Just when things were starting to go really well...
I woke up with a sore throat today. My host parents are certain that the cause of my discomfort is drastically changing temperatures; hot outside air and cool interior A/C, plus drinking cold water (which apparently nobody does here because it's bad for your throat???) Honestly, this seems like a likely explanation. Plus the air here probably isn't that great for me anyway. Whatever the cause, I came straight home from school today and have been laying in bed most of the evening. My host parents are taking good care of me, giving me chai and telling me to rest. I may go to the doctor tomorrow and try to get some proper medicine if I'm still feeling crummy in the morning.
In other news, classes are going well so far. They are definitely challenging. We are taught entirely in Hindi and most of our classes involve higher level discussion and conversation. School is only 5 hours a day, including lunch, but by the end of it my brain is so tired from trying to function in another language! Its amazing how worn out I am each afternoon. But I take this as a sign that I'm being challenged and that I'm going to improve. Being forced out of my comfort zone in class and having to speak and listen (my two lowest skills in Hindi) is a very good thing, and I keep picturing myself at the annual HUF back to school party knocking everyone's socks off!
Tomorrow is Friday. I've heard hearsay that some students are planning a weekend trip to Udaipur. While I'd prefer to go on a big trip during a long weekend, I'll take whatever chance I get to visit Udaipur. It's my number-one most important tourist destination while I'm here! It's a smaller city in the south of Rajasthan set on a big lake against a backdrop of mountains. Every day, when the sun rises over the mountains, sunlight cascades onto the lake's surface and the people of the city watch and applaud. It's supposed to be very beautiful and more peaceful than Jaipur, so if I hear that people are going I will do everything I can to tag along. I do hope that they wait until another weekend though, since it's late notice and I'm feeling rather crummy...
Below I'm including photos from today. I'm making a conscious effort to take more pictures for you all (and for my future self).
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Today in class we played "सेब से सेब तक," a homemade Hindi version of Apples to Apples. The people on their phones are busy checking definitions -- there were a lot of difficult vocabulary words in the mix!
I woke up with a sore throat today. My host parents are certain that the cause of my discomfort is drastically changing temperatures; hot outside air and cool interior A/C, plus drinking cold water (which apparently nobody does here because it's bad for your throat???) Honestly, this seems like a likely explanation. Plus the air here probably isn't that great for me anyway. Whatever the cause, I came straight home from school today and have been laying in bed most of the evening. My host parents are taking good care of me, giving me chai and telling me to rest. I may go to the doctor tomorrow and try to get some proper medicine if I'm still feeling crummy in the morning.
In other news, classes are going well so far. They are definitely challenging. We are taught entirely in Hindi and most of our classes involve higher level discussion and conversation. School is only 5 hours a day, including lunch, but by the end of it my brain is so tired from trying to function in another language! Its amazing how worn out I am each afternoon. But I take this as a sign that I'm being challenged and that I'm going to improve. Being forced out of my comfort zone in class and having to speak and listen (my two lowest skills in Hindi) is a very good thing, and I keep picturing myself at the annual HUF back to school party knocking everyone's socks off!
Tomorrow is Friday. I've heard hearsay that some students are planning a weekend trip to Udaipur. While I'd prefer to go on a big trip during a long weekend, I'll take whatever chance I get to visit Udaipur. It's my number-one most important tourist destination while I'm here! It's a smaller city in the south of Rajasthan set on a big lake against a backdrop of mountains. Every day, when the sun rises over the mountains, sunlight cascades onto the lake's surface and the people of the city watch and applaud. It's supposed to be very beautiful and more peaceful than Jaipur, so if I hear that people are going I will do everything I can to tag along. I do hope that they wait until another weekend though, since it's late notice and I'm feeling rather crummy...
Below I'm including photos from today. I'm making a conscious effort to take more pictures for you all (and for my future self).
Today in class we played "सेब से सेब तक," a homemade Hindi version of Apples to Apples. The people on their phones are busy checking definitions -- there were a lot of difficult vocabulary words in the mix!
This is the view from the roof of my school. In case you're wondering, I'm not just climbing around on roofs here all the time. Rooftop terraces are quite common. The building on the right with the roof that looks like flower petals is an enormous jewelry store that is sort of close to my house. It's many stories tall and the roof lights up at night. Believe it or not, there are many other gigantic jewelry stores in this area. Apparently Jaipur is known for its jewelry, and these shops are filled to the brim with gold.
This is Birla Mandir, a large temple just down the street from my house. I pass it on my way to and from school every day (this was taken on my ride home today). I haven't seen it up close yet but I want to! On the hill behind the temple is an old fort called Moti Dungri, which was modeled after a Scottish castle. Also in this same area is a very important Ganesh temple.
BONUS: Here's a quick look at my typical morning commute via auto rickshaw
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