Where would I be withouth my coffee?

Yes, I even get coffee in India. A couple of my friends and I spent the day in Banjara Hills where we went to a bookstore, and... got some coffee. Yeah, the cappuccino wasn't too special, but as you well know, I love cappuccinos, so I wanted to share with you that I finally had one in India. It only took me 16 days to get to a place that made them.

New Clothes, New Bed Spread

A Close up of the pattern on the quilt and sheets that I bought for my bed yesterday.

Checkout my new bedspread and clothes.
All together, for five outfits and a bedspread, quilt and towel, it cost a little over $200. Craziness. I love it here in India. It's a shopper's paradise. :-)

Fusion Music

Here are some of the musicians from that concert I talked about in my previous post. Note how the violinist plays his violin- resting on his foot. He also has a different tuning depending upon the raga of the song. Also, not included in the group photo are two other people- a synthesizer and an electric drum kit. Personally, I think that the synth took away from the ensemble rather than added anything to it, and I also liked the hawaiian guitarist better than the sitar player, but whatev.

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My collage. Nice isn't it?
That's my bed with my pretty pink sari as a duvet cover. I also get an air conditioner, so I won't get too hot in the night. Good times. :-)

Finally Settling In

Today we moved into our respective dorms. I am very excited because I got a single! Before coming here I got a bit worried because I didn't want to go through having a crap roommate like I did freshman year, so I prayed that I would get a single, and I did. Not only that, I got one of the best singles in the residence! Its the biggest one I've seen, and it's almost the size of a double. Also, I get a double bed instead of a twin. Crazy. I spent all morning decorating my room, but there's still a lot more to do. I'm thinking about going shopping with this weekend for some pieces to spice up my room.

Classes start this week, so we have the whole week to attend as many as we can, it's called "shopping period," and then by the end of the week we have to make our decision. So far I'm thinking about taking a sociology class on women issues in South Asia, and two history classes: one on ancient art and architecture in Medieval India and the other on Religion, Culture and Society of Medieval India. Of course, I'll also be taking Hindi, but I still have to take a test to see whether I belong in the Basic or Intermediate class. Also, we can take noncredit courses in music and dance, so I'm going to try and take lessons in Tabla and Hindustani voice. I cannot wait. We met the teachers for that and when they gave us a little sample of each, I felt my heart leap and a huge smile spread across my face and wouldn't go away for a good five minutes afterwards. Tonight they also set up a musical performance for us to attend. It was a fusion group that included a Synthesizer, Hawaiian Guitar, Indian Violin, Tabla, Sitar and a drum set. I really enjoyed it. They played four pieces. I only remember two of them: they opened with one in the Yaman Raga and then later played on in the Bihag raga. The guitarist and violinist were fantastic! The Indian way of playing the violin is so unique; he rested one end under his chin and the other on the bridge of his foot (he was sitting cross legged; I took a picture which I'll upload later). Also, the tabla player blew me away. He's apparently been playing for twenty years or so. I can't wait to begin my lessons!

That's all for now.
Much love,
Miykaelah

Getting to Know India

I'm now wrapping up the sixth day of being in India. I haven't written for a couple days because I felt like I wanted something to happen, but what I didn't realize is that everything I have experienced so far is fair game to share and that plenty of things are happening.

Today I went into the town of Lingampalli with some of my friends. While half of our study abroad group spent their morning at the police station registering with them, the rest of us decided to go exploring. Yesterday our peer tutors took us on a bus tour of the neighborhoods (towns?) near the university, so we decided to go back to Lingampalli to do some further exploration. We took the local bus, which we had learned how to use three days earlier (it's a bit overwhelming to use since it's so crowded and seemingly unorderly, but I felt better riding it this time around). While in Lingampalli I bought some fabric and took it to a tailor to have a Salwaar Kamiz (a traditional Indian tunic outfit) made for me. It cost me in total 890 rupees, which is about $20. I think that's quite a steal. I also bought some cheap bangles, which are quite pretty.

After that excursion I felt quite tired, so I rested during the afternoon while we had free time before dinner. Tonight I had a delightful conversation with one of the girls in my program about what classes we are interested in taking. We may end up in an Indian philosophy class together. I would like that very much if I had another study abroad student in at least one or two of the classes I'm taking. I'm still getting to know many of the people in my program, and thus far I really enjoy their company. We're quite an interesting and compatible group of people. Unlike the first week of college, I don't feel lonely and I don't have trouble striking up a conversation with people and connecting with them from the get go. I think that being here in India together gives us an initial bond that helps us build quick and worthwhile relationships with one another.

I very much look forward to classes starting and meeting my fellow Indian university students. We'll be picking our classes in 4 or 5 days, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Love,
M

The Journey

I still don't really think that I fully realize that I'm in India.
My journey here went pretty smoothly. The only bad parts of my trip included: being stuck in the Frankfurt airport for nearly 8 hours and then sitting next to a woman with a baby on the flight to Hyderabad. Her baby cried nonstop for the last hour or so of the flight. That gave me a headache.

We got in around 1 or 2 in the morning and made it to the hotel that we're staying at by about 3:45 in the morning. Today's been quite a long day. It's really been a task to stay awake. Who knows how long this jet lag will last. We begin orientation tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM. This afternoon they took us on a bus to a place that they called a "craft fair" where there was a bunch of people selling various wares. I didn't buy anything, but I did get some mendhi (henna). I think I got ripped off though, but whatever, it was only the first afternoon. I'll figure out what the proper prices for things are eventually. I've eaten three meals here so far, and I haven't felt sick, so I think that's a good sign.

In the Airport...

Chillin' in Chicago O'Hare couldn't be more fun. Love it. That's why I'm putting up my first blog post. So far I've bought a bottle of water, this month's Vanity Fair and the book Eat, Pray, Love. Think that's cliché? Well, too bad because I'm going to read it. Maybe not now, but eventually. I do have about an 18 hour flight to India. I do have a book that I bought with Jessie on 39th St. and I promised her I'd read that on the flight, so I'll do that first.

I've got to say, as I wait in the airport I don't feel very anxious nor do I feel like I'm freaking out. I feel pretty calm, which is a good thing. No need to waste my energy. I can't wait to tell you about the characters on my plane and in India. Stay tuned for my adventures abroad.

Love,
Miykaelah