Back home

The traffic is so quiet. I’m not the only white person around. And it’s cold!!! It feels weird. But I know the feeling. I lived in different countries and every time I come back home I get the same feeling: as if another “me” still lived where I used to. My “Indian” me is now sweating under the 30°C sun of 9 am, going to school or ordering a fresh pineapple juice on the beach or talking to someone more with gestures than with English. Just like my “English” me (I worked in London for 3.5 years until last May) is taking the bus daily to go to work and chatting with my ex colleagues. I am sure that whatever time goes by, if I visit the place again, it feels like I left just a few days earlier, and nothing has really changed. Maybe some shops changed, some people aged a little, but in the end all is still the same.

What I most like of going back to a place where I lived for some time is meeting again the people I left behind. I cry whenever saying goodbye because I know that, when far, the friendship won’t be the same. Having a drink and a chat together is never like chatting on the Internet or writing emails. You don’t talk about “nothing” online and you always have at least one main subject. But chatting in front of a cup of tea, with no time restrictions or Wi-Fi connection problems, is completely different. You can jump from one subject to another and so many random things come out in the discussion.

What I learnt after living in different cities for limited amounts of time is that good people will always be good people. The people I enjoyed spending time with some years ago will still be people I like. I met friends 4 years after we said goodbye and I was so worried that we wouldn’t get along anymore. I couldn’t be more wrong: a friend is always a friend, because once you “click”, that’s it, the friendship will survive distance and lack of contact.

I don’t know when I will be able to visit SISP again, but I’m sure I’ll go there again. I’m so curious to see the students grown up! I also want to see how they improved in skating and surfing and what job the older ones got. I know that probably a few years will pass before I visit Kovalam again but that’s not a problem, my “Indian” me will keep being there and once I land it will feel like I just woke up after a long dream.

Time to say goodbye

All good things come to an end. When I left my home to come to India, 2.5 months away seemed a long time. They actually felt like 3 weeks! I feel very sad at leaving but someone once told me that it’s good if you’re sad when leaving, because it means that you had a good experience. I couldn’t agree more!

At the school, a leaving-do was organized on my last day: the founder of the school said some nice words about my stay at SISP, which brought tears to my eyes, then some of the students sang a really nice song (lyrics below) and the youngest student handed me a present: several bijoux made with paper and coconut at S.E.P. (read my previous post A good heart and strong will), lovely! Then I gave the children some sweets.

In the afternoon, the tuition students really touched my heart: first they organized a party for me. They popped colourful corianders in the room and served orange juice and chips to everyone. They paid for all this, which really touched me, considering how little money they have. Finally, two students had presents for me: one gifted me a pen similar to his (read below) and my name made with sticks, the other gifted me a carved chalk where he carved my favourite symbol, the Yin and Yang. Both also wrote me lovely letters.

I was really surprised by their spirit of observation, also considering that they are no older than 15. Several weeks ago, when seeing the long pen of the first student, I commented that it was very nice. I didn’t mention it anymore but still, he remembered and bought one for me! Also, I had once spoken no more than 5 minutes about the Yin and Yang, and why it is my favourite symbol, and again, the second student remembered about it and carved it into a chalk. I am amazed by how carefully they listened to me and how they remembered what I like. Rarely people get to know me so well in such a short time.

And now time to move to my next post “Back home”…