Culture shock: Culture shocks tend to be the things we can’t prepare for or foresee experiencing. Before embarking on the journey, I had done research and tried to keep an open mind. I roughly knew what the culture was like, the style of cuisine, and the level of poverty. I knew cows were sacred, dogs…Continue Reading Diversity and Culture shock
What my Family has Asked me Since I Arrived
How long did it take you to get to India? We took: 1 shuttle taxi from Hamilton to Auckland airport, 1.5 hours 3 flights 1 bus ride from Chennai to Puducherry, 5 hours … which finally took us to Puducherry, India! It was over 45 hours of travelling since leaving Hamilton. A longer trip than expected, with…Continue Reading What my Family has Asked me Since I Arrived
Soy Milk Roof (an architectural analysis of Pondicherry)
What an outrageous time in Pondicherry! Pondicherry is in South-Eastern India, Tamil Nadu state. It was a French colonial settlement until 1954; therefore, its architecture has an eclectic French-Indian twist. Over the past few months, I have been exploring what radical generosity looks like in the public space. There are many kupu (words) in Te…Continue Reading Soy Milk Roof (an architectural analysis of Pondicherry)
India’s Desktop
My annual habit to start a new year is to try and organise my desktop. Clean it up, organise it better, and have a system so that I know exactly where each file and photo should be logically and efficiently placed. However, no system has been perfect. Grey areas appear, laziness emerges, and I end…Continue Reading India’s Desktop
Before,During,…
Pre departure (5/1/23) It’s a few days before I traverse seven thousand KMs across the planet, and I surprisingly don’t feel anxious at all. I’m quietly confident in conforming to the Indian norms, and the fact that we go as a large group puts a lot of my stress to ease. There are obviously still…Continue Reading Before,During,…
A Ponder on Pondicherry and Lessons for New Zealand
Namaste! Vaṇakkam! Hello! It’s been a few days into the trip. Here are a few interesting things I’ve found so far as a health sci student, which I think might be interesting and potentially be some cool initiatives for New Zealand to consider! One of my favourite moments was going to the Aurobindo Ashram. An…Continue Reading A Ponder on Pondicherry and Lessons for New Zealand