Hello Everyone!! A million apologies for the lag in updating my blog. I promise I’ll be more diligent about it – My jetlag is finally gone and I’m into some routine at least, so I’ve got plenty of time to do this.. and don’t let me try and tell you otherwise!!
Where do I start? I can’t believe I left off so long ago… My father got back from Sri Lanka on Saturday.. happy to be home, but sad to be back to everyday things. I’m sure it didn’t help that my mother and him had to attend two luncheons one after the other. He seemed like he’d be content to just sleep for a while.
Saturday night a bunch of us got invitations to a club opening in Gorgon, it’s about ½ an hour outside Delhi.. so about an hour away from the embassy. I was invited to B-block, another part of the compound, for a little party they were having there, and it was really amazing. There is a tour of Delhi called 7 cities; it literally visits the 7 different cities that Delhi is/was made up of. And all the people that had recently finished the tour were at this party, a long with a few of my friends. It was lovely. There was a lady there who sings jazz at coffee houses, musicians, historians, it was a blast. Unfortunately, the night degenerated from there when the Marines arrived and started shot gunning beer. Ah.. Americans.
Monday was my first Hindi class.. A strange, though not unenjoyable event. Taught by a Finnish lady named Ini (go figure) it’s a pretty lovely class. Given, there are only 2 of us in it (a lady that speaks Farsi and I..) but we take it in some old Colonial bygone era house and are served great masala chai and cucumber sandwiches – perhaps the greatest coming together of all things British and Indian. I’m learning quickly, and can even write my own name and pick out a few things from the newspaper already. Plus, those all too useful phrases like “That’s too expensive”, “Shut up” and “Watch the road, not me”.
Tuesday was pretty lax, as Wednesday is Indian Republic day here and nobody works, so the kids were all looking forward to a day off. My mother is organizing another program, all of Asia’s Defense Attaché’s are here next month, and she has to entertain their wives. So our friend Ruth and my mother and father and I all went to Old Delhi to try and make up a little tour for them to see the best parts.
Every time I think I may not like India, or that I’ve seen it all.. I inevitably find my way to Old Delhi. It seems like no matter how many times I’ve been there, how many times I’ve walked by the same shops.. It’s more magical than the first time. Because we were with Ruth, she wanted to show us her favorite things, so we got to see a different part than we usually see.
We walked down Jain street, which was really beautiful. All the old family houses have still really been kept up to shape, or as much as you can in Old Delhi. They are truly beautiful, their front entrances are all painted and the marble work is just exquisite. At the end of the street is the Jain temple. It’s an interesting religion.. Though very difficult to follow I imagine. They believe in doing no harm to any living animal.. bug.. anything. They don’t eat carrots because pulling them out of the ground is too traumatic to the bugs that live around them, and most of them wear surgical masks so they don’t accidentally suck in any bugs while walking about town. It’s like the enth degree of vegetarianism I think. At any rate, it was really beautiful.
We had lunch at a little kind of hole in the wall… It was amazing. According to Ruth, Gandhi has eaten there, as well a many other important figures. Frankly I was most amused by the twinkling grape lights, but hey. ;-) The food was amazing.. Stuffed paranthas of potato, paneer (kind of like cottage cheese) and mixed veg, with these amazing sauces and dips. My favorite was this semi-spicy curry type one with hunks of cold banana.. It was so good. We had some tea, and carried on. Our huge lunch for 4 people cost us 3 dollars.
After that we were almost on our way out, but not before somebody asked if I was my dad’s younger Didi (sister) and a fine young gentleman had asked me to be his bride while holding a rooster in the other hand. Metaphor? Perhaps.
Wednesday the 26th was Republic Day, so it was fairly quiet. My parents had to go to a Parade in the morning (get this – the amount of Indian Army they have just on parade.. is more than double the army we have in Canada. JUST on parade.). Originally my brother and sister and I were supposed to go as well, but the security warnings got too high and we had to stay home. Luckily, everyone returned in one piece. Everyone was home on the compound, so it was nice to see everyone in the park and walking dogs and running and roller lading. What did I do on the 26th of January? Well, I went for a swim in the outdoor pool at about 11, then came home and suntanned on the upper deck of our house for 4 hours or so, then came in and watched Layton Hewitt move through to the semi-finals in quite the victory. I have never spent a better January 26th. I may have even got a little sunburn…
Other than that.. Not too much for the rest of the week. I have Hindi again on Friday morning, then my parents are having a cocktail party that same night (not that the two have anything to do with each other..) then it’s the weekend again. Where is the time going??
I’m settling in alright – I still get that feeling where I wake up and I’m not sure where I am, but that’s fading too. Like any city, and lifestyle, there’s a rhythm that you have to catch on to.. It’s just taking me a little while to adapt to this one. It’s nice to be back with family again.. Trying sometimes, but mostly just nice. I didn’t realize how much I missed them. My brother sleepwalks (and talks, and eats, and drinks.. it’s really quite amazing…) and I forgot how nice it is to have him wake you up for a chat at two in the morning. Kind of.
Alright, I’ve got to run, and get my day started, whatever it may hold. I trust everyone is well, know that I miss you and you’re always in my heart. Take care everyone.. talk to you soon!
Where do I start? I can’t believe I left off so long ago… My father got back from Sri Lanka on Saturday.. happy to be home, but sad to be back to everyday things. I’m sure it didn’t help that my mother and him had to attend two luncheons one after the other. He seemed like he’d be content to just sleep for a while.
Saturday night a bunch of us got invitations to a club opening in Gorgon, it’s about ½ an hour outside Delhi.. so about an hour away from the embassy. I was invited to B-block, another part of the compound, for a little party they were having there, and it was really amazing. There is a tour of Delhi called 7 cities; it literally visits the 7 different cities that Delhi is/was made up of. And all the people that had recently finished the tour were at this party, a long with a few of my friends. It was lovely. There was a lady there who sings jazz at coffee houses, musicians, historians, it was a blast. Unfortunately, the night degenerated from there when the Marines arrived and started shot gunning beer. Ah.. Americans.
Monday was my first Hindi class.. A strange, though not unenjoyable event. Taught by a Finnish lady named Ini (go figure) it’s a pretty lovely class. Given, there are only 2 of us in it (a lady that speaks Farsi and I..) but we take it in some old Colonial bygone era house and are served great masala chai and cucumber sandwiches – perhaps the greatest coming together of all things British and Indian. I’m learning quickly, and can even write my own name and pick out a few things from the newspaper already. Plus, those all too useful phrases like “That’s too expensive”, “Shut up” and “Watch the road, not me”.
Tuesday was pretty lax, as Wednesday is Indian Republic day here and nobody works, so the kids were all looking forward to a day off. My mother is organizing another program, all of Asia’s Defense Attaché’s are here next month, and she has to entertain their wives. So our friend Ruth and my mother and father and I all went to Old Delhi to try and make up a little tour for them to see the best parts.
Every time I think I may not like India, or that I’ve seen it all.. I inevitably find my way to Old Delhi. It seems like no matter how many times I’ve been there, how many times I’ve walked by the same shops.. It’s more magical than the first time. Because we were with Ruth, she wanted to show us her favorite things, so we got to see a different part than we usually see.
We walked down Jain street, which was really beautiful. All the old family houses have still really been kept up to shape, or as much as you can in Old Delhi. They are truly beautiful, their front entrances are all painted and the marble work is just exquisite. At the end of the street is the Jain temple. It’s an interesting religion.. Though very difficult to follow I imagine. They believe in doing no harm to any living animal.. bug.. anything. They don’t eat carrots because pulling them out of the ground is too traumatic to the bugs that live around them, and most of them wear surgical masks so they don’t accidentally suck in any bugs while walking about town. It’s like the enth degree of vegetarianism I think. At any rate, it was really beautiful.
We had lunch at a little kind of hole in the wall… It was amazing. According to Ruth, Gandhi has eaten there, as well a many other important figures. Frankly I was most amused by the twinkling grape lights, but hey. ;-) The food was amazing.. Stuffed paranthas of potato, paneer (kind of like cottage cheese) and mixed veg, with these amazing sauces and dips. My favorite was this semi-spicy curry type one with hunks of cold banana.. It was so good. We had some tea, and carried on. Our huge lunch for 4 people cost us 3 dollars.
After that we were almost on our way out, but not before somebody asked if I was my dad’s younger Didi (sister) and a fine young gentleman had asked me to be his bride while holding a rooster in the other hand. Metaphor? Perhaps.
Wednesday the 26th was Republic Day, so it was fairly quiet. My parents had to go to a Parade in the morning (get this – the amount of Indian Army they have just on parade.. is more than double the army we have in Canada. JUST on parade.). Originally my brother and sister and I were supposed to go as well, but the security warnings got too high and we had to stay home. Luckily, everyone returned in one piece. Everyone was home on the compound, so it was nice to see everyone in the park and walking dogs and running and roller lading. What did I do on the 26th of January? Well, I went for a swim in the outdoor pool at about 11, then came home and suntanned on the upper deck of our house for 4 hours or so, then came in and watched Layton Hewitt move through to the semi-finals in quite the victory. I have never spent a better January 26th. I may have even got a little sunburn…
Other than that.. Not too much for the rest of the week. I have Hindi again on Friday morning, then my parents are having a cocktail party that same night (not that the two have anything to do with each other..) then it’s the weekend again. Where is the time going??
I’m settling in alright – I still get that feeling where I wake up and I’m not sure where I am, but that’s fading too. Like any city, and lifestyle, there’s a rhythm that you have to catch on to.. It’s just taking me a little while to adapt to this one. It’s nice to be back with family again.. Trying sometimes, but mostly just nice. I didn’t realize how much I missed them. My brother sleepwalks (and talks, and eats, and drinks.. it’s really quite amazing…) and I forgot how nice it is to have him wake you up for a chat at two in the morning. Kind of.
Alright, I’ve got to run, and get my day started, whatever it may hold. I trust everyone is well, know that I miss you and you’re always in my heart. Take care everyone.. talk to you soon!
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