One Month In

I feel that the last blog was a little lacking. There are a few things that were worth noting that were left out, so consider this posting a continuation.

I got my first 'real' Indian busride out of the way. We caught a local bus from Pushkar to Jaipur (a 3 hour ride). Basically there are old, rickety buses parked in a lot with guys yelling out the destination from the driver's seat. Everyone packs into the bus like sardines, then when there's no more room to stand, the bus heads out. Luckily I got a seat, but you gotta make it look like you're taking up the whole seat. Otherwise, a seat meant for one will soon be occupied by two, which can also include an extra on a lap. It seems to be perfectly normal for men to sit on laps. There's no air, just the smell of sweaty people and countryside litter. At one point, the bus literally was turned off and switched into neutral to help ease the vehicle down a steep, winding hill. I didn't look out the window because I knew there was a big drop and no guardrails. Anyways, I survived, and only paid 90 Rupees (1.80US).


I thought of another reason I really enjoyed Pushkar- no horns. Car horns, bike horns, and rickshaw horns are constant in Jaipur. They are used to signal caution because they are coming. Well, in a city of over 3 million people, it gets loud. Sometimes I just want to yell out, “I see you!” Today, some guy in a car wasn't paying attention and almost ran into me and two friends. I guess it was a natural reaction for me to point and signal my frustration because Carly called me on it without my noticing.

Onto the clothing- it's amazing! I get overstimulated walking into a shop and just seeing all the colorful fabrics. One problem: I'm not that colorful or flashy. I've had a bit of a tough time finding my staple black, gray, brown, and green. I'm trying to branch out, but want to buy things I'll wear back in the States. The standard drill is to go in, pick out the fabrics, then take them to a tailor. Instead of doing a full-on Indian suit, I just like to get enough fabric for a corta (like a tunic with slits, but I can turn it into a dress later). So far, I've had about 4 made. With the fabric and tailoring, it costs around $5.00US. This is trouble. I'm getting a skirt made tomorrow. I think the tailor thinks I'm a little odd for not getting pants made (which look like genie pants). I've been living in leggings. I guess the men here aren't used to seeing legs (bare stomachs are perfectly fine), so I try to wear longer ones.

The rest of the night is dedicated to Hindi, which will last about 15 minutes. Then I'm checking out the ridiculous amount of bhangra music I just bought.

p.s. 'hi' mom. 'hi' dad.