The Life of Chai

The Life of Chai Starts Now

2010-05-15T10:44:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I took my last final as an undergrad at Georgetown.
Crazy. I know.
I have no idea where all of the time went.
All I know is that I've had the most fantastic four years ever.
Granted, it definitely had its ups and downs, but what college experience doesn't.

I decided to try and resurrect the blog I started as a junior studying abroad.
But this time around it's not about my studies abroad but rather my adventures in life after college.
College is over, now what?

Why Chai? You may ask.
Well, in case you don't know me, or haven't kept up with me for the past year- Chai is my name.
I earned the nickname from one of my newest friends at the beginning of this school year after telling him about how I gave a presentation in my public speaking class on the art of making chai masala. Then he just started calling me Chai, and it stuck.

By default, now my whole family is the chai family.... mama chai... baby chai...etc... except of course Paul Sinclair remains Paulsinclair. Props to those of you who get it.

Also, if you know anything about Emily and me, you'd know that we love to cook, and sadly we didn't realize until somebody came up with the idea about a month ago, that we should have started a blog with all of our cooking adventures. We could have been the Georgetown Gourmands, or something cool like that... blown georgetown cupcake and their little reality tv show right out of the water.

So I think I'll just start this blog by posting my various baking and cooking exploits and other creative things and then go from there.

Can't wait.

Spring has sprung

2009-03-11T18:42:00.000-05:00

I don't know what is looks like in DC right now, but the cherry blossoms and other flowering trees are definitely in full bloom on my campus right now. Plus, it was also 70 degrees today. So nice and warm. The weather's been amazing for the past three days. I thought I'd miss being in DC since spring is my favorite season there, but since the spring's so beautiful here, I don't really feel like I'm missing out as much. I just had to capture some of these flowering trees on film because they're just so unbelievably beautiful.

Madrid Just got a whole lot smaller...

2009-02-28T18:04:00.000-06:00

I just spent most of the past few days walking all around Madrid with various friends, and in the process I've gotten to know the city better, and I realized how close everything really is, and I know how the neighborhoods all connect a bit better. It's been really fun figuring out how everything goes together and discovering different gems in each neighborhood. This city has so much to offer. It's really hard to get bored here, unless you're just staying in all day because there's just so much in such a small area. There's so much history and so much beauty everywhere.

I'm really glad to have this opportunity to spend this semester here in Madrid and to have the time to get to know the city really well. It's going to be so fun by the end of the semester because I'm sure I'll know this place like the back of my hand. Also, by then I'll have my "regular" spots, that I'm still discovering right now.

After a month of being here, I must say, I probably have a very different perspective on life than I did after a month of being in India. I can't say it's all "sunshine and smiles" all the time, but I definitely haven't experienced the same amount of emotional turmoil that I did in India. I will admit though that we had a seminar on Culture Shock last Wednesday, and I did come to the realization of how big of a culture gap there is between me (an American) and the Spanish people. Sure, it does not seem like it on the surface, but the more time I spend here, learning about the culture, customs and adapting to the language, I realize there's more of a space between me and my fellow Spanish classmates than I realized. I guess I'll just have to work on finding a connection between me and some of my classmates because that's how friendships form. I'll try not to be too hard on myself if making Spanish friends doesn't come so easily.

I'm also including some pictures from my afternoon walking around today. I went to Lavapies and Atocha today. We checked out the Reina Sofia for a second time. I got to see the more modern art this time around. I still can't get over how beautiful I think the glass elevators on the outside of the museum are. Finally.... after going to the museum, Dan, Lauren, Maria and I went to get dinner at....... an Indian restaurant! I know. Who would have thought I'd go to an India restaurant ever again? I certainly didn't think it'd happen for a loooooong time. Well, we ended up at this delightful place near Lavapies. I got Aloo Mattar, 2 cups of Chai, Samosas, Aloo Paratha and Gulab Jamun. It all tasted amazing!!!! Also, I ate with my hands. Funny how I didn't eat with my hands until I'd been in India for 3 months, and then here, in Spain, what do I do? I eat with my hands. Go figure. It just seems right though. Indian food is meant to be eaten with your hands. I love it.

Me, Dan and Lauren in front of the Atocha train station.

Interior Courtyard at the Reina Sofia.

Oh, the beautiful glass elevators at the reina sofia.

Oh Spain

2009-02-22T09:28:00.000-06:00

So last night I ended up catching a bit of the parade for Carnival near the Paseo del Prado, and what I loved most about the Parade, that I guess I would say is totally Spanish, is how closely the street cleaners were following after the end of the Parade. Wherever the parade went, they weren't far behind ready to clean up the mess. So that's why Spain is so fricking clean. I love it because I'm a bit of a neat freak myself.

Stylish Madrileña Children

2009-02-22T09:22:00.000-06:00

One thing I've definitely noticed is how well dressed the kids are here in Madrid, and Spain in general. Last weekend in Trujillo they were all so adorable in their little outfits. So, I just had to take a picture of this little girl to give you at taste of how stylish they actually are. Got to love it. They start their children young here on dressing well.

Getting a feel for Madrid, on a Saturday afternoon

2009-02-22T09:12:00.000-06:00

Plaza de Cibeles.

Jen and Me in front of the main post office in Madrid. Isn't it gorgeous?
Making our way towards Salamanca.

Oh, Chocolate. Got to love it.

Sitting, waiting, wishing...

2009-02-22T08:58:00.001-06:00

So, I stayed home all day Thursday because I wanted to be sure that I received a package that mom sent to me. The UPS here require that you sign, and since I missed their first two attempts at delivery, I had to be sure I was here for their third and final attempt. Thus, I spent the whole day chillin' in my apartment, reading, writing emails, etc., and so I took some photos of the living room and the view outside my apartment. Just thought you might be interested to see what I see everyday.

Looking down calle Manuela Malasaña. My hood.

Looking towards the metro station- Bilbao, where I go every day to get to class.

The living room. I like to sprawl out on the floor usually whenever I'm studying or doing projects because there's always tons of room on the floor. You don't have to worry about things falling off the desk or whatever.

You'll be happy to know I did receive my package, albeit not until 6:30 pm, so I could have go out and come back that day, but whatev. You never know. If I'd gone out it probably would have been delivered when I was out.

Mérida

2009-02-19T08:19:00.000-06:00

Riding in the bus to Mérida. Beautiful mountain-scape. Reminded me of Jackson Hole a bit.

The Colosseum at Mérida. Some of the guys kept making references to Gladiator, saying things like: "Are you not entertained?" Oh, boys.

Lauren and me. Soaking up the beautiful day at Mérida. Aren't we cute?

Me, Tanya and Gigi-together again. We make quite a trio.
Now we're in the Theater that's next to the colosseum. They still use it in the summer time to put on plays; it dates back to the roman era. Oh, Europe and all it's ancient history

More views of the theater.

Can anyone guess what this is?
Ancient toilets?
Yup.
This one goes out to Micah. :-P

The town center in Mérida.
IT was gorgeous with plenty of orange trees in full bloom all over the place.

Another shot of the Plaza Mayor in Mérida.

Jamon! It's what Spain's all about.

The interior of a wonderful archeological museum in Mérida. It has a large collection of Roman artifacts, very interesting, but not when you have a day full of touring all the old ruins of Extremadura. Too much information for one head to handle.

Going down underground. I can't remember the word for this place, but it's where they collected and stored freshwater. It was the source of water for the town back in ancient times.

One of the longest bridges from the Roman era.
Beautiful at dusk.

One last stop to see the Roman Aquaducts before we headed over to Cáceres for the night.
Me and a bunch of my Georgeotwn peeps. From left: Me, Tanya, Spencer, Lauren, Dan & Jackie

Cáceres - at night

2009-02-16T13:28:00.000-06:00

view of the main plaza, I know the lighting's not ideal, but hey.

Virgin Mary on Calle de Estrella (hm... i wonder why) above the entrance to the old city.

Another place where they preserve fresh water undergroud; it's filtered as it comes down into the pool; this is one of the largest and oldest in Spain.

Trujillo

2009-02-15T17:04:00.000-06:00

The Main Plaza in Trujillo.
In the middle ground you'll see a statue; it's a statue of Pizarro—the infamous conquistador who went to Peru. This is his birthplace.
Despite that, it's a rather idyllic town with a gorgeous view of the surrounding area from the fort on the top of the hill.

Fountain in the main plaza. Taking a rest before our climb to the top of the hill.
The Plaza was bustling with people. There were a number of children kicking around soccer balls and having all sorts of fun, which made it an enjoyable place to be for the day.

"A view from the top"
Here I am on top of one of the many guard posts/towers in the fort, which was originally built by the Arabs when they occupied Trujillo before the Reconquista. It was such a well fortified town, that it was their last strong hold in Extremadura against the Catholic Monarchy.

More views of the town and surrounding areas from the fort.

There were storks everywhere in Extremadura. I don't believe that I've ever seen one before, so to then see them everywhere was so cool. They make this really interesting clicking noise with their beaks. Yeah, I know random fact.

Of the three places we visited in Extremadura, Trujillo was by far my favorite. It's such a gorgeous little town of less than 10,000 inhabitants. I'm glad it was our last stop on the trip this weekend, and I'm so grateful that the weather was stupendous this weekend. :-)
(More pictures to come, but I'm going to bed now because more classes are starting this week, and I have to wake up early to get to school)

Exploring El Rastro

2009-02-08T09:37:00.000-06:00

I'm confused... are we in India, or are we in Spain?

Apparently El Rastro is the happening place to be on Sunday mornings. It's an enormous street market crowded with people buying and selling all kind of goods imaginable from nail clippers and swords to leather wallets or sunglasses. There were a number of stalls selling Indian goods, which reminded me of Shilparamam where I'd go shopping all the time in Hyderabad because I could have bought all the same things there that they were trying to sell in El Rastro for ridiculous prices.

Crowded streets in El Rastro. Again... am I in Spain or India?

There were a number of these kinds of leather goods in Hyderabad, and seeing this stall made me wish I had bought some when I was in Hyderabad, but hey. It's all good. Perhaps I'll go back someday.

A tour of the Royal Palace (El Palacio Real)

2009-02-08T08:49:00.000-06:00

In front of the Sabatini Gardens at the back of the palace.

This statue of Philipe V was the first of it's kind to ever be made successfully because before this no statue of a horse on it's hind legs had ever been successfully created. This statue was a result of the efforts of four important men: the sculptor, Velazqués (who's portrait of Philipe V this was based off of), the man who carved a marble bust of the king, so that the sculptor could have a 360° idea of the king's head, and Galileo who helped with the physics of making the whole statue stay up.

Me, Gigi and Tanya at the Palacio Real with the Cathedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena behind us.

So, sadly, just like at the Prado, we weren't allowed to take pictures on the inside of the Palace. So this is all you get to see. The inside is quite magnificent. There were a number of amazing Chandeliers and some beautiful paintings, but to tell you the truth, I still liked Versailles much better because there was so much more light and bright colors. The color scheme in the palace was a bit darker, and I can't say I really liked that. Nevertheless, it's defintely a must see in Madrid.

A night on the town

2009-02-06T17:23:00.000-06:00

As many of you know, Madrid is know for it's vibrant night life. At first, I didn't think I'd take part in it that much, but then I changed my mind last night, and thought I might as well try. It was rather fun. A number of my Georgetown friends and I went out to a club near el Plaza Del Sol at 12:30 am. The club had an amazing interior because it used to be an old theater, so it was beautiful on the inside. We got in for free because it was University Student's night, which was nice because everything else in the club was super expensive. Even a bottle of water was 8 euros! Now it makes sense why Madrileños "hacer el botellón" or drink before going out to the club because it's way too expensive. It could have be the club itself too though because it is such a well known club and attracts a lot of tourists. Nonetheless, my friends and I had fun dancing together until 3:30 or 4:00 am when we then exited the club to go to Chocolatería San Ginés around the corner from the club for Chocolate con Churros.

After waiting a bit my friends and I got a table and ordered. I must admit that one of the main reasons I decided to go out that night was because of the reward fo Chocolate con Churros after the club; I guess it's tradition to go out to such a place after a long night at the bar or club. The Chocolatería San Ginés is one of the best known spots to go for Chocolate con Churros, and it definitely delivered. A very fun way to end the night. My friends and I camped out there at our table until 5:50 am when we then walked back to the Metro station to catch the train home. The metros don't start running until 6 am, so that's another reason why we stayed out so late. Either way, it was fun, Tanya, Gigi and I ended up talking and really connecting by the end of the night, so that definitely made the whole night worth it as well. I loved seeing how many people were still out at 6 am waiting to catch the metro home. Not only did I feel some kind of compatriotism with them in a way for staying up all night, but I also felt rather safe because it was a bunch of people like me heading home after a fun night out. I made it home around 6:30 am where I then slept until 2 pm. I'm still rather tired, and should probably go to sleep soon, but I just wanted to post about the fun night I had last night.

The daily commute

2009-02-06T16:30:00.000-06:00

I live in the neighborhood (barrio) Malasaña and Bilbao is my metro station. It's so convenient because all I have to do is walk out my front door, cross the street and then I'm here at the metro station. I only have about a 15-20 minute commute to school, which is rather nice. I love the Madrid metro system. It gets you everywhere, and because I'm a student I got to buy a month pass to use on the buses and metro for only 28 euros. So convenient. This entry to the metro is also next to a cool café called: Café Commercial, which I tried to take a photo of, but it didn't turn out so well. I'll try to get one sooner or later.

Once I get to Moncloa, four subway stops away, I wait here for a bus to take me to campus. It's about a 10 minute ride or a bit more to the building where I will have most of my classes. YOu can see in the photo Madrid's own "Arc d'triumph" I'm not sure what it's called in spanish, but you get the point. Also, I have no idea what that spaceship looking thing is, but I'm rather curious.

Chillin' in Malasaña

2009-02-04T16:42:00.000-06:00

Tanya and Me

Me and Gigi

After orientation on Friday night the three of us headed over to Malasaña to find dinner somewhere. We ended up eating at this cute, "retro" café that served decent, not wonderful food, but I loved the atmosphere, so I would definitely go back to hang out and drink coffee there.

Week 1

2009-02-04T16:20:00.001-06:00

I've now officially been in Madrid for a week and loving it. (especially since I figured out how to connect to the internet in my residence last night; I felt so disconnected without internet. It's ridiculous how much I depend on it to connect with people, but it's such a necessary part of my life right now).

Adjusting to life in Madrid hasn't been as much of a shock for me as India was. I've been able to walk around the city by myself anytime without having to worry about my safety as much as I did in India. I didn't go off campus once by myself the whole semester that I was in India. I don't have to worry about what I wear—except I do care because I obviously want to be fashionable—in the same way that I did in India. I take the metro everywhere; it's so convenient, fast, clean and easy to navigate. With my student ID I bought a month pass for only 28 Euros. It's only the fourth of February, but I've already used the buses and metro so much that it's more than worth it to by the pass. Also, there are sidewalks! (Yeah, western civilization, right? Well, I can't tell you how much it bugged me that I had to walk in the streets in India). Not only that but the sidewalks are so clean! The whole city's rather clean, as opposed to Hyderabad. I'm glad that I'll never have to smell burning garbage while I'm here or look at rivers and streams filled with trash. (If you remember I posted a picture of it earlier).

So far I haven't had much trouble with the language. Of course, I'm still learning, and I don't always understand what people are saying to me at first, but I get it eventually. I live in an apartment with a woman who's a writer, and I have kitchen privileges, which means I get to cook for myself. I have a lot of freedom to come and go as I please, which is also nice, since other people living with families have to go home for meals and be in better communication with their host families. That's not to say I don't talk to my host mom every day, which I do, but I just like the freedom to not have to worry about coming home by a certain time. And it's nice to be able to shop for groceries for myself and eat whatever food I please, where as other people don't have such a luxury.

The weather thus far hasn't been that great—it's been unseasonably cold, it's rained more than usual, and it snowed on Sunday—but I'm enjoying my time in the city nonetheless. Yes, I know that in comparison to the weather in DC or Kansas City, it's actually a bit warmer in Madrid, but since I expected it to be much more temperate, and I didn't pack my rain boots, I haven't really liked sloshing around in the rain. I'm not letting it get to me though because I know this is a wonderful city, even when it's all cold and gross outside. I got so soaked on Monday commuting to school. First of all, I didn't know where I was going, so I wandered around the campus for a while looking for the building I was supposed to have class in, and in the process I sloshed through puddles and got soaked up to my knees. Needless to say, by the time lunchtime came around, and I had a break before orientation began in the afternoon, I was ready to go home and change out of my wet clothes. I bought some skinny jeans from Zara on the way home to change into so that they wouldn't scrape the ground as I walked (like my boot cut jeans) and pick up water. Thus, my legs have been much drier over the past few days, even though it has been raining.

So far Orientation's been great—a bit boring at times though, when we have to talk about things like how to matriculate into classes at Complutense (the University I'm attending). Outside of the orientation classes that I've had, I've had the opportunity to walk around important parts of the city and visit the Prado. Yesterday we had a guided tour of the Prado where we go an in depth look at the paintings of El Greco, Velazquéz and Goya. The tour was all in Spanish, obviously, and it was so wonderful. I didn't realize how large Velazquéz's body of work was, and I was so impressed by it.

I've also had fun catching up with my Georgetown friend who are on the program with me and reconnecting with them, since I haven't seen them since May. It's nice to have people I already know the on the program with me, so that I don't have to go through that lonely period in the beginning where I don't know anyone, like I did during the India Program's orientation.

I really like the neighborhood I live in—Malasaña. Apparently it's the sight of where Madrid's cultural revolution started in the 1980's after Franco's death. It's a very hip place, kind of like Soho in New York or Le Marais in Paris. I love it's narrow, cobblestone streets and fascinating shops, cafes, restaurants and tapas bars. I still have much to learn about my neighborhood, but that can all be done once the weather improves. It's no fun exploring in the rain.

I'm excited to see where this semester takes me.

Mi residencia

2009-02-04T15:56:00.000-06:00

My bed. So my style. I love that she has cork board on the walls surrounding the bed so that I can hang up all my photos and such.

Entering into my room. It has wonderfully high ceilings.

I've always wanted a chandelier in my room! It's like a dream come true.

Getting closer to my room. It's the second one on the right. The bathroom and kitchen are all the way at the end of the hall.

The entry way into my house.

My trip to Madrid

2009-02-04T15:31:00.000-06:00

Home sweet home.

Walking up the stairs to my new residencia.

I'm here! Barajas—Madrid's International Airport. This is their newest terminal. Very cool.

Still walking through Heathrow.

Transferring terminals in Heathrow

Adios Kansas City.

My time in between

2009-01-07T22:01:00.000-06:00

My life's just been go, go, go.
I've now been home for over a month, and as I've discussed with some of my friends, it feels like I may not even have actually been in India. Like it was all just one long vivid dream. Nevertheless, I do know that I was there and I have the pictures and experiences to prove it. Also, if that isn't enough, my body isn't quite back to it's normal healthy state that it was before I departed for India.

It's funny how quickly I was able to adapt to life back in Kansas City. I adapted so readily that when I went to New York for new year's and my birthday, I felt so nervous, it was as if I hadn't traveled all around India and flown halfway around the world and back. It's amazing how quickly we can get attached to and comfortable in our surroundings.

No I have a little over three weeks before I leave for Spain, and I look forward to the myriad new experiences that will bring with it. I'm sure that I will be challenged in new ways that I wasn't in India, and I do hope that my life won't be as much as an emotional roller coaster as it was in India. I guess only time will tell.

Stay in tune for my travels in Spain and the rest of Europe. Who knows what will happen. I can't wait. I promise to try and write more this time, not just stop halfway through the semester. Plus, if anything, hopefully the internet connection will be better in Spain than it was in Hyderabad.

A night at the bazaar

2008-10-16T14:37:00.000-05:00

Oh Bangles. How do you decide?

The Magical Kingdom? Oh- wait yeah, I'm in India. Isn't the Charminar at night beautiful?

One Afternoon

2008-10-16T14:28:00.001-05:00

I was sitting outside on the roof one day and saw this really beautiful cloud formation. I also looked over at this papaya tree and saw these crazy beetles eating it. Oh, India.

My Perrier

2008-10-16T14:21:00.000-05:00

Yeah- you know me.

Old City Lovin'

2008-10-12T14:43:00.000-05:00

A day in the Old City. Behind me is the Charminar- one of the main landmarks in Hyderabad.

I got my Perrier!

2008-10-12T14:33:00.000-05:00

I never thought I'd find any in India, but I was wrong! Q-Mart is such a God-send. Love it!

It's been a bit

2008-10-12T14:24:00.000-05:00

I know- I've not been writing too much recently, but what can I say? Life has really been picking up here in India now that I have less than two months here. I might as well try to fill you in on what I've been up to. In most exciting news I've been shopping a couple of times and bought some fantastic items!

Last weekend I went into the old city and ended up buying another sari. This one blows the purple one out of the water. It's so gorgeous. I don't have a picture, but rest assured, that when I get it tailored and everything, I will post a photo, even if it's not until a month from now. Then this weekend I ended up going shopping again. My friend Angelina, who's from Orissa (the state neighboring Andhra Pradesh, where I am), took me shopping to help me figure out what's good and what's not in Indian fashion. I definitely got some really nice Salwaar Kameez outfits. I'm pretty excited. Also, we got a cappuccio while we were out shopping, so that made me happy.

Over the past few weeks, as you all know the Presidential debates have been going on, so there's a Democrat's Abroad group here in Hyderabad that meets often and they've screened all of the debates for us. I just went to the one from Wednesday night this afternoon. Someone recorded it, and they then hosted a showing of it at a really nice hotel near our campus. What made it even better was the fact that this hotel had Perrier!!! I've been craving it so much since I've been in India, so the fact that I finally got to have it is so exciting.

Next weekend I'm going on a trip to Mysore with my program. I'm not really sure what they have planned for us, but I'm sure that it will give me an opportunity to take a lot of pretty pictures and share them with you.

A sweet farewell

2008-10-03T23:18:00.000-05:00

Sadly on Wednesday we had to wish farewell to one of our dearest friends who decided to return to the US. He'd been having chronic stomach and digestive problems the whole time he was here, so understandably, he wished to seek treatment at home rather than India. On Tuesday night a large group of us gathered to have a farewell jam session and celebration of him. We all walked together to this outcropping of rocks on campus, and watched the sunset. Once the sun was down, Catie lit an enormous candle, as you can see and the music began. Two people had brought guitars and one guy had a ukulele.

It was so fantastic, everyone who knew how to play anything picked up the guitar and sang a song. This went on for a good while, and I een joined in on the fun playing the one song I knew- Green Eyes by Coldplay. Then after the music died down we decided to go around the circle taking turns telling Travis what each of us appreciated and loved about him. It was so beautiful to hear what people had to say because it was so heartfelt and true. Travis really was a great person to have around the house. Despite the fact that he felt ill most of the time, he always had a smile on his face and a kind word to say. Plus, he also had great music taste. This evening made me feel so happy because everyone was so open and excited to share. It's not everyday where you can be in such a loving and uplifting environment.

We've really bonded so much over these past two and a half months and with each passing day, I like each person a little bit more. Everyone on this trip is so unique and has so much to offer. I've only been in one or two other environments where I've had the ability to be so totally myself around people. It's not rare that you can share so much about yourself and not worry about being judged or taken the wrong way. I'm really going to miss all of these great hearts when I leave here.

My Sari's Ready

2008-10-03T23:13:00.000-05:00

I just picked it up from the tailor last week. Here it is on. Isn't it great?

Free Mango Juice

2008-10-03T22:52:00.000-05:00

Last night a bunch of my friends and I attended a "Democrat's Abroad" watch party of the Vice Presidential debate, which was being hosted at a bar/club in the city. Interestingly enough, this bar was on the top floor of a really big mall. I found that to be really odd, but not unusual in India. For some reason some really nice restaurants and clubs can be found in upscale malls around the city. Most of my friends decided to take the bus, but rather than spend the time and energy, four of us opted for an autorickshaw, which got us there faster anyway. Once we got to the mall, we spent a bit of time walking around the perfume section right by the entrance, and it was ridiculous how many sales people started following us around and asking if we needed help. They pretty much surrounded us as one point. They surprised me with how many designer perfumes they carried, but I did find one that they didn't have- Chanel. After a bit we decided to find our way up to the club, and that took a bit because the elevators in the part of the mall we were in only went up to the third floor, and the club was on the seventh. We figured it all out though.

Once we got to the club we were greeted by the other Americans hosting the watch party. They actually ended up having quite a turn out. The club itself was a funny location to host a debate watch party at, but it worked out well. It had only opened up two weeks earlier, so they were eager to draw a crowd of people. The interior decoration was very modern and sleek, definitely my style, but they had these random fake candle things at each table, which made it look really tacky. Also, they didn't have much of a menu, and none of us had eaten, so we were a bit underwhelmed by their food options. Somebody had brought "Palin Bingo" to play while we watched the debate, and if you got bingo then you won a free drink. I didn't actually think that I'd do it because the keyword that I needed to win was "heartland," but near the end of the debate, she came through and said that word. Woohoo! Bingo!

Sidenote: the bar had a fantastic view of the city.

After the debate a bunch of us went to go get dinner at this noodle place down on the ground floor of the mall since we hadn't really eaten before or during the debate. Following dinner we got to my favorite part of the night... the autorickshaw ride home.

We spent a while haggling with various drivers over the price, but we just couldn't get them down below 200Rs. (Not that I really cared because that really only equates to $5 or less, but I guess it's the principle, since they always overcharge us) Finally we just got into a rickshaw. I hoped in with my friends Rachel, Lindsay and Harrison. For some reason, someone said something about 10 minutes into the ride, and it reminded me of the song, "A whole new world," from Aladdin, so I just busted out singing, and Lindsay and Rachel soon joined me in song. The driver totall loved it. He told us that he loved music and asked us to keep on sining, so we went through a series of Disney classics on the way home. At one point, the rickshaw driver told me that I should be recorded, which made me feel so flattered. :-) Then, when we were nearly back to campus, he pulled over to buy something. When he got back into the rickshaw, he handed us a bottle of Maaza Mango Juice and thanked us for our beautiful singing. I was so touched. On top of that, he also turned out to be a small time actor in Telugu movies, and he had his headshots in the back of his rickshaw, which we all took a look at. Needless to say, it was the best autorickshaw ride yet.

Sweet Sari

2008-09-08T08:03:00.000-05:00

The Sari that I purchased from a weaver by the Vishnu Temple in Kanchipuram.

Travelling Through Tamil Nadu

2008-09-08T07:17:00.000-05:00

Yeah, it's been a while, I know.
Anyway, at least I have a lot to share with you now.
This past weekend my program planned a journey around Tamil Nadu, which is one of the southern states in India, which also neighbors Andhra Pradesh (the state that I'm in). I might as well start from the beginning.

It took a lot for me to decided whether or not to go on the trip because I felt really sick in the days leading up to Friday. On Tuesday night I came down with something and stayed in my room for all of Wednesday and most of Thursday. On Friday I was starting to feel a little bit better and decided to talk to the program director about whether or not I should go on the trip. He had me go to the health center on campus where the woman who checked me told me that it was fine if I went on the trip. After that the only thing holding me back was my own fear of traveling around this country because I had no idea what to expect, but I knew that I'd be safe with my program, so ultimately, about two hours before we left I decided to go.

We caught an overnight train from Hyderabad Station to Chennai. We rode in the business class sleeper cars, which were fine, but not ideal, and the traveling time from from Hyderabad to Chennai was about 13-14 hours. I think I did pretty well on the train, except I didn't sleep very well and there was this old guy across the aisle from my berth who coughed through the night and made me worry that I'd contract some other disease. Anyway, we at Chennai's main station 8:30 a.m. and then went to a hotel to shower and eat breakfast before hopping on a three hour bus ride to Kanchipuram, a famous temple town in Tamil Nadu.

I felt pretty nauseated after the train ride and on the bus, but once we got out at the first temple in Kanchipuram and started walking around, I started to feel better. The first temple we visited was built by the Pallava kings in about the 7th century I believe, and it was dedicated to Shiva, Parvati and their son Sikander. We had a guide with us for the weekend who had studied Indian architecture and design at Columbia, so she was able to tell us all about what we were seeing. It was so nice to have her with us so that we could fully understand and appreciate what we were looking at.

After touring that temple we hopped back on the bus and went to lunch at a vernacular house, which had a little museum in it, too. The lunch they fed us tasted delicious! The soup that they served before the meal was exactly what I needed. It was just a simple broth with herbs and it was sooooo good. I especially liked it because it didn't taste anything like the Indian food I've been consuming for the past two months, and at the moment, I'm sick of Indian food. (For those of you who know my quirks, you'll appreciate this)... they also had a really nice bathroom, so they got two thumbs up from me.

Following lunch, we went to the Sri Kanchipuram Matam for the Shankaracharya sect of Advaita Vedanta. For any of you who aren't familiar with who Shankaracharya is, he's an Indian philosopher writing in about the 5th century, and he wrote many commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita and other famous Hindu scriptures. He also sent four of his disciples in the four cardinal directions to set up four Matams (kind of like ashrams) in India, and this one is the one that was founded in southern India. I found it especially fascinating because I had watched a documentary on this very Matam in my Indian Philosophies class at Georgetown last semester, so it was a bit surreal at first. I didn't realize that was where we were going, so when we stepped through the front door and I looked at my surroundings, I thought, this all seems vaguely familiar, and it was! Not only that, we got to have darshan (an audience) of one of the current philosopher acharyas, and I ended up being one of the people from my group who talked to him. He asked me what I thought about India and what I liked about it. It was a very powerful experience for me to be so close to him and in his presence because he's obviously a great spiritual figure. Also, it made me reevaluate how I'd been feeling about India recently. When he asked me what I thought of about India, the first things that came to mind were all of my complaints about India—I don't like the academic system, it's polluted, I'm troubled by how the women are treated, etc. So then the fact that he had do directly ask me what I liked about India made me take a moment to think. At first nothing was coming to mind, (for the past week or so I've really not liked India at all) so I finally came up with the fact that I liked how much more time and space to be introspective here and how I liked how open and welcoming the people here are. Later that night I contemplated this more. Currently I am still experiencing a large bout of homesickness, but I am going to try a little bit more to find things that I really appreciate about India. It's not healthy to be so down on the country all the time because it only makes me feel miserable. Anyway, I just wanted to highlight how excited I am that I got that opportunity to meet the current philosopher acharya of Kanchipuram. I don't think that that's something that a lot of people get to do, even those who may be disciples of Shankaracharaya.

Next we went to another large temple, which was dedicated to lord Vishnu. It was quite beautiful, and it was dusk, so the temperature had become more bearable while we walked around the temple complex. Another plus, and almost more exciting to me, was the fact that there were a bunch of sari weavers' shops lining the street leading up to the temple. I bought a gorgeous purple sari with peacocks embroidered on it. (I'll try and post a photo, bear with me because the internet connection here is so slow when it comes to uploading photos.) Our day wasn't over yet because we still had a 40 minute ride to Mamallapuram where we'd be spending the night. The ride was nice, even though it was dark, I enjoyed watching the scenery out the window. It was so interesting to see rural India, parts of which had no electricity, so the shops and houses had candles burning in them. Then on the other hand, I was curious to see that some of the little shacks/huts had T.V.s going on inside of them. Crazy. When we finally got to our hotel for the night, we watched a 30 min. film about the temples we'd be seeing the next morning, and then I ate dinner and went to bed.

We started early on Sunday morning. I felt pretty nauseated again, but I worked through it. I enjoyed looking at the crappy headlines that they had in their paper. Seriously, how can their national papers have such horrible headlines? They're professionals. Anyway, that's not too important. After breakfast we went to check out the various rock cut temples built by the Pallava kings in the 7th century c.e. They're amazing! I don't want to go into too much detail, but take my word for it. One of the temples was right by the ocean, so we got to see the Bay of Bengal, although we couldn't even go up to touch the water because our tour guide wouldn't let us because we were on a tight schedule. (Some people still feel pretty annoyed about that). The whole time we went from temple to temple we were pestered by a group of men and boys trying to sell us a who array of things from shoes to carvings to necklace pendents. Some of them were entertaining, and I had fun passing off some of them to my other friends in the group, saying, "See that girl over there, I think she really wants one of your pendents." Ultimately though, they got annoying.

After our whirlwind temple tour in the morning they took us to this place called Dakshina Chitra where we got to see some local folk dances, buy various crafts and see period houses from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. There was a palm reader out in front of one of the houses, so I ended up having my palm read for fun. According to her, my future's looking pretty bright. We spent way too much time there, so after a while I got really annoyed because I was so uncomfortable especially because it was so HOT outside and there was little shade to take shelter under. Finally at 3:30 p.m. we departed for our 2 hour bus ride back to Chennai where we caught the 6:10 train back to Hyderabad.

I got back to campus at 10:00 a.m. I feel pretty happy to be back. I'll admit, it was nice to be out of the heat and not constantly on the go, but I am really happy that I decided to go on the trip.

It's been a while

2008-08-24T11:55:00.000-05:00

Wow- I just realized that I haven't written in a while, so it's about frickin' time, right?

Hm... What have I been up to in the past week or so? Well, last weekend I went on a quest to find a yarn store in Hyderabad with my friends Batia, Rachel and Becca. It was quite a journey. We took an autorickshaw to Lingampalli where we hopped on a train, which goes around the city like a subway, to get to where we wanted to go to in the city. The ride on the train took about an hour, and we got to view the city from a very different perspective, which was nice. Batia had google-mapped the directions to the yarn shop from the Kachiguda Train Station, and we followed them quite well to where we thought that the shop should have been. When we didn't find it we asked for directions in two different stores, and in the second store one of the guys ended up taking us to where it was. I doubt that we would've have found it otherwise. Finding anything here takes a lot of effort. It feels like such a triumph when you actually find what you're looking for. I bought two different types of yarn, and I crotched a hat for myself. (I'll post a photo of it later if I can).

I had a lot of fun this weekend as well. I went to a place called "Shilparamam," which is this "craft village" where all of these local artisans sell their wears. I bought a 100% pashmina shawl and some beautiful fabric to make another salwaar kameez out of. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Then in other exciting news, two of my friends here are major singers, so we spend hours last night and this afternoon singing madrigals together. We're planning on trying to learn a new madrigal each week and performing at the end of the semester. I love it because I haven't sung like that since high school. I didn't realize how much I missed singing in small vocal groups until last night when we were harmonizing together so beautifully. I'll let you know how it goes. I was thinking about recording us on garage band one day and posting it on the blog so you can hear what I've been up to.

Tabla lessons are going really well, so well that I prefer practicing over doing homework and such. It's funny because so far I've preferred doing everything but school work, and I'm not really freaking out about the fact that I'm not doing a ridiculous amount of school work. First of all, the academic system here is so different that it doesn't seem to expect much out of you, and much of what I've experienced so far, i.e. the lectures and assigned readings, has been really boring. They're system doesn't really seem to value active learning as much as we do back in the states. For example, I would rarely go to class/discussion group without having done the reading, but here, you either aren't even expected to do all if any of the readings, and when you do, it doesn't matter because the lectures may be structured so that they just summarize the article you should have read for the class. Needless to say, I'm not as excited about my classes as I was in the beginning. I do like my Hindi class though, but that's probably because there's only three of us and it's very interactive with homework every night.

Also- I played soccer last night. My friend Siury and I were the only girls out there (surprise, surprise), and we totally kicked butt! I stole the ball from the opposing team at least 4 or 5 times. My team won 4-0.

Finally!

2008-08-12T11:52:00.000-05:00

Last Friday marked the one month mark of my time here in India. Now I finally feel like I've adjusted to living in India. I don't feel like I'm on an emotional roller coaster anymore, I have returned to my equilibrium of general happiness, and it feels so good. Also, I think I'm finally over my nasty head cold that lasted for two weeks.

Anyway, in other news, more exciting news, I bought my first set of tablas yesterday, and I had my first lesson today. Before you know it, I'll be a tabla star!

A night of culture

2008-08-04T08:29:00.000-05:00

Last night they treated us to a beautiful performance of Bharata Natyam and Kuchipudi Dance. The former being indigenous to Tamil Nadu and the latter from Andhra Pradesh, the state that I'm currently in. The pictures I took are from the invocation they did in which they invoked the god Ganesha, who is known for being a remover of obstacles among other things.

Later on they did a dance in which they narrated parts of the Ramayana, one of the two important Indian epics, and that was my favorite part of their performance. I also was very impressed by the coordination between the dancers and the musicians because I know that it is very difficult for the two to flow so well together.

Girl's Bridge Camp

2008-08-04T08:02:00.000-05:00

On Saturday we went to a girl's bridge camp where they teach girls for six months after taking them out of "child labor" and putting them into schools at the appropriate level. I'm not really sure why they took us to this place other than the fact that it opened my eyes to the reality that child labor is still a problem in India, and this organization MVF is doing something to change that. I really enjoyed my time spent there nonetheless because we got to play with the girls and teach them some of our typical childhood games, and they shared some of their dancing and songs with us.

After eating lunch a group of us started playing volleyball in a circle, and I had the best time showing some of the girls how to properly hold your hands to hit the volleyball. Then when they had the courage to do it, it made me feel so proud when they stepped up and hit the ball. One girl even gave me a high five whenever we would hit the ball well.

Afterwards, even though we only spent a couple of hours with the girls, I felt like I forged a real connection with a couple of the girls, and it was hard for me to say goodbye because I knew I would never see them again.

Things that I didn't expect...

2008-08-04T07:19:00.001-05:00

We had this assignment to go around taking pictures of some things that surprised us or that we didn't expect about India, so I thought that I'd share some of my pictures with you.

No door knobs. They just have bolts and padlocks on the doors. It's kind of annoying to lock it and unlock it whenever you leave/enter the room.

The Bathroom: It's all in one. I didn't expect that the shower wouldn't be separate from the whole bathroom. Also, it took me about a week to figure out how to get the hot water to work in the shower.
Yeah, we can't flush toilet paper down the toilet ... we throw it away next to the toilet and it's cleared away every morning. Just a bit odd, but I'm used to it now. I definitely worried at first that I might forget and throw t.p. down the toilet out of habit, but I haven't made that mistake yet.
A Lizard... Inside our guest house? Yup.
Garbage out in the open. I expected trash out in the open, but I didn't expect this much.

My new clothes

2008-08-04T07:15:00.000-05:00

My tailor made salwaar- kameez. This is probably one of my favorites.
The tailoring only cost 100 Rs. which is about $2.50.

My New Outfit

2008-08-04T00:54:00.000-05:00

I know, it took a while for me to post picts. of my new clothes. More will be coming, it just takes forever to upload them. So here I am in one of my new Salwaar Kameez outfits. Pretty sweet, no?

Three Weeks

2008-08-01T09:05:00.000-05:00

Now I've been here for three weeks. Crazy, no? It feels like the first two weeks took forever, but this week just flew by. I have now settled on what classes I'll be taking, and I turned in my registration form this afternoon to the Study in India Program Office. I signed up for four classes:
1. Intermediate Hindi
2. Religion, Culture and Society in Medieval India
3. Sociology of Gender
4. Art and Architecture in Medieval India

I feel really excited about all of my classes. I'm still trying to get a handle on what's expected of us academically though, so I've asked a couple of my teachers for their input, but I'm still a bit unclear. First of all, any of the readings that they assigned aren't necessarily required; you're expected to pick a couple and do a presentation on them and write a book review. Then the books aren't that easy to find, and when you do find the readings you have to photocopy them. It's such a new concept for me; rather than buying all their assigned books at a bookstore, they find them and photocopy them. There are many photocopy centers around the campus, so that's not too bad. I just feel like it's a bit wasteful, but at least it's cheaper than buying all the books right?

I don't have many big plans for this weekend because I have a cold, so I'm planning on sleeping as much as I can this weekend, which is difficult because so many people are inviting me to go out with them, and I have to turn them down. I keep telling myself that I'll be here for five months, so it's better that I get well rather than go out and allow my cold to continue bugging me.

Where would I be withouth my coffee?

2008-07-27T14:25:00.000-05:00

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

2008-07-27T14:09:00.000-05:00

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

2008-07-23T09:29:00.000-05:00

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.

2008-07-21T10:57:00.000-05:00

c
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

2008-07-21T10:41:00.000-05:00

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

2008-07-16T11:41:00.000-05:00

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

2008-07-11T11:53:00.000-05:00

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...

2008-07-09T12:51:00.000-05:00

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