Namaste from "Cafe Coffee Day"- the equivalent to the "Dunkin' Donuts" in America! I'm currently sitting at a table with Danielle and Shelly (another SIT student in Sikkim) doing work on our laptops and switching seats every half hour to recharge our computers via one outlet (We only go to cafes here with available outlets.) 3 out of the 18 SIT students this semester are stationed in Sikkim- mostly because our academic director, Taraji gew up here and is Sikkim's BIGGEST fan. During our lectures, she would always use some example from her life in Sikkim and explain how that example is ideal and perfect and awesome because Sikkim is ideal and perfect and awesome.
Needless to say, I had pretty high expectations coming here- which I usually try to avoid doing with the fear of being disappointed if something isn't what I was expecting it to be. BUT...Sikkim has exceeded my already high expectations. The air feels so clean (unlike the auto rickshaw congested fumes in Jaipur.) There are NO beggars. There are PUBLIC garbage cans and drinking water facilities (although I still avoid drinking the tap water even here.) English-speaking music is constantly blaring from cells phones and passing taxis (usually Taylor Swift or Enrique Iglesias...although in one taxi, the driver started playing SNOOP DOG. It felt so surreal to listen to Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre rapping about hard gang-life in Compton, California while I was sitting in the back of a jam-packed next to a Monk driving through jungle in the Himalayas.) Speaking of taxis (aka jeeps)- they charge everyone a single-fixed rate determined by the government! (Unlike in Jaipur where the auto-rickshaws tun their meters off and charge you up the wazoo.)
Here's some random thoughts/experiences I've had happen to me.....in LIST form. It would require too much effort to write out all of the preceding events and explain how I happened to get myself into these situations. More so than not, there are no explanations for how I get myself into these things.
1.) Fun Conversations: While driving in a Jeep making small talk to a man about things like how I liked Sikkim and about the election in the USA, he asked me..."Who would you vote for, Obama or Sikkim?" He was completely serious. It was a leading question though...so to avoid offending anyone, I answered Sikkim. I like it's position on American foreign policy. Plus, Sikkim comes from a good family. I hear he/she once smoked pot though in college, so I don't know if Sikkim would be a positive representative of America.
2.) MEAT IS EVERYWHERE! Ahhh! coming from the strictly Veg land of Rajasthan, it was a little unnerving to see chickens and ducks hanging in windows (or outside) of small shops.
3.) Steps Steps Steps. I swear, I'm going to have calves of steel by the time I get back to the states. There are no flat roads here. Buildings are crammed tightly together and are all connected via flights and flights of concrete (and usually uneven) stairs. I get frequently confused about which stairs are public and which are private and once walked into someone's front "courtyard" area as a woman was washing her underwear on the concrete. Fun times.
4.) My Favorite Human EVER. My host-dad from the Lingee-Payong village called me this morning. Seeing his number pop up on my phone- I figured he was calling to tell me I left something at his home. But, nope- turns out he just wanted to chat. He asked me how I was and if I had breakfast and what I was going to do today. I really love this man. The night before I left the village, he said that I reminded him of his daughter and that in his mind, I was his other daughter. On top of that sweetness, he spent at least an hour writing out useful Nepali phrases for me in my notebook sounding out the Nepali with English letters like "Kay tapain ek glass tato pani dinu saknu hunchha?" which means "Do you provide me a glass of hot water?" and "Gangtok dekhi paitalis km tada chha" which means "Gangtok is 45 km from here." The CUTEST. On the phone, he said his wife wanted to talk with me in Hindi- OH NO! I had made the mistake of telling her when I first met her that I understood and spoke a little bit of Hindi. My go-to phrase is "tora tora Hindi" (aka little little Hindi) accompanied with the "ehhhh" hand motion. The wife then started talking at me in gregorious Hindi- it was pretty bad. I think the dad had me on speakerphone because I could hear him under her translating her Hindi into English for me. They told me to come back soon- I really want to. I couldn't have asked for a better family to stay with.
Needless to say, I had pretty high expectations coming here- which I usually try to avoid doing with the fear of being disappointed if something isn't what I was expecting it to be. BUT...Sikkim has exceeded my already high expectations. The air feels so clean (unlike the auto rickshaw congested fumes in Jaipur.) There are NO beggars. There are PUBLIC garbage cans and drinking water facilities (although I still avoid drinking the tap water even here.) English-speaking music is constantly blaring from cells phones and passing taxis (usually Taylor Swift or Enrique Iglesias...although in one taxi, the driver started playing SNOOP DOG. It felt so surreal to listen to Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre rapping about hard gang-life in Compton, California while I was sitting in the back of a jam-packed next to a Monk driving through jungle in the Himalayas.) Speaking of taxis (aka jeeps)- they charge everyone a single-fixed rate determined by the government! (Unlike in Jaipur where the auto-rickshaws tun their meters off and charge you up the wazoo.)
Here's some random thoughts/experiences I've had happen to me.....in LIST form. It would require too much effort to write out all of the preceding events and explain how I happened to get myself into these situations. More so than not, there are no explanations for how I get myself into these things.
1.) Fun Conversations: While driving in a Jeep making small talk to a man about things like how I liked Sikkim and about the election in the USA, he asked me..."Who would you vote for, Obama or Sikkim?" He was completely serious. It was a leading question though...so to avoid offending anyone, I answered Sikkim. I like it's position on American foreign policy. Plus, Sikkim comes from a good family. I hear he/she once smoked pot though in college, so I don't know if Sikkim would be a positive representative of America.
2.) MEAT IS EVERYWHERE! Ahhh! coming from the strictly Veg land of Rajasthan, it was a little unnerving to see chickens and ducks hanging in windows (or outside) of small shops.
3.) Steps Steps Steps. I swear, I'm going to have calves of steel by the time I get back to the states. There are no flat roads here. Buildings are crammed tightly together and are all connected via flights and flights of concrete (and usually uneven) stairs. I get frequently confused about which stairs are public and which are private and once walked into someone's front "courtyard" area as a woman was washing her underwear on the concrete. Fun times.
4.) My Favorite Human EVER. My host-dad from the Lingee-Payong village called me this morning. Seeing his number pop up on my phone- I figured he was calling to tell me I left something at his home. But, nope- turns out he just wanted to chat. He asked me how I was and if I had breakfast and what I was going to do today. I really love this man. The night before I left the village, he said that I reminded him of his daughter and that in his mind, I was his other daughter. On top of that sweetness, he spent at least an hour writing out useful Nepali phrases for me in my notebook sounding out the Nepali with English letters like "Kay tapain ek glass tato pani dinu saknu hunchha?" which means "Do you provide me a glass of hot water?" and "Gangtok dekhi paitalis km tada chha" which means "Gangtok is 45 km from here." The CUTEST. On the phone, he said his wife wanted to talk with me in Hindi- OH NO! I had made the mistake of telling her when I first met her that I understood and spoke a little bit of Hindi. My go-to phrase is "tora tora Hindi" (aka little little Hindi) accompanied with the "ehhhh" hand motion. The wife then started talking at me in gregorious Hindi- it was pretty bad. I think the dad had me on speakerphone because I could hear him under her translating her Hindi into English for me. They told me to come back soon- I really want to. I couldn't have asked for a better family to stay with.
Useful Nepali phrases from my host-dad
5.) Apparently I look like Princess Diana. I've been told this by at least 7 people throughout my time here in India. Although, I'm not so sure I buy it. I think it's just because I'm a Caucasian girl and have short hair.
Mo' Later! It's past my bedtime (aka 8:00pm.) Not sure if it's all the stairs or the diet changes ot the altitude, but I get tired so easily here!
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