Life in a Commune and Sauna (i.e. First Post from INDIA!)

I live in a commune.

We arrived in Lucknow yesterday and moved into our homestay after having spent just 30 hours or so in Delhi for orientation which was preceded by a 15 hour plane ride.

Our living situation was originally supposed to be 4 girls in 4 bedrooms, each of us with our own--presumably. When we arrived, we learned that the actual situation is a little different, but here is the moral of the story: A fellow from London named Nareesh is rooming in one of the rooms, Elizabeth and I are in the room with the view, and Behnaz and Aqila are in the back bedroom with the bathroom. So this left us with one bedroom. And when we discovered that our friend Cayley's housing had fallen through, we invited her to join us in the apartment. So, we have a total of four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and six people (five girls, one guy) living here.

It feels like a commune. (Pictures to be posted later!)

And a sauna, too.

Since we arrived, it has felt like a sauna here. Not even kidding. In Delhi, it was hot, but we had A/C in every building, and aside from a trip to a "market," we were inside. However, the moment we stepped off the plane in Lucknow, it was like stepping into a sauna. It was about 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday, and I think it only cooled down to 80 degrees Fahrenheit last night (if that). I've basically been soaking up water like a fish and sweating like a pig.

Disgusting.

Yesterday was rather fun. After landing in Lucknow around 11am, we went to the Institute (American Institute of Indian Studies) where we met some of the teachers and got a brief intro to the school and the program. After that, we saw the apartment and got an idea of the housing situation. From there, we had lunch with everyone at a hotel down the road, and then went back to the apartment to move in and chat more with our hostess, who's super nice.

Then, because some girls needed some toiletries and because Elizabeth and I were in desperate need of Indian-style clothing, we headed to the mall.

Experience #1: Rickshaws. SO MUCH FUN...while also being a little scary. Word to the wise: A rickshaw is most comfortable (and safe!) with 2 people rather than 3, and when you are not of Indian descent, you will feel like you're in a parade. No joke.

Experience #2: Indian Mall. The funny thing about Indian malls is that 80% of the people there are men. And you have to go through security when you enter.

Experience #3: This is what I feel this experience is really all about: A little girl--about 3 years old or so--came up to the girls and I that had gone to the mall. She waved, and I knelt down to her level and gave her a high five and waved to her. And when she walked away with her mother a few minutes later, I felt that I had really represented myself and where I come from really well. It's this sort of "America" that people here need to see and that the world needs to see. At the end of the day, we're all people, and we're people with more in common than we realize. Reaching out to her like that really made me feel like I'd made a difference.

Anyways, after the mall, where all the clothing was lovely but really high priced (i.e. $20 for a tunic), we went to FabIndia. I love FabIndia. It's premade Indian clothing, as opposed to the traditional clothing where a tailor makes alterations and basically builds the top out of fabric you've purchased. Anyways, I LOVE FABINDIA. I bought two pairs of salwaars (read: balloon pants), a green top, and a dupatti (scarf thing), and this combined with the three tunic tops I bought in Delhi is a good start towards my Indian wardrobe. The things I packed to wear here aren't really things that women--or even other Westerners--wear. The Indian clothing really helps to make it a little less obvious that I'm a foreigner, although that much is really not hard to figure out in the first place. I just feel a little less "out in the open," persay.

Anyways, but the real highlight of yesterday was the birthday party we had for Elizabeth, whose actual birthday is today. About 20 of us ended up going to a place called Mint, which is a really trendy--or trendy for Lucknow--restaurant/bar, where we, between the 20 of us, went through 3 hookahs. It was a really great way to start our time here and to just hang out after so much travel.

Anyways, I should be going. Pictures will be up soon!

And PS I took a bucket shower this morning. That's when you know you aren't in America anymore.