Palamariu Family Blog

After 2 weeks we finally start to mind more or less about our “business” for which we came here in India.

Why didn’t we start earlier? Well the reasons are multiple, but they can be summarized in 2 words: culture shock.  I name culture shock all the different things that I use to think are not normal to happen, but which seem to be the lifestyle here: cows, goats, rats, squirrels spending all day long on the street without anybody to make them go aside from the traffic, a lot of dust everywhere inside and outside, people paying 50 Rp (less than 1 euro) to have accommodation in front of the hotel in beds guarded by the hotel’s staff, many cars which are no moment lined up on a lane since everybody has his own rules of circulation or recycling garbage with the help of cows that use it as meals. Adapting to this life it’s a process that took us 2 weeks  :-D

Before telling you the “business” we are having in India, I would like to share with you more impressions about India. I perceive this country to be aggressive in almost all ways, which is not always a bad thing. One’s eyes can enjoy a multitude of strong colors just in the way women dress here: turquoise, green lime combined with red, dark pink, bright yellow or gold orange saris, a lot of golden jewelries, tenth’s of colored bracelets. More than that, no pylon escaped from the big, colorful advertisements in the cities or in-between cities. When it comes to your ears, one can enjoy the delightful chanting dedicated to divers Gods. Also, on the other hand, even if you wear ear plugs, you can still hear a determined Indian who wants to sell you something and keeps repeating sooo loud his speech (coffee man in the train, sellers in the market, auto-rickshaw drivers etc.) and the continuous horning from the street. When it comes to taste, I sincerely confess that food here is delicious, even if it’s aggressively spicy, salted or sweet. With the smell, I think I had the hardest time to adapt. The food’s smell is covered by the petrol smell coming from the thousands of auto-vehicles on the street, cow’s sheet which is rarely cleaned from the street (attracting so many flies), and human urine (because men sometimes just piss on the street).

Even geographically, you can have here all the extremes: aggressively hot in the south while close to Himalaya Mountains it’s extremely cold, both desert and very green places can be found in India. Good or less good things, both are in your face.

Now that I described the way I see India, up to this point, I’ll share with you what we want to do in India. We came to India having planned to explore nature diversity (desert, forest and mountains) but also the spiritual side of India. After overcoming the culture shock together with the hard moments of body weakness (cold or stomach ache) we are ready for camel safari and life in desert, do trekking activities in Daramshala, going in an ashram for Vipassana meditation and Yoga class.

Keep you posted!

“Tomorrow we are going to Deepak’s family!” Cristina tells me with great enthusiasm in her voice. Deepak is a good Indian friend of hers from the time she was studying in Brest. And, even if he is not currently in Delhi, he insisted that we go and see his family.

So, the next day, we take a rickshaw taxi and set out through a horrendous Delhi traffic to have an authentic experience of Indian hospitality. Though, hardly had we known how deep it can be.

“Welcome! We are sooo happy to meet you!” Deepak’s brother Monik was quick to greet us when we finally arrived at their place, having spent more than two hours in an insane Delhi traffic. Very quickly, we got introduced to all the family: Deepak’s father and mother, Monik’s wife, Nitty, and their two lovely children.

Hardly had we sat down and Nitty was already very fast to start bringing several delicious goodies on the table. “Take a little bit of everything!” Deepak’s father encouraged us.

Having filled up our plate, we proceeded to savour the mouth watering taste of Indian snacks. Wooooaw! It was a treat to remember!

And just as we finished and were already pretty full, Deepak’s father announced: “And very soon Nitty will bring dinner. “

“What? There is more?!?” myself and Cristina were thinking, feeling our stuffed up stomachs.

Deepak’s father continued “You really need to try the food as Nitty took the afternoon off from work especially to prepare it”.

This was just the first moment when we realised how much these people had gone through to welcome us in their home.

What followed was the most amazing dinner we have had in our life. Homemade Raita, Chappatti, Panner, Potatoes and some more dishes that I do not know the name of followed.

Needless to say, we were overwhelmed.

And Monik was always on stand by, filling up our plates the moment we were close to finishing what we had.

And when we left, they had yet another surprise. They had prepared gifts: a sari for Cristina, a silver coin that had been in their family for generations, a Krishna flute and box of sweets. And they also would not allow us to pay for the taxi back home.

Moreover, even after all this, when we felt quite overwhelmed and we could not stop saying ‘Thank you! Thank you so much!” they were still insisting: “It was nothing! As part of our culture, this is what we need to do for our guests!”

We arrived in Singapore two days ago. And now that we got over the initial jet lag, I thought of sharing with you my first “second” impressions.

First contact, the airport. It is by far the greenest and most elegant I have been to. And they even have telephones where you can call numbers in Singapore for free. Cool!

Then, the transport system. Having had the experience of paying 30 euros to travel across London by train, it was a relief to get back in Singapore. Train ticket across the city: 2 euros!

Moving on to weather: hot and sunny. Same way I left it. Same way it is all year round. Having just experienced the cold and rain of Romanian autumn, I realised… living just in the summer time: not that bad actually!

Moreover, Singapore is incredibly GREEN! Despite its small size, they kept plenty of parks, huge areasof dense jungle, and plenty of bright green trees and flowers on the streets. They actually call it ”an inhabited garden”.

Then, we went out. In some areas of the city center, you could hardly talk to the person next to you. Constructions are being built everywhere. Our ears bled! Singapore is a great city…but it will be even better when it’s finished!

During our dinner at a Thai restaurant, Cristina exclaimed: “These people eat so much rice!”.
After deciding what we want, I thought it would be nice to have some desert too. Turning to Cristina, I asked her: “How about we take some sweet mango rice?”
The answer was fast to come: “What? Rice again?! No thank you!”
“But Cristina”, I protested, “For them rice is just like bread for us. That’s why they eat it with everything!”
“Yes, but we don’t eat bread as dessert!”, she continued.
Needless to say, we didn’t eat sweet mango rice.

And a final thing on Singapore: it’s political life.They have the same party in power for the last 4o years. Thus, people in the street don’t talk politics that much. Comparing that with Romania, in presidential campaign, filled with scandals and Governments falling apart, and where almost everybody is complaining and having an opinion about it, I though to myself: Singaporeans seem to have a better deal! They waste far less time on such things!