The Adventures Continue..

So I'm convinced I will never be bored in India. Not even for a minute. So yesterday a few of us had the opportunity to go to Andhra University and meet with the Anthropology Department. We met with the head of the Department and many teachers and were able to share our projects with them. Then they took us to their collection of artifacts and let us take them out and hold them and told us the stories behind some of the more interesting things. I really enjoyed it and they asked us if we would be willing to speak to some of their students on Saturdays starting in September. So we'll see how that goes. Then after that, we went to the church for a bit to study in an air conditioned building. I have never appreciated the cold so much in my life.

Today, we had Telugu class again and that is still difficult but I can count to 20 now and say the days of the week and yes and no and beach and fish...so we're making progress. After that, another girl in our group and I took two of our translators to the Shanti Ashram and found out that they have yoga there in the mornings and in the evenings and that I'd be welcome to practice with them. This was great news for the advancement of my project. Then, on our way back, my favorite translator, Vani, bought us all guavas and I tried mine with chili pepper on it. It's extremely good but very spicy. My mouth was on fire for a good hour afterwards. But so worth it. Vani is so great, she invited me to her cousin's wedding in two weeks so I'm going to see if it would be possible for me to attend.

And before we left, I had braided my hair this morning in two braids in an attempt to contain it in this great humidity. And when I walked in to see our translators, they complimented my hair and then proceeded to redo it...I have to admit it looked a hundred times better when they did it :)

After returning from the ashram, a few of us went to a mosque in the city and were shown around the community center. One of the boys in our group is studying the Muslims in a predominantly Hindu area so we had the privilege of seeing the mosque and all of the grounds. It's a very interesting society because they allow Muslim women to worship in the mosques, which is not allowed in pretty much all other Muslim societies. That place was absolutely beautiful. Also, the ground looked like it was moving with the amount of ants on the ground. They were huge and biting and everywhere. But it was all part of the experience. Everyone was very friendly and they invited us to dine with them this coming Sunday. It was a great experience.

We continued on to drive up the hill overlooking the city and saw these beautiful, huge, white statues of the Hindu god Shiva and his wife on the top of the hill. Then we sat on the hilltop and had some cold maaza, which is a mango drink that I'm obsessed with. So, basically, life is absolutely wonderful. We came home and celebrated our friends birthday with some Indian sweets and cake which were all very interesting. And now, I am fully exhausted and happy and heading to bed. Namaste.