I smelt your scent on the seatbelt and kept my shortcut to myself.

(Mumbai, on the way out of the city on the first day)

It's been almost a week since I arrived in India now. It doesn't feel like that at all.
Everything is so new still but yet so familiar, and I feel like I've been here for weeks already!
Earlier this week, there was a musical Spotlight evening, in which we listened to some amazing music, such as a cello piece, one of Beethoven's final movements on the piano and a traditional song. I've also been down to a nearby village for a tutor-group dinner, where we tasted some good Indian food.
On Wednesday I went to Paud. It's a small village around 8km from campus, so we walked down and had a look around.
Yesterday I went to Pune, which was downright amazing. It is the nearest city from here, and we are going again on Saturday. It was so vibrant, colourful, alive and busy. Although there is visible poverty, the place seems bustling and I really enjoyed it. We did have to wear masks as a preventative measure for swine flu, but nobody else seemed to be worried. I had my first rickshaw ride, which was terrifying (there were four of us in a three seater) and exhilarating in equal measures. I managed to buy paint for my room here together with Mette and Gesa, so it will be fun to decorate the place here. We also picked up some fresh vegetables from the market, and cooked dinner with a bunch of people.
Today I was supposed to go on a hike, but I woke up with a massive ant bite on my eye, so I'm sitting here recuperating. Tonight I think there is a retro party in one of the wadas (previous ones this week have been the jumpstyle party and other general ones) and tomorrow evening is the First Year Show, in which we are required to entertain the other students. I'll be playing the flute with other musicians, probably a Bob Dylan or Beatles song.
Other activities I've been busy with are the interwada games we had (we played football and basketball against each other) and the biodiversity reserve tour. The reserve is fantastic! It has edible plants as well as local ones, and is peaceful and pleasant.
The photos are taking way too long to upload now, so I'll do that later.
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