After a very long two days of flying, I finally made it back to beautiful Heidelberg. It didn’t hit me until we were touching down in Frankfurt that I had left India. Suddenly the past four months felt like a dream and I immediately starting crying. Back in India, I kept waiting for the tears to come as I was saying goodbye to my friends in Pune, but we ended up more joking around and laughing. I was almost upset with myself because I wanted to let my friends know how much they meant to me. I guess, I knew it wouldn’t be the last time I see most of them, but my arrival in Frankfurt did signify the end of an incredible phase of my life. Next time I see them we will all likely be different – married, different jobs, more travel experience…
I went to India alone, not knowing what to expect. I didn’t really like Pune the first couple weeks and had one of the worst cases of the flu in my life. My family and fiancé, Alex, felt so far away and I didn’t know how to handle India. I also didn’t know what exactly was happening with my career or if I even wanted to stay in my field. There was a lot of uncertainty in my life and I questioned whether I had made the right choice in coming to India. After recovering though I finally made it to a capoeira class where I met the wonderful and amazing Bond, Manoj, Sagar, and Sachin. I came home that night and told Alex that I would be ok – I had found my crowd, (and chiko
chocolate milkshakes). That first night with Capoeira Pune I felt like I immediately fit in and that I had known these gentlemen for much longer than a day. Ana, who was out of town at a meditation retreat, returned the next week and I felt the same way about her. She was far different than the other expats I had met in Pune. She was learning Hindi, had an appreciation for both the good and bad about India, tried her best to assimilate into India culture and make Indian friends, and adopted I think what are the best aspects of Indian culture and capoeira: share what you have with your friends and family and don’t expect anything back, always challenge beliefs and actions you don’t agree with, and be open to new experiences. Over time I met other people new and old to the Capoeira Pune circle who became my travel buddies, my partners in crime, and ultimately long-term friends. As an army brat, I’ve moved around my entire life and I think it’s incredibly rare to meet someone that you feel a strong connection with. But here in Pune, I felt that way with this entire group of people.
I learned some invaluable lessons from this group. For one, I learned how rigid I had let my life become living in Washington DC. I had become very dependent on scheduling – spontaneous planning and meeting of friends was difficult because I was so tied to my work, running, and capoeira schedule. I also realized how possessive I was of my time and things. I think this is pretty typical of Americans – we strongly believe in our right to
what’s ours and don’t like to share. If you give something you expect something back in return. This mentality just doesn’t work in India. People grow up sharing everything they have with their friends and family: food, toys,
whatever. The sense of family is also stronger, which I’m sure can be annoying in many ways because not only is your nuclear family in your business, but so is your extended family. Friends and family are also incredibly good at keeping track of each other, which can seem nosy sometimes. Why do you need to know where I’m going?? But in a country where anything can happen, it’s important to have tabs on the people you love. My second trip out to Kumbharwadi I asked my colleagues what the word was for thank you. They scrunched their faces a bit and looked at each other and said there are a few words but we really don’t say that here. Why I asked! Because it’s expected that you do right by each other and open doors, share your food, offer your jacket or scarf, take someone home or to the airport. While there are certainly many frustrating things about living in India, I think this lesson makes up for a lot. I decided at that point to let myself go a little and try to be more spontaneous and open about sharing and never regretted it. It’s ok to depend on your friends and because one day they’ll need to depend on you. One thing we sorely lack in America is this sense of community. We don’t take good enough care of each other. But what could possibly be more important in life than your relationships with friends and family?
On my last night in Pune, I went to capoeira class with a very heavy weight in my heart. This would be the last class and juice night with my friends (after every capoeira class our entire groups meets for juice and milkshaeks at a local restaurant). These were friends who had taken care of me –made sure I always had a safe ride home, made sure I got the gifts I needed for my family and enjoyed the best foods from Marahashtra, made sure I always had someone to depend on and to laugh with. As Ana and I pulled up to class, there were Manoj and Sagar (who had come back early from their vacation for the event) and all my other friends. It was the biggest class we had had in awhile b/c so many people were out on vacation or at friends’ weddings. Luckily, most of them were able to make it that night and I got to play in the roda with them one last time. At the juice place, they surprised with a few gifts and a beautiful card. And even though my flight was at 5:30 AM, my closest friends even got their butts out of bed at 2:30 AM to take me to the airport. We hopped on their motorbikes and someone brought my very heavy, gift-laden suitcases, to the airport. And yes it did feel like that scene in Harry Potter where they were moving Harry to Ron’s late at night for safety. I will never forget this kind of kindness and generosity. I'll miss riding around on two-wheelers through the city, meeting up for capoeira or crossfit practices in the park and having Sima bite my hair, watching Rocky Horror Picture Show on Shreyank's floor, slumber parties at Ana's, amazing discussions about reservations and Indian culture over coffee and beer, train rides through India with "samosasamosasamosabiryanibuyranibiryani", monkeys stealing bananas, Shakespeare in Hindi, filming Succuri's documentary, learning all the choice Hindi words to say to my Indian friends back home, and so so many other things. So thanks so much to Ana, Sachin, Manoj, Sagar, Gayatri, Arjun, Succuri, Shantanu R., Vipin, Minto, Shreyank, Sarah, Bond, Shantanu P., Bhargav, Vineet, Ritesh, Ishaan, Virendra, and Aritra!!
See you in the roda, chutiyas!!! (Shutup Ana!!!!)
I went to India alone, not knowing what to expect. I didn’t really like Pune the first couple weeks and had one of the worst cases of the flu in my life. My family and fiancé, Alex, felt so far away and I didn’t know how to handle India. I also didn’t know what exactly was happening with my career or if I even wanted to stay in my field. There was a lot of uncertainty in my life and I questioned whether I had made the right choice in coming to India. After recovering though I finally made it to a capoeira class where I met the wonderful and amazing Bond, Manoj, Sagar, and Sachin. I came home that night and told Alex that I would be ok – I had found my crowd, (and chiko
chocolate milkshakes). That first night with Capoeira Pune I felt like I immediately fit in and that I had known these gentlemen for much longer than a day. Ana, who was out of town at a meditation retreat, returned the next week and I felt the same way about her. She was far different than the other expats I had met in Pune. She was learning Hindi, had an appreciation for both the good and bad about India, tried her best to assimilate into India culture and make Indian friends, and adopted I think what are the best aspects of Indian culture and capoeira: share what you have with your friends and family and don’t expect anything back, always challenge beliefs and actions you don’t agree with, and be open to new experiences. Over time I met other people new and old to the Capoeira Pune circle who became my travel buddies, my partners in crime, and ultimately long-term friends. As an army brat, I’ve moved around my entire life and I think it’s incredibly rare to meet someone that you feel a strong connection with. But here in Pune, I felt that way with this entire group of people.
I learned some invaluable lessons from this group. For one, I learned how rigid I had let my life become living in Washington DC. I had become very dependent on scheduling – spontaneous planning and meeting of friends was difficult because I was so tied to my work, running, and capoeira schedule. I also realized how possessive I was of my time and things. I think this is pretty typical of Americans – we strongly believe in our right to
what’s ours and don’t like to share. If you give something you expect something back in return. This mentality just doesn’t work in India. People grow up sharing everything they have with their friends and family: food, toys,
whatever. The sense of family is also stronger, which I’m sure can be annoying in many ways because not only is your nuclear family in your business, but so is your extended family. Friends and family are also incredibly good at keeping track of each other, which can seem nosy sometimes. Why do you need to know where I’m going?? But in a country where anything can happen, it’s important to have tabs on the people you love. My second trip out to Kumbharwadi I asked my colleagues what the word was for thank you. They scrunched their faces a bit and looked at each other and said there are a few words but we really don’t say that here. Why I asked! Because it’s expected that you do right by each other and open doors, share your food, offer your jacket or scarf, take someone home or to the airport. While there are certainly many frustrating things about living in India, I think this lesson makes up for a lot. I decided at that point to let myself go a little and try to be more spontaneous and open about sharing and never regretted it. It’s ok to depend on your friends and because one day they’ll need to depend on you. One thing we sorely lack in America is this sense of community. We don’t take good enough care of each other. But what could possibly be more important in life than your relationships with friends and family?
On my last night in Pune, I went to capoeira class with a very heavy weight in my heart. This would be the last class and juice night with my friends (after every capoeira class our entire groups meets for juice and milkshaeks at a local restaurant). These were friends who had taken care of me –made sure I always had a safe ride home, made sure I got the gifts I needed for my family and enjoyed the best foods from Marahashtra, made sure I always had someone to depend on and to laugh with. As Ana and I pulled up to class, there were Manoj and Sagar (who had come back early from their vacation for the event) and all my other friends. It was the biggest class we had had in awhile b/c so many people were out on vacation or at friends’ weddings. Luckily, most of them were able to make it that night and I got to play in the roda with them one last time. At the juice place, they surprised with a few gifts and a beautiful card. And even though my flight was at 5:30 AM, my closest friends even got their butts out of bed at 2:30 AM to take me to the airport. We hopped on their motorbikes and someone brought my very heavy, gift-laden suitcases, to the airport. And yes it did feel like that scene in Harry Potter where they were moving Harry to Ron’s late at night for safety. I will never forget this kind of kindness and generosity. I'll miss riding around on two-wheelers through the city, meeting up for capoeira or crossfit practices in the park and having Sima bite my hair, watching Rocky Horror Picture Show on Shreyank's floor, slumber parties at Ana's, amazing discussions about reservations and Indian culture over coffee and beer, train rides through India with "samosasamosasamosabiryanibuyranibiryani", monkeys stealing bananas, Shakespeare in Hindi, filming Succuri's documentary, learning all the choice Hindi words to say to my Indian friends back home, and so so many other things. So thanks so much to Ana, Sachin, Manoj, Sagar, Gayatri, Arjun, Succuri, Shantanu R., Vipin, Minto, Shreyank, Sarah, Bond, Shantanu P., Bhargav, Vineet, Ritesh, Ishaan, Virendra, and Aritra!!
See you in the roda, chutiyas!!! (Shutup Ana!!!!)
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