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Exploring Odisha

maygrehan

Dear friends and family,


I have now been in India for two months, and it is still a culture shock, especially when I visit new cities with different languages and customs.

 

This month, I spent some time in Bhubaneswar exploring the capital of Orissa. I booked a hotel stay because I desperately missed swimming. I found a cheap hotel with a teeny weeny pool on its rooftop and may have been the only person to swim during my stay. It was glorious being surrounded by water after so long without it. While in the city, I went to a few food parks (Khoa Gali), which were like night markets and were highly recommended by a local. One food park had sizzling brownies, but the weather was so humid I foregoed it for a cool strawberry thickshake.



On this trip, I also ventured out to the Konark Sun Temple. It's one of the biggest attractions in Konark. I kept trying to find the best time of day to visit the temple but was only given the best months to visit. So I arrived there at noon. My driver handed me his umbrella, and I said “no thanks,” thinking it wouldn’t rain. I didn’t know until he had driven away that the umbrella was to shield me from the terror of the midday sun. Thank goodness for the two large trees at the monument; otherwise, I think I would have fainted. The Konark Sun Temple is pretty impressive, though it’s a little confusing why the artisans decided to carve figures performing sexual acts all over the walls.



I also took some photos in Pipili, most famous for its handicrafts, and I swam in the Indian Ocean at Golden Beach, Puri. In India, people just wear their full clothes into bodies of water, so I followed suit, having purchased a backup set moments before. Unfortunately, at the end of my weekend trip, I got a throat infection meaning I was on bed rest for almost half of it. But for the most part, the sightseeing and swimming were all worth getting sick.



I spent the rest of my month in Kankia visiting students at the Gram Vikas School there. I also got to spend a week at another Gram Vikas school in Gayagunda. At both schools, I shared a little bit about Australian culture, showed them where it was on a map, talked about First Nations people, and sang/ taught Australian songs. I would say 95% of the teachers and students didn’t understand what I was saying, but we all politely smiled and laughed with each other over language barriers regardless. It was sweet. This month we also celebrated Ganesh Puja and my friend Malati dressed me up in one of her saris for the celebration. The watermelon colours went well with my pink undertones and i recieved many compliments.



Aside from travel, I have been drawing, reading, watching Disney Plus, and listening to podcasts. A few more USA Travel Bugs pictures were completed that encapsulate my adventures in the southern states of America. I read three books: ‘The Paper Palace’ by Miranda Cowley Heller (made me very sad after finishing it), ‘Llama See That Evidence’ by Erin McCarthy & Kathy Love (a silly little easy read that came free with Apple Books), and ‘The Globalisation of Poverty’ by Michel Chossudovsky (which was truly depressing on every level).



On Disney Plus, I checked out ‘The Supremes at Earl's Diner’ (I really thought this was going to be about the real Supremes, but it was not) and ‘The Brat Pack’ (which was really just a therapy session for the interviewee mourning the loss of his young acting career). I also continued Futurama, but other than that, no other televsion shows were binged. As for podcasts, I have started listening to the Australian Association of Social Work podcasts for my university program, continued with my favorite, ‘Crime Junkie,’ as well as a series called ‘Violation.’ The eight-episode series talks about a man who received a life sentence for a crime he committed as a juvenile. After 25 years, he was let out on parole, but the victims were still enraged and found a way to get him back into prison, where he is still today. It was a very interesting podcast, especially for someone like me who thinks the point of prison should be ultimately rehabilitative and that people should be reinstated into the community when deemed safe. Check it out if that’s your sort of thing.


The start of October sees me on a two-week trip around East Asia. I’m headed to Varanasi, Agra, New Delhi, Bangkok, Luang Prabang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, and Siem Reap. I return to India around the first week of October for more travelling. I’ll update you all about it next month. Lots of love, May

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