a City Person

I've realized more now that I am not a city person, a Delhi person. I ate lunch today at a Pizza Hut because the momo stand wasn't there. I could have gone somewhere else, but I didn't feel like traveling and I didn't have any other ideas. There were girls comparing and taking pictures of each other on their fancy phones. There were kids that looked my age but screamed and laughed and teased each other like the world encompassed a five foot bubble around them.

Delhi is really a strange place to be, because for all I can get enamored with markets and new clothes, it fades, and again I find myself yearning something beyond what I can get here. There are a few reasons I can point at that keep my heart in New Hampshire's mountains. Freedom, that freedom to walk out the door and keep walking and get yourself lost in the woods is one. In the mountains, you can be completely alone, and you can escape from all the world. Delhi isn't like that remotely. Even disregarding the curfew of the dorm, you're never left alone in Delhi, there is no escaping the world, no feeling of being apart, and no wandering alone in Delhi.

Another is the idea of lack. I'm understanding a little more that it is precisely the shortcomings of rural living that give it charm, but charm isn't a good word for it. Nature makes up for the lack of things to do, lack of economy. The lack of human activity allows for beauty. Delhi is intense, no few feet go by without a person, walking, begging. There is so little room for any nature, anything beautiful in Delhi. In my experience in New Hampshire, the lack of things to buy adds worth. The lack of things to do drives you to the woods, and to contentment with nothing to do but wandering the woods.

Delhi is a very strange place for me of all people to be in, whose life dream is a small cabin with a garden and no sight of my neighbors. It is, however, temporary, and here to teach me something about freedom, and something about beauty, that I wouldn't find if it was so easily given to me, as it has been before. 

More stories from Rishikesh

I'll over the next few days post a few stories of what I did in Rishikesh, as well as some pictures.

Our second day in Rishikesh, we arranged for white water paddling on the holy Ganges river. It should be pointed out that up in Rishikesh, the Ganges is clean, whereas further down, you kind of want to avoid it. We had great fun jumping out of the raft between rapids and playing in the water. We even stopped to jump off a 10-15 foot rock. It was great fun.

After the trip, lunch, and a shower, I was very tired and took a 2-3 hour nap. After being woken and left to actually get up out of bed, I sat upright when a large monkey jumped into the open window sill where all our clothes lay drying, and started to reach into the room to grab the bag with my friend's underwear in it. Apparently it lost interest, because it left a few moments later.

Not really knowing what to do in this situation, I called for help, and just watched the monkey. I wasn't sure whether to take the black bear approach and try and scare it off, or to pretend I'm part of the furniture (I chose the latter, as I had nowhere to run if the monkey didn't like my attempts to scare it off).

Unfortunately, I didn't have the wherewithal to try to find my camera during this adventure, but I'll post pictures of similar monkeys soon.

I have to apologize again for my lack of blog posting, the internet is not yet fixed, and while I've been able to borrow it from other places, I am still working on getting everything sorted out.

Let me give a little example, that I now find to be rather comic, as I've stopped caring so much:

I am trying to see if the data card I use (plugs into the usb) to get internet is broken. So we go to the repair shop Monday. Unfortunately, we go during lunch hours, which are 2:45-4:00. The store is only open 10-6 (which according to my friends means it opens at 11). Tuesday, we don't go because everything is closed. Wednesday it is a holiday. Thursday, my phone's sim card died and I had to deal with that. Today I gave up and decided to deal with it when I get back from vacation. Welcome to India.

In other news, I'm going to Rishikesh again. I am so excited to wake up at four in the morning and go on exploring adventures. I'm going for five days with my friend, friend's boyfriend, and friend's boyfriend's dad. So its going to be a lot of fun. And I am looking forward to it.

Men have small bladders.

I meant to count before I wrote this post, but I didn't go out today. I meant to count how many men I saw in a five to ten minute trip to a market urinating on the sidewalk, else in a bush, their backs in clear view to all passing traffic and pedestrians walking nearby.

On any given day, I'd say the number ranges between one and three on a 10 minute auto ride, though if  you go on longer rides you can get up to five. Its not that I mean to notice these events, but its rather difficult when I'm in an auto, which is entirely open on all sides, and I'm trying to learn my way around a bit, and want to look at more than the back of the auto driver's head.

The phenomena of people stopping mid-walk to unzip their pants and turn their backs to the street, in broad daylight, is just one that is entirely alien to me. In fact, if they were to try that in the US, they would be arrested for public indecency. Yet this practice seems very prevalent.

I have seen a number of public urinals available to those in need, but as this phenomena continues despite the facilities, I must conclude one of two things: either these men are exhibitionists, or, more likely, they have exceedingly small bladders, which forces them to stop along heavily trafficked roads to relieve themselves right on the sidewalk.

In other news, it was pleasant outside this evening, so that we had our first singing practice outside, as it was cooler than in the room with fans. And it made me so happy. Especially when a lovable stray dog came to visit. 

Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches are so American.

I'm gonna make a peanut butter and banana sandwich, do you want one?

This question I posed to my french friend, to which she responded:

Peanut Butter! Banana! in a sandwich! Oh my God you are so American!

I did convince her to take one bite of my delicious toasted wheat bread, crunchy peanut butter, and banana sandwich, (after exclamations that she was being a traitor to her culture) to which she finally replied that it wasn't good, but wasn't as bad as she was expecting.

Yes, this post is going to be entirely about food.

We slept a lot today. We only went out of the apartment to buy ingredients for dinner: Cucumber and tomato salad, Pasta with eggplant, and yet another apple crumble.

If I could convey our joy in these foods, you would not believe me. Its just so relieving.

I go back to live in the dorm tomorrow, back to the mess food, but I'll go back well fed with homey food and having had the opportunity to cook and rest all day long (I did sleep about ten hours last night). 

I have nothing too new to say, other than I had a wonderful day even though it included class on a Saturday. So, here are some pictures!

The pink thing is a police lookout in M Block market, five mins away

Karan and Michri!

MOMOS

I LOVE MOMOS.

not eating momos, but sweet potatoes with masala and whatnot in a rickshaw with Michri

A quiet road, compare to the busy road

Random things seen on the way to the market

For anyone who was confused what a rickshaw is

A busy street, unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures of the epic potholes

A random person with a bag of bags of chips. 

On another note, I'm making apple crisp, and totally winging the recipe, but I think I got the major parts down. Instead of lemon juice I used some cross between a lemon and an orange and it was green. I forget the name. Its looking like that will be dinner. :)

This weekend I am at Margaux's apartment! She's moved in with the student from Brown this weekend, and so me and my friends are taking full advantage of her, her facilities, and her wireless internet (as still, I'm having problems with mine). 

I'm mostly better now, over my cold. We heard that the water was not working for the night, and so carried about ten bottles of water with us, and our backpacks, and bags of clothes, in two little riskshaws. It was rather funny, with people and bags piled on these little bicycles. It turns out the apartment does have water, and so the weight we carried was unnecessary. After much debate, we passed up the opportunity to cook and ordered mughal food. Its really yummy, especially with Bob Marley, Cat Stevens, and Mumford and Sons in the background. The plates and packages and glasses and bottles are still piled on the table, the remnants of our two months in India/Margaux's new apartment celebratory feast. 

And thats about it, just happy to have space, and a table, and friends to hang out with.