So it’s one year ago that I first put my foot down on Indian turf. In some regards it feels like ages ago, while the overall feeling is that time flew by like a supersonic plane. Yes, the extremely hot summer days and nights felt never-ending, but in retrospect the whole working thing did shorten the perceived time. So, in order for me to realise that I used my time properly, a list of statistics of things done in this one year:
| 323 | days in India. |
| 42 | days outside India. |
| Less than 30 | rainy days in India. |
| 2 | sunburns. |
| 5 | days with diarrhoea. |
| Uncountable | days with diarrhetic symptoms. |
| 17 | places visited (in India): Chandigarh, Shimla, Rhorhu, Manali, Ladakh, McLeod Ganj, Srinagar, Amritsar, Dholowal, Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Rishikesh, Dhera Dun, Haridwar, Jim Corbett, Bangalore, Mysore, Mumbai. |
| 9 | place visited (outside India): Gothenburg, Oslo, Helsinki, Lappeenranta, Pori, Singapore, Halmstad, Copenhagen, Manila. |
| 5 | Indian borders crossed. |
| 14 000+ | kilometres ridden on Dhanno (Royal Enfield 350 Bullet). |
| 0 | real accidents. Knock on wood. |
| <300 | kilometres walked. :( |
| 5 kg | weight gained. ;( |
| 1 | serious Cricket match played. And we kicked Cue Blocks‘ behind! :P |
| 15 | Ultimate pick-up games played. |
| 3 | Ultimate tournaments played. |
| 2 | Ultimate tournaments I injured myself. |
| 3 | shirts from other Ultimate teams I played for bought. |
| 1 | Ultimate teams started out of which 0 survived. |
| 100+ | great new people met. |
| 6 | new close friends made. |
| Far too many | AISECers met. ;) |
| 2 sets | new “adoptive parents”. |
| 0 | girlfriends |
| 300+ | nights eaten out. |
| 2 | dishes cooked: Pizza and pasta. |
| 3 | weddings attended. |
| 2 | engagements attended. |
| 10+ | Bollywood movies watched. Enjoyed every single one. |
| 6 | nights out partying (in India). |
| 13 | nights out partying (outside India). |
| 3 | farewell/welcome back parties in Oslo. Thanks guys! :D |
| Too few | parties at home. |
| 1 | sheesha (hookah, nargile) broken. |
| 9 | days in silence. |
| More than ever | books read. |
| ~100 maybe | words spoken in Hindi/Punjabi. |
| 7 | kurtas bought. |
| 2 | occasions wearing a turban. |
| More than once a day | having the dialogue (with minor variations): “Which country you belong?” – “Austria.” – “Oh, Australia! I have a cousin in Sydney! Beautiful country.” – “No, Austria, Europe. South of Germany.” – “Oh! You are from Vienna?” |
| 0 | other things from the big ToDo list. |
I guess this should give a pretty decent account of what I have been up to. One could say that this year here has been a bit of a detox, even if I have been a lazy bum and gained weight moving away from the fit person I used to be. I do blame the weather and the lack of good sport facilities (no, a gym is not a sports facility) on that, besides of course my laziness. However, at the same time, this year has been transformative in many ways – especially spiritually and work experience wise. As long as these transformations are not complete it does not make sense for me to move, even if you’ll hear me complaining that “nothing’s happening” and things being boring. And, I have to admit that I never had expected to survive here for so long. One thing I definitely have learned being here in India: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.”
At this point I shall only still say dhanyavaad (thank you) to everybody who’s have been there for me facilitating this experience. Thanks for listening to my complaints, thanks for helping me to organise this or that, thanks for the time spent, the awesome food eaten and thanks for all the “envious comments” that kept reminding me that I am at a wicked place that so many people want to experience.
Thanks for mom for understanding and supporting! :) And thanks for the patience with my slow status updates. ;)
This post also appears on the official Opera India blog.
Chakk “te” phatte !!
If you wanna make God Laugh-Tell Him Your Plans! :) This post sounds like a farewell speech which I hope is not the case.
Burrah!
Hai Mai Marjawa!
Wow!! It is a year already since you left… I am happy to see that you have experienced, suffered and enjoyed so much :) I still remember that discussion in your office (at somewhere like 10pm), me teasing you about traveling and trying to convince you to go to South America… I even gave you a book about “the 100 places you have to see before dying (and a PHP reference ).
I hope that you keep on living life to its max! And I am still sure that no matter time or distance, I will still keep missing to work, dance and talk to my stubborn little brother.
Nav: Aaaaho!
Aman: Oh come on! Not a fare-well. Just a retro-spect. :)
Harshy: 33% Of the nights out partying in India were with you… and in terms of hours I guess that was way beyond 50%. RESPECT!
Yenny: Thanks, I miss arguing with you too! :P
Good account of all happenings :). Continue enjoying, experiencing and achieving new heights both in your extra-ordinary travels and in life. Enjoy :)
Incredible! :)
Still remember your farewell parties… a year ago! Time does fly, very fast!
I’m very happy to read all this Wolf. Keep enjoying your time (as you always do) in India and let’s hope for many more adventures to come.
So nice to hear you are having great time in India.
I hope that the count for *girlfriend* executes following statement soon. :)
girlfriend++; //girldfriend = girlfriend + 1;