We are riding in the party bus and will become superstars - Week 1

Thursday, January 8:

After our long journey, we needed a day to chill and adjust. We slept until noon, as is customary, and then had breakfast and lunch at the same time. Afterwards, we snuggled back into bed because we were still very exhausted. As we called it: 'We beat the jet lag.' In the late afternoon, Yashoda and Raghunath returned, and we drank tea and ate cookies together. Then we played Uno, and we taught Yashoda (more or less successfully at first). Shortly thereafter, Robyn and Niall (from Scotland) returned from their safari, and we got to know them and chatted for a while. Unfortunately, Robyn wasn't feeling well, so she had to go to bed early. A funny moment was when Raghunath talked about a train station in Germany that he found beautiful and showed a photo; it took me only 2 seconds to identify it as the one in Hof. It was a nice and relaxing day for regenerating.🃏

Friday, January 9:

'Jet lag beat us.' - was the motto of the day when we found ourselves wide awake in bed at 2 a.m. Our alarm went off relatively early that day because we and our dear Scots were going to breakfast at the school, where we were warmly welcomed with some treats. We were shown around the Delhi Public School, introduced to everyone, and shown the surroundings. In between, we went with Niall and Robyn to a shopping mall, which was very interesting as it had Western European influences. Afterwards, we devoured a rather spicy lunch (our taste buds are getting better, I swear), before heading to Decathlon with Yashoda and Raghunath because we needed new swimwear for the next day. Back home, we said goodbye to our newfound friends who were traveling further in the evening. As the tired mice that we are, we naturally needed to take a nap next. Later, we went for a little walk with Yashoda and a family friend (watch out: lots of traffic without rules = danger), had dinner, and then played a little.💼

Saturday, January 10:

Do you remember how we only arrived on Wednesday? Accordingly, we actually thought that we would be gradually introduced to Indian culture. But my goodness, how wrong we were. As the school administration of DPS, Yashoda and Raghunath had arranged with the 75 primary school teachers that they could take us with them to their annual outing at a resort outside Raipur and that's exactly what happened. So Saturday began for us at 6:30 a.m., and as always, there was morning tea along with cookies and toast before we were picked up by a colleague who took us to the bus. After a formal welcome, the school bus quickly transformed into the 'party bus' which we lovingly named, as the teachers suddenly sang and danced excitedly to Bollywood songs while we drove on the highway. Naturally, it didn't take long for us to integrate. The journey took ages, but in between, we had breakfast at a South Indian restaurant. Finally, we reached the resort at noon, which we explored in peace at first. Shortly afterwards, there was an exquisite lunch, and thereafter we had a small boat tour over the adjacent lake. Unfortunately, we didn't use the pool as it was simply too cold for us. Together with the group, we danced (or at least tried to), played Housie, and ate snacks. Our hobby of the day was: taking one photo after another with strangers because they were so curious about our light skin and blue eyes, making us feel like stars (or at least we felt that way). The return trip was also marked by a sense of community, because, who doesn’t know it, of course, the karaoke machine was pulled out and loudly singing 'My Heart Will Go On' along with songs in Hindi. I was dog-tired, and Tina was given the new name 'Mary' by a dance teacher who forgot her real name. The intended 1.5-hour drive each way turned into a relaxed 4.5 hours, partly because bus number 9 got lost twice. Quote Tina: 'What does the other bus driver actually do for a living if he always gets lost?' Finally home, we had dinner and shared stories about the day before we collapsed into bed exhausted.🥳

Sunday, January 11:

After this eventful week, it goes without saying that we slept until noon. Afterwards, there was a small breakfast and 10 minutes later, lunch. They tried to introduce us to the world of cricket. After that, Raghunath had us try 'Beetle Leaf' (a leaf) for digestion, but it was too minty for us, and we briefly thought it might kill us (it didn't). Yashoda showed us another mall, where we shopped plenty, including Indian clothing for a ceremony at the school next Saturday. Back home, there was tea and snacks, but not before Raghunath summoned his inner photographer and held a photo shoot with us. Afterwards, I continued writing the blog until dinner. The rest of the day was just as relaxing, as we finished watching the cricket match (India won against New Zealand) and chatted.🏏

➡️ Until next week!