TROUBLE SLEEPING...

Back form India... and I am awake. That is not right. India is five hours behind us and travelling back took about 27 hrs form hotel to home, and i have only slepted about 9 30 hrs, and i am awake and kicking. Oh well it fits perfectly with my original theme...

Well it is really good to be back. For the past three days, in my mind, it was all about travelling to get back. We went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and for that we had to travel to get there and then we had to get to Delhi, more travelling and then there was the flight, well that took a long time. So being at my final destination is really good.

India... well how can i put it simply. For those of you who have been to Egypt or live there, it is very similar i feel. The traffic, the look of the locals and then all the craziness and madness that surrounds you when you are out of the comfort of your building. Going back into a culture like that was hard for me. Also the people there are really friendly, a little overly friendly at some times. They see a foreigner and they think, great time to practise my english. That is a much better view to have than most westerners about foreigners, but still, by the end of about 2 weeks i was ready for a bit of coldness towards me.

India is huge, and so to get anywhere, you have to spend a long time travelling. We took the overnight train to Lucknow, which took about 12 hrs. In Lucknow we got to go to a college that one of our leaders had been working as a volleyball coach for about a year i think. It was really good and a lot of fun. I think that out of the entire trip the following time was my favourite. We were about to travel to Agra to see the Taj, but we missed our train, not by 5 minutes or 10 or even 30, but by a whole 24 hrs. The ticket was wrong. That day i was really ready to leave Lucknow, but that extra day there was really needed, personally. We got to go back to the college and play more volleyball. After the games, just like before we went to one of the players dorms and had chia (the indian version of tea, which grew on me). This time was different than the last time. I felt more comfortable with the guys and i think that they felt more comfortable with us. I really enjoyed their company and the next day i felt really relaxed about leaving.

Did i enjoy myself? On the whole i was struggling with not wanting to be there and the fear of maybe going back for 6 months. So on the whole no, i did not enjoy myself.
Where there good times? Absolutely. The best was descibed above. I also got to meet one of the language students in Dehra Dun and spent the day with him and his three friends on the back of a mototrbike. We went up into the mountains to see a Hindu temple, which was not my idea of fun, but i could not say no to them as they had planed the whole day. We then went to a restaurant and then to each one of their homes. That was fun. I enjoyed that part, of talking to them and jsut getting to know them. It made me a little homesick... but all is well.

A lot has happened in the past two weeks, but for now i will leave it for another troubled sleeping time...
Take care
Alex