Summer already? Yes, that's right. While I hear that there was snow last week in Seattle, I am diving in to the summer heat. With temperatures of 35/21 listed for today and no precipitation noted for any of the major cities in India according to today's paper, it is safe to assume that India, at least the southern part of India, is entering in to the brutally hot summer. For those of you unfamiliar with the Celsius scale, it's currently in the high 80s during the day, and the mid 70s at night. "How wonderful!" you may exclaim. Well, I suppose it is. Right now, it is bearable. I hear it will get significantly warmer and my brain and body do not really want to speculate as to what that might mean. All I know for sure is the fans in my room will only be off when current is unavailable.
In other news, my salwars are back from the tailor! I would upload pictures, but the upload speed is ridiculously slow, so when I have more time, I will try to upload more photos. I feel so much more "Indian" now! Actually.. I feel more professional. Although my American garb is nice, I do not feel comfortable in it here, especially around men that are not used to seeing so much exposed female skin. (Hello, it's called a tshirt...) However, I am certainly not going to complain about my new dress because I rather enjoy wearing bright clothing and will enjoy every moment that I am able to do so while I am here. I have a feeling I will be unable to be as free when I head back to the states.
Also, after three weeks of avoiding the scooter, I spent about 20 minutes driving it by myself. That was about all my nerves could handle. Seriously, I'm only going around on the neighborhood streets. I may have practiced longer, but the street that I was going to go on was in use by a herd of cattle. I doubt that weaving in and out of cows would have improved my confidence, especially with a red vehicle. I must say, it is significantly easier to drive one of those without another passenger on the back. An extra 150 pounds really makes a difference.
I should get back to preparing for my classes. I feel lazy because whenever I have an unexpected cancellation all I want to do is go into my room and sleep, or get caught up on things totally unrelated to classes, but I know I should be using my time more productively.
In other news, my salwars are back from the tailor! I would upload pictures, but the upload speed is ridiculously slow, so when I have more time, I will try to upload more photos. I feel so much more "Indian" now! Actually.. I feel more professional. Although my American garb is nice, I do not feel comfortable in it here, especially around men that are not used to seeing so much exposed female skin. (Hello, it's called a tshirt...) However, I am certainly not going to complain about my new dress because I rather enjoy wearing bright clothing and will enjoy every moment that I am able to do so while I am here. I have a feeling I will be unable to be as free when I head back to the states.
Also, after three weeks of avoiding the scooter, I spent about 20 minutes driving it by myself. That was about all my nerves could handle. Seriously, I'm only going around on the neighborhood streets. I may have practiced longer, but the street that I was going to go on was in use by a herd of cattle. I doubt that weaving in and out of cows would have improved my confidence, especially with a red vehicle. I must say, it is significantly easier to drive one of those without another passenger on the back. An extra 150 pounds really makes a difference.
I should get back to preparing for my classes. I feel lazy because whenever I have an unexpected cancellation all I want to do is go into my room and sleep, or get caught up on things totally unrelated to classes, but I know I should be using my time more productively.
