The first thing that hit me, as I came out of Terminal 5, was the cold, fresh air! I inhaled deeply! How good to fill my lungs again with relatively clean air compared to smog filled Delhi! Having acclimatised to the Indian weather the English weather seemed perishingly cold to me even though it was above freezing!
There is nothing like spending Christmas in your home country! It is such a time of family traditions and where strong memories are evoked so that, in my opinion, spending it abroad is never quite the same! So this Christmas was wonderful ! What did I love about it ? Well, a whole week with the extended family, carols by candlelight on Christmas eve, mulled wine, Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, presents round the tree, warm central heated houses with soft carpets underfoot (rather than the hard marble floors of Indian houses), satsumas, pavlova with raspberries (oh how I've missed rasberries!!!), the delight and amazement of my 16 month old granddaughter at all the sights and sounds of Christmas and the general family banter that you miss when apart. It was a great time all in all.
England did strike me as a depressing place to be however. It felt quite oppressive and the people in the street appeared glum and weighed down by life. India, by contrast, is a very positive place to live in..... the economy is booming, the people seem very positive , even amongst the poor there is an air of optimism. they might live in appalling conditions but they haven't given up!!!
BACK TO DELHI
January 3rd saw us return to India for our last stint before our move back to the UK. Only 12 weeks and we will have to pack everything up and say goodbye to Vasant Kunj! What an amazing adventure we've been on and how I will miss this place …. but I don't want to think about leaving yet!!!!
We had forgotten how cold our house is in January!!! The days are foggy with faint hazy sunshine and the cold air seeps in through all the gaps under the doors and through he ill-fitting windows. The marble floors are icy and as you sit still the chill creeps into your bones! Hopefully it will only be for a few weeks and the warm spring weather will return. It's crazy to think that only a few months ago we were wilting under the intense heat, with hot water coming out of the cold taps and unable to sleep with even a sheet over us! Now we huddle under duvet and blankets , walk around in jumpers and scarves and hope that there are no power cuts so we can heat up water to wash in! At least my house is now free from all rodents and cockroaches, for the time being anyway.
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