Last Entry from India

In mere minutes, it will be the day of my departure from India. In 24 hours, I will be sitting in my aisle seat on a Boeing 757 aimed towards a different continent.

Unbelievable. Ten weeks passed so quickly....

Having said that, this is my last entry from India. However, I will continue to update this blog on other topics that I neglected to address during the past month, among them:

• Post-colonialist attitudes;
• Poverty;
• My trip to Varanasi/Banaras (approx. 10 days ago); and
• Anything else related to how Urdu and India are fitting back into my American life.

Again, sincere apologies for slacking on the blogging this past month. I've been touched by the number of people that have taken an interest in this blog, and I've delighted in knowing that what I write has been read by people around the world.

Having said that, today was a really surreal day. We had our Cultural Program at the Institute today, and it featured qiwwali, dances, skits, comedy routines, and poetry prepared by my peers at the Institute. It was really fun to watch everyone do their thing and to have such fun with their presentations. Following our program, we had our first non-vegetarian lunch of the summer at the Institute, a lunch that featured tandoori chicken, mutton kebabs, pineapple raita, parantha, a variety of veggie and paneer dishes, etc. All in all, it was a really nice way to wrap things up at the Institute. And even though I have every intention of returning to India and to AIIS, it was still so bittersweet. While I intend to return, I don't necessarily have control over whether or not I make it back, so for all I know, it could be the last time I ever step foot onto this continent, although let's hope it's not....

The rest of the day was spent running errands, packing, saying good-byes to friends who won't be flying out tomorrow like the majority of us will be, and getting a little bit of HENNA.

I LOVE HENNA.

And now, in the blink of an eye, my last true full day in India for this trip has come to an end, and it's time to be saying "adieu" and zipping up suitcases.

With any luck, I'll be in the United States on Friday....

Thank you for reading this blog over the course of the summer, and stay tuned for afterthoughts. :)

Article Submitted to Staff/Faculty Magazine

NOTE: I submitted this article for publication in a weekly paper published by my university primarily for faculty/staff. A co-worker of mine had informed me that they were looking for brief articles on the summer adventures of students/faculty/staff, and I submitted what is printed below and attempted to narrow my summer into approx. 430 words.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

India and I have a “love-hate relationship.” At the worst of times, India sends me persistent stomach aches, extreme heat (120F), and countless species of biting bugs; and I respond with Tums, strong pesticides, and the occasional “I Miss America Day” featuring Hollywood films, McDonalds, and blue jeans. At the best of times, India sends me knowledge, culture, and endless sources of fascination, to which I respond with incredible love and affection for a truly remarkable nation.

My idiosyncratic odyssey with India began officially during spring 2006 when I made my first trip but recommenced this past summer when I found myself back in India on a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) to study Urdu. Developed by the United States Department of State and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC), the CLS funded my summer of study in Lucknow. As the national language of Pakistan and one of the official languages of India, Urdu is the Persian-based sibling of Sanskrit-based Hindi, but when spoken, the two languages are so similar that they seem to mirror the relationship between American and British English.

Nevertheless, India was an assault on my senses. My unaccustomed ears found themselves bombarded by the persistent car honking, and my Norwegian palate initially lacked an appreciation of Indian curries and strong spices.  My fingers had forgotten the feel of ubiquitous street grit, and my body adjusted to the heat through constant perspiration. Cows roaming streets eating trash, public urination, extreme poverty, and cockroaches became common sights.

But despite all these things, I remain genuinely infatuated with India. The smooth staccato flow of Indic languages now ranks among my favorite sounds, and I have come to crave a good cup of chai. The feel of a fine silk sari remains unparalleled. The beauty of Indian architecture; the nation’s natural wonders, like the Ganges and the Himalayas; and its many shrines and temples is incomparable. Moreover, the kindness and hospitality of so many of India’s citizens is unbelievable.

Famed American author Ernest Hemingway once said that if a person were to visit Paris as a young person, the city would remain with him for all his life. While this may be true, I’d argue that India has a greater ability to challenge perceptions and ideas and to linger on in a visitor’s mind long after his return home. While India exhausts me in every way conceivable, I cannot begin to describe how much India exposes me to new and different ideas; satiates my appetite for adventure, travel, and knowledge; and elevates my spirits.  And all things considered, India is where I want to be. 

Musings

Tomorrow, a Tuesday, is the last day of school for the week because of the Institute's midsummer break. :) This makes for a very delighted me. I'm headed out late tomorrow night to Nainital and then on to Corbett National Park. Nainital is supposed to be lovely--it's located at this point where the foothills of the Himalayas meet with a lake. Should be absolutely beautiful. And then Corbett is a tiger refuge, and our goal there is go on an a-watching safari while riding on the backs of elephants. Hopefully, my next posts will be able to relay traveling stories.

Classes, however, are going rather well. I started the program knowing absolutely nothing--literally, nothing. I had to learn "hello" ("adab" or "aadab"), "thank you" ("shukriya"), and other entry level vocabulary during the first few days. I also had to learn the non-Roman alphabet, as the Urdu alphabet is derived from Persian and Arabic, and how to form words. Urdu is also written right to left and has no true vowels. And, just to complicate things a little more, the way sentences are structured is COMPLETELY different than in English or French, the other languages I've studied.

Anyways, but what is EXCITING is that TODAY we learned simple past and past habitual verb tense, and this is in addition to learning about nouns, adjectives, postpositions, imperatives, interrogatives, and the present habitual tense, and tomorrow, we're learning the future tense.
And while I'm certainly not able to hold a coherent conversation with a native Urdu speaker, I feel like I've learned so much since arriving here, and that's a really gratifying feeling.

Other than that, not much is new. My nose might be infected, but I'm treating it and trying to keep it from causing me to take my nose ring out. :S I've become really attached to my pierced nose.

Weekend Review

FRIDAY.

Saw Transformers in Hindi. Couldn't understand a thing.
Went to a going away party for an AIIS student at Royal Cafe and ate a TON of meat, i.e. butter chicken, chicken biryani, mutton, etc. and the best naan ever. We have a theory that more protein makes us feel better, thus, when we go out to dinner, we overindulge in our love for meat as every other meal is vegetarian.
Followed dinner up with a stop by Mint and enjoyed some giggles with the girls before ending up at McDonalds and then home.
Very good evening indeed.

SATURDAY.

The Institute organized a field trip for us to a Sufi shrine a short distance outside of Lucknow. Sufism is a mystical form of Islam more focused upon the ideas of love and unity than upon some of the structure and regimentation of the other forms of Islam. It's extremely fascinating. Sufism claims to have emerged at the same time as the main forms of Islam, Sunni and Shia'a did, and it boasts major populations in countries like India, Turkey, and Senegal, among others.
While we were at the shrine, we were able to listen to kivali performed by some Sufi men inside one of the shrines. With beating drums and deep rhythmic vocals, it was one of the coolest things I have ever heard in my life.
In the middle of our trip to the shrine, we went to someone's home for kebabs and mangoes. Kebabs here are grilled and spiced mutton, and whether it's lamb or goat, we don't know. But, regardless, it is ridiculously greasy, especially when served with bread the consistency of greasy tortilla chips. We joke that we sweated off the greasiness while at the shrine....
Came home. Took a nap.
Saturday night, I went to a friend's birthday party. While consuming all the staples of an American party, we connected iPods to portable speakers and spent an evening on a rooftop beneath a few scattered stars and a brilliant moon. :)

SUNDAY.

Spent a slow morning catching up on correspondence and FB messaging friends.
Our hostess came up to see us for the FIRST TIME IN ALMOST A MONTH after having been absent for that time and after having received quite the scolding from the Institute for neglecting her hosting duties. We aren't placing too much faith in her, and I am of the opinion that the fewer points of contact, the better. I really don't trust her that much.
Lunch was butter chicken and naan with Aqilah and Azim at the Indian Coffee House, my new favorite hang-out.
Spent the early part of the afternoon solo in Cafe Coffee Day before I was spotted by Jameel. We relocated back to the Indian Coffee House and were joined later by Steven, Lars, and Lars's former host brother. I got minimal work done, but I read about 30 pages in my book (In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India by Edward Luce) and had a great time watching a rainy afternoon pass over coffee.
Ate dinner with Aqilah and Cayley back at the apartment and ran an errand with Cayley to Saharaganj just after dinner.

And now, I think I will go to bed.

Au revoir et bon nuit!

Recent Adventures

• As previously mentioned, I got my nose pierced for 100 rupees (approx. $2 US). And I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I am ridiculously infatuated with it. Right now, I have one of Cayley's gold rings in it, but I'm hoping to find one here soon that I can use instead. There's one in a jewelry shop that I am absolutely infatuated with: diamonds in a vine formation wrapped jetting off the sides of a ring. It's about 5000 rupees (approx. $100-110 US), so that's not going to be happening, but a girl can dream, right?


• I went to an Indian nightclub (Zero) the weekend before last, and it was probably the single most fun thing I've done since I arrived in India. I'm hoping to go again Saturday night. I can't even describe how fun it was.... Just know it was AWESOME. :)


• Sunday before last I learned how to play cricket, and if I get to the point where I'm finally able to understand the rules, you can bet I will be bringing cricket back to NEBRASKA. (Q: How cool would that be? A: VERY COOL.)


• This past weekend, I went on a 9-hour one-way road trip to Agra and Fatehpur Sikri to see the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and the mausoleum part of Fatehpur Sikri. It was rather expensive by Indian standards, but it was a really great trip all-in-all. I really enjoyed seeing the Taj again--I saw it for the first time when I was 17--and whereas last time it was really underwhelming, it was really overwhelming to see it this time. I could have sat and stared at it all day--not even kidding--but unfortunately hydration, heat, and other such things make that nearly impossible. It was really neat, though. (Pictures are on Facebook.)


• A peer of mine taught a laughing yoga class to all interested participants yesterday. SO MUCH FUN. Roommates and other Nebraskan friends: We WILL be doing this ROUTINELY in the fall. :) Maybe I'll even start a laughing yoga club in Lincoln....


• I've been trying to get hooked up with an NGO while I'm here in Lucknow. So far that search has just brought me to a Fair Trade-esque store that is looking for English teachers, but I'm really hoping to visit an NGO or two tomorrow or Monday.... We'll see how that search goes. I'd really like to be able to connect in that way with the city and with the country, and it would be really excellent experience.


• Cayley, her friend Fahmida (who has been staying with us for a little while), and I went to a restaurant called Barbeque Nation last night for dinner. It was probably one of the Top Ten Best Meals of My Life. It was expensive by Indian standards (500 rupees with tip or about $10), but we ate like kings. Any weight I've lost since coming to India...well, I gained it back last night. Our table had a grill in the center of it and several sauces (i.e. mint, mango, chili, etc.), and the waiters began our meal (which included unlimited mocktails and beverages) with "starters." We chose the non-vegetarian option, so they brought out prawn, fish, chicken, mutton, and some other things--each with a different marinade and all on skewers--and then kept bringing us more. They served us more traditional Indian food--directly to our table--and he had the BEST sweet naan ever. So good. And then they had a more traditional buffet full of Indian food and a dessert bar, but I was already rather full by this point and the food we'd already eaten had been so great. The three of us enjoyed a lavish girl's night out, and we estimated that a place of similar caliber in the US would be an easy $20/head if not closer to $30 or $40. And $10 here is quite a bit for dinner, but when we usually eat for $4 or less per person, $10 isn't such a horrible splurge, which brings me to another adventure....


• I ate street food for the first time the other day! Fahmida and I got lamb kebab rolls (spiced pieces of lamb, onions, and some mint sauce in a greasy sort of roti/flatbread) and a 1 liter bottle of mineral water for 60 rs. (less than $1.50 US). And that was dinner. And it was delicious. And that was Monday, and I haven't gotten sick yet, so I will be going back for more as time allows! Our most expensive meal here has been that one at Barbeque Nation (such a dumb restaurant name), and the kebab roll has been my cheapest, but most of my meals end up being about $2-3 US, but that gets me a decent meal at rather nice restaurants (or a chicken sandwich, Coke, and fries at McDonalds). And, yes, I have eaten at both KFC and McDonalds since I've arrived here...and it's tasted like heaven. And I don't even like fastfood. In fact, I hate it. But it's just tasted so good....

How We Do

Let's talk logistics.

India is a really interesting place to live, and I think we have some really interesting solutions to logistical issues and how we do things, even the most mundane chore.

MEALS.

Our hostess Renee is currently in New York for her son's wedding (although some of her other family members are here), and since she's gone, we don't have access to her cook. So how are the fabulous people of the commune surviving? Tiffins. The tiffin service in India is widely used. A tiffin is a set of small stainless steel containers complete with a hot meal. Everyday we call our tiffin service provider, and for a small cost that Renee is supposedly taking care of, we have a hot Indian meal (daal, roti, rice, and a veggie) delivered hot in the evening at the time of our request. In the morning, we leave the tiffins outside for collection, and the process repeats itself. Millions of Indians use tiffins everyday as a means of getting a hot lunch or dinner delivered home or to their place of work.

I myself have been avoiding the tiffins because I'm not particularly fond of daal or roti. I am basically subsisting on muesli and mangoes. Not true. I've actually fallen madly in love with chicken sandwiches from the likes of KFC and McDonalds. I would never "crave" fastfood in the United States, but I can't tell you how good American fastfood tastes in India. Words cannot describe it....

LAUNDRY.

Laundry is done by our dolbiwallah (probably misspelled that) who charges 5 rupees per piece of clothing. For 5 rupees, your shalwaar (or whatever) gets washed, dried, and pressed. Not a bad deal when an American dollar is the equivalent of about 47-50 rupees.... It's cheaper and better quality than my options at an American dorm.

TRANSPORTATION.

Cycle rickshaws have become a staple of my existance in India. It's super cheap transporation, and it's generally pretty reliable. For about 10-20 rupees, a friend (or two) and I can get where we need to go. The ride is thrilling, fun, and sometimes a wee bit dangerous, but motorists and motorcyclists are generally cautious about the slow-moving rickshaws. The cyclist rickshaw drivers themselves are often sad sights--the one Aqilah and I used this morning to get to school was probably just 12 years old. Most are skin and bone with teeth stained by the remnants of cheap legal narcotics. If you're out and about early in the morning and late at night and traversing the city, it's not uncommon to see a dozen or so rickshaw drivers sleeping on their rickshaws throughout the city.

COMMUNICATION.

I have an Indian cell phone. I paid $20 for it, and it's just a basic cell phone--doesn't do anything cool whatsoever, and then I load money on to it. It's about 9 rupees a minute for an international call, 1 rupee a minute or so for a local call, and 1 rupee per text message.

Getting the phone, however, was the biggest hassle. A phonewallah came to the Institute to distribute phones and what-not, as this was supposed to be the quickest way to get everyone a mobile.

Not true.

The phonewallah was like the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. I was at the Institute, along with other students, every afternoon for THREE DAYS. On the first afternoon, I was able to start my paperwork, as they want photocopies of your passport, passport photos, proof of residency, etc. as part of your phone application. On the second afternoon, the same wallah came back to continue the phone process, and he wouldn't even let me get my hands on the paperwork to finish the process. On the third afternoon, I finally was able to complete the process. It was ridiculous.

PESTS.

My tolerance for rodents and insects right now is ridiculously high.
What have I seen running around our apartment, you ask?
Spiders, ants, mosquitos, and other insects? Check.
Cockroaches? Check.
Lizards? Check.
Rat? Check.
For the bugs and cockroaches, we've been using pesticides and what-not designed to keep them away. I found some pretty lethal cockroach/mosquito repellant at Big Bazaar (BTW: I HATE Big Bazaar) that has a list of side effects from inhalation listed on the side of the can.
As for the lizards, we let them be. They come. They go. But how do you kill a lizard? No idea. And they eat the bugs, which we certainly like, but they are apparently poisonous. Someone told me a story when I first arrived about a couple in India that had one of these lizards fall into their soup while it was cooking. Unaware of the mystery ingredient, they ate the soup and died of poisoning. So, we're mindful and careful about that, but you know, it's India.
As for the mouse, that attack is on our to do list. We just found the bugger the night before last, and we think he's hanging out in the kitchen....

CLEANING.

The home we live in has a house boy, who I estimate to be about 18-20 or so, who assists with the daily maintenance of the property. For us, this means that he does the cleaning. He periodically comes and washes the floors and otherwise tidies up the apartment. He also disposes of our trash if we place it outside. As the house boy, he lives in an apartment above us that I imagine to be of significantly lesser quality than ours.


If I think of other things that I find to work differently on a day-to-day basis than in the United States, I'll be sure to post them as well.

Guess what?

I got my nose pierced Saturday.

And I LOVE it. :)

(Cheers to reckless life decisions!)

(But it was sanitary, I swear.)

Cultural Faux Pas Moves by Moi

So, in the first--and maybe not even the first--of many cultural faux pas moves by moi, here we go:

I (unknowingly) wore an Indian nightdress to the Institute.

It was the afternoon after I'd been home sick sleeping one morning, and I found a cotton dress in one of the dressers in our apartment and wore it because I had nothing else to wear. Turns out I was wearing Indian women's pajamas.

Moves like that = Story of my life.

Sexual Suppression in India

The title of this particular post may seem a little...off, but this is something I really would like to talk about and focus on for at least one entry on this blog.

India is an extremely socially conservative nation: This cannot be emphasized enough. Men and women are taught from childhood (probably birth) to stay clear of the opposite sex. People don't "date" as most marriages are arranged, although the definition of "arranged" varies widely. Still, the opposite genders are really not supposed to interact, for example:

• PDA is almost unheard of;
• A man and a woman (especially if they are unmarried) will not spend time alone together publicly or privately;
• It's very common to see straight women AND men holding hands with someone of the same gender in public, whereas it's almost uncommon to see a man and a woman holding hands in public;
• A woman's reputation rests almost primarily on her modesty with the opposite sex;
• Women dress very conservatively, i.e. especially in terms of covering one's legs and chest; and
• Because teenagers can't spend time together alone, such as on a date, you can frequently find very secretive-looking duo's at large gathering places, such as the gardens, discretely chatting and getting to know each other.

In light of this, I had a very interesting experience on Sunday.

First of all, let me begin this by noting that as a white female, everyone looks at me. Everyone. All the time. I can be wearing traditional Indian clothing and dressing modestly (salwaar, korta, and dupatta), and I still get stares. As one peer put it: "It feels like we're...royalty." People stare that much and that often. You don't go anywhere without having several sets of eyes following you at all times. You feel like you're on parade as a representative of the Western world, and there are a lot of pressures and stresses that come with that.

But I digress.

On Saturday, a female student who I spent time with wore a calf-length skirt, nice t-shirt, and dupatta (scarf) when we were out-and-about. She seemed to received normally, or as normally as we expect to be received, and so on Sunday I decided to wear a skirt in Lucknow for the first time. It was a skirt that hits below my kneecap, and I wore a nice t-shirt and a dupatta with it, and I went to the mall in this outfit, an outfit that's not scandalous or outrageous in any sense of the word. (Remember: The United Colors of Benetton in the mall is selling miniskirts and shorts.)

I haven't received that much attention is such a long time. I sat in Barista at Sahara Ganj with two classmates who were dressed in Indian apparel (more gals came later), and there would be men who would literally stand outside the coffeeshop's glass windows and stare. Others would make slow down their walking significantly. One set of younger guys was talking to me THROUGH THE WINDOW, and I sat in the coffeeshop shaking my head trying to ignore them.

I was in a fishbowl.

I didn't take it too personally--as I am neither a stud nor a prostitute--but it's an interesting situation that the American woman finds herself in when she steps foot into India. The media portrays a very flirty, loose version of the American female to the world, and when the American woman finds herself in a very socially conservative place, the onlooker automatically assumes that she is (I.) a slut, (II.) easy, and (III.) open to sexual experimentation. These are verdicts that I myself have not necessarily had the experience to justify, but they are verdicts that harmoniously emerge from the monologues American women tell of their time in this country.

It's an interesting predicament the Western woman finds herself in in India when she is more liberal than the average woman in terms of her relationships with other men but not in any way an sexually promiscuous woman.

There is no middle ground here for the Western woman: You are or you aren't, and it's already been decided for you by the media and the cultural powers that be that you ARE.

The Weekend in Review

The last time I posted was Thursday, so I'll start with a quick overview of the weekend.

• Friday night was pretty chill. I ran some errands in the afternoon, if memory serves me right, and kept things low key after class. One of my roommates, the lovely Behnaz, bought a hookah, and so there was the inaugural usage of the new blue hookah on a nice-sized balcony that jets off the room she shares with Aqilah. So several of us--i.e. Beenish, Elizabeth, Behnaz, Cayley, Charlotte, and myself--were sitting on the balcony--early evening sun's rays keeping us warm as the sun slowly melted into the West, dance music piping out from someone's portable iPod speakers, hookah fully functional, and girl chatter abundantly flowing. Later, Behnaz, Charlotte, and I went to Mint, a semi-trendy lounge sort of place down the street from where we live, to relax in the air conditioning while enjoying cold beverages. Again, it was super low-key, but it was a pretty good Friday all in all. The funny thing is that because so many people have curfews and because of Indian society's conservatism (especially with regard to women), nights wind down around 10pm, so we end nights early and sleep plenty.
• Saturday was a bit more interesting. Cayley, one of my five roommates, woke up feeling ill, and was taken to the hospital Saturday morning--turns out she has a parasite. Such are the elemental hazards of Lucknow. :) After having not eaten much all week--basically since I got here--I went to KFC (heck yes) for lunch with Azim, Aaron, Megan, Kristen, and Aqilah. It was a bit greasy--of course--but it was good to eat something and actually feel full. That really hasn't happened since I got here. Anyways, after lunch, we went to a new Hindi film called "Paying Guests"--basically ridiculousness, although it was a good use of a few hours and a cultural :) experience at the very least. Following the film, we wandered around the mall that the threatre and the KFC are in (Sahara Ganj is the name of the mall) before going over to Ahdminebad (spelling?), which is more of what you would consider to be a traditional Indian shopping and eating district. We spent a lot of time at a bookstore there and wandering around. I tried coconut water :), which is when they slice open a coconut and hand you a straw. Around 8pm, Aqilah and I left what remained of our group and spent most of the rest of the night chatting. It was a really solid day, though, and I felt like I was able to get to learn more about the people I spent the day with.
• Sunday was more boring. I spent most of Sunday at Sahara Ganj (literally 11am-5pm) studying in a Barista coffeeshop there, although we did look around the mall and have lunch during that time as well. In the evening, a few of us--Francesca, Behnaz, Beenish, Sareesh, myself, and another gal or two--went to the Imambaraugh near our house. (Pictures to be posted shortly on Facebook.)
• And today we were back in class. We started connecting letters today in my Urdu classes--WICKED EXCITING STUFF. The Urdu alphabet has four forms--initial, medial, final, and independent, depending on where a letter falls in a word or if it starts on its own--and the alphabet is supposedly rather close to Arabic, so basically, learning how to actually formulate words in Urdu script is REALLY BIG because we've just been studying the alphabet and common phrases the past few days. MORAL OF THE STORY: I am learning SO MUCH but I have so much more to learn. It's extremely gratifying, however, to be able to tangibly place a measure on how much I've learned. I started at nothing, and now I know the alphabet, how to formulate words, and basic phrases. I've had class for less than four days.

On the Mend!

I am feeling several times better than I was this morning. I ended up decided to miss my classes today in order to make up for the sleep I didn't get yesterday and to just let my body catch up with everything that's been going on. We just got to Lucknow a few days ago, and prior to that, I was on a plane every other day crossing time zones for about a week--not that I'm complaining, but it does strange, strange things to your health.

But I'm on the mend and doing better, and Cayley's almost fully recovered, and now it's just poor Elizabeth who is not feeling well.

Hopefully, this sort of illness isn't par for the course. :)

Today, basically the only thing I got done was filling out a form to go to the police about my presence in Lucknow. Good job done--just not super thrilling.

One thing I did want to talk about, however, is just how refreshing this whole experience has been in terms of seeing "The Big Picture." I think I've been feeling like I absolutely-must-have-to get a full-time job as soon as I get out of college, and after talking to the other students here, I feel a lot more opened to getting sidetracked. Now, don't get me wrong--the 9-5 job will be coming my way quickly, but there are things like the Fulbright, PeaceCorps, Teach for America, and other opportunities--things that you really can only do when you're young. I guess I'm more open now to getting carried away--life's an adventure, not a race to a desk, and I feel more at peace knowing that it's okay to get a little sidetracked--that I can still end up on the "right" track even if I go a different route than most. My story can be my story, and the ending can be the same no matter which way I went about getting there. And it's a really liberating notion that there are several ways to arrive at the same destination.

Hope that makes sense to somebody else. :)

PS Last night when I was trying to fall asleep around 9pm, a wedding band started up on the street--a really, loud obnoxious Indian wedding band. It was really awful wedding music, and it was literally right in front of the house. There are literally moments almost every day when you just have to laugh at irony and its timing.

Recovering

I got really sick last night--first time I've gotten sick since I arrived here. I don't mean to be gross, but I was vomiting or having severe diarrhea (or both) about once every hour or two for most of the night. This morning, I'm trying to decide how to proceed in terms of going to class and in terms of breakfast. Anything and everything that was in my stomache has since left, and there's no way that I'm not at least a little dehydrated. Hopefully, this will be about the first and last time for something like this.

Quick Letter to the World

Dear World,

I am feeling a little ill--nothing that sleep, Vitamin C, and Tums can't cure, though. I'm planning on going to bed early tonight. Cayley, one of my roommates, is ill, and I'm hoping to avoid whatever she's gotten.

I bought four salwaar kameez suits today. Feeling a little buyers' remorse, but oh well: I need the clothes. Really, I honestly do.

We started studying the alphabet today. We got through one of the four Urdu alphabets, and then focused on the first 10 of 36 letters. It was really exciting to actually get going and get started on something.

I am starting to like bucket showers. :)

I am super tired.

Love you all!

More information later.

Love,
Jessie

Camping?: A Moment of Discouragement

I just found a cockroach in the bathroom.

It was the first one I've seen since arriving in India on Saturday. It was approximately two inches long, and it was a reddish color.

I am so grossed out right now--you have no idea.

That brings the total cockroach count (in our apartment) to 2, and our lizard count is at 1 so far.

I'm really trying to think of this whole "Living in India" thing as camping at some sort of rustic summer camp. The accomodations are nice, but nowhere that I'd want to live for an extended period of time. The paint's peeling in the bathroom, and there's a really huge fire/water mark in the dining area, and have I mentioned the heat? It was 119 yesterday, and today was a slightly cooler 118, and I don't have "air conditioning."

It's rougher than I'm used to, and it wears on you in strange ways.

I'm also a little unstrung because I haven't learned anything yet, and I feel so clueless. There are about 40 students study Urdu this summer at the Institute, and I am ONE of the FOUR people who have no Urdu language experience whatsoever and who haven't studied Hindi or Arabic, the languages to which Urdu is most closely related. So I basically feel knowledgeless. And the real fun starts tomorrow when we REALLY get to work on the language--so far everything's just been orientation.

And I haven't been eating much. It's taking me a little time to adjust to 24/7 Indian food when I'm unaccquainted with the spices and what-not. Right now, it's 9:30pm my time, and I had a snack at 4pm, but I haven't had dinner yet, and I really didn't have much of anything for breakfast or lunch.

And it's at least 95 in the apartment right now.

And I am sweating profusely.

UGH.

Things will get better, right? This is a moment of discouragement, primarily because I saw the cockroach--a really big one at that--and now I'm scared of little cockroaches meeting the world in my suitcase.

UGH.

The heavy pesticides/sprays are coming out in the morning.

Moment of discouragement.
Rant over.

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.