I've started Hindi class (as evidenced by the title of this blog entry!). Hindi class was really interesting, six out of the 15 of us here decided to take the class (of course two of the students already know Hindi since they are Indian, so decided not to take the class for obvious reasons). It was nice to have such a small class to learn a language in, although Hindi will probably wind up being my most challenging course here. For the first time since I've been here, I was on brain overload from learning too much. The problem could also be that Hindi took place during hours 33-36 of learning time for the week, so it didn't really stand a chance :-) The Hindi instructor was really helpful and is really excited that we are trying to learn Hindi. The challenge of Hindi is that we can't read the written Hindi yet, but they also spell out everything in western characters, and they spell it phonetically (so everything has a slight variation on spelling depending on who you ask). The sounds are so foreign, that I had a hard time getting the words to sound the same as our instructor. By the end of our time together, however, I was comfortable with a few phrases and was even able to use some of my newly earned Hindi on my cab ride to Scion.
Yesterday morning we had our first Macro Economics class, and it was pretty boring and long winded. In between Economics and Hindi, I took some classmates on a tour to the post office (no one else had found it, so this was the second tour I lead to it) to mail off another post card, and the girls and I wound up eating lunch at The New Yorker in King Circle. I attempted, but failed, to order a plate of steamed fresh vegetables that I had enjoyed as part of my Italian Sizzler... they did not understand and it was not worth the argument. Instead, for lunch I had a plate of french fries with an unidentified spice (my guess is Saffron).
Then we had Hindi class. During Hindi class I ventured up to the roof of Welingkar and found my favorite, and most peaceful, spot in Mumbai. From the roof I could see some mountains and the Arabian Sea. I will go back up at some point with my camera and take some shots of Mumbai.
After Hindi, I went on a taxi adventured to Scion Circle to run some errands. This was the most polluted cab ride I've had here yet... a fact my lungs did not appreciate it. However, during my taxi ride I had a very Sound of Music moment... someone was wearing our curtains from home. Granted, our curtains were made from Sari fabric, but it was still pretty humorous to see someone wearing our curtains! Sari fabric is everywhere, and absolutely gorgeous. In fact, I wish I had a house so I knew what color schemes of Saris I should be buying. I will probably have a Sari made before I leave, even if I never wear it, I know it will be a memorable experience and a great Halloween costume if nothing else.
Last night I was not feeling well, so decided to skip out on the social events for the evening (going out to eat, bowl, and bar hop) and was glad for my decision. There is a bit of a battle in the room for power of the AC. It is incredibly humid in the room, I am, therefore, the proponent of the AC. If the AC is on, it dries and cools the room off into a pleasant Oasis. My roommate disagrees. This is factor is part of the reason for my lack of sleep I believe. Last night when I had the room to myself, I kept the AC on and was able to sleep peacefully until 2 am, when the roommate came home and turned the lights on and the AC off. But this means that the lack AC is probably to blame for me being unable to fall asleep. I have offered a compromise and am hoping that by offering to switch beds (I am on the bottom bunk... no one is on the top... but the presence of the top bunk greatly restricts the air flow over my bed), and me sleeping on the freestanding twin will solve at least one of my many problems.
This morning I got up in time to head over to the salon for my head massage. Well, what I thought I had scheduled was a head massage. Instead, I got a full fledged Hair Spa (including a head/neck/shoulder massage), at $30 it was more money than I had anticipated in spending, and also took 1.5 hours instead of the 1/2 hour I thought it would take. But it was very pleasant and my hair finally feels moisturized and it was nice to have my hair blow dried. The place was really busy though, so I think the treatment would have been even more relaxing in a quiet environment (which does not exist here in Mumbai). The only catch was, the minute I walked outside the rain started. Luckily my umbrella is my best friend, but this was the first day since I arrived 2 1/2 weeks ago that I didn't wear my rainboots out. Poor sneakers. Hopefully they will dry out before December.
I am going to "roco" (stop in Hindi) for now, and head off to campus to work on some group projects and prepare for my week of solid classes (only 30 hours this week, not the 36 of last week). The mysterious rash may be trying to challenge me to battle again, that would be unfortunate. My body continues to fall apart, but I am hoping to eventual identify and eliminate (probably impossible, I'm fully aware of this) all the triggers for all my various allergic reactions. I sure am high maintenance when it comes to maintaining my health!
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