Dewali

Even though my Dewali was not exiting this year (because i fell sick again...) It was really nice. lighting dias, eating nice food, praying a little seeing the marked...

Just getting new energy in the companie of long known Friends...

that was the pest for my recovery...

Thank you for my new energy and my finally fresh washed cloths!!! (and presented as well)

Thank you sooo much for everything I never know how to give something back...

Love You sooo much!!!!

Amritsar and Dharamsala 9.10 - 7.11

I came into the Jugaadus hostel(Jugaadus= fixing something with just the things you have at that moment(I like this word cant think of a suitable english one...maybe culture thing...)) in the evening and no one except the Tuktuk driver wiki was there. I talked to him for a while asking about the hostel and everything unknowing that I would become really close friends with at least all of the staff members but also with some Backpackers.

After some time some people came and prepared for the temple tour and directly I was taken with them. 

Before I decided to go to Amritsar I had never heard of the Golden Temple so I had no expectation(I found for myself that it is really good to go without expectation mostly I got overwhelmed).

The Temple was amazing. my mouth stood opened for some time. Not only because of the beauty, there are a lot of beautiful temple and also curchs and mosks and whatever building around the world. It was the Atmosphere which was amazing. Quiet, peaceful and happy also I would say.

It is i Sikh temple which have the nice philosophy that everyone from every religion is welcomed. 

Every Day they feed thousands of people, they can sleep there as well and also wash themselves there... so basically everything what humans need. ( on this evening I didn't recolonize but later i did... there were no beggars inside the temple... why I don't know because outside there were...)

At that evening I only saw the beauty and saw that all the volunteers who worked there(cooking, cleaning, anything...) smiling at me...

A great experience.

I saw the temple in every period of the day (it never closes) and for me it was the niecesed feeling around 12 in the night when only very few people are there.

here sunrise with mailan (dont know how her name is written) a girl from France. I chaired some nice time with her.

The hostel provides some really nice tours. Also the most famous sight for tourist next to the Golden Temple, the waga border or border to Pakistan.

It was quite funny but I enjoyed the ride there and back as well because wiki let me drive and there was nice Punjabi music.

I love rooftops so the Jugaadus was no exception. There you can have some time on your own which was very much needed for me in a hostel which is always more or less full.

Wiki and I became good friends and he invited me home to meet his family. I meet his wife, whose first reaction was to give me a big hug, his two sons his brother and his family...

his niece applied mehindi on my hand and we all danced a little and ate a little.

then it was time to sleep(we all were already laying on the bed tired, one bed for the whole family me in clouded. I was laying between wiki and his older son, right in the picture.) I was closing my eyes and wanted to sleep but he jumped up and said: "now we have to rearrange this" I didn't understand at first but he meant that I cant sleep next to him. because I didn't understand the matter I asked "why?" "because for me it is no problem when i hug you by accident in the night but maybe for you no?" he said in his simple but good english. He is such a cute man I trusted him that he wouldn't do but he wanted to ensure this... so nice. I ended up sleeping between his two cute sons. In my day cloths... Indians doesn't change in night. At the next morning we got up very early.

At the next morning there was some kind of festival.We 'children' me more or less gone from house to house getting blessed by the elders and collecting halva(some kind of sweet) and chickpeas and 10RS. I didn't quite got why but if was funny how exited the children were about this. Little bit like Halloween...

wiki

Jagroop(the night-sift guy)

With him we became closer only after I gone with the border tuktuck half way to his home village. I gone there alone because I wanted to play volleyball end Gopi said they are playing there. He piced me up where the tuktuck droped me and we gone to his home. 

He showed me there animals and I could milk theme and drink the milk directly from the cow in my mouth( weard thing). His famili made me chai and then we gone for playing volley ball. In the begining I was qhite good but then I saw that thay were also really good and at those points I loose  my confidents and then I am going worse and worse... otherwise I am playing ok but then my nerves...

Still I enjoyed the day a lot!!
I saw him doing his turban and his mom gave me a big hug in the end.

But the best part: as we were driving home he said do u know how to drive the bike?

I said a little...

he said today I am tired and also little sick... so you want to drive?

He showed me again how to and half the way i drove half the way till there was to much traffic for me.
We deliverd milk and the woman was so exited to see a foreign that she called her husband and also gave me a big hug.
we stopped at a fruit shake stand where we drank a banana shake( he said he goes there every day ever since he was a small boy, when he and his friends stopped there while driving tho the golden temple on bikes)
really nice day

The Hoslel also does a village tour there so As we had a group of really nice people (Olli, Maria, jaming, fernando) we gone on the tour together and it was again so much fun.

Wiki tuck his son and also Sanjay the hostle owner gone with us as guide ad friend as always.

First I drove the whole way on his motorbike then they showed us the village the animals, we played kabberdi and danced phangera (Punjabi dance) Jagroop is really good in this and he toughed me some. that was an awesome day... the thing about awesome days... you forget taking pictures...

the only one...

Lily. A person who talks to much and to fast(but she knows and she is lovley as well)

we talked a lot and had some really nice time together.

both the aunties... they take care lovely that there is always cocked food available and that everything is clean. Even though we barley talked because my hindi is so poor we liked each other and they and wiki cared for me a lot as I fell sick. 

(wiki even drove me to a very good doctor and didn't want to charge me even though it was far away)

As I felt better(but not completely well) Sanjay invited me to join him for a wedding in Chandigarh. me (stupid) wanted to go there very much so we went. And i had a nice time but it was outside and it got cold so I became fever again... Sanjay cared really nice for me during the journey back. there was also an earthquake but i was feeling disy anyways so I didn't feel anything.

Back at Jugaadus I was collecting my strength again to continue traveling to me.

Spontaneous Sanjay(the one in the middle) and Jaming wanted to join me so we three went and had really nice there.

Now you might question what did she actually do in the hostel since I am doing work away...

My work was easy and nice... I sat at the reception checking in people filling in there forms and that is everything...awesome work to do together with awesome people who make this hostel spacial.

With Sanjay and all the others around you its never getting boring. They entertain all the backpackers really good... for professionalism is no time then anymore... A place I felt like home.

maybe this makes you understand...

Then we three went to Dharamsala for a week. We had a grate time missing the Daila lama even though we are so close(because we didn't know), missing the festival because we all fell sick because it was so cold specially in night even with 3 blankets. Eating really nice Tibetan food(there are a lot of Tibetan refugees) and sitting in a really nice unknown cafe drinking hot ginger lemon honey tee to get well again and discussing about anything. 

Inviting our self to a friend of Sanjay, cook food there together and taking advantage of his heater and his thick blankets.

Tank you Guy's for that awesome week in a lovely surrounding!!!

Hope well meet again!!!

I loved the opened and happy people in Punjab...

maybe you recognized but every woman I meet gave me a huge and cuddly hug.

But never fall in love with Punjabi men because either you stay with them for lifetime or they kill you when you leave them(so its said in their songs... I just live the music I don't understand the lyric)

but her my right now favorite cheesy Punjabi song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QbqdeNSUmU

It says by boyfriend is old fashioned and I am western minded but I love him so I become Traditional again sometimes...( at least they told me like this)

Wish you all the Best for your Future!!!!

I will miss you!!!!

( sorry for my poor english...)

Bikaner 22.10-7.11.

Crossing the whole country to get from the compleat east to the compleat west: Bikaner, hoping to see the desert.

Somehow I love slow journeys(3 days)

(delhi trainstation)

Arriving in Bikaner the host piced me up and we drove to his hotel/guesthouse/hostel/couchsufe/volunteer place/ home.

The Host Yogi was a little shy but also very opened about liking foreign girls and seeming to be a little superficial. So I was glad that two other Volunteers arrived at the same day. I don't think that he would do something in that direction. But I don't like having to think weather someone starts liking me and how to stay away from getting closer so I mostly gone out of his way or just stayed with the other two volunteers Lily and Alfi. I laughed a lot in their company.

When I talked to the host Yogie I felt sorry for his situation like so many times since I am in India but the thing is no one is changing something. I believe everyone has to take action if they are unhappy because know one else can help. that is what i told him... you are the only one who can do something against it... I don't think he will...

He will continue inviting foreigns to get approvement from them or just admiring the pretty women beyond.

We saw that happening as the pretty 40 year old Hong kong woman arrived in the hotel... He did everything for her and she was letting him. After she arrived all the attention he had for us switched over to her and even more.

I wouldn't have cared but the problem was that we already didn't get much orders or opportunities what to do... mostly we were cleaning the rooms.

in the profile there were listed so many nice tasks but... I don't know.

I would say I still had a nice time...

while rooming around we saw and looking for a temple we saw this hows which looked like one so we gone inside. But actually it was the Birthday and some celebration of this Guy! and we were directly invited. We were served awesome food, these girls applied beautiful mehindi on us and we got to see some wearied rits.

together with the Hong Kong woman Yogi took us to see the Fort(forts are famous for Ragestan)

Alfi and me

lily and Alfi

the view from the terrace next to our nice 10 beds room we had for 3 of us

At one day we went in the desert. We were supposed to build up these big tets which you see in the back. we came in the evening built up one tent and stayed there the night. We saw the habit of the Family living there and slept under the sky.

But Yogi left in the evening without telling us. So we had no clue what we were supposed to do. The next morning we were getting up very early because the sun was burning. we did some small things like getting bricks from one place to another and trying to build up the tent which we started the evening before. We were supposed to help but we were expecting some kind of supervision or that they do something and we could help but the father of the family did a one-man job and always when Alfi did something he removed it again... since there was no common language we couldn't discuss it also because it was obvious that the father also didn't know properly what to do.... 

I was sitting around most of the time and playing with the children.

As Yogi came back the father gone strait complaining that we have been lazy.

At that point only I got to know that the plan was to built up 10 tents in that time...

I was really sad about that end because before I was quite enjoin myself with the family.

Before I was never so thank full for being toughed logical thinking... the process how the built up the tents in first place was without plan and trying to do it only with mussels...

And that led to problems for attaching the outer walls...

At then next day Alfi and tree different people tried it again and they got it in one day putting a lot of sweat inside but it was standing.

It was very interesting to see that even though it was no nice experience but id made me appreciate a lot... when u get a job to do in Germany you do the best u can to finish it proper and you will try to do it with plan and as efficient as possible... sometimes annoying and not necessary sometimes the best way you can do because otherwise its even more work afterwards...

After that I was annoyed of doing any kind of work which I considered as more or more less useful because I couldn't see a proper result (cleaning the rooms which didn't seam much cleaner afterwards) So I started a painting. Many volunteers before did it so I asked if i also can. Alfie and Lily were already making one. This is the result...

During this time I had a little down. I was feeling lonly because in the beginning Lily and Alfi would ask me always to come out or maybe i just ran after them but than they wanted to do things along again. I don't blame them for that, I completely understand but some how I was, and I fear I still am, a little cautious of rooming around. Not because I fear something could happen but because I fear all the stare who might catch me while having no plan of what to do... which is so stupid!! You don't have to have a reason while rooming!!! 

so I was feeling lonely because I didn't do much...

Anyways... My Friend Cliffin, who stayed at Yogis place as a couchsufer, pushed me out of this by simply doing stupid things... Thank you for that a lot if u read that!

We visited a camel farm and i drank camle milk which is supposed to be very healthy(tasty but a little m=bit more salty as cow milk)

just visiting the beautiful old city and some temple...

I liked this scene because it remember me on a movie... 

who knows which kind? (with a little bit romantic music in the background)

these little things are because I am saying I had a great time there...

Again I am wishing everyone I meet there all the best for the Future!

Darjeeling 16.08.-25.09.

I stayed the night with Untie and uncle in thair smal but lovely flat and got grate food as well.
in the morning I got up very early because my train was supposed to leave at 6:30.Uncle doped me to the train station and I was very exited to start my journey to Darjeeling. But I didn’t know that I wound take another 8 hours till the train would leave on the train-station. someone already told me that the Mahanander Express is always late... but i thought  maybe an hour or something... not 8 hours. I was sitting at the station in this horrible hot and humid weather. As if this is not enough my stomach began to hurt like hell and i only wanted to lay down in the train where they have AC and comfortable beds...(everyone who worries now, these stomach aching is normal for me once a month)
I don’t like to swallow pills but i was so desperate that i did... the thing was as well that they didn’t tell from the start that it will be late 8h ... they always extended the delait for two hours...

As I finally arrived the train was delate 18 hours so my total journey took 48h. Fortunately the trains are very comfortable and i chaired my compartment with only 4 more people so everyone had enough space. Besides I had grate moments sitting at the open door of the train watching the sundown reflecting in a lake, driving by night over a river bride not being able to define how deep it is to the surface of the water below my feet and seeing high fire burning in some distance which are burning death bodies(at least this is what an Indian-army soldier from Nepal, sitting next to me in the train-door, told me). But unfortunately these impressions I couldn't capture with my phone camera. But I think you have enough imagination for that.

Arriving somewhere is always tiring. You get introduced to everyone, you are supposed to talk a lot with everyone finding out about their character and which behavior is appropriate. I have my difficulties with that even though I should be used to it till now. In

 the end I asked Tufan my host(left in the picture)  and his wife Ranju his first impression of me. They said quiet serious no one to have much fun with. Do you agree? 

I agree that that is sometimes the impression because I rather behave like this than maybe stepping on someones foot when I don't know the environment. How to find the balance between that.

Anyways I became friends with my host and i got use to surrounding.

In the mornings the other volunteer and I were supposed to teach in a cooperative school which provided the  Himalayan Media Welfare Society (Voluntary NGO) (the project we volunteered for) space to teach.

And in the afternoon there were two daycare center where we were supposed to do a kind of  helping with homework.

In the beginning I didn't like the school in the morning at all. I was supposed to teach students from class one to ten in maths and physics. Problem: they didn't provided me any books and also I never had the same classes on one day. so when I entered the class I first needed to find out which topic they are on how they do it different and how i should teach it best and prepare them for their exams... In short, at some point i just started teaching them a little German instead. After a week I arranged that I would only teach the small children from that point.

But also there I faced problems I couldn't solve. 

First thing: the children go to school from the age of three. that was the time when i was playing with my friends in the Kindergarden not doing anything. they sit in school from 9am to 3pm getting homework as well and learning question answers by hart. Of curse all on English. from class one, means at the age of 6, they are supposed to read English stories. Reading works with most of them... understanding is more the problem... some words even the teacher doesn't know. that leads to the exams which are some questions the students just mug up and write our of their memories. No thinking sometimes no understanding... which is the second thing I disliked. But I already experienced this in the school I went to as I was here on my exchange... I am not saying our system is better but I like it more... maybe I am just used to...

Third thing: some of the teacher hit the students. When they not do as they want them to or when they did the task wrong... anything.

Once in the exam one girl who was always bad in her studies couldn't remember the correct answers and the teaches helped her. she said something and looked in the teachers eyes weather she was right or not. Sometimes she would fined a yes sometimes she got hit because she is 'so stupid'. She must have said something completely wrong because the teacher stroke her head against the wall behind her and pressing her throat.She had tears in her eyes but she didn't cry. She finished more or less.

What to do in such a situation? I had no clue...

I tried my best to help the students become better. There were two boys in the first class who were really bad in reading and writing. I teached them separate. the one just couldn't remember the letters and was confusing them. just before i left he had improved a lot! i was so happy and I hope he continued improving.

Before I left I gone to the principal of the school complaining about the hitting students(because its forbidden also in India). First he said oh yes ... that happens but I told them not to do I will tell them again.... then he wanted to explain me the advantages and disadvantages of hitting... so yes... I stand on my position and I hope he will change something when he hear it numerous times...

The daycare centers instead were nice. Noisy and exhausting but much more fun specially for the children. In the beginning I had no clue how to handle so many small children on once but I got better... (still not perfect...)

rooming around with the other volunteer Kim and two other frinds

A really nice but short trip to Kalinpong with Kim (I liked it more than Darjeeling but that is just my view...)

`

small Trip to Darjeeling Hoping to see the mount Everest but it was to mysty... the best part was the ride ther on the roof of a jeep up the hill.(hope u can see the video)

Teachers-day daycare center 

relaxing on Sunday

Every Monday I went shopping on the market with Louisa. I really liked her even though wen never really talked because i couldn't speak nepali and she english.

A meat market how it should be...

A nearby Buddhist monastery i visited after the daycare-center with two of my students ...

they showed me how to pray there. she could barely reach the (how ever this is called...)

my daycarestudents vefore we started class feching some guavas as a sneck... tasting awesome.

In the Afternoon I always passed this computer shop. I first place I didn't know what this is supposed to be so me and kim looked inside... "sorry may I help you?" Niva asked. She explained us that they are training people how to use computers(had no clue some need to because its so deep in our society but shour if you haven't grown up with this.

I enjoyed the half hour we spent together with her friend dienesh before she had to go home. 

my friend Anu and her daughter Fiona. The last week I went to her place every day talking, dancing with Fiona and talking to here. Her Husband is in Luchsemburg and she also wants to go there so she had a lot questions and wanted to learn German and she chaired her story with me. Unfortunately Its a sad one... hopefully I will see them again in Germany.

One day before I left a new volunteer arrived. Anna and I were getting along really good in that short time and I was really sad she arrived so late... would have been grate fun to travel with her. Maybe some Day....

Unfortunately I have no better picture of the whole family. Louisa, Tufan and his wife Ranju( not on the picture Tanush, Louisas husband and Tufans Brother and their mother). Thanks to them for making my stay so lovely. Thanks to everyone making my stay such a nice one even with all difficulties I faced.

I wish you  the best for your Future. Maybe we will meet again.

(I couldn't tell everything it would have been to much but this is a nice overview)