Sharon in India: Sunrises and Reflections

I woke up early with the sunrise this morning and decided venture onto the roof of the hotel. I watched the clouds slowly move to reveal the majestic peaks of the Himalayas. The sounds of pigeons, calling birds, flowing water, the church bells and distant roosters were all I heard. And as the sunlight hit those peaks, the city of Darjeeling started to come alive. The thick fog lazily lifted to reveal an awakening hill station. People climbed onto the roofs of their houses to hang up their washing, trucks moved slowly through the streets, smoke chugged smoothly out of old chimneys and tea workers started their walks to the estates.

When people talk of India, they forget all about the awesome hill areas of this country and remember only the hustle and bustle of the over-populated cities. Although I've only been in India for two weeks, it seems much much longer. It's strange to realise that I've adapted quite well to the nation's way of living and the culture considering that Australia is so extremely different.

The biggest and most obvious difference is the general quality of living. Now as I speak of this, I refer to the lower working class as that is the only people I have interacted with (although many of the students come from families living on the poverty line, which is $1.25 a day). The rich will have the same living standards as Australians and the poor has one that I can not even begin to imagine.

I'll start with two words: Hot. Showers.

A shower head that flows out cold water is not that common as most people use buckets or a hose. But hot flowing water? Rare. I had a hot shower yesterday, the first since I got to India, and although only six streams of water came out and it was often inconsistent in flow, it was the most magical thing in the world. I can handle squat toilets, a constant dampness to my bedroom (I think it's the clouds coming through the window as the village is almost hourly immersed in the clouds) hand washing my clothes, no public toilet paper, itchy blankets, hard beds and a massive population of mosquitoes and bugs (my bed has become a graveyard for bugs. No I do not eat in my bed but there are just so many bugs here that they simply die and land on my bed) but cold bucket showers are definitely a struggle, especially since winter is rapidly approaching.

(I wrote this post a week ago and our bathroom is currently under renovation and I spy a hot water tank! It is ridiculous how excited Jordan and I am!)

However, the positives of my Indian adventure far outweighs any of the negatives of my placement. I mean how often does one see the sunrise hit the peaks of the Himalayas? Seeing the smiles on faces after a simple “namaste” or seeing the children's face light up as I walk into the classroom or hearing the hearty laughs of the people watching me as I immerse in the Indian culture (language, singing and dancing) is an absolute joy. Seeing strange sights such as painted on number plates or even sticky-taped paper number plates is absolutely hilarious to see. Playing Tekken in the local game store against the local boys and introducing Monopoly Deal to the boarding kids is so much fun. And having one of the biggest frights of my life as I realise that a wild monkey is about 30cm away from my face is a memory that I'll never forget. India is an amazing country full of diversity and wonder and I can't wait to explore more of it. I'm already learning so much about myself and about the world and I'm beginning to appreciate the simple things back home that I would not thing twice about such as education, clean water and my bed.

And most especially, hot showers.