artTranscript for my notebboks:
Time is shooting by, a few days feels like a month! Perhaps because of all the new experiences and adventures, more than I typically have in a week...to start with, I am safe and sound in Jaipur! I think I have been here for 4 days? Everything is still going very well! In the past couple days, I have been going through orientation at the program center. The program center is a very nice, two story house, with a couple classrooms and offices and a kitchen where we get a cooked lunch that we eat there every day. This week, the power has been going out so its been pretty hot in there! Power shortages are definitely one thing that I am getting used to. Waking up at 4am sweating profusely because the fan stops is not unusual.
For bigger and more exciting news, last night was my first night with my host family!!! They are so nice and I know I will love it there! I unfortunately forget their last name, probably because I can't yet pronounce it correctly! They have a really big "house." It is really more of an apartment complex or several town houses, where much of their extended family live as well. In our house it is me, the mom and dad, son, who I'm not sure actually lives there, but has been around recently, and grandma and grandpa downstairs. The grandpa is like 83 but still doing quite well and speaks perfect english! All of my SIT classmates also love their homestay families, so I think everything is working out well!
Today in class we got the silibus for all of our classes, I think there will be quite a workload! My family has had several SIT students and they say I will be very busy. Which is good! During this orientation week, I just keep thinking how happy I am I went with SIT's program. We are increadibly culture sensitive and aim to assimilate and not challenge the standards already present. As a foreigner, I believe this is a good way to go. Also, through our classes we will be learning many things to assist us in our appreciation of India! *sidenote: I currently have a swarm of mosquitos around me in the internet cafe, so I might make this short, or shorter than i wanted it to be!*
Another VERY exciting thing...clothes shopping in Jaipur!! Seriously. I think its for sure number one of my favorite shopping adventures! You see something you like? 5$! you dont see something you want, "we will make for you!" there isnt a "dupata" that matches with an outfit, "we will dye it to match!" you can pretty much design anything and they will make it in two days for mere dollars! its just amazing.
Along with my exciting shopping spree, I also had one of the scariest experiences of my life. That is, the Indian taxi driver. The streets here make no sense what so ever! First off, they drive on the other side of the road. Secondly, the streets can be filled with anything from bicycles to busses to camels. The streets don't make for a very smooth ride. But, better described as entertaining and frightening.
Ok, I havent even begun to talk about everything yet, but I will leave you with a few things I have learned during my first week in India. 1. everyone is as official or unofficial as they tell you they are. I've noticed a lacking of "official" looking buildings. Post Offices and banks are commonly in alleys and side streets. I suppose you just trust they arn't going to run off with your postcards. 2. you can never drink enough water. I'm pretty sure that I've had more to drink in this week than a typical month back home. But, I am also sweating more than I ever had before. 3. this is not New York. you can't assume that the rickshaw drivers know where they are going. As demonstrated by my 45 min "Tour of Jaipur" this afternoon. Luckily, we predetermined the fare so there was no ripping off involved, other than the typical 200% increase for foreigners. 4. no matter how much insect repellant you use you will still get numerous bites! Frustrating. 5. "No," apparently does not mean "no," unless, of course, you say it three times. My host family is pretty good at listening to when I say no, but at some restaurants they never know when to stop giving you food! So I am definitely eating well. All right, my host family is expecting me home soon, so this is all for now! Hopefully I can read my email and update more often because this cafe is very close to my house!
Time is shooting by, a few days feels like a month! Perhaps because of all the new experiences and adventures, more than I typically have in a week...to start with, I am safe and sound in Jaipur! I think I have been here for 4 days? Everything is still going very well! In the past couple days, I have been going through orientation at the program center. The program center is a very nice, two story house, with a couple classrooms and offices and a kitchen where we get a cooked lunch that we eat there every day. This week, the power has been going out so its been pretty hot in there! Power shortages are definitely one thing that I am getting used to. Waking up at 4am sweating profusely because the fan stops is not unusual.
For bigger and more exciting news, last night was my first night with my host family!!! They are so nice and I know I will love it there! I unfortunately forget their last name, probably because I can't yet pronounce it correctly! They have a really big "house." It is really more of an apartment complex or several town houses, where much of their extended family live as well. In our house it is me, the mom and dad, son, who I'm not sure actually lives there, but has been around recently, and grandma and grandpa downstairs. The grandpa is like 83 but still doing quite well and speaks perfect english! All of my SIT classmates also love their homestay families, so I think everything is working out well!
Today in class we got the silibus for all of our classes, I think there will be quite a workload! My family has had several SIT students and they say I will be very busy. Which is good! During this orientation week, I just keep thinking how happy I am I went with SIT's program. We are increadibly culture sensitive and aim to assimilate and not challenge the standards already present. As a foreigner, I believe this is a good way to go. Also, through our classes we will be learning many things to assist us in our appreciation of India! *sidenote: I currently have a swarm of mosquitos around me in the internet cafe, so I might make this short, or shorter than i wanted it to be!*
Another VERY exciting thing...clothes shopping in Jaipur!! Seriously. I think its for sure number one of my favorite shopping adventures! You see something you like? 5$! you dont see something you want, "we will make for you!" there isnt a "dupata" that matches with an outfit, "we will dye it to match!" you can pretty much design anything and they will make it in two days for mere dollars! its just amazing.
Along with my exciting shopping spree, I also had one of the scariest experiences of my life. That is, the Indian taxi driver. The streets here make no sense what so ever! First off, they drive on the other side of the road. Secondly, the streets can be filled with anything from bicycles to busses to camels. The streets don't make for a very smooth ride. But, better described as entertaining and frightening.
Ok, I havent even begun to talk about everything yet, but I will leave you with a few things I have learned during my first week in India. 1. everyone is as official or unofficial as they tell you they are. I've noticed a lacking of "official" looking buildings. Post Offices and banks are commonly in alleys and side streets. I suppose you just trust they arn't going to run off with your postcards. 2. you can never drink enough water. I'm pretty sure that I've had more to drink in this week than a typical month back home. But, I am also sweating more than I ever had before. 3. this is not New York. you can't assume that the rickshaw drivers know where they are going. As demonstrated by my 45 min "Tour of Jaipur" this afternoon. Luckily, we predetermined the fare so there was no ripping off involved, other than the typical 200% increase for foreigners. 4. no matter how much insect repellant you use you will still get numerous bites! Frustrating. 5. "No," apparently does not mean "no," unless, of course, you say it three times. My host family is pretty good at listening to when I say no, but at some restaurants they never know when to stop giving you food! So I am definitely eating well. All right, my host family is expecting me home soon, so this is all for now! Hopefully I can read my email and update more often because this cafe is very close to my house!
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Re: - yeah its pretty cool when its slow we play mario karts and sonic the hedgehog :) and yea... ew..
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