Crunch Time

One of the strangest parts of being here for two months has been trying to balance the “I'm here for two whole months, I'm basically living here” feeling, and the “Holy Cow I’m in India isn’t this an awesome vacation” feeling. As I reach my final week and a half here, I’ve definitely shifted toward the vacation feeling. I’m making lists of all the things I want to do before I go, and very quickly realizing I’m not going to fit it all in. I tried to convince Effie to fly to Agra this weekend to see the Taj Mahal, but, wisely, he declined, so I’m just going to have to wait until next time to see it.

As it turns out, I have three interviews planned for Saturday, so it’s good that I didn’t leave. The frequency of my interviews has picked up considerably. I did three this week, have another three planned for this weekend, and at least three already planned for next week. I realized this week as I drew a map on my leg in pen that I know Mumbai incredibly well, due to meeting strangers in coffeeshops and offices all over the city. The only place I know better is Ithaca, but that’s not much of an accomplishment, given the relative sizes, and time spent on location.

Last Sunday, our weekly Hebrew class met in a coffee shop where we couldn’t speak any English (or Hindi, for that matter [Spanish was occasionally permitted]). It was fun, although I think the three students (Adir, Ronan and I) spent more time asking Jeanine for vocab than anything else.

Throughout the week, my project at Sanctuary has been to take the thousands of books around the office and try to make sense of them. With help from the other interns Raghav and Shonalie, I started sorting them into 13 categories, then typing up every name, and finding a place for them back on shelves. It’s taken the three of us 5 dust filled days, and we’re about half way through.

In other news, I may or may not have played hookey on Tuesday, skipped work, and went to Esselworld and WaterKingdom instead. (If anyone from Sanctuary reads this, sorry! I really did have some personal work to do for part of the day). Sanjay (from Seva Niketan) and I are basically the only two people with flexible schedules, so we went up to the largest amusement park in India and the largest waterpark in Asia. It was excellent, and a ton of fun, especially since we were practically the only ones there. That’s us in the front seat of the train, upside down on the Hoola Loop.

Finally: I GOT FISH! I’m still working on the names for them, but I think I should move fast, since I’ve been told they might not live that long. At least temporarily, they’re Padme and Parvati, named after the Indian Patil twins in Harry Potter. I figured since I get told I’m HP regularly, it was fitting. Another option has been Michael and Jeanine, after the two JDC volunteers this year, but given how upset I was when Joel died of Cholera when I would play The Oregon trail and name my wagon companions after family members, I’m leaning away from naming my fish anything too sentimental.