 - Preparation Getting our visas, packing up our home, parties & celebrations, saying goodbyes... this phase was a rollercoaster of emotions.  For...

One of the things that has been hardest for me moving to Pune has been giving up work.  I loved my job, and although it's not very British to blow one's own trumpet, I think I was pretty good at it.  It was certainly more of a vocation than merely a way to pay the bills.  And going from working full time in a beloved career in which I felt I made a difference in the lives of young people, to becoming occupied with self-centred activities such as brunch, shopping, Hindi lessons, yoga, cooking club, and blogging is a little hard to get used to.  I even have a maid now, so I can't really claim the 'job' of housewife (not that I was particularly good at that job anyway!) But today was different. Today, I think I caught a glimpse of a way that I may be able to utilize my skills, energy, and creativity to make a difference. Today, I got to hang out with these fantastic young people and their friends. A fellow expat Geography teacher, Sue, invited me to jo...

Aaron and Ethan turned 9 yesterday, and we had a busy and fun-filled day.  The boys woke early and were outside the apartment trying out their new scooter and skateboard by 7:00 am!  After a quick breakfast we got ready to leave for the old part of Pune to meet a tour guide at the Shaniwar Wada fort.  We had a few moments of worry as our normally very punctual driver, Deepak, was running a bit late.  He turned up on his motorbike laden with bouquets of flowers for the boys' birthday... so sweet. Aaron and Ethan with Deepak For the next few hours we explored the old part of town, visiting several of the pre-eminant Ganesha pandals set up in the narrow streets.  The Ganesha festival is getting close to its finale, and the number of people visiting the shrines was huge - it was busy, bustling, and a somewhat overwhelming sensory overload!  We were easy targets for people bestowing tikka on foreheads in exchange for money (see the first video below). ...