copy/pasted What I Did On My Weekend

more in-depth description to follow?

also, there is a job site commercial here that has what sounds like the pepto bismol jingle if it were frightening, and it doesn't make much sense. the caves were very cool and i have gained leg muscle. the train was also fine although non-indians in sleeper class is such an oddity that we gained a crowd in whatever compartment we sat in. and having an unconfirmed ticket just means that you might not have a seat, but most people will be very pushy and also take advantage of confusion? perhaps. and the hotel was good, much nicer than i expected for $12 a night for three people. they also made good eggs. kind of got ripped off on transportation though, because for some reason we did not haggle. renting a car for the day was 1500Rs ($30) on the first day and 900Rs ($18) on the second. still the best way to get around, and they took us to fairly nice places, like weaving schools and bidri makers, at which to spend money on traditional aurangabadi things. oh, went to the mini-taj mahal in town and had my sneakers stolen, so now i have some new flip-flops. apparently there was a sign that said "at own risk" but i did not see it. not too big a deal. there's a cobbler on campus that i've been meaning to visit, he makes very nice sandals for $4 (and i think dress shoes for $6-8).

I just remembered which part was cut out of the Indian version of Slumdog Millionaire (if there is only one). We watched it on a bus ride and I groaned a little internally because I don't like it that much, I've seen it way too many times, etc., but then it started in the middle of the movie and kept jumping around after the next scene had already started, which kept me on literal, tangible, very real tenterhooks. So tentative hypothesis: it's the same exact movie, with the same chapters, but they eliminated the one where they steal shoes outside the Taj and basically everything from that car, and the police start beating him, and the nice American lady shows him real American hospitality. Actually, I'm pretty sure they also removed the short torture sequence from the beginning. And then, since they had cut out the whole starting sequence to the movie, I guess they just pieced the rest of it together in a way that makes no sense, so it's hard to pinpoint any specific thing that's missing. The movie actually ends about forty minutes before it's over, and then it shows earlier questions and other stuff no one actually cares about, although the ending is obvious, because it's totally predestined.

Either that or Madhuri just has the weirdest fucking version of Slumdog Millionaire. Maybe equally likely.

I should really start a traditional journal since there's a lot to remember over the course of a week, but that probably won't happen. I just feel a little silly with a solid-state record, writing away in plain view of anyone who happens by. I am full of secrets.

So Sunday I arrived, went on a walking tour, began hurting my feet, couldn't really think, etc. It kind of sucked a lot. I also kept retching just in the middle of doing other things, like eating yogurt. Monday was a little better, but still mostly just a yogurt/roti/rice kind of day food-wise. Borrowed some shoes so that I could walk, and that basically made the whole day way better. CIEE stuff, whatever--Tuesday and Wednesday were kind of the same. On Wednesday (I think?) some people discovered how to take hot showers (very complicated, hot water knob + heater knob + time), so I haven't taken a cold one since.

We got some kurtas and salwars and scarves last week, too, and I bought a skirt at the Shilparamam fair/bazaar/craft show/whatever that I actually super enjoy the sight of. I am on my way to becoming a fashion plate. This is totally false, but what if it weren't?.. think about it.. also went to the mall a couple days ago with Ming, to get some flip-flops, and that was an interesting Western experience. Played some Bourne game which kind of sucked, mostly because of the camera, and we all kind of sucked at it too.

Re: toilets. Have only used Asian toilet once, and I brought toilet paper. Wasn't that bad except I can't picture doing it without taking off my pants. Toilet paper is also not guaranteed by any means, but my nose has also been a little overactive so carrying around a roll of toilet paper everywhere I go doesn't seem that weird. Just rip off a piece in the middle of class and evacuate my nasal cavity, not even a problem. Anyway, toilet paper is way better than the usual way, which is the spigot/small bucket? combo, with finger accompaniment. Don't really want to do that more than once. And the general toilet form + prevalence of diarrhea just seems like bad news.

The only reason I wanted to update this was to say that I had a super delicious dessert last night. The desserts at lunch are pretty hit/miss, because it's usually a marginally dense doughnut soaked in syrup, or a weird kind of sweetened puffed vegetable ball (this is what it looked like, I have no idea what it was--kind of like a Froot Loops ball if you looked at it closely, but the flavor was basically just sugar + a little nutty), and it's just too sweet for the rest of the meal. Lunch always has some kind of fruit, though, usually guava or papaya, and both of those are pretty much delicious.

HOWEVER the dinner desserts are fantastic. It's usually just ice cream, but the flavors are usually butterscotch (this tastes like something else, I can't think of the exact thing though--every time I start getting there the scotch stands out), tutti-frutti, or vanilla. Once they served vanilla over this spiced carrot slaw stuff and it was kind of like a carrot cake. Last night, though, there was this weird warm pudding-like dish that tasted kind of coconutty (and looked kind of like a steamed coconut pudding with nuts) and was basically all sorts of tasty. I looked up Indian desserts today and the thing it most resembles is chana dal payasam, so it might be that. The recipe varies a lot and seems to be more the form than the ingredients, but it was pretty fly for a greyish soupy thing.

Oh. There are steamed corn vendors pretty much everywhere. Hot buttery steamed corn, fresh in cup!! It comes in a lot of flavors, and Masala's apparently pretty good. Ming and I shared a tiny cup at the mall, mostly to try, in flavor: Chinese. It tasted like corn, plus lemon juice and Spice. We also went to McDonald's, mostly because it's McDonald's, and the menu looks a lot more appetizing here. The Chicken Maharaja Mac is pretty good (the sauce is the only interesting part, otherwise it's a chicken patty with cheese), but the Veggie Pizza McPuff is a little vomitorious. Totino's are better. I don't know why it seemed so bad, I think a lot of it was the acidity of the sauce, but yeah it was a little like bile. You can get Shake Shake Fries (possibly not TM), which are fries + paper bag + spice packet, and those are pretty good; the fries are the same. That's all I tried. Oh, and ketchup here is very different, but it's hard to say how. Sweeter but with more vinegar? Spice? Who can say... truly.