First Day of School!!

Monday August 23, 2010

inside a rickshaw--picture a 3 wheeled, open-air taxi

Today is the first day of classes and I figured I’d blog about my weekend before the academics take over. I began Hindi class at 8:45 this morning. The script and sounds escape me; I will tackle this challenge on top of 4 other classes (plus Marathi language as an elective!) and an internship, so I should seize my last bit of free time to update you.

First a bit of commentary on Pune Orientation. We were assigned “buddies” from Fergusson College to show us around campus and the city in general. Through rickshaw tours, we went to many places of interest and emergency procedure meeting places. Ever since the German bakery bombing last February. Alliance has taken more precautions and the local Police insist on registering visitors. We stopped by University of Pune, known as the ‘Oxford of the East’ and FABINDIA, the largest private platform for products (read: CLOTHES!) that are made from traditional techniques, skills, and hand-based processes. We didn’t have time to buy anything, but it was great to drool a bit over the exotic colors and fabrics. We stopped at the Dagdushet Halwai Ganapati Mandir, a 1893 temple for the Hindu God Ganesh. Ganesh (the elephant one) is one of my favorite Gods and very much loved in Pune. THEN we went to Mandai, an incredible market with over 520 stalls of fruits and vegetables. Always a foodie, I was pretty much in ecstasy and purchased some incredible custard apples, guava, a coconut for drinking, and some ridiculously good pistachio mastani (basically ice cream with flavored milk over it served with a straw AND a spoon).

In front of Pune's fire station for Dad and Danny

My buddy is wonderful. Her name is Aditi and she is an almost 20 year-old Pune native. She is a psychology major, very studious, sweet, and bubby. I really enjoyed her company and look forward to getting to know her better. We’ve made plans for an American spaghetti cooking session and some scarf-buying. She also took us to Marz-O-Rin, a fast food establishment with great mango juice and balcony seating. Then we visited the Siki temple, Gurudwara Guru Nanak Darbar. It was stunning and I enjoyed following tradition by washing the feet and hands, covering my head, and accepting the offering of Indian confectionaries after praying.

The Market!!

Another foodie note: I had my first REAL(non-US) dosa and it was marvelous. I love dosas; this one was a thin, crisp pancake filled with delicious potato and served with a chutney and sweet sauce. The size of it was ridiculous! We had vanilla ice cream with mango syrup and mango for dessert. I could get used to this.

A lazy Sunday morning breakfast at the mess hall and chai with Swapna preluded a long day of shopping on Laxmi road, famous for saris and linens. I bought quite a few things, enjoying the care and active pursuit of Indian salesman for the deal. They also tailored the salwar kameez I purchased to my arm circumference and hip/chest measurements. What service! I was proud to wear some Indian clothes to the first day of class with my Indian professors.

Guava!