Interview with my Big "Sister"

            Last blog post!!  Which also tells me that I will see you all soon! Today I interviewed my older sister/cousin, and here is our interview:

J What kind of job do you do?  “Right now I am a stay at home mother, I was working earlier as a Equity Analyst, and I was teaching statistics at the college level.”

J What kind of Indian food do you like?  “I like North Indian food a lot, I like chole, rajmah, and I like Indian sweets like kheer and res malai.”

J Do you think India is unique?  “ Yes, India is unique because it has a lot of diversity of culture and every few kilometers dialects change.  India is the biggest democracy.  And yes, it’s very unique!!”

J What are all the countries you have been to?  “I have been to the U.S. and I have been to England and Turkey, China, France, Italy, Greece, Hong Kong, Colombia, Panama, Aruba, the Cayman Islands….  I have been to all of these countries.”

J How are they different from India?  “ Oh!  All of them are very different from India in so many ways.  Each country has its own history, its own culture and a lot of countries are more advanced than India.”

J Is there anything you want to change in India?  “You know, there are the richest people in India and the poorest people in India.  A lot of urbanization has to happen.”

J Do you like any sports?  “ Well, I like watching lawn tennis.  But no, I don’t play any sports.”

J What was the job you were most interested in when you were a kid? “I wanted to be an architect.”

J What’s your favorite food?  “ I like Chinese food.”

J Do you enjoy cooking?  “Yes and no.  I don’t like cooking every day but yes, I enjoy cooking.”

So, that was my interview with my sister who is actually my cousin.  Here in India you call your cousins sisters or brothers.  Wow, I am coming back to America today; time goes by so quickly.  I will be back Saturday India time but Friday for American time.  Well, see you all on Monday YAY! Oh I found a great Indian movie called Chennai Express and it’s really good.  Anyway, see you soon! (You should really try watching Chennai Express)

Tamil Nadu - 2/21- 2/25

Hi!  Guess what?  I will see you all in 6 days!!  Right now, though, I am enjoying Tamil Nadu which is in the eastern part of south India.  We are staying at a resort right next to the Bay of Bengal which is so cool!  It has an infinity pool and a long pool.  Also, my mom went to the spa to do a thing called Dr. Fish.  It is where tiny little fish sort of nibble on your feet and take off the dead skin.  I tried putting my hands in the pool of water with the fish and it tickles!  

We also went to a place  called Kanchipuram which is famous for making silk saris and other silk things and I learned how it is done.   Cocoons:   first, the silkworms make their cocoons.  Then,  people put the cocoons on bamboo frames and drop them into boiling water to preserve the length of the fiber.  The fibers are then sorted and graded before dyeing.  Dyeing: the dyer first dips the yarn into a cauldron of color and then dries the dyed silk in the sun.   Warp and Weft Yarns: Family members prepare this, spinning the silk strands into long pieces of thread.   Weaver's dwelling:  These are simple structures built around a courtyard, and serve as a home as well as a work place. The loom takes up a large portion  of the living area. The skills used in weaving the silk are passed on for generations.  The saris (a type of long dress women wear in India which is wrapped around their body) are extremely durable and are often woven with gold and silk thread along with the silk threads.  Here are some pictures that we took of the weaving process and my mom bargaining with the shop salesman.

Here is the Weavers dwellings. The loom. All that string is the silk.

Here is my Mom bargaining with the salesman.

     

This is one of the silk saris we saw.  It has thousands of crystals on it.

 Here is me and my sister on the beach at the Bay of Bengal.

This is the view on the veranda of our villa.

Orphanage in Chandigarh Feb 18, 2014

Hey, today I went to the administrative office of my orphanage in Chandigarh.  Everyone was happy to see me!  When we went inside it smelled like tea and cinnamon. The chairs in the office were very comfortable and they served us tea and samosas.  The samosas tasted like perfectly cooked potatoes and peas.  I heard glass clanks and the water glasses shaking on the metal plate.  The adoption officer (the one who choose my mom) talked about how I acted when I was little; her voice sounded nice and encouraging.  Everyone ate their samosas fast because they were so good.

Right now we are on the train back to Delhi.  It smells like nothing really but I can smell some spices.  In two days we are going down to South India where my sister came from.  She is from Tamil Nadu, which is on the eastern side of the southern tip of the country.  We are going to visit her orphanage and meet all her friends.  I really like India but I still miss all of you!!!  Can’t wait to see you all!

Visit to Chandigarh: Feb 18 2014

Hi everybody!!!! Today was an exciting day! Today we went to Chandigarh and we went to a place called the Rock Garden. It’s so cool, it’s made of recycled glass and pieces of broken bowls and plates. It is put together in a way that looks like a mosaic.  Also, I had my first… CAMEL RIDE!!!!! It was so much fun!! The camel seemed very tame because the guy leading the camel let go of the reins and I thought the camel was going to run away to the desert along with me, but it didn’t.  When my mom first saw the camel it was standing so perfectly still that she thought it was fake and just for posing.  Here are some pictures of me at the Rock Garden and a video of my camel ride.

This is a video of me on the camel 

This is a picture of me and my sister next to the mosaic rocks

Here's me with my family right next to a waterfall

This is the waterfall we stood right next to

Heres me on the camel

Some things I have observed about India that are different.

Happy Valentines Day!  Well… I already had mine, ha!  Anyway, here in India things are a lot different than in the US, like in the car the steering wheel is on the RIGHT side instead of the left side.  Also, I don’t know if there’s a speed limit or not but as I see it I don’t think there is.  People just walk right into the streets; cars go on different sides of the street even though they are supposed to be on the left side, stray dogs are everywhere, looking for food, sleeping and running around.  Here are some pictures of today… oh wait, here in India it’s RAINING and it feels nice.  Well, take a look at these stray dogs.

I saw this dog on the street in Agra.  

This puppy was in a garden across the river from the Taj Mahal.   We also saw his siblings and mother in the garden.