Opening2Life

As usual, many things have happened since my last post. I'm currently in North Goa, in Arambol, and I'll focus more on my experience here than on the other places I've visited, because this part of the country has become another of my favourite places in India, together with Dharamshala. Before coming to Goa, you might remember that I was supposed to take a long train journey from Kolkata to Pune. That train was cancelled. We got the confirmation after waiting around 2 hours for it to arrive. It was already late evening, so I had to decide what to do - stay an extra night in Kolkata and look for another accommodation, or look for an alternative means of transport. It was not guaranteed I could find either of them, because it was late. But I didn't feel like staying another night in Kolkata, so I ended up buying a flight ticket to Mumbai - it was cheaper than flying to Pune. I shared a taxi with an Indian guy who was also going to the airport. The flight was scheduled fo...

It's hard to believe that 6 months have passed since this journey began. Time has been flying, filled with so many experiences that I often lose my sense of time. It took me a while to feel like writing again after my last post. I usually wait until I'm in the mood, and this time almost 2 months have passed. The problem is that when I wait too long, travel experiences start to pile up, and naturally some details fade away with time. After Dharamshala - still my favourite place so far - I went to the state of West Bengal. My first stop was Darjeeling, where I spent a few days enjoying the peacefulness and beauty of the town. I stayed at a guesthouse where the owner treated me like family. He still writes to me quite often, asking how I'm doing. My days there were simple and relaxing - walking around and soaking up the atmosphere. And then, I finally experienced something I had wanted to do in India: travelling by train. I had heard so many stories from other travellers (most...

Already a month has passed since my last post here. Time flies. So many things have happened  over this past month, and a sequence of events has brought me to where I am now - Dharamshala, the land of the Dalai Lama. On the same day I wrote my last post, I got stomach sick. Some unwanted parasite decided my belly was a nice place to live. It took me some time to recover - for around 3 days, I barely ate anything. I got weak, and after regaining a bit of appetite, I was super careful with the food I ate while staying in Naggar. The owner was very kind and always checked in to see how I was doing. They cooked some light meals that were good for my stomach, and I slowly started to get better. On the day I was supposed to check out of the guesthouse and head to my next volunteering project, I received a message from the host saying it had to be cancelled because they didn't have many guests due to the rainy weather. I had 2 hours left until check-out and no idea where to go. I decided ...

I've been delaying this post for some time already. Many things have happened, and I wanted to process everything so that my mind would be a bit clearer about what to write - but I'm not sure I'm there yet. Still, I decided it's time to do it. My last volunteering experience took place in Kathmandu. It lasted 2 weeks, and I'm so happy I did it - especially because of the kids. It was the experience where I felt I connected the most with them, and I felt a bit sad to say goodbye at the end. The place was a children's home. Many kids live there: some are orphans, some come from abusive families, and others were rejected by their parents after divorce and remarriage. There are kids aged between 3 and 17, most of them boys. This time it was easier to connect with them through football. They also had a ping-pong table, which is another sport I really enjoy. They go to school from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and we'd meet them after school and stay until dinner time - usua...