Somehow, they do.
For those of you who haven't seen my pics on facebook, I'm having an awesome time. I split the last week between Goa (Hawaii of India) and Mumbai (Bombay). The first was great, beautiful, relaxing, a great opportunity to be American because there weren't any streets to walk on and keep my eyes down. I wore a swimsuit most of the time--albeit with a tshirt over it 95% of the time--was the subject or background of many Indian family photos, the subject of many teenage/college boys' cameraphones while they pretended I was just near the background, and the girl who watches a lot of Big Bang Theory while it pours for 2 days straight when I couldn't take any more verb tenses. Overall, I'd say Goa was a success, even if I didn't exactly sightsee or do any of the things it's known for.
Then: Mumbai. Ahhh, Mumbai. "Once Upon a time in Mumbai." (Okay I know only 2 of my friends who read this got that.) STUNNING architecture. Good job, British imperialists. Lots of slums, but maybe it didn't seem so bad because I'd seen some less than ideal housing in the villages too? I paid a whopping $60 for a full day of tour. I was DRAINED after 8.5 hours. But still went out and retook pics at the Taj Mahal Palace and Fort (Hotel, not the Taj Mahal you know) and Gateway of India...because it was finally sunny. During that 8.5 hours I saw many cool things, most of which are not in my camera. Partly because it's inappropriate to film religious activities, and partly because it rained 23 cm (I think that was the number mentioned in the newspaper) that day. Most of that was in the 3 hours I was stepping/wading through puddles getting from place to place...or from place to the car!
Here are some spots I went, and I give you permission to google image search them so I don't have to explain a lot: Gandhi's house. Hanging Gardens. Jain Temple. (I thought I'd stepped into another wedding then, because a girl in a beautiful pink sari was holding something special over her head and everyone was looking at her, and there was a parade, with a guy with his face covered. YAY! wedding.....no. It was just the arrival of some guru. I'm sure he's really famous, but I have no idea who he was. He wasn't a groom and that's where my disappointment lies :)) Mosques, other temples... 2 separate dhobi ghats. beautiful churches and governmental buildings. Victoria Terminus (sorry if that is a butchering of the name). The homes/apartments of Bollywood stars. It's possible I saw someone famous and didn't know it. It's more likely that I just saw rich people who live next to the stars. And lots of other places that I wrote down in my journal that my driver took me to because the tour was on my own time...and the monsoon's time.
I saved my bag from a pickpocketer who tried to sneak her hand in it while I was in a tourist spot. Now, I'm slightly anxious that the third time will be the charm and that they'll succeed next time :) Thankfully I could store about 398439 rupees in my bra, and no one would know. :P
Then the next day I was crazy tired, so I laid in bed or the hotel pool all day--save for a 2 hour walk around Colaba. Do I always get this lazy when school is about to start, because I was feeling pretty whiny because I know my brain is going to ache once these language classes start up!
And, now, as of today, I'm in New Delhi--where I will be for the rest of the time I'm in India, unless I do day trips. (Check that--WHEN I do day trips, as I'm definitely going to the Taj Mahal...I feel like that name should be said with an angel's chorus).
It's WONDERFUL. I'm living with a woman and her 13 year old son who are Bengali. Currently there's a Japanese guy here too, but tomorrow he's leaving and a French student is moving in. (They are here to learn English, which is what my school is mainly known for). My room and the apartment are so beautifully and TASTEFULLY decorated that it's really nice not to be surrounded by chaotic nor empty walls.
Downside is that I'm going to get lost anytime I go anywhere.
What else is cool? I'm starting private hindi classes on Monday. That's still terrifying because I'm still embarrassed and completely not confident in my speaking. Rightfully so, I must say. However, my vocabulary is still improving because I can read more and more of Harry Potter without stopping and saying "HUH?" Every time people learn that I am learning hindi, they want me to say something and then the words just can't come out. They come out better in my head, I guess :)
On people:
And I have a superbly awesome friend and soon, I'm guessing, I'll know 10 or more of his friends :) We ended up sitting next to each other on my flight from London way back in May, and now I'm going to be torturing him with my hindi and trying to catch one word in every paragraph that flies out of his mouth. (Think the "adverse side effects commercial guy, but in a foreign language you're trying to learn).
I'm really excited about meeting the other foreigners in my classes, as well as my teachers, as well as the French guy who will be staying here across the hall. I like meeting other people. I like meeting people I know I can trust and try new things with in this new place.
I like meeting airline crews, as I'm now friends with two of them. I like eating curry at home with people instead of being alone at restaurants. That said, I also like reading hindi books in restaurants while waiting for food as the staff gets friendlier and less "I'm the server, you're the guest." I like being that weird American on the flights that entertains the kids who are sitting in front of me by tickling them through the gaps in the seats.
Basically, I'm really happy here. If you didn't get that already.
For those of you who haven't seen my pics on facebook, I'm having an awesome time. I split the last week between Goa (Hawaii of India) and Mumbai (Bombay). The first was great, beautiful, relaxing, a great opportunity to be American because there weren't any streets to walk on and keep my eyes down. I wore a swimsuit most of the time--albeit with a tshirt over it 95% of the time--was the subject or background of many Indian family photos, the subject of many teenage/college boys' cameraphones while they pretended I was just near the background, and the girl who watches a lot of Big Bang Theory while it pours for 2 days straight when I couldn't take any more verb tenses. Overall, I'd say Goa was a success, even if I didn't exactly sightsee or do any of the things it's known for.
Then: Mumbai. Ahhh, Mumbai. "Once Upon a time in Mumbai." (Okay I know only 2 of my friends who read this got that.) STUNNING architecture. Good job, British imperialists. Lots of slums, but maybe it didn't seem so bad because I'd seen some less than ideal housing in the villages too? I paid a whopping $60 for a full day of tour. I was DRAINED after 8.5 hours. But still went out and retook pics at the Taj Mahal Palace and Fort (Hotel, not the Taj Mahal you know) and Gateway of India...because it was finally sunny. During that 8.5 hours I saw many cool things, most of which are not in my camera. Partly because it's inappropriate to film religious activities, and partly because it rained 23 cm (I think that was the number mentioned in the newspaper) that day. Most of that was in the 3 hours I was stepping/wading through puddles getting from place to place...or from place to the car!
Here are some spots I went, and I give you permission to google image search them so I don't have to explain a lot: Gandhi's house. Hanging Gardens. Jain Temple. (I thought I'd stepped into another wedding then, because a girl in a beautiful pink sari was holding something special over her head and everyone was looking at her, and there was a parade, with a guy with his face covered. YAY! wedding.....no. It was just the arrival of some guru. I'm sure he's really famous, but I have no idea who he was. He wasn't a groom and that's where my disappointment lies :)) Mosques, other temples... 2 separate dhobi ghats. beautiful churches and governmental buildings. Victoria Terminus (sorry if that is a butchering of the name). The homes/apartments of Bollywood stars. It's possible I saw someone famous and didn't know it. It's more likely that I just saw rich people who live next to the stars. And lots of other places that I wrote down in my journal that my driver took me to because the tour was on my own time...and the monsoon's time.
I saved my bag from a pickpocketer who tried to sneak her hand in it while I was in a tourist spot. Now, I'm slightly anxious that the third time will be the charm and that they'll succeed next time :) Thankfully I could store about 398439 rupees in my bra, and no one would know. :P
Then the next day I was crazy tired, so I laid in bed or the hotel pool all day--save for a 2 hour walk around Colaba. Do I always get this lazy when school is about to start, because I was feeling pretty whiny because I know my brain is going to ache once these language classes start up!
And, now, as of today, I'm in New Delhi--where I will be for the rest of the time I'm in India, unless I do day trips. (Check that--WHEN I do day trips, as I'm definitely going to the Taj Mahal...I feel like that name should be said with an angel's chorus).
It's WONDERFUL. I'm living with a woman and her 13 year old son who are Bengali. Currently there's a Japanese guy here too, but tomorrow he's leaving and a French student is moving in. (They are here to learn English, which is what my school is mainly known for). My room and the apartment are so beautifully and TASTEFULLY decorated that it's really nice not to be surrounded by chaotic nor empty walls.
Downside is that I'm going to get lost anytime I go anywhere.
What else is cool? I'm starting private hindi classes on Monday. That's still terrifying because I'm still embarrassed and completely not confident in my speaking. Rightfully so, I must say. However, my vocabulary is still improving because I can read more and more of Harry Potter without stopping and saying "HUH?" Every time people learn that I am learning hindi, they want me to say something and then the words just can't come out. They come out better in my head, I guess :)
On people:
And I have a superbly awesome friend and soon, I'm guessing, I'll know 10 or more of his friends :) We ended up sitting next to each other on my flight from London way back in May, and now I'm going to be torturing him with my hindi and trying to catch one word in every paragraph that flies out of his mouth. (Think the "adverse side effects commercial guy, but in a foreign language you're trying to learn).
I'm really excited about meeting the other foreigners in my classes, as well as my teachers, as well as the French guy who will be staying here across the hall. I like meeting other people. I like meeting people I know I can trust and try new things with in this new place.
I like meeting airline crews, as I'm now friends with two of them. I like eating curry at home with people instead of being alone at restaurants. That said, I also like reading hindi books in restaurants while waiting for food as the staff gets friendlier and less "I'm the server, you're the guest." I like being that weird American on the flights that entertains the kids who are sitting in front of me by tickling them through the gaps in the seats.
Basically, I'm really happy here. If you didn't get that already.
No comments:
Post a Comment