the first week's over

today is sunday, which means that i have been in india for almost a week now. it acutally feels much longer but that is probably because i have seen and done so many new things during the past few days. "india is an assault on the senses" is how my travel guide puts it, and there definitely is a lot to that statement.

for the first time, i went to the "city center" of baner village all by myself. the rickshaw driver (i still have not managed to find out if there is actually one single correct way to spell this word) did not understand where i wanted to go but agreed that i would simply direct him. here's another crazy rickshaw ride, this time at daylight:



worked out well, he dropped me off where i wanted. he demanded 30 rupees but i only had a 100-rupees note. surprisingly, he did not want to accept the 70 rupees as "tip" and finally managed to get smaller notes so he could return them as change. first, i walked for about a mile to get to know the area a little bit. the ultimate goal was the mcdonalds in the northern part of baner. having eaten indian food all week, i was craving a decent burger and some fries. even the burgers are more spicy than in europe; the "maharaja menu" came for just 123 rupees and the burger was very delicious. at mcdonalds, i saw many young indians, especially girls, who would talk to each other in a combination of their mother tongue, supposedly hindi, and english. as if there was nothing more natural.

after having filled my stomach with fast food, i enrolled at a fitness center which is about 2 miles from where i live and work. since jogging or swimming do not represent feasible options here, going to the gym will be the only way to destress a little (and not to return fattened to germany).

then i walked home, about another 2 miles. i was surprised at how little attention my presence attracted although i was the only obvious foreigner around. here are some pictures of this little journey:

the little walk yesterday made me realize that being in india has to exhaust the average european to a certain extent. i assume we are not used to this many differences within only a few meters or minutes. it's like boot camp for your senses, to rephrase the quote from the travel guide. but that also makes india more exciting than what we usually get to see...

this afternoon, i will explore the city of pune for the first time. nikhil offered to pick me up with his motorbike and show me around. yes, you heard me, i will be travelling on a motorbike in indian traffic...

moritz/ti-bob