This was taken from the balcony in my host family's house. Their neighbor was a candidate in the municipal court elections, so there were a lot of his supporters gathered downstairs. "Our neighbor is running," Meenakshiji said, "but we don't vote him. [laughs, lowers voice] Because he is uneducated." Also he is for the BJP, which I have gathered through leading questions (I had to know!) my host family does not support.
The sandwich was an amazing, amazing brie & tomato & basil on baguette sandwich from Anokhi Cafe. I discovered these one day when I was really hungry as I was having trouble eating my host fam's food, and it was just what I needed. I don't usually love tomatoes but they were so sweet and flavorful and awesome; the brie was perfect and even the tossed greens and vinaigrette were amazing. Basically if you haven't been on this program with me eating what I've been eating you can't imagine how glorious it was. Cheese is so rare here to begin with, much less cheese of a specific type, which actually tastes the way it is supposed to. And even just good bread is hard to find. And vegetables are usually so overcooked and smothered in seasoning...it was great to have a simply assembled sandwich with the natural flavors of everything coming together beautifully. Ahh. I took this photo after the 3 hour ordeal of getting my package in Jaipur. Anokhi is a fancy boutique here (selling clothing produced under "unusually ethical conditions" as the Lonely Planet says) that basically sells upscale/glorified versions of things normal people wear; block printed kurtas, dupattas, quilted jackets, etc. The cafe is very well priced for what you get though; this sandwich & salad was under $2. And it's a really lovely atmosphere. Rekhaji's son designed/decorated it.
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