I hope that your year has been good?
Life for me here in India has fluctuated between extremes. It's been the best of times and the worst of times, as Dickens might have said.
There is so much here that I love, and so many things that are radically different to most other places in the world. It's possible to have amazingly positive experiences and then be frustrated by people imposing petty rules, that make no sense but are followed because "those are the rules".
It's also hard not to be frustrated by the awful traffic congestion within Bangalore. Then, just hours later, to be enchanted you're sat in the jungle watching elephants tend to a newly born calf, with tenderness reminiscent of the love shown in a human family.
Sometimes I might dwell on the negatives, but I don't mean to. For me it's fascinating to note that cultural differences, like the variations in personal space comfort zones, exist. Here it's common to be asked questions like "what do you earn?", "do you have children?", or "what does your camera cost?" by total strangers.
It's easy to adapt to some things, like eating only with the hand. But it takes time to get used to others, like the effects of hierarchical structures in society, and the fact that processes can take time.
I've adapted in other ways too. I never thought that I'd ever say that 20C is chilly, but these days I pull on a coat when the temperature plummets to such depths. If I was to wander through a street in north-east England on a 20C day - in a coat - I'd probably be stung up from a lamppost for being too soft.
Looking forward, where will I be this time next year? I have no idea. Hopefully somewhere with friends, where I can look back on a successful year in which I've enjoyed good health and many good experiences.
I want to keep on writing and photographing and, to do that, I'll go wherever I have to.
I want to:
1. Visit Vietnam - sounds fascinating.
2. Go to the Brown Brothers wine estate in Milawa, do a wine tasting and buy some wine to go with a good meal. For the meal itself I want to do the shopping in the Melbourne markets, and cook a small feast.
3. After a good day's skiing, be in the Mooserwirt in time for The Final Countdown and a full evening of Autrian-style Apres Ski.
4. Trek through the Suedtirol and do food and wine tastings on the way.
5. Have a breakfast with my family...crispy smoked bacon in a stottie cake would be just the job. And a pot of fresh coffee.
6. Trek into the Himalayas.
7. Spend time writing and photographing in China.
8. Spend time doing just that in Japan.
How many of those will be achievable in 2007, given my limited budget and the fact that a year has just 365 days?
I would like to think that my photography will be exhibited in various places, as I already have a few series that are, more or less, ready.
I'd also like to see my written work and editorial photography appear in more top quality publications.
I was talking to a yaga instructor the other day and he told one of those stories that only yogis and gurus can get away with. It was a tale of two twigs floating in a stream. One twig put up resistance against every obstacle, the other aligned itself to the current and went with the flow, seeing many beautiful things on its way to the ocean. He then asked, "if you were a twig, which would you want to be?"
It seems strangely poignant, given that we are about to enter a new year.
Anyway, best wishes to you for 2007.
I hope to be able to make more posts during the course of the coming year. It'd be great if, from time to time, I can report (as The Men They Couldn't Hang once sang), "good things are happening for me, some magazine wants to publish my story."
Without dreams, without ambition, where would we be?
Happy New Year