The Adventures

The weather continues to get hotter and hotter. It's not even summer yet. My Indian friends told me that in a month no one will go outside. I've switched to wearing mostly Indian clothes, because they're all cotton and very comfortable (not to mention beautiful). But anything with polyester in my closet is getting packed right now.

Among various adventures into the city, I made a trip to a sari shop with some friends. We made it clear we were not interested in buying anything--most of them were hand-embroidered and terribly expensive (Rs 5000+, or over $100). But after a while, I had to try one on. :)

Other adventures have taken me to the football field with our SIP Women's Team. I didn't play (nobody wants to see that) but I was official photographer! They thought they were just playing for fun, but it turned out it was a tournament, and we ended up winning the whole thing!

There was one incident at the game though. A guy got on the loudspeaker during the game and spoke sort of angrily in Hindi. My Hindi is horrendous, so I obviously couldn't understand a thing. But my friends who did were shocked. "I can't believe he's saying that--someone get rid of him!" Turned out, the student on the mic was saying things like, "What do these Americans think they're doing in India--they're messing up our campus and our tournament. It's not their place, they should leave." His brief speech was peppered periodically with some derogatory term in Hindi for white people. One of my friends politely but sternly went up to him to say he was going to report him to the superiors, which shut him up really quickly. I think I was most startled, though, by the fact that the crowd didn't pay much attention, or simply didn't care. For better or for worse, I don't really know.

Anyway, on a much happier note, I've made a weekend adventure to the Golconda Fort with Zamir and Ali, only a motorcycle ride away from Hyderabad. It was massive, and actually really beautiful. It was more than stone, it had a lot of character. My Kashmiri friend Zamir played tour guide, which I'd bet was more informative than an actual guide.

Other than that, a few weekends past I went to Pondicherry, the old French colony in Tamil Nadu. I learned Friday was a holiday, searched around that morning for anyone wanting to travel, and booked tickets for Ali and I that evening! It was definitely a colony--you could feel it. And I got to speak French there! Many auto-rickshaw drivers knew their French numbers better than their English numbers (or at least I understood them better), which made bargaining easier. I think it's also very funny that Tamil-speakers know Hindi, but refuse to speak it. Perhaps a little French-influenced linguistic pride?

While there we visited Auroville, an experimental, self-sustaining community where all the hippies go to visit. It was a really great idea--in theory. I think what it left me with was that it was turned into a tourist attraction for the sake of funding since its conception in 1968. Because of this, it hasn't gotten very far according to its model. And after awhile, it seemed very exclusive, which I thought was quite contradictory to its all-inclusive, spiritually non-affiliated foundation. Our bus took too long in traffic to Chennai to catch our bus, and we watched it pull out of the station. So, Ali and I checked out the Theosophical Society in Chennai. There was a huge element of spiritualism there. This is trait perhaps sparked by Hinduism (otherwise, why would foreigners be setting up spiritual shop in India?). But Hindu nationalism overshadows a lot of this, and frankly, drives me crazy. Nevermind the Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Jains that live here. I think the most attractive thing for me about both Auroville and the Society is the idea of spiritualism, and not religion.

Goa was my last trip. The paradise beach known as Palolem, where all the chill Europeans go. I made lots of friends, got a nice tan, and celebrated Holi--the festival of colors! It was also my first time in the ocean. Salt water and sea food have convinced me I was born in the wrong part of the US. Words will not do this justice. So check out my photos!

These are the links to my last few albums. Enjoy!
India 5--Buffalo Lake, BBQs, and Football, oh my!
India 6--Further Explorations 
India 7--Golconda Fort
India 8--Pondicherry
India 9--Goa Goers and Holi Throwers

I really hope that people read this and check out my photos. I know I don't post very often. But I feel I can capture things better in photos. And thanks to all for even simple comments on my albums and blogs--simple things to keep in touch! And please let me know if there are problems accessing them.

Sometimes I feel like I'm missing so much at home. Then someone fills me in on the drama and I'm glad I'm half-way around the world. :)