Tuesday Night and Wednesday Breakfast

The Internet wasn't working for last night and most of this morning, so I actually wrote something instead of typing it and saving it for later.

My mom's cousin, "Babloo", is a pretty funny guy. He reminds me of my Mamaji (my mom's brother) and makes me think that all men in my family are funny. So far, on my dad's side, everyone I've met has been funny. We'll see what i observe in Banglore in a few days. Also, of note, Babloo has a pretty full goatee. Maybe humor and hair go hand-in-hand.

I forgot my compact Zebra F-301 pen somewhere in my apartment. Its the only pen that I've bothered to know the name, and it really is that good. But, this is the first time I'm writing here as the Internet is currently down.

Last night after tea when Babloo got home, we all went out to go shopping. There were seven of us: me, my mom, Babloo, his wife Saru, their sons Ayuesh and Ankith, and my mom's aunt. All of us fit in a four door Honda City. This is basically a Civic, but a little bit smaller. Ayuesh and I shared the front seat and seatbelt. I used to have a tiny two-door Civic. My head went out the sunroof when it was nice enough out so I didn't have to slouch to fit. And, I know cramped; driving home for winter break with three others and going on tour last summer in a Dodge Neon and Mercury. But this was just uncomfortable. Anyway, we went to three different markets. The kids followed me around, I guess for two reason: so I don't get lost and so we don't get bored. They're quiet and shy but helpful when I can't communicate enough in Hindi to say "No thanks, I wont be buying this today" for the tenth time.

The people of Delhi are more cosmopolitan than some of the surroundings might suggest. Even within these tiny shops, the owners manage to dress as western as possible. There's a difinite mix of Euro and American styles in Indian culture that curiously stands out to me. It doesn't matter, though, because I curiously stand out to everyone, especially when I speak. One market had stores like Sisley, Benneton, and Levi's mixed in with sari shops and bangle stands. The last market we went to, Delli Haat, sold mostly saris, artwork, and trinkets. The cosmopolitan Indians were at work again in hovel-style and tent-shaped shops. All of them had these flourescent lights inside makeshift wood and cloth shops. I guess they figured incandescent lights would be too hot. Maybe its that flourescents are brighter, whiter, Westerner.

Bargaining is a must when purchasing anything. When looking at a few paintings last night, the dude selling told my mom the price was 500 Rs. That was reasonable, but he was definitely bullshitting. The second I opened my mouth, the price of the next one jumped to 2500 Rs. Indians want to get the most money for something they are selling, but buy something for the least amount possible and they love taking advantage of Americans even if they are Indian by blood. I found a few things I wanted, but I ended up not getting anything. Two things I will definitely get at some point on this trip: small party Hookah (found one last night for 550 Rs, but I didn't bother haggling) and mini keychain pipes (really tiny bowls!).

After shopping, it was around 10pm, we went to dinner at this chinese restaurant called Yo! China. Yo! China was pretty bright and had a modern design theme and layout. The food was okay, just as you might expect Indian influenced Chinese food to be. My mom and I split the vegetarian Manchurian. They had these fries there called "chili potatoes" that we ordered. I kind of pretended they were O fries, but only for a second. They were crispy and covered in a red chili ketchup sauce. It wasn't quite ketchup, because it was pretty thin, but there was a hint of honey in it.

Sleeping at night was kind of tough. The heat makes you swollen, I guess. I was pretty sweaty and feeling pretty swollen all over. My fingers and feet seem to be bigger, and my stomach feels uncomfortably big. I feel more conscious about what shape I'm in, but having mono really held me back from staying fit this past semester. I fell asleep dreaming about a tiger jumping in the house and me trapping it in the bathroom. Actually, I dreamt first that it ate my arm, but then the dream played again and I trapped it in the bathroom. I also fell asleep nervous to be in India. Something about here hasn't sit right with me yet. I'm just hesitent all over. Hopefully that will fade before the trip is over.

Waking up, you pretty much always wake up to the sun. I first woke up around 7, but made myself fall back asleep until a phone call came in at 9. Everyday, two maids come and clean the house in the morning. The kitchen, dining room, bathroom and bedrooms are all cleaned with a broom and then mopped. I got me thinking that I haven't cleaned my bathroom in my apartment in so long. But, still its a different sort of clean here. The bathroom here is never free of mildew and the white walls are always giong to have some sort of spots on them. It must be the heat that makes it difficult to clean. Because we're with family right now, my mom has been cleaning our clothes everyday. Its kind of cool to be wearing only two pairs of underwear and one pair of shorts for the past few days. But, tomorrow we're going to my mom's friends house. A driver is going to come pick us up. I don't think that means a big fancy car, but I could be wrong. I read the newspaper today with morning tea. The English is kind of funny to me. Obscure words and embellished phrases are obvious in the writing and I wonder how most people get along reading the news. The fashion and entertainment section was most interesting. It was basically all gossip collumns. This actress had this done, this couple broke up, Paris Hilton something. That kind of surprised me that Paris Hilton makes the newspaper here, but then I looked around at some of the articles and the word "beau" was insterspersed with the funny English. I guess its reasonable and just supports this cosmopolitan subcontinent.

Around 11, my mom, aunt, and I had brunch. I noticed my mom getting tired of listening to someone speak the same way I do. We both complacently say "yes" and let the other person keep talking. I thought she only did it with my grandmother or my aunts, but I'm starting to understand it more.

I forgot my camera last night, so I'm going to take pictures today and put those up tomorrow hopefully. I'm going to go wash my arms and face now. I'm starting to feel itchy. damn mosquitos.