Must Hope be Present so that Good Things May Happen

First Sunday of Advent turned out to be a fun-filled day with temple going and the Delhi Gay Pride Parade. Excited people gathered for the 4th time Gay Pride Parade in New Delhi today. It certainly was a nice time to share happiness for what has happened so far, and hope for further good things that may happen. 

Listening to Christmas songs I've just turned on the Advent decoration with seven lights, made ready the four advent candles and put on a red table cloth. Spending the Advent time away from home is not a first time, but it will be different. This year I will stay in India for Christmas and not go home. Certainly I will miss the traditions, food, friends and family, but I hope to continue some traditions and adopt some new ones this Advent time.

I think perhaps Advent and Christmas will get a new meaning this year - It's exciting. 

Tenn lys!

Et lys skal brenne

For denne lille jord,

Den blanke himmelstjerne

Der vi og alle bor.

Må alle dele håpet

Så gode ting kan skje

Må jord og himmel møtes.

Et lys er tent for det.

- Eivind Scheie

Light a candle!

A candle shall burn 

For this little earth, 

The shiny star in heaven 

Where we and everyone lives. 

Must we share all hope 

So that good things can happen

Must earth and heaven meet

Light a candle for that. 

(attempt at translating) 

A Smile is Contagious

The autoride cost more than a meal of chowmein chicken that can last for days, and I still get in because I want to reach home. Sitting in the auto, I wonder if I'm among those 50% who gets depressed after dengue.. Or perhaps it's just one of those days where I just don't care, I just want to reach home. Tomorrow I will bargain more. Honestly though, I did bargain, starting with half of what he asked. I guess the palmreader the other day was not all the way correct. Yes, I'm stubborn but not when I am standing outside the hospital daydreaming about going to sleep..

On a brigther note, I did see a sign stating: a smile is contagious. So I smiled, because the doctor stated that after today, I do not have to come back for any more treatment related to dengue. There's always something to smile about, right? If not, someone else might smile and you might catch it. 

Thanks Thanks, a thousand thank you

Thanksgiving became a part of my life when I first went abroad to the USA at 17. The celebration is probably one that I'm very grateful to include in my own traditions. Taking time to reflect on life and why to be grateful and thankful is very important, and should of course be done more often than only on this Thursday in late November.

I'm grateful for... 
food and clean water.
All the wonderful people in my life
The things Delhi has taught me
that I can dance in my living room to any type of music whenever I want
The things the US has taught me
The people who have opened my eyes
Learning different ways to see the world
How colorful it is in India
Everything growing up in Norway has taught me
That every interaction with another human being has an impact
That I have the opportunity to do what I do every day
Having a Balcony
Letters in the mail
Seeing flying kites every once in a while
Living by a market
Caring people 
Smiles
Skype
That I can see the good in things 
Elephants
That I've learned to read and write.

The list goes on and on and on.

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm very grateful for all the wonderful people in my life! I'm so grateful that I live in Delhi, a city that have taught me so much. I'm grateful I've lived in the US where I made great friends. I'm incredibly thankful for all my loved ones in Norway, and everywhere else in the world. I'm grateful that I get to do what I do every day - I love it.

Delhi Delhi, Oh New Delhi

Have you ever been in love? 
I mean, in love with a city? You think the honking sounds like music today. It almost makes you want to dance and rock out to the loud music in the auto. Tomorrow you might fall off that pink cloud to find it unnecessary and ruining your day. Then you don't see all the beautiful colors, the friendly gestures and don't find children pointing at you amusing. No, you see the inequalities, the dust, the noise, harassment, the unfairness, the poverty. Delhi, Delhi. Oh, how much you teach me about being human. Dealing with the challenges of seeing the many layers and aspects of exactly that; being human; One day on a pink cloud, the very next not and learning to balance it all. 

That Special Feeling of Happiness- where does it come from?

You know that feeling of happiness that you sometimes feel inside, but you have no words to describe it? No words to describe why? Well, perhaps it's because you don't really know, only know you absolutely love that feeling.

I'm sitting by the kitchen table with a cup of tea reflecting on that exact feeling; Super excited that I'm back to work, super duper excited about a pillow shaped like a cat in happy colours, amazed that I finally found THE book about International Social Work - with a discount! Hoping I'm not among the 45% of people who have hair loss a month after Dengue. How nice it is to see Dancing Ballet in the living room alone. all the kids at work again. Parades under the balcony. That the regular auto driver that takes me to work, still will after I've been sick for four weeks! How lucky I am to have met such amazing people while in India, hoping they will be lifelong friends. My newfound love; eating Pomegranates, and the two songs I didn't know I had that makes me smile. Yes, those are all things I'm thinking about right now.

Sipping my tea, identifying these wonderful things of life in Delhi I'm trying to block out an episode that taught me a lesson. An episode with an unusual auto driver, yes I say unusual because auto drivers are usually respectful gentlemen. Unfortunately, I was in for a lesson of "don't trust anyone" this weekend.

It was dark, but we travel by auto all the time and perhaps I think I'm tougher than I really am. He dropped my friend first, to then take me home. Approaching my stop, I got a bad feeling and got my pepperspray ready and keys with my whistle on (thanks to my friend who ensured it in my suitcase and the university I attended's Woman's Resource Center for handing them out). I considered getting out at the market close to my place, but changed my mind when men were eying me offensively.

Paying the auto driver he started arguing about the price, which often happens. What was different this time was that instead of driving off , he came out of his auto approaching me while speaking hindi. Staring at me. I walked towards the entrance door, trying to stick in my key, luckily the door was unlocked. I opened the door, it was dark inside, and he came faster towards me. Staying calm, I was able to get the key inside the keyhole on the first try, he took ahold of the door. I held the door harder and locked the door. Seeing the doorknob go up and down, up and down, I ran upstairs and finally reached home. That's when it hit me what had happened, it all happened in what seemed like a slow motion movie. Feeling empowered by the whistle and pepper spray, I'm relieved I reacted to the situation by staying calm. I was lucky.

That feeling of being lucky is part of that special feeling of happiness.

Perhaps I'm tougher than I think I am really.

Observed from the Balcony: Happy Festivities

When I woke up this morning little did I know that I would witness music and a parade from my balcony. The Sikh celebration of Guru Nanak's Gurpurab was filled with firecrackers, music, fireworks, sword fights (Gatka) and parades. Now I certainly do not feel so sad about having to observe Diwali from the hospital windows.

 

Rediscovering home - Reflections on Living Abroad

If you are interested in reading this article that I wrote titled "Rediscovering Home: Reflections on Living Abroad", please visit The Truman Monitor.  The article is about my favorite aspects of living in the complex society of India.

"Here Comes the Sun..."

It comes when you least expect it. Dengue Fever.

India has introduced me to many things during my stay here. Little did I know that India would also introduce me to my first hospital stay too. Last week I got Dengue Fever and was hospitalized as a result.
Fever, a puffy face, relatively strange dreams and extremely painful muscles accompanied me to the hospital. Being stuck with needles become part of the daily routine along with bad hospital food.  The first few days I just slept and swore that I will never eat rice again - at least not until I decide that I want to.

The normal reaction to this experience might be; I want to go back to home - and yes I did want to go home, home to Norway or back to the US. Home to loved ones and safety in every aspect, meaning what is familiar. Sitting here now reflecting, back in the flat with the two bright pink walls, I want to stay in India for a while longer. I like it here. I feel at peace when I stand on the balcony looking down at the street, or look up searching for kites in the sky. I'm here for a reason, and this is what I want to do with my life. Having dengue fever and being hospitalized so far away from home certainly taught me a lot that I will bring with me for the rest of my life. I just feel so fortunate that I actually could be in a hospital where I could get the care that I needed - the fact that I have the insurance and opportunity to do that itself shows how lucky I am..

Kites, pink walls, colorful streets filled with people, markets, giggly children... and it's started to cool down outside!