We are back in Germany now. 8 months went by.
Just like that. Like a blink of an eye, which gave us the chance to see, smell,
hear, feel, taste and understand a bit about our India. The India we were
surprised at, started to appreciate and to love like our second home. Even
though time went by so quickly, during the first days back in Germany, our home
was not as familiar to us as it used to be. We see things differently now. We
wonder about the mass of unnecessary things in our houses, which we didn’t even
remember they existed. And about how clean or even sterile everything seems to
be. About the fresh air and the streets which are so empty. Where is the colorful
street life we got used to during the past months? Everything is so silent. No
people shouting in the streets, no cow mooing, no traffic noise, especially no
horn! And the traffic in general which is so strictly regulated... almost
boring. Slowly we are getting used to everything again and stop comparing life
here to life in India all the time. But still we have India in our heads and
are carrying it in our hearts. Especially the people, who made our time unforgettable.
We want to take this opportunity to thank all these wonderful people one last
time.
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| Sankar |
 |
| Seetha |
First of all there is Sankar, who introduced
himself as the director of NMCT to us and became a person, who we could always
talk to, ask questions, if there was something we didn’t understand, and who
took the time and the patience to show us around a couple of times. No less we
want to thank Seetha, who was caring for us like a hostmother by making us test
the best Keralan food ever, talking to us about Indian culture and sharing
insider knowledge with us.
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| Sunitha |
Sunitha, who as our mentor was always there if
we had any organizational questions and lavished much time on us helping us
with the police de-/registration.
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| The CaSP-crew |
Selva (we
know, you never officially wanted to be our co-mentor, but still for us you
were!), who gave us the great opportunity of getting an insight into the
work of CaSP project by supporting us always. And of course Mano and the other
CaSP staff members, who did not only teach us many things about their work, but
also made us feel part of the team. Thank you for the great times of cultural
exchange and for taking us on trips to places like Valparai, Mysore and
Bangalore. We always enjoyed the fun times we had together!
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| The Abhaya girls |
There is no way to put into words our feelings
for our Abhaya girls. For 8 months we were living and spending everyday life
together. In the study hall, in the kitchen, in the bathing place, in the bed
room, on the ground and on exposure visits. We shared jolly moments and bad
moments, laughter and tears. The girls showed us what life really is about and
made us see the beauty in the apparently small things again. By spending time
together and getting to know each one of the girls and each one’s special and
appreciable character, we never even had the chance to become homesick. The same
goes for Yasotha, who was not only there for us if we had any practical
problems, but also became a good friend, who we could also talk to about
personal matters. And of course Kalamani, our Indian mummy, who shared her love
by making sure that we would never feel hungry. We will miss our Abhaya family,
but always remember them with a big smile.
The list of people we want to thank and who
made our time so special would go on and on, but we are sure that the ones we
will not forget know about that already. And don’t forget: this is not a
“goodbye”, it is just a “see you later”.
So one last
time: romba, romba nandri and appuram parkkalam!
Rike and
Janina
