Photos for real!

http://swarthmore.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008393&l=55df6&id=4101276

Let me know if that doesn't work, folks sans facebook. Yay!

Pictures (well, sort of)

They exist in cyber-space! But not on this website, unfortunately. I'll put them on facebook, so those of you without accounts has better join up quick. ;)
Anywho, lots of exciting stuff has been going on, including that I GOT TO DO AERIALS ON FRIDAY!!!!! Yes folks, this lady went upside down lots and has very sore arms today. I'm soooo thrilled. Especially since I MIGHT GET TO TEACH THE CLASS!!!! Because the teacher is leaving for Canada in a week, and who knows, it might work out. Maybe I'll even get paid. But wow, just getting the chance to do fabric, rope, and cloudswing is rocking my socks, even if the ceiling is only 18 feet or so. And after that class I got taken to another one, where a crazy modern (yes, western modern) teacher (this is the Indian Jon Sherman, for those of you in the know) offered to teach me technique twice a week. So of course I accepted... craziness!!! Oh, and I can touch my feet to my head now, proof on facebook. :) So basically, life is awesome. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The wheels on the bus

I really love riding the bus here, for some reason. I shouldn't, because overall it's not the most pleasant experience in the world, but there's just something about it that makes me really happy. There seem to be several breeds of buses here, four of which I take to dance class every day (the Dhakuria minibus, 37A, 5, or E-1: there are dozens of routes, though, and though buses come constantly it can sometimes take as long as 20 minutes before the right one comes). There are mini-buses, which are brown and tiny, regular buses, which are blue and yellow and bigger, and then the ugly buses, which are, well, ugly. I can say that these buses are decorated with paint, have the names of the destinations written on them, are old, bare-bones, rickety, etc., but it doesn't really do them justice. I'll just have to wait until my camera gets here (if...). Other fun details of transportation: it costs around 5 rupees for a 20-ish minute ride on the bus (that's around 10 cents, by the way): there are two types of men who work on the buses, one kind who hang out at the entrances and shout a list of the names of the places on the routes ("dhakuriagolparkbhavanipurrashbiharihowrahparkstreet" etc.) so that the people waiting for the bus know where it goes, and another who take the money: they carry leather pouches with change and have dozens of ten-rupees notes folded between their fingers, and you tell them your destination and where you're coming from (for me it's usually "Bhavanipur, Gol Park theke"), and they give you change and a little paper slip with the fare written on it. You have to get their attention before your stop comes up, which is sometimes hard when you're in a rib-crushingly crowded bus. Usually it's okay, though, and women get first priority for the seats in the front, which is wonderful. There are bars everywhere to hang onto, which is necessary when standing up. Today I took a double-decker bus, which was kind of scary (it looked like it would fall apart any second, but then they all do...), and it took turns really fast, such that a woman actually fell out of her seat into the aisle... she was okay, though, thank goodness.
Buses aren't the only mode of transportation, either: there are auto-rickshaws, which are basically covered motorcycles with seats in the back, people-rickshaws, which I never take, and taxis, which have padded ceilings and little technicolor plastic statues of gods with flashing lights on the dashboards: you also have to pay double what's on the meter, for some unknown reason. And then there's good old walking, always a good option...

I have to admit, it's getting better...

It being me, in this case. For those keeping count, that's illness number 2. Yay for sketchy food and ice being a bad idea!
So in the tradition of talking about silly little things, I thought I'd try my hand at clothing. Mostly, men wear the same thing here as at home, with one exception: really tight pants. I'm still getting used to it. Some of the older guys (this is a Bengali thing, apparently) wear dhotis, which are the pants Ghandi wore. As for the women, it seems that for the most part (there are plenty of exceptions) married women wear saris and unmarried women wear salvar kameez. You can google that (spelling might vary...) if you want to see what it looks like, I figure that's easier than me wasting words. And fun fact: despite the name, there are actually three pieces to this outfit, the third being the dupatta, or scarf worn over the shoulders, which is not optional, as I was (fortunately!) informed very early in my stay. Not wearing a dupatta in public is kind of like wearing a sports bra (and no shirt) in public, I think: sort of okay, but not modest. And since it's still (sort of) winter here (heh heh, the coldest it ever got was probably like 55 or 60 degrees!), everyone wears scarves and shawls. I got a really beautiful peach-colored one with dark yellow embroidery... so pretty! My new favorite color here is orange: it makes up like half my wardrobe. I've also (re?) discovered the joy of scrunchies and hair clips, and have found some really cool/ridiculous earrings. Thankfully, I have a constant shopping buddy in Emma, and since we have tastes on opposite ends of the spectrum, we never fight about anything. This afternoon, we're going to go to Dakshinapan (the coolest mall in the world! it's outdoors... I'll have to take pictures sometime) with some new friends, Josh and Jessica, a young American couple. They are definitely kindred spirits, and it's great having them to hang around with.
Okay, I'm off to find some lunch for my poor wounded stomach, which will be quite difficult, as I've been finding. "Bland," anyone? Yes? No! Apparently that's not part of the food vocabulary...

Raise your hand if you're heard of Shilpa Shetty

Okay, just curious... what are/were the big stories in the media right now wherever you are (assuming you're somewhere with media...)?
And a quick poll...
1. Have you heard of Shilpa Shetty?
2. Did you know that Aishwarya Rai and Abishek Bachchan are getting married? Omguh...
3. Apparently India is set to take over the world, via the Tata corporation and the general cultural and economic superiority of this great nation. Obviously, right?