Delhi Life

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This will be the first of many dinner photos. One of the blessings of the exchange rate is that we can go out to eat quite a bit. This is a restaurant called Santorini in Pria - the shopping center near the University. My two companions are Leslie, a fellow American, and Eiad, from Syria.

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Well, August is pulling to an end and I can finally say that I have established some kind of routine here in the East. My classes start everyday around 10am, so I usually get up around 8am and see if anyone from home is online since it’s around 9:30pm then back home. I don’t know exactly when they start serving breakfast in the mess, but I know it’s always ready when I’m down there around 9:00am. Breakfast is the real wild card meal here, so I never know what to expect. The mess has served everything from eggs and white bread, to porridge, to chapattis (Indian flat bread) with hot pickle, chow-mein, or bean sprouts. I usually opt for the always present boiled egg option and keep some fruit in my room. I also trek down to the mess for the cup of hot milk which I can use to make instant coffee in the morning.

Another dinner photo. This place is called Tamura and isnt too far from the university. This will be the place to soothe our sushi cravings and give some change of scenery with the paper screens and lanterns. Thats leslie again on the right, and the two Austrian girls in back.

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After breakfast, and maybe an online chat with someone back home, I check the New York Times online for the days headlines then grab my stuff and head to class. I keep my bike parked outside the hostel, so I just unlock it then head off on the 5-10min ride to class. It’s mostly uphill on the way there, which can be a rude awakening, but is nice on the way back.

Classes normally run from around 10am to 1pm with a break for chai at one of the canteens. By 1pm we are all ready for lunch and choose from one of the numerous canteens on campus for lunch. They all serve pretty similar food, but some have more vegetables, workers who speak better english, or put the food out so you can see it rather than just a menu. A typical lunch here could be chapatti (wheat flat bread) or rice with dal (lentils) and a side of okra or mixed vegetables. There is one canteen on campus that serves a "salad" which is a plate of raw, sliced veggies, and I always enjoy that option when we go over there. The middle of the day is very hot, and not conducive to eating a lot, so lunch is usually pretty light.

No matter how I am feeling, a few hours in an air conditioned coffee shop can pretty well fix it with the proper food therapy. This is my idea of a pick me up. Its mango soup with lychees and chocolate ice cream, black current sparkling water, and a good cappacino.

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In the afternoon, there always seems to be something that needs to be done. We can go take a nap, shower again, go to a museum, go shopping, go for coffee, etc. Dinner doesn't’ usually occur until 8pm at the earliest, so there is plenty of time in the afternoons to relax or work. Dinner had many of the same choices as lunch, though it is usually a slightly larger meal. We also go out to eat quite often since there are many restaurants nearby that are reasonable priced and something different.

The evenings are usually spent socializing one way or the other. If we go out for dinner around 8pm, by the time we are done eating and back at the University it’s past 10pm. The most popular hangout on campus is Gangha Dhaba. You can have chai, coffee, a banana smoothie or even your dinner while sitting at tables or on rocks talking with friends. There are no (or very few lights) depending where you are there, so finding your friends can often be the hard part. The weather is still humid at night, but much cooler, so it’s a tempting time of day to be out and about.

Flowers are a common offering at Hindu temples, though they are usually strings of orange marigolds. Here we were at a Muslim mosque and the flower variety was pink and red roses, also on strings though.

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The rest of this entry I am just going to use as a photo diary of random activities that have been occupying my life for the past month. So, nothing too exciting here, just a glimpse of my everyday life for now.