Fun Sunday

Well, I had such fun on Sunday! It was game day at church, so everyone met up at the church in the afternoon. We all sat in plastic chairs and wooden benches along the sides of the long, narrow dirt courtyard in front of the church. In the courtyard, they used flour to mark finish lines for races. Then there were running races by age group (little kid, big kid, teen) and walking races by gender for the adults. The little kids also had a race where they had to jump like little frogs, with their legs bent and hands touching the ground between their feet on every hop. It was so cute! For youth and adults, they also had a lemon-and-spoon race, which was a lot like egg races I've seen at home. The lemons here are small, about the size of key limes. So you would balance a lemon in the spoon and hold the spoon in your mouth and race walk. I won first place in my age group! Have to say, the games were such fun and required so little in the way of set up, that if we ever have another Herod or Wilson family reunion or big get together, I vote that we play some of these games. It was a blast! See descriptions of some of the other games below:

• Memory test: All the married women were let into a small room where 17 everyday items (like a comb, light bulb, roll of tape, etc.) were laid out neatly on a table. We had one minute to observe. Then we were ushered out and given a pen and piece of paper and had 3 minutes to list all the items we could remember. I won third place!
• Bombing the city: Using flour, a large plus sign was drawn in the the courtyard, with a letter drawn in each quadrant: D for Delhi, B for Bombay, H for Hyderabad, C for Calcutta. Then players would walk around in a circle, passing through each quadrant. When the whistle blew, everyone would freeze. Then someone not playing the game would fan out four cards, face down, with the names of the cities, and someone would draw a card. Everyone in that quadrant was out. This continues until only one person is left.
• Musical chairs: The rules and set up were a little different from at home. The chairs were set up side by side in a straight line, alternately facing opposite directions. At each end was an extra chair, kneeled on by someone not playing the game. You had to walk around the line of chairs, and when the music stopped, you couldn't go back, only forward, and you could only sit in a chair facing you. This eliminated the situation you see sometimes with our set up, where you have 2 people trying to squeeze into a chair at the same time. There were only so many chair facing your direction, and you plop into the nearest one or race around in a circle like with Duck, Duck, Goose, trying to get to the empty space before another person. It was good fun.
• Roll jumping: A clothesline was strung between two trees and bread rolls were pierced through with string and tied to dangle from the clothesline, just above people's heads. Each person stood under their own roll, and then it was a race to see who could jump and bite at the roll and bring it down first.
• Find the coin: People stood around a wooden bench on which there was one paper plate for each person. A coin was placed in the plate and then covered with a mound of flour. At the signal, each person clasped their hands behind them, bent at the waist, and tried to be the first to pick up his/her coin using only their mouth. Some people blew to move the flour and then picked up the coin, and some dug right in. Blech!

Wonderful time at a craft fair

I went to a craft fair today in Bangalore, and it was the best time ever. I spent four hours there (just because I had the time and why not) and looked at every booth more than once. There were 110 booths with handicrafts from different regions of India, all labeled with the region and the type of art: embroidery, specific type of drawing or painting, ceramics, terracotta, jewelry, wood carvings. It was heaven. I bought a few gifts for family but tried to buy only things that seemed unique or particularly well priced, since I've heard that the Anjuna Market in Goa also has crafts from all over India, and Heidi and I are planning to go there.


For myself, I bought a pair of chapals-- leather slip-on sandals. They are so cute! (And they're flats! What am I thinking? Who is this person in my body, buying flats?)






I heard the guy selling these shoes to Indians for 200 Rupees, and when I bought these, he bagged them up and said, "450." And I said, "What? No, they're 200. I've heard you." And he said, "No, madam. Those-- 200 Rupees. These-- 450." And I said to forget it and walked off and he called me back and took 200. Geez. You have to be on your toes... And I will admit that while I bargained for everything I bought, I'm not too sure if a local person would consider what I paid to be a fair price. But I feel fine about it. Anything that seemed too much, I just walked away. There was nothing there that I couldn't live without, so if there was not a price that the craftsman and I both found to be fair, no harm done.


That said, I did buy three drawings from a woman who does extraordinary work, and I would have been really disappointed if we could not come to a consensus. And we nearly couldn't. I wasn't sure what an appropriate price would be, so I called a friend who's from Bangalore and described the drawings. She advised me, and I was able to go to the negotiation table with a better idea of what to shoot for. I went back to the woman who drew these pictures and bargained and bargained, each of us writing a number on a scrap of newspaper and clicking our tongues and shaking our heads at the other person's number. When it looked like we were at a standstill, I walked away and went to all the other booths with drawings in this style. Sure enough, hers were the best. Intricate, tiny details; heavy handmade paper; sharp, clean lines; clean paper with no discolorations; and drawing content that I liked. When I made my way to the booth next to hers, which sold similar drawings, she called me over and offered me the price that my friend had advised over the phone. Yes! I took it in a heartbeat. Can't wait to get these puppies framed!

Two other highlights of the fair were the monkeys and the sugar cane juice. So at one point, I was at someone's booth, and we could hear rustling in the trees above us. The craftsman smiled and rolled his eyes and said, "Monkeys." And I was like, "Yeah, sure," thinking that he was kidding. Then while I'm standing there, a monkey runs up and grabs at some juice that's under the craftsman's table! He makes "shoo!" noises and waves his hands at the live, freaking monkey that just ran under his table, and the monkey runs off. Later I was in another area of the fair, and I could see fawn-colored, little monkeys swinging and jumping from branch to branch right above me. I mean, they were right there, like squirrels or something. It was SO COOL.

A distant second in the list of non-shopping-related coolnesses is the fresh sugar cane juice. Okay, I'm ready to have this again at any time. YUM. There were men there with huge sticks of sugar cane and a metal contraption with a handle to turn and crushing gear-things. So they'd poke the end of a sugar cane stick into the gear and crank the handle. You could see the flattened, mangled sugar cane come out the other side and juice flowing into a slanted metal pan that ran off into a pitcher. You could ask them to also crush fresh ginger or mint along with the cane or have them squeeze fresh lime juice into your cup along with the sugar cane juice. Man, it was good. I got lime once and lime and ginger the second time. At 36 cents a glass, sugar cane juice is definitely a treat I'll be seeking out in the future.

Pics from an autorickshaw

Below are some pics I took here in Bangalore the Saturday before I left for Dubai. There were several things that I've been dying to get pics of, and a few of them are below. For example, you see women in sarees sitting side saddle on the back of motorcycles here. Wild. Had to get a pic, but it's hard to do in traffic. Also, I was dying to get a "cow walks down the road" pic, but every time I see livestock in the middle of a busy city street, I take too long fishing out my camera, and they're past. So below are my best efforts so far. All these are taken from the back of an autorickshaw as I rode around town, so they're not exactly artistic wonders, but they give an idea of what you might see riding around Bangalore. Enjoy!


Below: A cow walking in front of an autorickshaw on the street.

Below: Cow grazing by the side of the road.

Below: Typical street with buildings and a woman walking along.

Below: My best attempt so far at photographing a woman in a saree riding a motorbike side saddle.

Below: An older woman relaxing in front of a building and one of the ever-present stray dogs relaxing not far away.

Below: A Hindu temple.

Below: Ulsoor Lake, with its green, green water.

Dubai Pics

Below are some pics from Dubai. I was there only three nights but did see quite a few things. Dubai reminds me a lot of Las Vegas. It's a place of opulence and excess, luxury and wastefulness, beauty and extravagance. To be honest, it's not a place I would choose to visit on my own, having read some about the horrible conditions of forced labor that built the beautiful buildings. But I had to visit Dubai to do a few things, so I decided to observe and enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to see a part of the world I would never have otherwise seen. Enjoy the pics!

Below: What do you think this is? A mosque? A historical building? This pic reminds me of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. But it's not a mosque. Keep scrolling.


Below: This is the same place. So beautiful with the intricate tile work.

Below: It's a mall!!!!!! Can you believe it? It's a shopping mall based on the theme of Ibn Battuta, the explorer. Each wing of the mall is decorated like a region of the world he visited on his travels. These pics are from Persia; there are also Egypt, India, China, and Tunisia wings.

Below: Here's another shot of the Persia area. That was my favorite wing, though the others were also beautiful.

Below: Here I am, putting on lipstick before getting my picture taken. Makes me think of pulling up to Wal-mart in my grandma's minivan when I was little. We'd park, mom and grandma would put on lipstick, then we could go in. I am continuing the tradition in my own way. :)

Below: Here's a shot in the Egypt wing. Most of my Egypt pics were really blurry for some reason, so I'm pleased this shot came out.

Below: This is the India wing. It's a take on the Taj Mahal, obviously, with what looks like intricate white marble carvings all over.

Below: This pic is from the China wing. It was really colorful and had this huge, gorgeous ship in the middle of everything.

Below: This pic is from the outdoor pool at the hotel where I stayed. The pool is on a deck on the 3rd floor and is surrounded by high rises on all four sides.

Below: This is the young man who offers Arabic coffee and dates as you enter the hotel. He is dressed like many, many men in Dubai. It took me a while to get used to seeing men in long, pure white robes and head coverings, and many men wore on their head a white or red-and-white cloth and a black band around the top, holding it on. I was shy to ask this young man for a picture, but he was delighted and gave me his email address and asked for a copy.

Below: This is a little blurry, but I wanted to get a picture of the political leader of Dubai in this blog posting. His image is everywhere: on billboards, posters, Tshirts, signs. Thirty years ago, Dubai was a desert, and now it's like Las Vegas. Apparently, the lightening-fast transition was primarily the work of this man.

Below: I was in Dubai during their National Day (like the U.S.'s Independence Day); the country was 38 years old on the Wednesday I was in town. There were displays like the one below in all the stores, and all day long the local TV stations featured 10-second or so clips of citizens wearing "I heart UAE" scarves saying why they love their country. It was really interesting, as the few clips I saw featured women in full burkas and men in the white robes and headdresses. Plus "I heart UAE" scarves. Juxtaposition.

Below: Here I am in front of a gorgeous local mosque.

Below: Here's an orange juice stand where I got some fresh juice. The guy in the blue shirt on the far right of the picture is Mitchell, an American guy on his way to India to study yoga and Buddhism. We met my first morning in Dubai and got to chitchatting and decided to meet the next day for siteseeing.

Below: Looking across the canal at the flashy new city and old fashioned boats.

Below: Another water pic.

Below: This is in the old area of town. This room is a coin museum (closed for National Day), and the dark wood doors you see along the walls cover ancient coins that are on display when the museum is open.

Below: An open area in front of a mosque in the old area of town.

Below: More of the mosque.

Below: This tower is in a traditional style that has openings on all 4 sides that channel any breeze down the tunnel in the tower to cool the room below. I thought that was such a neat design!

Below: This is a traditional nomadic dwelling, set up as a display in the area near the mosque and coin museum.

Below: The lovely palm-lined streets of Dubai.

Below: An old fashioned tour boat in front of the skyscrapers that fill the city.

Below: Me posing with a camel. You could take a ride around the old town on the camel for 20 dirams, but I opted for just a pic.

For Ms. Deming's Class

Below are some pictures of everyday objects. How can you tell that these pictures were not taken in your hometown? Where do you think they were taken? How could you find out?

Below: In the picture below is a FedEx delivery van. How is it different from a FedEx van you might see in Abilene? How is it the same?

Below: Read the sign below. What clues suggest that this sign is not in the U.S.?


Below: In the picture below is a public bus. What makes you think this bus might be in the U.S.? What makes you think this bus is not in the U.S.?

Below: Here is another familiar object....well, almost. What kind of writing is above the word "stop"? How could you find out? What do you think it says? What are some countries where this stop sign might be located?

Below: Here is the same type of familiar object. How is it the same as the one above? How is it different? What kind of writing is above the word "stop"? What do you think it says? Why do you think that? In what country might you see this sign?

Some Ramblings

Thought I'd ramble here and tell a few stories instead of posting pics and get some pics up next time. I had a really productive week, research-wise, and now I've interviewed half the minimum number of people I wanted to talk to. I'm feeling really good about that progress and hope to be here long enough to finish up with no problems. As many of you know, I'm continuing to have visa problems, which may possibly cut short my time here. I certainly hope not and am praying lots and doing what the various Indian authorities tell me to do. We'll see what the outcome is. No more to say about that 'til the end of next week, at which point we may have an outcome one way or another. On to lighter topics...

So I had a crazy encounter this week. One of the other interns was giving a talk about her research to our team at work, but I was going to have to miss it b/c I had an interview at that time. So I went down the street to buy her some good luck flowers. It was just a brief walk on a public street in the middle of the afternoon. Well, I had never seen this before, but apparently, there are men who dress as women, wearing sarees and makeup, and shake down people for money. I was walking down the side of the road and what I thought was a very ugly older woman but then realized was a man walked right up to me and grabbed my upper arms really hard. He shook me and was saying something that I didn't understand. It plumb scared me to death, especially since his grip was so hard. I pulled back, and he let go, so I turned and started to walk away. He grabbed one of my arms as I turned, and he gripped me pretty hard again. I was really concerned about doing some terrible faux pas, but I was also pissed, so I hit him. Not in the face or anything. Just hit hard with the heel of my hand on his wrist/forearm that was gripping me to break his hold. It did break his hold, and I think it startled him. I said, "Illa!" ("no" in Kannada) b/c that was the only local word I knew that seemed appropriate. And then I continued to walk on to the flower shop, bought my flowers, and headed back. I told a gal at work what had happened and asked if what I'd done was a big problem. She said absolutely not. Apparently, these guys who dress as women will physically harass people (without causing real harm, no beatings or anything, just shaking or gripping or patting) and ask for money. She said cross to the other side of the street and avoid if possible, and if it's not possible to avoid them, smack or push them away if necessary. Whew. What an adventure.

I had a nice weekend this week. Since I had some interviews on Saturday and some phone interviews in the middle of the night with people in the U.S., I took Friday off and treated it like a Saturday. It was so much fun. I threw caution to the wind and decided to go to three different parts of the city to visit particular restaurant and shops that I'd wanted to see. It was so fun. I went to Ulsoor Lake, which is beautiful and green with a nice walking path. By Ulsoor Lake is this restaurant called Rogue Elephant, which serves really delicious non-Indian food. I had hummus and fresh pita bread and a salad of fresh figs and panacotta with a balsamic reduction over wild greens. Amazing. And the restaurant is just 5 or 6 little plastic tables outside behind a plant shop; you'd never know it was there unless you knew to seek it out. (I read about it in a book.) I also went to a store called FabIndia, which is a chain with shops in several areas of the city. I went all the way to Koramangala, a neighborhood quite far from where I stay (an area of the city called Sadashivanagar), b/c the FabIndia in Koramangala is supposed to be one of the largest and have one of the best selections. It was really great. I just stayed for hours looking at every little thing. It reminded me a little of Pottery Barn with a clothing section. It had great housewares, linens, decorative items, a line of body products, clothes and some shoes, all made in India. Some things were about as cheap as you'd find anywhere else around here, and some seemed priced quite high. But the shop itself was very Western in that prices were marked; all was lit with electric lights, goods were laid out with decorative displays and stacked on labeled shelves; employees would help if you asked them, but there was none of the hard sell approach that is common here. I bought myself a leather tote bag that is really sturdy and would work great as an overnight bag or bag for a day out at a festival or something. It could easily hold a laptop, a purse, and a sweater; a change of clothes and a sponge bag; or good-sized picnic for several people. Hopefully, those examples give an idea of the size. Mom, Heidi, Hilary, Judy, Dad: If this sounds like something you might want as a gift, let me know! I'd planned to do my gift shopping with Heidi in Goa, but if all goes to heck and I don't get to go to Goa, then I'll be making a gift run to FabIndia. I'll let you know about the trip status, and you be thinking about a bag. If not a bag, then maybe a nice cotton shirt or scarf... Those are plentiful and nice. If Goa pans out, then we'll have more options, like handicrafts and jewelry. Yay!

Today I went to church, and it was good. Afterwards I came home and finally did some cooking. (I was so proud to light the gas burner with the clicker thing without catastrophe. Whew.) By "some cooking," I just mean that I fried a couple of eggs, but, hey, that counts, right? I ate so much on Friday that I'm still a little off my feed. Food doesn't sound great but my tummy is empty, so eggs were easy. And they were surprisingly delicious. I'm finding that I have some sort of standby travel foods that I associate now with being out of the U.S. and fending for myself, foodwise. Eggs, hot tea with sugar(!), cut up tomatoes and cucumbers. These are my quick and easy comfort foods.

After brunch, I walked to Sankey Tank, which is probably a manmade lake. It seems about the size of Greenlake to me, but I'm not too good with measurement estimates, so take that with a grain of salt. Anyway, there is a nice path around the lake, and it forms an almost-closed C shape b/c there is a small area along the lake edge that is inaccessible. This is fortuitious for those of us seeking exercise, since it forces you to walk almost a double loop: walk to one end of the C and turn around and keep going to the other end of the C and walk back to where you started. If it were a closed loop, I'd almost certainly just do one loop and be done with it. Anyway, it's picturesque and was almost deserted, so I had a nice walk/jog. The lake is enclosed by a fence and is set down lower than the street areas on the other side of the fence. I couldn't seem to find where to enter but saw an opening in the fence that I thought I could probably squeeze through. I was undecided til I saw a group of little boys squeeze through. Then I thought, "What the heck" and scooted through myself. It drew a few looks from people walking along the street nearby, but no one said anything. That is one of the nice things about being a foreigner: people expect you to be a little odd, so it seems to confer a little more freedom in acceptable behavior. Anyway, while I was walking/jogging, it was pleasant and peaceful. There as almost no one around, though sometimes people walking up on the street level on the other side of the fence would look down and see me panting along. One little boy yelled, "Hello, madam! I love you!" Cheeky thing; I thought that was adorable but just kept jogging (wheezing) and waved.

Well, those were the highlights of my week. Love and miss you guys! I'll post some photos next time; I know that's what most of you prefer. :-)

Mumbai Pics

Below are some of the photos I took on my first day in Mumbai. Almost every shot was out the window of the taxi, as we drove from the northern part of Mumbai where my hotel was to the southern part where the Gateway of India is. Enjoy!


Below: This is blurry, but it's the best shot I got of an old school, manual rickshaw, as opposed to the autorickshaws which are now more common.

Below: This is the tailgate area of a huge work truck. These trucks are painted colorfully and decorated lavishly. I can't wait to get a more complete pic of one of these trucks sometime. (Hard to do when craning your neck up and back from a tiny taxi as you bump along the road. I'll try to get a pic sometime when I'm on foot and can get the whole truck.) Btw, you see the instructions to "blow horn." Well, people follow that instruction quite well on Indian roads. ;-)

Below: Gray waters and sky past the Gateway of India.

Below: The famous Taj Hotel (where the bombings took place last year)

Below: Marine Drive

Below: Lovely street near the Taj Hotel and Gateway.

Below: A banyan tree. So interesting the way the branches grow down to become the trunk...

Below: Super cute kid shining the shoes of my taxi driver.

Below: Close up of some detail on the Gateway of India.

Below: The Gateway of India, a huge basalt monument which was once the first thing that people arriving to Mumbai by boat would have seen.

Below: First of several scenes of Mumbai, as seen on the drive.

Below: This is for mom's friend who collects Coca-Cola: another shot to get printed and framed.

Below: Another Coca-Cola shot for mom's friend.

Below: Can you read this bumper sticker? It says, "Spitting spreads TB: DO NOT SPIT." A popular sticker on the local autorickshaws.

Below: Colorful laundry drying outside the window of an apartment.

Below: This bike has seen better days.

Below: Gorgeous, expensive hotel.

Below: The ever-present autorickshaw.

Below: Tent and slum dwellings lining the roads.