2005 in retrospect...

...it wasn't an easy one, lots to take in, many new impressions...some amazing ones and some rather unsettling ones; the smells of india and lots of new things to get used to, moments of surrender, and great days full of little break-throughs. all in all an emotional year, the struggle of how to fit in, how to deal with poverty, noise, different work culture, food hygene and generally just trying to make sense of it all... which is pretty impossible in a place like india. the hardest but the only way seems to accept it all... people, religion, culture, ways of how things are being done or not done...while trying to hold on to some of your own values to keep sane.

it's kind of impossible to share the challenges in this world with anyone not living here, to the people close to us, which was probably one of the bigger frustrations. It's lots of small things every day that can leave you helpless and tired.
on a good day you just smile about these weird little things and it kind of works, on a bad day it brings out the worst in you and you feel like loosing it. best thing then is to go home, open a bottle of wine with a friend, and forget where you are until the next day... sitting on your imported chair, drinking imported wine and listening to imported music. it helps so much, that tiny bit of home you can take with you.


There are things we do miss...
safe running water, complete quietness, fresh air, driving a car ourselves, london pubs, walking, the sunday times with all the supplements, you guys [still can't believe our luck of michelle&wayne having moved here from london... a bit of home came to bangalore!], big supermarkets , blending in and not being stared at, art and cultural events in the western world [or is it the fashionable people, yummy nibbles and champagne at gallery openings we really miss?], and good wines and cheese...

we could not have been in a better place than goa to end this year, away from the polluted city, the honking and our daily life. tim and caroline came to see us again to celebrate new years together with us in southern goa. what a great place, so very laid back.

we rented two scooters, discovered beautiful and not yet developed beaches, enjoyed amazing sunsets, ate lots of fresh fish, played cards, slept and had endless discussions about important things like where to eat next and what drink to order, BBQ on the beach, opened our first bottle of beer usually before lunch time and playing the waves with boogy boards. it was a really relaxing holiday and a very leisure way of starting the new year... goa is somehow very different from the rest of india, less intense, not so crowded and much cleaner. very enjoyable.

... another year to come, probably a more settled and relaxed year, having met some nice people, and knowing what we know now. but we will always miss you all and the london pub life... what a luxury in a way to be able to miss all this, to realise what it is we miss, and to know that we can have it back one day.... although we dont know yet when.

enjoy that tap water!

goa...