Apologies again for prolonged absence. It's been a tiring week (but a good one!)
Earlier this week we had the first real monsoon of the season. I arrived home around 8:30pm and it was drizzling. My host family was sitting on the front porch so I sat down with them, and all of a sudden the rain began in full force.
My host dad said to me, "Now you see what real rain looks like!" I think a lot of the other kids in my program had never seen rain like this before, but honestly we get heavy storms like this in Texas too. Once again I was surprised by the similarities between Texas and Rajasthan.
On Wednesday some friends and I wanted to go visit Amer Fort, one of the top tourist spots in Jaipur. Unfortunately, it was raining off and on and we didn't really want to be stuck several kilometers outside of town if it started pouring. So, instead, we decided to go out to eat at a restaurant called Handi.
We decided against taking an autorickshaw and instead my friend Karamjeet called an Uber. Uber is surprisingly popular here (apparently this is true in other Indian cities as well). Riding in a nice car feels safer and nicer than a rickshaw, so Uber and similar services have become serious competition for rickshawwaalaas in urban India. Unfortunately, the Uber driver we hired got seriously lost, and it was maybe twenty minutes before we were able to find him. Then it was a matter of cramming five passengers into the car!
Dinner at Handi was really fun. We ordered several dishes and shared them family-style. It was the first time most of us had eaten meat in weeks! The restaurant was very nice and the food was DELICIOUS. I had garlic naan and butter chicken, which are my favorite Indian dishes when I'm stateside.
It was a really fun experience and I'm really glad I've found such a cool group of friends here.
Yesterday I visited a local bookstore with Taylor, Karamjeet, and Katie (and Karamjeet's roommate who is studying here but not in our program). I found three good-looking books by South Asian authors. I think I might be getting back into reading, which is very exciting for me! Last night, a bunch of my classmates met at the Ramada Hotel's rooftop restaurant in Raja Park for dinner. I wanted to join but I wouldn't be able to make my 9pm curfew. My host dad told me that Jaipur just isn't very safe after 9 or 9:15. "If you go at 7:30 you can eat at 8 and be home by 9 or 9:15," he suggested. He also said the Ramada's food isn't the best and suggested a couple other restaurants for next time.
Today is the Fourth of July. We have a field trip this morning to some various sights around Jaipur (don't worry, I will take pictures and post about them!) and in the evening my classmates and I are going to celebrate the holiday. We have yet to decide firmly on where we are going, but I'm sure it'll be really fun and I'll post all about it.
Happy Fourth to my friends and family back home. I'll be celebrating American independence halfway around the world in another former-British-colony-turned-modern-democracy.
Earlier this week we had the first real monsoon of the season. I arrived home around 8:30pm and it was drizzling. My host family was sitting on the front porch so I sat down with them, and all of a sudden the rain began in full force.
On Wednesday some friends and I wanted to go visit Amer Fort, one of the top tourist spots in Jaipur. Unfortunately, it was raining off and on and we didn't really want to be stuck several kilometers outside of town if it started pouring. So, instead, we decided to go out to eat at a restaurant called Handi.
We decided against taking an autorickshaw and instead my friend Karamjeet called an Uber. Uber is surprisingly popular here (apparently this is true in other Indian cities as well). Riding in a nice car feels safer and nicer than a rickshaw, so Uber and similar services have become serious competition for rickshawwaalaas in urban India. Unfortunately, the Uber driver we hired got seriously lost, and it was maybe twenty minutes before we were able to find him. Then it was a matter of cramming five passengers into the car!
Dinner at Handi was really fun. We ordered several dishes and shared them family-style. It was the first time most of us had eaten meat in weeks! The restaurant was very nice and the food was DELICIOUS. I had garlic naan and butter chicken, which are my favorite Indian dishes when I'm stateside.
 |
| My friends (from left) Taylor, Karamjeet, Grace, and Malini (and me). |
 |
| Our lovely family meal. Tandoori platter, butter chicken, paneer, lamb, and LOTS of nann! |
 |
| There were some really beautiful paintings on the walls of the stairwell. |
It was a really fun experience and I'm really glad I've found such a cool group of friends here.
Yesterday I visited a local bookstore with Taylor, Karamjeet, and Katie (and Karamjeet's roommate who is studying here but not in our program). I found three good-looking books by South Asian authors. I think I might be getting back into reading, which is very exciting for me! Last night, a bunch of my classmates met at the Ramada Hotel's rooftop restaurant in Raja Park for dinner. I wanted to join but I wouldn't be able to make my 9pm curfew. My host dad told me that Jaipur just isn't very safe after 9 or 9:15. "If you go at 7:30 you can eat at 8 and be home by 9 or 9:15," he suggested. He also said the Ramada's food isn't the best and suggested a couple other restaurants for next time.
Today is the Fourth of July. We have a field trip this morning to some various sights around Jaipur (don't worry, I will take pictures and post about them!) and in the evening my classmates and I are going to celebrate the holiday. We have yet to decide firmly on where we are going, but I'm sure it'll be really fun and I'll post all about it.
Happy Fourth to my friends and family back home. I'll be celebrating American independence halfway around the world in another former-British-colony-turned-modern-democracy.
No comments:
Post a Comment