MONKEY! That’s right friends, yesterday on my walk back to the dorm a monkey darted across my path, jumping off a ledge into the courtyard below. I couldn’t help but peer around the stone steps when I reached the bottom to make sure that this monkey was not going to pull a surprise attack. I didn’t see it again, so I went on to my dorm, still wondering if I had in fact seen this rather large, white/gray monkey. The rest of the residential counselors say that this means a monkey is my “animal spirit.” I have the spirit of a monkey, right?
Spotting a monkey wasn’t the only interesting experience yesterday. The staff hired cars and rickshaws to take us to the mall for some necessities like power adapters. I had taken out a small amount of rupees (900
, which is roughly $19) on our campus tour that morning (pictures of the campus forthcoming!) We went through several layers of security, first to enter the mall, and then again to enter and exit the bargain store inside. I like to try the different potato chip flavors in each country, so I picked up a small bag of Lime and Masala flavored chips. I was not a fan. Having just had delicious masala the day before in the dining hall, why would I want this cheapened chip flavor? No no, I have enough delicious Indian food in my life right now to keep me happy. I put the uneaten bag of chips away and continued to wait with the rest of my group in the center of the mall. As a primarily white group (though we do have a variety of ethnicities in our group, including Indian), we drew a lot of attention. Indians don’t seem to mind blatant staring. The mall had several tiers around an enclosed courtyard. Indians on each balcony level stared and snapped pictures of our group as we sat waiting for our ride back to campus.
Today held its own adventures. Wanting to shop for Indian fabric and jewelry from Day 1, a few of us set out for our first unguided journey into town. We hired a rickshaw to take us to RelianceMart, a Wal-Mart-like store which was next to a mall and an open bazaar. On the way one of the rickshaws hit a bike and nearly hit a car – Ruchie screamed at the near car-collision and the driver teased her for the rest of the trip (and we think added in some more dramatic stops and near-misses just for his own amusement). In case you didn’t believe me before, I’ll emphasize it again: Indian traffic is complete chaos. One of our Indian instructors has challenged the RCs to walk across one of the roads in front of campus; he calls it “Fear Factor India.” He says that the key to staying alive when walking across the road is to go at a steady pace. For the time being I think rickshaws risk our lives enough. After all, if we die, who is going to look after the kids? And for those of you unable to picture what a rickshaw is...
Spotting a monkey wasn’t the only interesting experience yesterday. The staff hired cars and rickshaws to take us to the mall for some necessities like power adapters. I had taken out a small amount of rupees (900
, which is roughly $19) on our campus tour that morning (pictures of the campus forthcoming!) We went through several layers of security, first to enter the mall, and then again to enter and exit the bargain store inside. I like to try the different potato chip flavors in each country, so I picked up a small bag of Lime and Masala flavored chips. I was not a fan. Having just had delicious masala the day before in the dining hall, why would I want this cheapened chip flavor? No no, I have enough delicious Indian food in my life right now to keep me happy. I put the uneaten bag of chips away and continued to wait with the rest of my group in the center of the mall. As a primarily white group (though we do have a variety of ethnicities in our group, including Indian), we drew a lot of attention. Indians don’t seem to mind blatant staring. The mall had several tiers around an enclosed courtyard. Indians on each balcony level stared and snapped pictures of our group as we sat waiting for our ride back to campus.Today held its own adventures. Wanting to shop for Indian fabric and jewelry from Day 1, a few of us set out for our first unguided journey into town. We hired a rickshaw to take us to RelianceMart, a Wal-Mart-like store which was next to a mall and an open bazaar. On the way one of the rickshaws hit a bike and nearly hit a car – Ruchie screamed at the near car-collision and the driver teased her for the rest of the trip (and we think added in some more dramatic stops and near-misses just for his own amusement). In case you didn’t believe me before, I’ll emphasize it again: Indian traffic is complete chaos. One of our Indian instructors has challenged the RCs to walk across one of the roads in front of campus; he calls it “Fear Factor India.” He says that the key to staying alive when walking across the road is to go at a steady pace. For the time being I think rickshaws risk our lives enough. After all, if we die, who is going to look after the kids? And for those of you unable to picture what a rickshaw is...
The latter half of the day was devoted to training and prep for arrival day. The residential staff is in good shape in terms of getting everything together – now we just need to choose themes and make some door decorations. The RCs made student groups and received student files to peruse, as well. Reading about my girls is so exciting – I can’t wait to meet them! It looks like a really great group. Just one more day and the kids will be here! Until then, I’m keeping my eyes peeled for any more monkey sightings.
No comments:
Post a Comment