Today was a dream. All the CIEE students were taken to an awesome store in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad that sold every kind of house item, fabric, and clothing you could think of. It was all brightly colored with natural dyes and made by thousands of artisans around India, they're all about the organics there, and, as you probably know, so am I. Everything was so vibrant and colorful! Incense lingered all around too. They had an extensive collection of the traditional Indian wares; for women, salwar kameezs and sarees; for men, kurtas of all lengths and sizes. We were given 3000 rs. and set loose on an Indian shopping spree, and yes, I could barely contain myself. I tried on so much clothing! They had lots of designs and things, but I opted for the deep vibrant solid colors with 2 short kurtas, 2 short sleeved shirts, 1 long sleeved shirt, and linen trousers. I may muster enough courage to get one of the super long and formal kurtas, but maybe later :)

We had all intended to go see a Bollywood movie as well this afternoon, but the event was cancelled due to a recent event in Bangalore. I don't really know the story but there was a bombing by an unidentified source that put Hyderabad on "red alert" which means that people are strongly advised to stay out of crowded places for the next few days. No worries, there's plenty of schoolwork to get caught up on...

After much angst, I think I've finally decided on these classes: Indian Philosophy, Indian Society (anthropology), Medieval Indian History, and Hindi. It all seems like a good combination, and I've already made friends in a lot of those classes; the history and philosophy will also count for my history and religion requirements for Muhlenberg. I've never been quite so nervous for a semester before though...some of these classes have reading lists of 16-22 books...not a pretty sight. There so many things I want to get involved in too, ah! so much to do! 5 months is not enough. I actually probably won't be travelling that much during the semester because of the work and extracurricular activities and plus I'm already making many friends whom I'd like to get to know more. Seriously 5 months is not enough to experience India, although it's certainly better than a week or two vacation...such a short experience would probably be a disappointment, I'd leave knowing that there was so much more I'd want to do and be involved in. No wonder people don't think of India as a vacation spot, you need a much much longer time to experience it.

I don't like to talk behind people's backs, but CIEE is the best program that SIP students can be involved in. Other programs working through SIP didn't have the glorious orientation that we did nor the many helpful staff members that we do nor the excursions we've done and are planning nor this shopping spree etc. etc. The others had to deal with their class uncertainties and scheduling issues along with culture shock while completely jet lagged, having just arrived last Sunday or Monday. All the CIEE students have such close relationships already and have gotten a chance to settle themselves in India before starting the semester. The SIP program is also amazing, having classes designed specifically to bring foreign students up to speed on India and the languages spoken here, although it is required that we take at least 2 university classes to intermingle with the other students.

I'm also very pleased with my hostel. I get the chance to meet so many other people there as well as retain the friendships I've formed with the SIP students. I'm located in a wing of the hostel that I like to call the "double international section." It seems like SIP students who chose not to live in the guest house are put here. There are western style toilets and singles in the wing, but Indian style toilets and triples elsewhere for "regular" (my language again) international students who may or may not be used to the luxury of the western style toilet. I almost like using the non-western toilets better though, you have to sit on the grime with the western ones.

I met several students (Vippin, Ankush, Minakshe, and Anew) the other day in Gops, the nearby student center, and we got into a discussion about the bathrooms etc. I've always wanted to talk to students to learn how exactly they go about such business, although what an incredibly awkward topic of conversation! It's like the westerners here are children, they have to be driven around because the don't know where anything is, they have to be taught how to wash their clothes, they have to be taught how to eat their food, they have to be taught how to go to the bathroom. We're seriously infants. That's what happens though when everything is so different from what you're used to. Anyway, what was so amazing were their comments about the western method of using the bathroom. Although they like the western toilets better than squatting, they find using toilet paper to clean yourself disgusting and would much rather use water to clean themselves. We have the exact same perspective but in the oppsite direction...how disgusted would you be to clean yourself with water and your left hand!? To the students here who are used to that though, this is much more sanitary and acceptable than using toilet paper (yeah, ew, who does that?).

I also hand washed my clothes yesterday. You really have to work for each article you're washing! This is fine though, everyone else on campus does it, the SIP students are the only ones who really have access to washing machines, and even then they take hours and hours to use I've heard, especially with the power outages.

Every day from 3 until 6 at night, the power goes out. Expect it on a dime, without fail, there will be no power. I think that it's a purposfully imposed daily event due to the general power shortages all over South India. During the power hours, the power still can flicker in and out. I was in Ligampally (a nearby shopping district) yesterday when it happened several times to stores I'd be in. Many stores would have generators outside that would be cranked on to light the store. The generators are gas powered though and spew even more exhaust into the already polluted streets. My mucus is black the days after I've ventured into the city, and sometimes I can feel a slight burning in my lungs right after. Some people cover their mouths with handkerchiefs to filter the air they breathe, and this I imagine I'll probably take up as well.

In Ligampally I bought sandals and picked up that pair of pants that I was measured for. They fit superbly, I'm impressed. Maybe I'll have to go back and get another pair made, although they also have a center to do that on campus. I'm also trying to find more shirts, but they always seem to be too short, though in actuallity I suppose it's me that's too tall. The sandals were a big deal for me. I never wear sandals. Ever. But the ones they have here are much cooler than the ones in the States. Plus there are so many places that you should take your shoes off: before entering a temple, going to yoga, before going into a store, even before going into someone's dorm room. Shoes and socks are just not meant for this place, but sandals work out great.

I also eat with my hands now without even thinking about it, of course I do think to remember to wash my hands before meals!

The bucket showers are going well too, I kindof have a routine now of how much water to use, when to apply soap, how to rinse it off, etc. I'm also trying this hair oil that seems to be everywhere. There really aren't conditioners, but there are so many hair oils. It really defines my curls and makes them look wet for a while, but I like it enough to keep up with it. Plus it's herbal, not chemical. And the directions on the bottle are written in Hindi. That makes it even better.

Hindi has 13 vowels and 33 consonants. Each vowel can be modified with how you taper the vowel at the end of the pronounciation by writing it a slighly different way. Each consonsant can also be written in conjunction with other consonants if there is no vowel in between. This requires different script though, a lot to memorize. We covered it all in 2 days. Now for practice...

I was coming back from Hindi the other day along this path that runs through thick brush to get to the SIP house quickly. There's a corner that you need to round where a building sits on your left and dense plant foliage is on your right. I was zooming around it on my bike when I had to stop abruply due to a massive object blocking the path. A cow, about as tall as I was and with huge horns, was grazing leisurely. Not really quite knowing what to do for a few seconds, I ended up lightly tapping his side and whispering "excuse me." It took him a while to passively lean to the side to let me pass, and I left giggling all the way back to the house.

Anyway, the bucket laundry went well, my clothes were sure dirty, the water was brown after. I hung things up outside on the clothes lines and also on my bed and stuff in my room. The articles outside were the least valuable to me (I wasn't quite sure if stealing was a problem or not), and this ended up being mostly underwear. My wing of the students hostel is adjacent to Gops and kindof up on a hill. Any student in Gops could see my boxers hanging in plain view. That's really probably not a big deal at all since every student has to do it anyway. I came back from Ligampally last night late and collected my clothes, still hanging, in the dark. I must have dropped one though because a pair of boxers greeted me this morning on the dirty concrete floor outside of the bathroom, sopping wet from last night's rain.

Two days ago we decided to try out one of the places of recomendation in the student's handbook that CIEE gave us (the other SIP students were eager to copy this valuable handbook). We (Ben, Batia, Becca, Tori, Melissa and me) decided upon a bakery in Banjara Hills. We took a bus to get there (two actually) and got pretty lost before finding it. It took about an hour to get there, but we were having fun the whole time, either joking amogst ourselves or talking to people around. The bakery was European style with pastries, bread, and cakes. I had apple pie that was so delicious and a really nice break to the spice of Indian food (although I'm a fan of that as well). Because the busses didn't run past 11 or so, we took autorickshaws back. As soon as one auto had stopped to ask if we needed his assistance, more and more kept coming. We'd bargain with one and another would come to offer other prices. By the time we decided to continue to walk ahead because they wouldn't go below 300 rs, at least 7 autos clogged the street, all clammoring to get our attention. We continued to walk, but they kept following, shouting lower prices. We'd just shake our heads, not willing to go below 300 for all of us. Finally two pulled in front of us and stopped, they were willing to drive us for our price. Our auto ride was incredible. Our driver (about our age) and his friend, also in the front, blasted this great Indian music as we weaved all about the roads, even between huge trucks. It only took maybe twenty minutes to get back to the university, and was well worth the $1.25...

In addition to the power going out, there are intermittently huge booms that echo in the distance and shake the windows and walls, sounding as if we're under attack. These are blasts that are happening on the outskirts of Hyderabad. As the city continues to grow, rock formations need to be blasted away depite many protests to protect the environment. The blasts sometimes really catch me off guard; just another thing to keep me on my toes I guess :)