I got caught in a sandstorm this week while wearing all white, linen pants and all (don‘t judge, it‘s hot here). Then the rain came. Living in the middle of a city I keep forgetting I am also living in the middle of the desert. That explains the camels, eh?

I went to Amber Fort (pronounced Amer by the locals) this past weekend with some friends on one of the hottest days in Jaipur. Amber Fort was built in 1592 and used to be the ancient capital of Jaipur state. So it seemed like a perfectly good fort to visit on my first “fort outing” in India.

My wish to figure out the Jaipur bus system came true when we waited for our bus number to pass 8 times before we were actually convinced it was the right one. I’m surprised the crowd that formed around us did not cheer when the group of foreigners finally got on their bus. However, a man did follow us saying he was coming along and that he wanted to “make friendship with us.“ We ditched him in Old City when we had to get off the bus and take an auto rickshaw the rest of the way. Six people in one auto was a tight squeeze for the length of the drive but I comfortably sat in the back with Tom where we had the perfect view for taking pictures. We saw a lot of elephants along the way, of which I yelled “Hati!” every time I saw one. Unfortunately elephants are not treated as well as cows in this country, and that is an understatement. We arrived at the fort after a long rickshaw ride and climbed dozens and dozens and dozens of steps to actually get to the main entrance on the hilltop. The path we climbed is the walking path of the elephants that walk from Amber Fort most days. At the top we all rested, drank water, sweated, drank more water and then found, within the fort, a Café Coffee Day (India’s coffee chain) equipped with chilling AC. After literally cooling off, we toured the fort and took pictures of really old doors and chambers and walked leisurely down to the road where we caught a bus back to the city.

I’m realizing there is way too much to see in this country in one year, but thrilled I will never be bored. When I am not touring forts and “jewels” of Jaipur, I am thoroughly enjoying Shakira’s “Waka Waka” (the official song of the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup), but getting more Bollywood and Hindi Pop music than I usually prefer; all in the sake of learning the language I suppose.

Comparisons and the classroom

India has, so far, not been what I expected. I find myself wanting to compare all the things that I see to my trips to Uganda. I want so badly to experience India for what it is and not as a comparison to an African nation but I’m sure I will get there soon. After all, India proves to be nothing like Uganda and I’m learning that every day with every word I speak in Hindi, every water faucet I turn on, air conditioned building I walk in, camel or elephant I see, toilet I flush, or light I turn on without it failing. Of course Uganda has most of these things, but I am less shocked and appreciative when I come across them here in Jaipur. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely appreciate the AC in 110 degree Farenheight weather, but I definitely expectt it. The one thing both countries do have in common is their hospitality of the locals, their constant staring at foreigners, and their curious nature. Recently I arrived back at R.C. Gupta’s house (my host family) after class and three girls living here were insatiably curious and started calling me Didi (big sister) immediately. Brianca took me out to go buy some towels and made me talk to her male friend she called on the phone while we were walking. I tried to use Hindi as best I could but minor faults in inflection complicated all of my sentences. I’m starting to get frustrated and while my classes are definitely helping me, I have found myself getting worn out easily. Yesterday I had two Personal Tutorials in which you can work on anything you want, one on one, with one of the professors. In one PT I started going through my daily activities using all the different tenses, but by the second tutorial I just chatted about everything and anything with Prem Ji. I even explained to him how I hurt my tailbone and how it affected my 10 mile race in D.C. That was a hard story to tell in Hindi and I failed gloriously. I have to keep reminding myself that I am still barely 2 weeks into my year long program and, with time, I will speak more clearly. Prem Ji and I also had an intense bargaining moment over a pen in the classroom and I ended up walking away because he wanted to charge me too much for it. PTs are definitely harder than regular classes and I got to endure 2 hours this week. After my PTs a few of us went to Crosswords (a bookstore) and Anokhi (a coffeeshop and clothing store) far from our school. The boys went to play basketball, and I am thrilled I decided not to partake. This weather is no joke and an outdoor game of hoops sounds like a death wish here.

More later, I am off to sweat it out in my bed, hoping the numerous references to sweat and heat don’t make me sound too gross over here in India. I bathe every day and Mo can account to seeing me quite “clean” via skype. Can’t say much for her though as she had just woken up and barely working on her first cup of coffee. Hot stuff Mo.

I miss you all, for those who are reading this! Hang out on skype so we can chat! I am on twice a day catching some people either when they wake up early or are up pretty late. Or I have a phone and you can reach me at Country Code 91-756 822 1769.

First Impressions

Upon boarding my plane to Delhi a few days ago I switched seats with a little girl so she could sit next to her mother. That meant giving up my window seat for a middle seat but I figured I should start off the year in India with good karma so I tried my best to zone out her fussy screams and her feet that kept pounding on the back of my chair somehow. Nevertheless I arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on the largest plane I have probably ever been on, hauling my backpack stuffed with a few articles of climatically inappropriate clothing. At 109 degrees farenheight at arrival (in the evening nonetheless), there is really nothing you can put on that will make you feel comfortable. This was my first impression of India - the heat.

The first two nights here I found myself with three other girls that were on my flight and the fanciest hotel in New Delhi (the Taj Palace Hotel). Let's just say a guy knocked on our door twice already asking us if we wanted turn down service, and the first time it was 2pm in the afternoon. There is always staff, eerily jumping out from behind corners, ready to wait on us hand and foot. Definitely not the sort of accomodatinos I am used to while traveling. When I was able to leave the hotel we took busses to orientation and then scurried outside into the heat as soon as we could to check out the arts and crafts museum. The man that took us through spoke English poorly and we all could only dabble in Hindi so he explained the most intricate objects and statues as "bowl," "chair," "Vishnu," "oil lamp," etc. All I could tell was that all the objects were really old but did not learn much about them otherwise.

Overall Delhi is quite calm. There are some slightly busy markets and they have the largest and busiest children's playground I have ever seen but it is incredibly relaxed with dozens of people enjoying a Sunday paddle-boating ride in a lake near our hotel. We leave for Jaipur (in Rajasthan) in a few hours where life, I hope, is a little bit more exciting. A city they refer to as the "Pink City" in the middle of the desert where you can find camels and elelphants as daily parts of life can't be too dull. I'm sure my time spent here will become more exciting once our program busses and guides leave us to our own defenses. And by us I am referring to the large group of people I am travelling with. A few will take off for other parts of India like Lucknow for Urdu students, Chandigarh for Pujanbi students and Ahmedabad for Gujarati students, but most of us are here to study Hindi so we will take a 7 hour busride to the desert in our attempts to do so. I hope my stories and adventures become more interesting for anyone who is reading!