vednesday adwentures

Yesterday we moved back to the Gem Inn and into the rooms that we will have permanently. I finally got to unpack my suitcase! My new room has a nicer view from the windows than my original room had, although the framed art, Egyptian Pharohs, just doesn't compare to my old ladies and camel picture. The new room also has a giant bed with a mattress that drastically redefines my idea of "firm." Taking a shower in my new bathroom, my eyes landed at a curious mark on the wall just at eye level. It only took me a moment to realize that the perfectly-shaped little dot was a stick-on bindi that the previous guest in this room, presumably an Indian woman, had removed and stuck to the wall of the shower for safekeeping. Only in India, eh?

I was beginning to regret the lack of exploring I've done around Jaipur thus far, having been carted back and forth between school and the inn every day without making too many stops for excursions. I felt a little reassured, however, when one of our teachers urged us to "awoid adwenturing" for at least a few days because of the heat. At 47 degrees Celcius (really hot), Jaipur has been experiencing a record-breaking heatwave that even the locals won't venture out in.

I got tired of that excuse pretty quickly though...

So after class today, in the company of my fellow student, Jennie, I explored M1 Road, a popular shopping area in the city. Everything in India is to a much smaller scale than it would be in the USA. This is partially due to the fact that they have 3 times the population in one third of the space and partially due to America's incurable "bigger is better" paradigm. Either way, the cool little book store where we started our shopping today could really only be called a book shelf by American standards, but it was a treasure-trove nonetheless.


From there, we visited Himalaya (pronounced he-MAH-la-ya) an Ayurvedic product store. At the end of a day in Jaipur, one's sweat, combined with dusty air and regular sunscreen applications leaves one's face badly in need of washing, so I purchased a tube of Ayurvedic face mud to attempt some deep-cleaning. For your entertainment, I offer you this picture of my first endeavor with Ayurvedic remedies:
Shopping done, I purchased a much-needed guava milkshake and hailed a rickshaw. A little haggling, a little of the rickshaw driver confessing his love for me, and a little high-speed driving got me back to the Gem just in time to procrastinate on my studying.