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| Holding a snake charmer's Cobra |
It’s been so long since I’ve written you all probably thought
I forgot about this blog. The truth is,
it’s been a bit of a chore to sit down and write on it; not because I have
nothing to write, but for the opposite reason; I have put this off so often
that now I have several blog topics to write about, and the thought of spending
hours and hours getting it all out there sounds tedious and time consuming. So, to back up a few months, to early March,
I might as well start this long catch-up process.
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| Elephant in Jaipur |
Early March I was scrambling to finish up one major project,
doing research for another project, and most importantly (I thought at the
time), preparing for my first out-of-country vacation since I arrived in
Ethiopia 18 months prior. It may not
seem like a big deal, but in Peace Corps time, 18 months in country is a looong
time to go without a vacation out. I was
finding myself short with my coworkers and neighbors for their lack of
commitment to projects, their ‘demanding’ of my time (you know you need a vacation
when someone asks you to have coffee with them and it feels like a chore), and
not understanding my slow and sometimes struggling Tigrinya. I was frustrated
with the “social norms” (Do I really have to greet you EVERY time I pass you on
the street??) of my town, the harassment on the streets felt worse than usual, and
I was annoyed because there was no meat in town due to pre-Easter fasting. To top it off, my compound had recently
bought the loudest rooster I have even known.
This rooster goes off at 3 AM every morning for about 15 minutes, again
at 5 AM for another 15, and then wakes up for real around 6, to continue his incisive
crowing until someone finally opens the compound door and he escapes. Did I
mention this thing is loud, like a car alarm? I consider myself a great animal
lover, but there were days when I wanted nothing more than to give that Rooster
a swift kick at 3 AM.
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| Sunset over Udaipur |
So, being sleep deprived, protein deficient, and angry with
everyone, I was ready to jump on that plane to sunny, beautiful India, and not
look back. The way there, stepping away
for a moment from the Ethiopian culture, felt like a breath of fresh air; the
international terminal felt like a step closer to a familiar culture, I was so
excited about “Duty Free”, that I dragged my friend Carla to every shop I could
find (only to buy nothing because I was in sticker shock of how much things
actually cost outside of Ethiopia), and even the airline food was a delicious
and fancy meal. Off the plane and into
Mumbai, in the second highest populated country in the world, even felt like I
finally had a little space, a little breathing room, and I began to relax. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, often I feel
restrained by cultural expectations (I can’t really say what I’m thinking as it
would be considered inappropriate- for example, “your traditional medicine doesn’t
actually work”, “No, the traditional food ‘Ga’at’ is actually really disgusting”,
or “you, sir, are a misogynistic, self-centered jerk and I wouldn’t work with
you if you were the last person available for the project”… stuff like that.)
and stressed to meet the expectations of my community as a volunteer. There is
a constant pressure of being productive, bringing that great project into the
community, and not to mention being as “great and wonderful” as the last
volunteer. I’ve mentioned it before, but
comparing me to the last volunteer is something of a favorite pastime of my
neighbors and it gets tedious and frustrating to constantly attempt to live up
to the expectations the last volunteer (unknowingly) set. Either way, those three weeks in India felt
like the breathing room I had much needed.
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| Elephant lining up at the Amber Fort, Jaipur |
Starting out in Mumbai, we spent a day in the northern part
of the city enjoying a more-so developed-world lifestyle of shopping malls,
cute clothes, and (shamefully) fast food. Tell me you wouldn’t be excited to
see a Starbucks after 18 months without?
Or jump up and down when you spot a McDonalds… We ended our Northern Mumbai time with a trip
to Sunjay National Park for a little monkey sighting, then hoped a 3rd
Tier AC sleeper train to Udaipur (word of advice, NEVER get the middle berth on
a sleeper train… it’s like sleeping in a cubby hole).
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| Hindu temple in Udaipur |
Udaipur was a beautiful city in Rajasthan set beside a
series of lakes, dotted with palaces and temples, and already on my list of
places I want to live when I am old and pursue my ex-pat lifestyle. Three days of exploring city palaces, Hindu
temples, gardens, and narrow streets of down town Udaipur, we were sad to
leave, but excited to see what was down the tracks to Jaipur. One of our biggest ‘learning moments’ was
discovering that booking train tickets in advance is a must… and our 7-hour
trip from Udaipur to Jaipur was in the 2nd Seater car similar to an
overcrowded Ethiopian bus (minus the closed windows and smell of rancid butter
that usually accompanies Ethiopian transportation). Being used to this, it really wasn’t too bad,
and even fun at times to meet different people and share (somewhat alarming)
food.
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| The town of Udaipur |
Compared to Udaipur, Jaipur was a fast-paced, bustling city
with packed streets and full of excitement. Known as the “Pink City”, the main
down town is made out of pink stucco filled with interesting architecture. Besides shopping, we spent our 5 days there
touring the Palace of the Winds, Jantar Mangar Observatory, and the Amber fort;
a highlight of my trip as it included getting up close and personal with the
Elephants of Jaipur and riding one up the hill to the fort. Besides the sites, we also got to watch the
traditional dancing of the Holi Festival (which was supposed to be the Elephant
festival and something I was looking forward to immensely, but thanks to PETA’s
meddling, that portion was eliminated. I
could say quite a bit on my feelings towards PETA, but this blog post is long
enough), and celebrated Holi with music, dancing and colors. Other high moments in Jaipur (besides riding
the elephant) was holding an Egyptian Cobra, and winning a
carrying-water-on-your-head race during the Holi festival (and getting a cool
Elephant trophy).
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| At the Gateway to India |
Leaving Jaipur with stained skin and hair from Holi, we took
a 27 hour train back to Mumbai for two days in the southern part of the
city. After an alarming amount of more fast-food
(please note that we also enjoyed delicious street food and Indian cuisine as
well), we spent the two days walking the old, Victorian streets around Victoria
Terminus, got our photos at the Gateway to India, strolled along Chappati
beach, watched a Bollywood film, and took a trip to Elephanta Island to view
the carvings in a cave temple dedicated to Shiva (definitely a highlight).
To finish our trip, we made our way down to Goa, for 6
wonderfully relaxing days on the beach. When not lounging at the beach,
swimming, eating sea food, or enjoying two-for-one cocktail hour, we spent the
time with new hostel friends hiking up to the nearby old Portuguese fort and
the quaint little fishing village, perusing the flea market at the nearby
Anjuna beach, and going out to fancy restaurants and dance clubs. In spite of delicious sea food and naps on
the beach, I was ready to go when it came time to head back to Mumbai (this
could have been due to the fact that the temperature was reaching the high 90s,
low 100s every day, or to the fact that I was burnt to a crisp and running low
on Aloe Vera gel).
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| Carving done by an anonymous artist on the beach |
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| Relaxing on the beach in Goa |
Waiting at the airport and boarding that plane to Ethiopia,
all those pressures and expectations slowly put their weight back on me as I
began a mental list of things I needed to do when I returned to site. We boarded the plan, and things didn’t seem
so rosy anymore. The airplane food wasn’t
as good, and they even took away my airline blanket before I could stash it in
my bag. As Addis Ababa slowly came into
view, I could feel myself slowly returning back to that angry, cynical person I
had left, griping about the social and cultural expectations of my service; when
the man sitting next to me (I had been asleep for most of the flight before
this) eagerly leaned over to get a view of his first visit to Africa. I couldn’t help smiling at his excitement and
reminiscing my first trip to Africa, and then the first time I flew into
Ethiopia. We started talking, and he
explained that after a short time in Ethiopia, he was off to Togo to be a
mining consultant. He told me how
nervous he was to be in Africa for the first time and immediately I began describing
all the wonderful memories and cultures I’ve experienced while living here and
in West Africa. His eagerness brought me
back to why I was excited to come here in the first place and slowly, the
thought of returning back to my demanding life full of cultural and social
pressures didn’t seem so bad. How many
people get this experience? Come to
think of it, I only get this experience and this lifestyle for 8 more months
and then never again- it’s frustrating, difficult, and demoralizing at times, but
that also comes with moments of joy, accomplishment, and friendship; memories I
wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.
I arrived in my town, late the next afternoon after two days
of traveling; tired, and ready to collapse in bed, when I was greeted by
choruses of “Welcome Back!!” “Nichole’s back!” “Thanks be to God, you’re home!”
and I smiled as I realized there was nowhere else I’d rather be.
Three weeks later, the rooster is still here, STILL waking me up at 3, 5, and 6 AM, and I smile, because I know that when Ethiopian Easter rolls around next week, I am going to enjoy EVERY BITE of that Dorho Wat...
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| Entrance to Elephanta Caves |
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| In front of a carving in the Elephanta Caves |
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| Holi, the festival of Colors! |
