Voting Motives

One of my friends, Lacie, just stopped by here and she had one a really pretty sari. I complimented it, which they always love to hear! I told her it was very nice! And it was really pretty pattern of big circles, a bright royal blue and black. She explained to me how she got it: WHEN SHE VOTED THEY GAVE HER A SARI!

Now how's that for some motivation to go to the polls... yeah, we'll give you a new outfit! =)

Videos - Cooking

Here are 2 videos from the day I went upstairs and helped cook for the Ganesh Festival day. Listen carefully and you can hear Nicki, and then both see and hear Suzie! Enjoy!



Sorry you have to turn your head to the side to watch them... but bear with it and do it! They're worth it, to hear them speak!!



I think at the end what Suzie says about Mike wondering where I am, but I am cooking, is so funny! Listen carefully to her dialog! =)

The Pedicure Disappointment

So the other day, a friend and I went to this place and got pedicures! Boy was than an ordeal though... let me just explain how and why... and I say all this not to complain, but just to show you the vast difference in cultures.
First of all, we go in, they get the place all set up for us, and the pedicures begin. They have the nice Dr. Scholls foot things to soak your feet in, you know the ones that plug into the wall, and then you turn the dial for vibration, heat, or both. Well they plug it in, but the thing is broken, so I'm not sure why it needs to be plugged in. The last time I got a pedicure the thing didn't even get plugged in, not that it would have worked because electricity was out! But anyway, no vibrations, just feet soaking in nice warm water. Ok, that's fine.
Well, I wanted a French pedicure... not that complicated! The manager lady came by and said "Oh no, madam, your nails are too short. I don't think it would look nice."
"Well I don't care what you think!!!" I said to myself, "It's what I want, and the customer is always right!!!" But they don't quite get that concept here! So then I had to re-pick out which pedicure I wanted. Well I had no clue, they had about 5 different ones to choose from... peppermint, hot stones... I finally picked out this other one, some Orchid thing. I was told that basically it's like a facial for my feet. She scrubbed and scrubbed my feet!! and massaged... it was heavenly!! She was working on my left foot, massaging, scrubbing, all this stuff, and as I'm about to fall asleep in the chair, I thought "and I get to do this all over again on the other foot!!!!" =)
But then disappointment returned when it was time to paint them. She gave me this whole tray of about 15 colors to choose from. So I chose this pretty reddish tone. When I handed it to her, she said, "Oh no, madam, there is not enough!" so she was trying to force another color on me! Umm no thank you, I want this one! You already can't do the French pedicure which is what I really wanted!! Well, alas somehow they came up with more polish, and I ended up with the color I wanted.
Afterwards we went next door to the grocery store to pick up a few things, and a store clerk there picked me out to follow around, then worked up her bravery to speak English with me... she obviously was practicing. It was quite cute! She complimented my toes! I told her I had just gotten them done!! =)

And so that's just a glimpse at a situation where you expect things to go one way, but alas... things are never what they appear!!

Tailors

The 2 ladies below are my tailors... I absolutely love them to death! I go there just to chill, practice language with, and then occasionally take new clothes to be made! =)

Daveeda and Asha

Eating

I'm all about putting some "practical, typical" things up here... So the other day some of the girls and I went out to eat at a local restaurant... This is the outside picture above.
Fun Fact: Restaurants here are called "hotels"... don't ask why, because I don't know!
Me posing in one of my fun new outfits!
They come around and serve your plate... I had a banana milkshake (made from real, fresh bananas). My bread is on that left plate, you break it up (with your right hand only!). Then on the right plate is plain white rice that you mix with the 2 gravies... our food of choice today was Murgh Palaak (which is chicken in a spinach like gravy) - it's the green one, and the red one is Paneer Machani (which is like cheese tofou in a tomato based gravy). It was really yummy, but extremely spicy... more so than usual!
So this is me, mixing it all up, eating with my right hand...
yummy goodness!!
And at the end of the meal, they bring you a finger bowl for you to wash you hand, aka your utensel! And I just thought this was a fun picture of me!!

typical day...

So I just thought I'd run through a typical day for you. This morning I decided to go down to Cafe Coffee Day (our local version of Starbucks... it's close, yet so far away!). So I got ready, walked down my street and luckily caught an auto driving by. I told him where I wanted to go, Commercial Street, and he said, "ok" and miracles of all miracles he agreed upon meter. You see meter is what they're supposed to go by, it's the law, but typically they want to barter or charge more. So I'm riding in the auto and he keeps talking about all these different places to go shopping... No thank you! I just want to go to Commercial Street. But there are cheaper things on MG Road, or I can take you to this Emporium. NO, Commercial Street. The entire 30 minute ride we had this conversation, including when we rode by the Emporium where I could get really nice handbags... NO! Commercial Street!
So finally I get to Commercial Street. There's a 99 Rupees store, which is actually $2.50, and although the item might be 99 rs. the tax added on makes it 115 rs. But they had Macaroni and Cheese, other pasta things, Campbell's Tomato soup! I spent too much money, but hey, it's comfort food right!
Next I headed to Cafe Coffee Day. It was fairly quiet, so I picked a couch off by itself. It was a bit warm in there, but ok. Well the minute I sit down they decided it was time to turn the tv on, which of course was just right above my head. There is already background music playing, but we needed extra noise, so we have the tv volume full blast too. Interesting songs came on while I was in there, Ace of Base, but probably the funniest is when I heard.... "I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy..." I never get over songs played here! I ordered my drink and a muffin, but they forgot the muffin forever. I was studying some stuff, and just chilled for a while.
My favorite questions are "What is your good name?" ... what is a good name? Aren't all names good? I mean if it's your name you certainly think it's good, right? And next is "You are from which place?" I just love the way it's worded.
So I shopped around some. This included buying 2 wrap around skirts that are wayyy cute! After the purchase I told the guy "thank you" in his language, and his face lit up like a Christmas tree! The locals love it when you speak their language! But then finally decided it was time to come home. Alas, this meant it was time to find an auto to go home!
The first one agreed to go to my place, so I got in, and said, "Meter?" his answer... "Meter plus 20." No! Why plus 20? No, plus nothing! His answer was "Because it is Sunday." So dumb! I got out and walked to get another auto, meanwhile this auto driver hollers to all his friends to say where I wanted to go, thus telling on me, so none of them wanted to take me. Fine! I walked down the street, and found other autos. Their price started at 200, meter wasn't even an option, the very most this should cost is about 70... so one guy agreed to 80 and I was so tired and ready to come home, so I agreed. On the way home in this auto there were a few things that happened that I count as everyday here, but aren't normal to my former standards. We have traffic lights here, and surprisingly in my city people actually stop and obey the rules (for the most part). Sometimes while you're stopped at a traffic light different people come around selling things... newspaper, pillows... ohh! or really bright flashlights that they shine in your face (which is especially fun at night!)... Q-tips (which rumor is they get them from hospitals, wash the dirty ones, and sell them... gross diseases!)... or just plain beggars... little kids doing acrobatics, or just moms with babies propped on their hips asking for money.
A new thing I saw today on my ride home... I heard this loud POP! and I looked over... an auto had just popped his tire, so he was pulling over.

And thus is a typical day... =)

Ganesh day

Wednesday, Sept 3, I ran upstairs to take Suzie something.. It was the day of the festival of Ganesh. Suzie and Nicki were in the kitchen making special food. They were both dressed up quite a bit, Suzie was wearing a sari! Can you imagine wearing your Sunday best to cook things! The househelper "Laci" was also busy cooking things. So Nicki was stirring this dough on the cooktop, and Suzie was busy flattening the dough. The dough was made with rice flour, then you flatten it into a round shape, then put it in this mold, put stuff inthe middle, then smash it together, basically like making "momos" or chinese dumplins, do you know what those are? Like hollow crescents. So I observed a while, then realized I really needed to be getting some pictures of this! So I ran downstairs and grabbed my camera, and returned upstairs to continue observing. Well just observing would only do for so long... I had to get my hands involved! So there's 2 kinds we were making... one was sweet and the other was spicy. Well the sweet ones you pressed into this mold and were all pretty. But the spicy ones had to be steamed so you have to leave the sides open. Well Nicki was doing those, and she started smashing the side together, and i said, "No you leave that part open!" She said, literally, "Oh crap! You're right!" So she was trying to fix it, meanwhile Suzie comes over and fusses at her [she hadn't heard me i guess] So nicki says, "Yes I know, Laura told me, she reminded me!" Oh man! I wish you could have heard Suzie's reaction to this... "LAURA!!! Laura told you?!?! Ohhh Nicki!!! That is very bad!!" So then we all had a laugh over me, the foreigner, telling a national how to make their special national food!! After a while, I had settled into my routine and was going about things pretty quickly. I was having a good ole time, thinking back to days of cooking in the kitchen with my Mom or grandmother. Meanwhile Suzie is feeling awful about "putting me to work." We were just talking the whole time. That's when I learned the truth about what we were making... this wasn't like Christmas foods that you make to eat around Christmastime. These were special foods for Ganesh. Apparently these are his favorite foods. Oh and there had to be exactly 21 of each of the "momos" because 21 is Ganesh's favorite number. After they've told me this, Nicki goes into her rant. She asks her Mom, "Ohh really? And how do you know that this is Ganesh's favorite food? Did he come down here himself and tell you?" and "Ohh, how do you know 21 is Ganesh's favorite number? Has he told you that himself?" Then that brings up a generational topic. Nicki informed me that people like her mother grew up doing these traditions every year with their parents, and they just went along with the motions. Well now Nicki's generation is coming up and asking "Why?" for each special thing they do. Well Suzie's generation never asked why and can't explain why they do these things, they just do them. And Nicki's generation refuses to keep doing these things without knowing why they're doing something.

This is what the steamed ones looked like.

the offering to the godsNicki showing me how it's done
me trying my hand at it!

that night some friends and I went chasing Ganesh parades! We found some...


to see more pictures, click here!

Interesting Lovin'

So today I was riding in an auto with some friends, and we passed this motorbike of 2 guys with a mid-size golden retriever puppy in between them. Poor doggie was on there awkwardly, paws flailing here and there. But magically the auto came just close enough, and that puppy was just too fluffy and cute to deny... yes... out my arm went... and I patted his/her little head... there was a cute red collar around its neck too! So then the guys look at me like, "HUH? what are you doing?" I thought I would at least get a laugh or a smile, but no.
Oh well... I got to pet a GR puppy!!! =)