Chapter 600 of 1100000

Journal 3

6/22/2008

It has been an eventful past couple of days. I had to work on Saturday, but I was only there for about 6 hours, so it wasn’t terrible. Then I got a call from my other AIESEC friends here in India. There is a group of about 7 or 8 of us who hang out on Wednesday nights (trainee dinner night) and then we will probably start hanging out every Saturday night and then again on Sunday during the day. It is an extremely diverse group of people. Besides my roommate Smit, who I am probably the closest with, I’ve also become good friends with a German (Timur), Marie (Japanese), Eve (Dutch), Mike (British), and then three girls from Canada (but they were out of town this weekend, so I can’t remember there names). They are a really fun group of people to hang out with. They have taught me several things, but most importantly, how to bargain with the rickshaw drivers, a skill that will be important when I head into the Pink City to buy some stuff there.

Last night (Saturday, 6/21), the group I just mentioned above went to a 5-Star hotel called Hotel Clarks Amer. I’m not sure if there is a link online, but it was a really incredible place. We sat outside and listened to a mix of typical Rajasthani (the state that Jaipur is located in) music and then some American rock and roll hits (Seal-Kiss by a Rose, Al Greene – Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone, Kenny Rodgers). It was a ton of fun, we danced with all of the local people up on this big stage. The event was to recognize Bajrang Lal Suthar, an artist who restricted to a wheel chair and can only move two fingers, which he uses to do miniature paintings. I was not able to personally see them, but everyone said they were incredible. I also met the lead singer of the main band from that night’s performance, Aditya. I started to talking to him outside of the hotel after the show was over and they were heading out. He wanted me to put his number in my phone so I could call him about future shows and getting in for free. Apparently he is a pretty big artist here in the Rajasthan region. That was also pretty cool. Scott, if your reading this, I learned how to do that from your parents. Maybe some day, I’ll know more people than the Ryans. J The event was in the paper today (6/22/08), so I cut it out and will bring it home. It was a fun night. Rickshaw ride home was pretty scary though because after the AIESEC-ers got off at their house, I was on it by myself and just had a vague idea of how to get home.

I’m starting to recognize a common theme in my journal. I’m getting lost a lot. And it is scary. But every time, it works out. Last night, my rickshaw driver didn’t speak a word of English except for hello and goodbye. All the shops were closed and there were no lights in the street, so it was hard for me to recognize the landmarks that I have become more familiar with. Finally started to recognize some key points and made it back. I usually have a pretty good sense of direction, but things are a lot different over here and the roads are not like a grid like they are at home. There are not any street signs either, so that sort of makes a difference.

Today, Sunday, my only day off, the trainees that I was with last night called me and asked me to come to the pool with them. It worked out really well because I was getting ready to go see the Pink City by myself right as they called. Ended up being another beautiful hotel (I’ll be sure to note which hotel is which in the pictures) and we just had to pay 150 rupees (about $4) to swim in the pool. It was really peaceful and nice to get away from all of the craziness in the city. It feels like you are in a resort on a private island because you can’t hear any of the honking and they are birds everyone. They actually have 3 or 4 peacocks running around the hotel grounds! Did anyone know that peacocks can fly? I heard this crazy noise coming from up above me and looked up and there was this huge peacock up in the tree! I was shocked! We will probably go to this hotel every Sunday and relax. It is basically therapy for the non-stop and noisy lifestyle in Jaipur. I did get bit by some fire ants or something though today. I had this really painful “pinching” feeling on the bottom of my foot, so I looked down and there were literally a couple hundred ants underneath my foot. Still not really sure what happened, but it was really painful. Pain went away after I was in the pool for about an hour. That was a relief.

Smit also showed me how to use the washer today. Having a washer over here is definitely a luxury, most people do not have one. I will have to dry my clothes the old-fashioned way, on a hang line, but that isn’t so bad.

That was my weekend. It was good to have a day off today and catch up on some sleep. You appreciate the weekends much more when you actually “work” during the week.

Hope everyone is doing well!