Bahut achchha!

Today we went on  a field trip for my Cities of Delhi class to the Qtub Minar, which was amazing. I still can't get over how many historic places are here in Delhi and how OLD they are. It's mind blowing.

The real reason I'm writing is because I had a fabulous experience today. I rode on a tuk tuk by myself for the first time since I came to India!! It sounds silly, but you all know I have anxiety about new experiences, especially alone so this was sadly a big deal. I haggled with the driver, albeit briefly. Once you throw some  Hindi phrases at them they start to take you seriously. I have a few I like to use in partular. They mean "(insert price here) is the right price", "I am a student, I go there every day". When used in conjunction they are magic words! I'm not taking Hindi anymore, but I still do some independent study, for this very purpose. Any way, I get in the tuk tuk and he asks me how I am in Hindi. Normally, this is a courtesy that doesn't occur so one is supposed to treat it with suspicion. However, he was a nice older man and sometimes you can just tell about people, and to me he seemed like a good guy. So we had the following conversation:
Mr tuktuk: Ap kase ho?
Me: Meh tik hain. Ap kase ho?
Mr. Bahut achha! Me tik hain.
Mr. Ap ka nom kya hai?
Me. Mera nom Katie hain. Ap ka nom kya hai?
Mr. Mera nom (something unintelligible) hai. Can we...english?
Me. Ji hain!! (Yes!!)
Me. How are you?
Mr. I am good, how are you?
Me. Very good! What is your name?
Mr. My name is (....)
Then he just smiled really big to himself and we continued the trip in silence. And that wasn't even the best part! Being alone in the tuktuk was one of the greatest feelings I have had since coming here. I just felt like I was on top of the world- I was travelling alone in Delhi after having a conversation in the local language. It was sunny and warm and I just felt freakin awesome- so proud of myself :)

Also tonight at dinner it was just my roommate, myself, one of the new girls, and auntie. It is unusual for auntie to join us at dinner now which I find very sad, so I treasured the time we had with her. As always, auntie was dropping some serious wisdom on me and I just soaked it all in. I really value everything she has to say and offer, and I want to make her proud with what I do, much like my own Mom :) I wish I had brought a nice notebook so I could write some of these things down, but I'm sure I'll scribble them down somewhere.

8 of us are off to Agra in the morning, so there will be LOTS of pictures to come :)

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Blah blah filler post

SO. MUCH. HOMEWORK
I was really hoping that the workload would be slightly less stringent here, so we could actually get out and explore more than the weekends. Ah well.

It's a really short post today folks. The thing I really wanted to talk about was a crazily surreal moment I had in my evening tuk tuk ride. I got home a little later than usual because we had someone come in and talk about food in India after classes were over. Sadly, it was quite the snoozefest. So anyway, I'm heading home and they sky is freakin beautiful. It's this gorgeous pinky-orange and the sun is this glowy yellow-orange and I am just staring at it contentedly and admiring the beauty of the sky. Then it hits me. I'm staring. At. The. Sun. Because that's totally possible here apparently, with all of the pollution. Can you believe it?! As I was staring at it my brain was telling me it was the moon, you know, like when it gets orangey? Well, nope. The sun. Huh. It's the impossibly high level of smog that makes the sky so pink and pretty at night and also makes it possible to stare into a ball of fire. You know, nbd.

Also I'm really excited because I sent a special giftie to my family for Valentine's Day. I'll talk more about it once they receive it so I don't totally spoil the surprise :)

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Question time!

Today is really boring, honestly. I'm sitting on my bed doing hw, looking for summer job opportunities, and cleaning. Woohoo.

In slightly interesting news, I discovered that 2 more girls will be moving in with us for 2 months or so. More on that later when I meet them and actually have something to say about it...

I was asked 2 questions by the lovely S Deaver and thought you all might possibly be interested in the answers.
Where are your classes held?
    I take all of my classes as the IES center, which is in New Friends Colony in New Delhi. I live in Greater Kailash 2, if any of you are interested in looking on a map. It takes me approximately 15-20 minutes to get to school every morning, depending on how bright-eyed and bushy-tailed my tuk tuk driver is. I get to IES at 9 every morning and generally don't leave until 5. I have anywhere from 1 to 4 classes per day, with breaks in between.
Where do you eat when not at home?
   The beauty of life here at Auntie Chopra's house is that I never have to eat anywhere else!! She makes us breakfast and dinner on the weekdays and all three meals on the weekends. At breakfast there is always a dish of paranthas, which are like naan but more substantial, usually made with potatoes or minced veggies. We all take one with us for lunch during the week. The only time I have eaten anywhere other than home is when we went out for Will's birthday. It is nice to be fed regularly, but I would like to try some other places in the area. Being so near M block market makes it very difficult because there are so many wonderful restaurants. And EVERYTHING delivers here. Ice cream shops, restaurants, McDonalds, it's crazy. My friends and I are always lamenting at 2 in the morning during a study sesh that we wished McD would just drop off some c-nugs, fries and shakes. Well, in India that's totally possible. I just don't know about the availability of those exact products here haha.

I hope that covers it! Everyone feel free to send questions and I'll answer them as soon as possible!

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Out on the town

What an interesting few days I've had!! Full of fun, excitement, and new experiences- as it should be here in India.

On Thursday there was a talk on Justice in Diverse Societies at the India International Centre. The two speakers were Soli Sorabjee (former attorney general of India) and Frederick Lawrence (President of Brandeis University). Guess who got to go? Me!! My housemate, Will, is a student of Brandeis so he was going and took all of housemates as guests.

Me and Will in our fabulous business casual

It was an incredible night. The talk was very interesting, basically covering the two country's experience and legislature dealing with justice. Both men are very knowledgeable and I learned quite a lot. Afterwards there were circulating waiters with delicious finger foods and drinks. I had my first experience with an actual drinkable wine since being in India, so that was a lovely surprise. I also had the chance to do some casual networking and got a few business cards of NGOs in India that I will be looking into more carefully. Not only that, but I had the opportunity to meet and speak with both Mr Lawrence and Mr Sorabjee which is a treat. Mr Sorabjee is an adorable older man with an aura of dignity and intelligence but is also very relate-able and quick with a joke. I made a bit of a social gaffe with Mr Lawrence however. He asked where I was from in MA and after assuring him he would not know, he insisted and I told him. Mr Lawrence is well aware of Wilbraham, as he apparently once dated someone from there!! Without thinking of the social repercussions I asked who it was, seeing as I might know her. Severe awkwardness ensued when he refused to reveal her name. So yeah, I embarrassed the president of a prestigous university AND I am wayyy curious as to the mystery lady. If anyone reading this has any information let me know!

In slightly less cosmopolitan news, I have finally figured out the perfect way to take a bucket bath. I knew you all were worrying about my lack of abilities to stay clean (lolz) so I figured I would clear that up. It was a very exciting day for me.

More news about Will- we all went out and celebrated his 21st last night! Almost everyone on the program came and we had such a good time. We all ordered tons of drinks and appetizers and just hung out. It was really wonderful. This restaurant we went to in M block (5 minutes walk from the house) has 3 floors!!! 1 is a formal dining area, 2 is a bar and dance floor and 3 is a terrace with a few tables. We basically took over the terrace for 3 hours and after paying the bill headed down to 2 for dancing. We were the only people there which was really fun. We were all just jumping around to really old American music and some popular music from India having a blast. My new prof pic is from that night :)

In not so fun news, I can feel the homesickness creeping up on me occasionally now. India is just so...much all the time. Occasionally I am missing the quietness of Wilbraham or Bloomington and I miss Mom's cooking/baking like crazy. I went through a bout of just not eating much because the food here lost it's appeal to me. It is all fried or uses the same spices. I miss pasta and buffalo chicken anything A LOT and basically everything Mom and Dad make me :) I've also been dreaming about this baked brie that a family friend makes. Mmmmm. But so far these bouts of homesickness are few and far between.

Missing you all

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All-American Monday

Today started off great- the inside of my morning tuk tuk was upholstered entirely with Disney Princesses! Normally I'm not all about that sort of thing, but it made me smile :)

And I skyped the parentals, which always makes me feel better <3

Then three of us had FRRO registration. This essentially means we have to fight through Indian bureaucracy just to pay a bunch of money to alert the country that we'll be here for awhile. If we don't we are stuck in India forever. No joke, and no thank you. It was worse than the DMV let me tell you. All sorts of cranky people and cranky workers stuffed in a tiny room of misery and I don't even speak the language! At one point I panicked because I didn't bring enough money (1395 rp = ~ $28) but luckily Kiki was miraculously loaded today so I borrowed and paid her back.

I still have no appetite but I figured I would walk around the M block market and see if anything appealed to me. Bagels and cream cheese? I think so. Were they overpriced? Of course. Were they worth it? Absolutely. It was the first real thing I've eaten in days and it was delicious. Definitely worth a little extra money to have an appetite for something. I also bought some Gatorade (70 cents each!) for electrolytes. I also needed tissues and they only had the kind with Garfield on them.
All in all, I was reminded of the states a lot today.

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Lazy Sunday

Sorry all, I've been sick again. This time with a mild case of Delhi Belly. I'll spare you the unpleasantries...

On Wednesday my Cities of Delhi class was held on location at Purana Qila (Old Fort) here in New Delhi. Turns out there are many 'Old Forts' around.

Thursday here was a national holiday- Republic Day- so there was no class. Also, everything was closed so Kiki (my rooms) and I just hung out at home.

Friday we decided it was time to get out of the house so we met some of the other girls in the program at Khan Market, which is an upscale market, approx a 25 minute tuktuk ride away from home. My friend Jayme, who is in the program here, was in Africa before this and they call the autos tuktuks (long ooo) so it has caught on.  The other day a took a picture inside one so you all could see how I get around New Delhi

One of the girls we met at Khan Market, Betty, is a good friend of me and Kiki's so she invited us to sleep over Friday night. She lives in her own apartment, connected to a family's home, so she essentially has her own place. It's small but super cute. We just hung out, ordered pizza from Pizza Hut and pretended we were in America! It's been long enough that we had been craving pizza and a quick respite from India. We had such a great time. When we woke up Saturday morning we headed to Betty's fave cafe in the area, Bagel's Cafe. Yes, another slice of America. You gotta do what you gotta do lol. Especially since I've been sick the idea of the traffic, scads of people, and spicy/fried Indian food are at the top of the list of most unappealing things imaginable. So I enjoyed an iced tea and wheat bagel while listening to the American coffehouse radio mix and immediately felt just a little better.
Today is another lazy day. I'm doing hw and soon will venture out to the M block market, which is a 5 minute walk from our house. I want to actually wander around and see everything that's there. We don't get lunch today so the girls want to go get froyo at the Pink Mango we spotted last week.

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I'm Back!!

Sorry about the decrease in information everyone!! Yes interesting things have happened, but mostly I've been feeling so unwell that I've been sleeping in my free time as opposed to informing you all of my adventures.

I am currently soaking up the sunshine on the roof of the IES center and lovin life. I think being outside more is crucial to my recovery. Yes, I am still sick. My cough is slowly getting better but I still can't hear out of my left ear. I think I'll go back to the hospital soon if it doesn't get better. Anyway, being up here on the roof is so amazing. I'm blogging/doing hw, listening to Florence and the Machine and just relaxing. It's also the first time I've been alone all trio, and you all know how I appreciate my alone time :)
Also I received a lovely letter from my lovely mother this afternoon. I do love getting snail mail (ahem, just sayin)

So let's see...where did I leave off? I've been getting feedback that the last few lines of my blog were unreadable so here goes.
Last weekend was the group's trip to Khajuraho and I had a wonderful time! There are plenty of pics on fb which I haven't had the chance to edit, respond to, or even look at so I'll try to do that today. Anyway, Khajuraho was breathtaking. These temples have so much hand-carved detail that it's overwhelming. It is also the site of many erotic carvings, which is why there is a warning about them in the album on fb lol. The stories say that these are the birthplace of the Kama Sutra but I have been assured by my prof that that's bull. These carvings depict scenes of everyday life, and sex is a part of life, so that is the reason they are there.
On the way back from Khajuraho we stopped in Orcha which has these beautiful palaces (also on fb). One thing I love about India is the richness of it's history and the fact that they have remains of ancient civilizations. We just don't have any of that in the States.
I've had a few requests so here goes:
What kind of classes will you be taking?
I will be taking Hindi, which consists of 1.5 hour classes 2 times a week. All classes follow this format. I will be learning how to read the characters and speak the language. It is pretty hard for me to be honest. Learning a whole new alphabet hurts my brain.
Indian Women in Fiction and Cinema is exactly what it sounds like. I will be reading stories and watching films which focus on Indian women, both in the past and present.
Yoga and Philosophy, in which I will be practicing Yoga and learning the principles behind it. I have learned quite a bit about this already so I am eager to expand my knowledge.
Socioeconomics in India is the class I am most excited for. It is everything I am interested in all in one class! Economics, education, health, political reform, etc. It is basically my major condensed into one class. I can't wait!!
Cities of Delhi is also going to be wicked cool. We do a lot of field trips, and are basically learning the layout and history of the city.
So basically everything is looking awesome.

What kind of food are you eating?
Lots of things I don't even know the names of. Everything is traditional Indian food that Auntie's cook makes for us. We have three meals a day, and rice and roti (flatbread) are always there. Hardly any fruits, but scads of vegetables. Auntie is a strict vegetarian which means no meat and no eggs (yes dairy, thank heavens). So there is a lot of alternative protein as well, such as beans and lentils. Everything is delicious and spicy which I love!! One thing that surprises us is that there are always at least 4 dishes (not including rice and roti) at every meal! It's insane how much they can do with just vegetables. I love love love the food, but am already craving American pizza (but really, when do I NOT want pizza...).

That's all for now, as I actually have some work to do! Actually having work to do while in India is rather upsetting- there are so many places to go and things to do!!!

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