A last kiss to Karakoram


Everyday

July 12 The sun is out already by 4AM. I lie awake for sometime in my yurt. Both Jorg and Birdy are still asleep. Inside the yurt it is pitch black, but I can see little sparkles of light through the netting. I have a few quilts on me, and I feel a bit hot, […]

November 12, 2011

Partings and Meetings


Musings

It’s been almost 6 months since I left India. I came to China thinking that learning a new language would revive a ragged mind. I thought that going back to university would help me meet people from different cultures, and that interaction would broaden my own understanding and perspective of the world. What I thought […]

August 5, 2011

Chinese Corners


Everyday

The other day, while having lunch at my favorite noodles place, I met a girl who looks remarkably Indian. I had been curious about her – I had seen her fleetingly, and she was usually with the Thais. There is another woman who looks so much like Rani Mukherjee, but is from Chile. Turns out […]

June 19, 2011

The Enduring Fragility of Life


Musings

It’s a funny thing, this life. Last Thursday, I was sitting in this Turkish restaurant with one of the most head-splitting migraines I have had in recent months. Julie and Royce were treating me – it was my birthday. A celebration of life. Even if I don’t particularly consider my life worth celebrating… This Thursday, […]

June 16, 2011

Quiet Days Drifting By


Everyday

It’s been a while since I updated this blog. It’s been a quiet week relatively, although it doesn’t necessarily mean free days! Last Friday, it was fun meeting up with Silk in this coffee-house near the university called High Connections. The ambiance was cozy and comfortable. Spread over three floors, all laid out in wood, […]

June 4, 2011

A Quiet Week


Musings

Relatively. From wanting to update this blog everyday, I am now slipping to updating it just once a week. Sigh. Last Saturday, Ju-Jintsu, a South Korean woman in my class invited all of us for dinner. It was around 5PM when we met. Before that, Yoke had come along with us to this wonderful little […]

May 27, 2011

Cherry Picking and Silk


Everyday

Last Saturday, Yoke called us to go “cherry picking, drink tea and play mahjong.” Are there better ways to spend a Saturday? Since I couldn’t think of any, we agreed. It was around 10AM when he came knocking on the door. The day was gloomy with a forecast of rain and we were wondering if […]

May 22, 2011

Hara Bhara Kebabs


Everyday

Fu Julie has this wonderful streak in her – an innate kindness that is at once heartwarming and life affirming. Having known that Birdy won’t be in Chengdu for her birthday, she invited us, and the whole class along to celebrate Dofu Pi-Eater’s birthday the next weekend we were in town. I couldn’t bear the […]

May 14, 2011

Last Day in Xuchang


Everyday

I am so far behind in my posts. Blame it on the non-stop tests here. Monday in Xuchang dawned hazy, cloudy and drizzling. Zhang You’s unbelievable kindness was still lingering on my mind. It was around 7:30AM when the phone rang, and the receptionist at the hotel announced that Lynn was waiting. Lynn was one […]

May 12, 2011