Monday, September 30, 2002

First Day of Class
This morning was the first day of class. Each morning we get a wake-up call (or at least that's what Anju and I think of it, considering neither of us brought an alarm clock) by the Chai Tea Man at 7:30am. He gives us our cup of chai, and this is a nice little luxury that I'm starting to love. Drinking chai in bed. hehe. At the same time, M W F there will be the dhobi coming to ask if we have any clothes to be washed. Each item is 12 rupees, with smaller items being 8 Rs. As opposed to the states, pretty much every time you wear an article of clothing you have to wash it, because it gets drenched in sweat. Though Pune is on the other side of the mountains from Bombay it still gets quite hot here, and a bit humid (though not as much as Bombay).
This morning we ate breakfast at 8am, which consists of some kind of Indian breakfast food, along with chai, and white bread spread with either lots of butter or jelly (think sugar with red food coloring). At 8:30am we met in the lobby and went as a group to class. Just so the first day wouldn't be so overwhelming. We take Rickshaws. Little cars with three wheels. With three people absolutely smooshed (even with three tiny girls) in the back. they're open air on the sides, not doors or bars, so you sorta have to be careful not to fall out or have anything sticking out of the sides, cuz you pass within a centimeter of the other cars and motorcycles. Whenever there is too much traffic and we stop beggers come up and try to get money from you.
Deccan College
So we ride rickshaws for about 25 minutes down this strange route (I would have no idea where to go) to Deccan College. We have one tiny room, only a bit larger than a pierce 9x11' room. in which we each have a plastic chair and clipboards for desks. the windows are open and it's nice to hear the birds and sounds from outside. it's also nice for a breeze because we don't have air conditioning.luckilywe do have a fan. First is beginning Hindi, from9:30-10:15am. It was a great first day, and I reallylike the professor. I felt like wehad a great start. Then we have a 15 minute break and then we have our State and Society in Contemporary India class from10:30-12:30am. More on this later. I have to get going!

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