Next to last day
Feb. 4th, 2010 02:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bethlakshmiThis is the end of my second to last day here. It remains fun, but I'm still ready for home.
I keep preparing myself for a nice, quiet, stay at home, boring sort of day. Never!
Amma was sick today, my bet is that it's a cold - tired, achy, runny nose, slight cough... For her, the weather is very chilly. I'm still failing to see why I want a wool wrap. We look funny on the street at night. She's in a sweater, a headscarf and a sari. I'm in the lightest cotton imaginable.
We stayed home most of the day, which was perfect. I practiced, did Kannada homework, dickered on the computer, and packed. Packing was incredibly bittersweet. In packing, I packed all the things I've used, all the things I've bought, and the little useful things that you just acquire. It reminds me of all the things, good and bad, that I've experienced here. I'm incredibly short on packing space, and I'll be shipping another box home, probably for about the same price... I don't regret that, the things I've bought here are terrific, although I'm feeling a bit sheepish today - looking at all the things I bought that I can't imagine doing without.
Then, when Amma had some energy, we went shopping. At an art faire - the Gandhi Shilpa Bazaar. I'm a sucker for anything like this - and it was remarkably like a craft fair in the US. Artists from all over India came to vend their wares, and it was everything from leather, to fabric, to jewelry, to brass goods, to paper paintings, to even a guy selling magic eye with Hindu gods. Dear god, like I should be shopping with this big box staring at me!!! Knowing how bad shipping will be restrained me somewhat - I managed to stick to small things and light things. But weirdly, the things I had given up on in my shopping list fell into my lap - a set of shoes. Nice, camel leather shoes that are plausible for SCA use, pretty enough for regular summer time use, and more comfortable than anything like that back home. Also, I found a jewelry hair braid decoration that I was lusting over in Chennai, but too overwhelmed to inquire about. Yes yes, there will be a fashion show.
We then took a quick bus down the block, crammed in like sardines since it was rush hour, and got the elusive COFFEE. I now have everything I need (besides milk and sugar that I can get in the US), to make the most perfect coffee ever for at least two months. It's a risk, I'm not sure if customs will allow it, but it's worth a try - it's a $3 gamble. Yeah, 2 months of the Most Perfect Coffee Ever costs me less than 1 grande Carmel Macchiato at Starbucks. :P
Amma and the lunatic you know and love
When Preeti returned from work, we went out for Chinese/Indian - a party for all of us. We had drinks, fabulous food, and good service. We had the best chicken I've had in India, and then egg fried rice, and prawns and Thai Chicken with yellow curry, and roti, and vegetarin things for the vegetarians. I liked it all, but it was way too much food, and my stomach has definitely shrunk... I was full after appetizers and half a plate of food.
We finished up with paan and I think I got a good picture:
Paan is good but at first encounter it's like chewing Scope - first you think "mmm... minty/spicy/sweet!" Then you think "woah that's pretty ... um... powerful" and then you think "how on earth did they figure out how to make Scope nuggets, and has it been 60 seconds yet???". It's intense. But fresh! I rather like it, but it takes some getting used to.
If you think it's a leaf, you're right. The whole thing is wrapped up in a betal leaf. Inside are spices, seeds, and sweet stuff. The shiny part is silver foil. Probably actual silver. In the restaraunt there's a paan making guy who asks if you want paan, makes it and delivers it. He had an air of subservience that you didn't see in the other waiters. I think this is a status thing. He looked pretty happy when I took pictures of his work, so I'm glad for that!
This time, I got the hang of eating the paan fully, in a timely fashion, so I wasn't left with a bunch dry seeds in my mouth. Once you get the hang of this, it's quite good.
We came home, I showed some Babydoll video, and Preeti and I talked for a while about offices and life and stuff.
I keep preparing myself for a nice, quiet, stay at home, boring sort of day. Never!
Amma was sick today, my bet is that it's a cold - tired, achy, runny nose, slight cough... For her, the weather is very chilly. I'm still failing to see why I want a wool wrap. We look funny on the street at night. She's in a sweater, a headscarf and a sari. I'm in the lightest cotton imaginable.
We stayed home most of the day, which was perfect. I practiced, did Kannada homework, dickered on the computer, and packed. Packing was incredibly bittersweet. In packing, I packed all the things I've used, all the things I've bought, and the little useful things that you just acquire. It reminds me of all the things, good and bad, that I've experienced here. I'm incredibly short on packing space, and I'll be shipping another box home, probably for about the same price... I don't regret that, the things I've bought here are terrific, although I'm feeling a bit sheepish today - looking at all the things I bought that I can't imagine doing without.
Then, when Amma had some energy, we went shopping. At an art faire - the Gandhi Shilpa Bazaar. I'm a sucker for anything like this - and it was remarkably like a craft fair in the US. Artists from all over India came to vend their wares, and it was everything from leather, to fabric, to jewelry, to brass goods, to paper paintings, to even a guy selling magic eye with Hindu gods. Dear god, like I should be shopping with this big box staring at me!!! Knowing how bad shipping will be restrained me somewhat - I managed to stick to small things and light things. But weirdly, the things I had given up on in my shopping list fell into my lap - a set of shoes. Nice, camel leather shoes that are plausible for SCA use, pretty enough for regular summer time use, and more comfortable than anything like that back home. Also, I found a jewelry hair braid decoration that I was lusting over in Chennai, but too overwhelmed to inquire about. Yes yes, there will be a fashion show.
We then took a quick bus down the block, crammed in like sardines since it was rush hour, and got the elusive COFFEE. I now have everything I need (besides milk and sugar that I can get in the US), to make the most perfect coffee ever for at least two months. It's a risk, I'm not sure if customs will allow it, but it's worth a try - it's a $3 gamble. Yeah, 2 months of the Most Perfect Coffee Ever costs me less than 1 grande Carmel Macchiato at Starbucks. :P
Amma and the lunatic you know and love
When Preeti returned from work, we went out for Chinese/Indian - a party for all of us. We had drinks, fabulous food, and good service. We had the best chicken I've had in India, and then egg fried rice, and prawns and Thai Chicken with yellow curry, and roti, and vegetarin things for the vegetarians. I liked it all, but it was way too much food, and my stomach has definitely shrunk... I was full after appetizers and half a plate of food.
We finished up with paan and I think I got a good picture:
Paan is good but at first encounter it's like chewing Scope - first you think "mmm... minty/spicy/sweet!" Then you think "woah that's pretty ... um... powerful" and then you think "how on earth did they figure out how to make Scope nuggets, and has it been 60 seconds yet???". It's intense. But fresh! I rather like it, but it takes some getting used to.
If you think it's a leaf, you're right. The whole thing is wrapped up in a betal leaf. Inside are spices, seeds, and sweet stuff. The shiny part is silver foil. Probably actual silver. In the restaraunt there's a paan making guy who asks if you want paan, makes it and delivers it. He had an air of subservience that you didn't see in the other waiters. I think this is a status thing. He looked pretty happy when I took pictures of his work, so I'm glad for that!
This time, I got the hang of eating the paan fully, in a timely fashion, so I wasn't left with a bunch dry seeds in my mouth. Once you get the hang of this, it's quite good.
We came home, I showed some Babydoll video, and Preeti and I talked for a while about offices and life and stuff.