Diwali was a wonderful blur of excitement and ceremony overwhelming my senses with smells, tastes, and family living experiences. Honestly things haven't really seemed to adjusted "back to normal" since Diwali yet. Seina's mother andfather have been recovering from Diwali's festivities. Yesterday I was supposed to visit my homestay Mama, but she called in the morning because sadly her Brother had just passed away. Strangely enough, we found out mere minutes later that one of Seina's relatives had also passed away. We don't know if they were related at all, but the morning was spent trying to organize things.
Eventually Seina and I went to Old Delhi to drop off some designs to a wedding card maker. I had my wonderful first experience with the new Delhi metro! Last time I was here the city was an absolute mess with construction for the metro, but now it is all done! It was way cleaner and nicer than the NYC subway system. They also have a "women's only" car. I found this interesting/ great. I consider myself a fairly experienced traveler, and even though I can and have traveled alone in India, I definitely prefer to travel with company here. I feel relatively safe or at least savvy traveling in Delhi, but having a women's only car was nice at least in the sense that it was less crowded and Seina and I were actually able to get a seat. It was also so cheap! All around, I approve and enjoy the metro here. There was even a little "exhibit" of various saris from around India in the station.
When we arrive in Old Delhi, the wedding card shop was right near the station. The wedding industry here is huge, I guess it is really huge in the U.S as well, but it just seems to have a much bigger presence here. We collectively spent about five hours in these stores, detailing the stock of paper, the color, the boarder, what kind of foiling to use, the "butter paper" (transparent paper), among other things. It was actually quite interesting. Seina and I were joking that I am totally going to have an Indian wedding because I was enjoying looking at all the designs so much...we we joking...but it is kinda true. Whoever I decide to marry will just have to be okay with an eclectic mix of designs and traditions, heavily influenced by India, and me in an amazing Sari with henna from head to toe.
In between this wedding planning, we went to eat in Old Delhi. I strangely hardly spent any time at all in Old Delhi last time I was here, but it is a whole different world from New Delhi, especially South New Delhi which is where I spent the vast majority of my time. It is jammed back with people in rickshaws (the old style ones with men biking other people around), old stores, street food, strange smells, sprinkled with some beautiful old architecture, and full of tradition.
Seina took me to this amazing Muslim restaurant. In general this has been an amazing culinary trip. Just being with Seina and her family of foodies I have pretty much eaten entirely new things every day. I thought I was pretty well versed in Indian cuisine, but there is a whole new world of various foods I am being introduced to and loving it. Seina and I shared a Mutton Qorma which was an explosion of flavor, a slightly tomato-y base with a lot of oil but surprisingly light tasting. We also had some very tender kebabs, and some interesting breads. One was like a really thin and huge chapati (tortilla type bread), and the other was a thicker slightly sweet bread that had the consistency of like a dense thick crepe. Overall it was really amazing. I never really drink soda in the US, but here in India I really crave it. The sweet, cold and carbonation of the sodas here really cut through the fatty salty foods. Also, the soda just seems to taste different here. The carbonation bubbles feel smaller? and instead of inducing large burps just seem to tickle my tongue.
Afterwards we went to this great paan shop.
Paan is always an experience, but this one in particular was so huge and had so many ingredients. There are different kinds, but I usually get sweet Paan. It is like an Indian breath-mint...of like extreme awesomeness. This one was piled on with a plethora of things that I honestly didn't know like...any of them. Then this kaleidoscope of red, green, brown, sliver, gold, and god knows what else is wrapped up and you are expected to shove it all in your mouth. I sadly was a failure and needed three whole bites with at least 15 minutes of chewing to finish this baby. But it left me smiling and feeling refreshed, as well as entertained trying to get the bits of whatever out of the crevasses of my mouth.
Seina and I have planned a trip to Goa, Kerela, and Chennai for the end of November and early December, but we still need to finalize the plans. I have also decided I want to go to Dharmsala, the place in the north I missed out on last time. Fortunately Seina's family has a house nearby and one of her drivers LOVES driving to the mountains, so I think I will get my own driver all the way to Dharmsala and back! If not, I will take the 12 hour bus ride adventure back into the mountains. In other exciting news, my friend from UWC, Brighton, is apparently in India, and due to the magic of facebook found that I am also here. We will be meeting up in Delhi this weekend. Tomorrow I have my first experience with the Indian hospital system. I am totally fine, or at least I think so, that is why I am going. Health care is so ridiculous in the US, I decided since I am here it would be a good idea for me to get a check up. I will be getting all this, for about $80 here. I will be sure to update about that.
Otherwise, I have spent most of my time reading other blogs, lounging around the house, playing with the dog (Bailey), and in general just kicking back "living" in Delhi once again.
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