The only thing to do is to keep writing.
The only thing to do is to keep writing. Especially today.After four straight days of coughing, a mix between a cold I left Montreal with, and the smog of the air here, and straining to sing yesterday night, my vocal cords have gone on strike. I sound like a rusty gate. This complicates things a bit because I do still want to call the Visa peeps and my bank as soon as possible, but don't know if I'll be able to transmit the information well enough.
Again, I am so grateful that I am with my Tibetan friends right now - I would be stuck up a shit creek without a paddle right now if not for them. Also, thank goodness for having a computer with internet where I can still be connected to the world, and process everything that's been happening. This blog is serving as a tool to help me cope with it all, but I hope it entertains and informs my readers as well! I'm glad that my voice isn't the only tool I have to communicate.
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I've been getting some comments from people familiar with India that I am really in the worst of it right now. Good to hear, I guess, that it only gets better! Of course if I had known any better than to go to places like Chandni Chowk, I would have done something different, but that's what came up in the moment, so that's what I did! On the other hand, these last few days I've been feeling the shock of this overwhelming city has been tempered by the fact that I've seen a lot of these things before in China. The massive levels of poverty, pollution, crowdedness, all seemed familiar. India has more of it than I've seen before, but I feel somewhat inoculated by the early years I spent in China, and the two subsequent visits I made there.
Having lived in China also made the transition to lower quality of living more manageable. The apartment Makyil and Kelsang live in is strikingly similar to the ones I lived in as a child. The stairs of the building are open to the sky, and you enter a metal gate to get into the unit. There are three rooms, two are joined, and are the ones rented by the girls, and one is down the corridor, rented by another girl. The three rooms share a bathroom in the corridor. There is a kitchen in the corridor as well, but only Makyil and Kelsang pay for it, so only they have access to it.
As soon as I smelled the soapy aroma of the bathroom, I am transported back 20 years or so. It is exactly the same smell as our flat in China. The toilet on the raised platform is also the same. I am glad it is a western style toilet though, trough style toilets take a lot of coordination, balance, and stamina to use!
Same when I see the kitchen - just like being a kid again! A two burner gas stove, and mini fridge are on the counter, with cooking pots and utensils littering the counter. Aesthetic is a luxury, and quality of living can only go as high as the physical environment will permit.
Two rooms, used for everything! Sleeping, eating, hanging out (really, that's about all you need to do in a room). The mats are comfortable (I love sleeping on the floor), and are used to sit on for meals, reading, and watching TV. To my surprise, there is a TV in each room, and Makyil and Kelsang laugh that sometimes when a really good music video comes on, they like to blast it on both TVs and rock it out.
As for bucket showers... my verdict is that they are not so bad if the weather is mild! A large bucket is filled with water from the tap, and an electric heating element is stuck into the bucket. Once the water is hot, it's poured into a smaller basin, and mixed with cooler water if needed. A measuring cup is used to ladle the water over yourself, and you can sit on a little plastic bench if you want to. The bathroom gets steamy enough that it stays somewhat warm, and you use much less water than if you were showering. Yes, overall not bad, but I wouldn't trade my shower in if I had the choice.
Obviously the quality of living environment is not the same as what most of us are used to. But I am feeling like everything I need to function is here. Haven't done any hand washing yet, and depending how long I stay in MT I may not have to. Props to washing machines - how much energy and time is saved! I am appreciating the simplicity of this style of life. You really don't need that much stuff to enjoy the things you do at home! I'm reminded of the reams of boxes and duffle bags I packed up to put into storage before leaving. The tricky thing is, when the option is there, it is always nicer to have nice stuff, and to have more stuff. Who doesn't want nice stuff?
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Honestly though, I will not be sad to leave Delhi. I feel such awe at the fact that people live here all their lives, and have gotten so used to the smog that they don't even bother with face scarves anymore. What do rickshaw drivers' lungs look like? How long do they live? What happens to them when they get sick? I feel ill from just 15 minutes of sitting in it. What does it feel like to be pulling a rickshaw with up to three people in it all day in the traffic?
