Just lit some incense with my mom; leaving for the airport in a few minutes.
When you hear from me next I'll be in Indiaaa! Finally fulfilling the title of this blog. =P
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Reading Materials
Books I am packing:
Maharanis by Lucy Moore (thanks Mom!) - nonfiction, this book has a lot about the late Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur in it
Siddhartha von Herman Hesse
Upani
La Vagabonde par Colette (thanks Dad!)
- Oxford English-Hindi and Hindi-English dictionaries
- Berlitz French pocket dictionary
- Lilliput German-English dictionary
(Whenever I live in a place for an extended period of time I need to take some dictionaries. I feel like I'm missing an appendage if I don't. Especially when I'm studying a new language and learning new vocab, I find myself thinking, "do I know how to say that in German? French? Spanish?" And if I don't, I like being able to look it up.)
I'll probably also bring my U of M Hindi textbook, and if I can find it, my P. Lal translation of the Bhagavad Gita.
I'm also packing some American magazines in case my internship involves girls who might be interested in them.
This list will most likely be added to later =)
Edit: Also bringing Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore.
Maharanis by Lucy Moore (thanks Mom!) - nonfiction, this book has a lot about the late Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur in it
Siddhartha von Herman Hesse
Upani
La Vagabonde par Colette (thanks Dad!)
- Oxford English-Hindi and Hindi-English dictionaries
- Berlitz French pocket dictionary
- Lilliput German-English dictionary
(Whenever I live in a place for an extended period of time I need to take some dictionaries. I feel like I'm missing an appendage if I don't. Especially when I'm studying a new language and learning new vocab, I find myself thinking, "do I know how to say that in German? French? Spanish?" And if I don't, I like being able to look it up.)
I'll probably also bring my U of M Hindi textbook, and if I can find it, my P. Lal translation of the Bhagavad Gita.
I'm also packing some American magazines in case my internship involves girls who might be interested in them.
This list will most likely be added to later =)
Edit: Also bringing Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Chicago, IL, USA Goodbyes
Frivolous things I want to do before leaving:
-eat a Chicago style hot dog (I'm thinking Wiener's Circle)
-eat a hamburger (I'm thinking either a cheeseburger or one of Blackie's olive burgers)
-listen to the local hip hop radio station
-go to the beach
-see Kaminey (Bollywood film, came out on the 14th and is being hailed by some critics as the best film of the year so far) so I can have something current and pop-culture-y to discuss
-have funnel cake
I will probably edit this entry to add more later...I haven't had dinner yet so mostly I'm thinking about food!
Edit: I have changed up the HindiTunes playlist a bit, removing some and adding some songs. The playlist now includes some Rajasthani, English and Punjabi music as well.
-eat a Chicago style hot dog (I'm thinking Wiener's Circle)
-eat a hamburger (I'm thinking either a cheeseburger or one of Blackie's olive burgers)
-listen to the local hip hop radio station
-go to the beach
-see Kaminey (Bollywood film, came out on the 14th and is being hailed by some critics as the best film of the year so far) so I can have something current and pop-culture-y to discuss
-have funnel cake
I will probably edit this entry to add more later...I haven't had dinner yet so mostly I'm thinking about food!
Edit: I have changed up the HindiTunes playlist a bit, removing some and adding some songs. The playlist now includes some Rajasthani, English and Punjabi music as well.
=)
I have much good news to report!
1. I have finished reading the MSID packet
2. I have procured a pair of wide-leg khakis, and a cute collared tunic in summer cotton
and most excitingly.................
3. I got an email from MSID telling me with whom and where I will live! (For the first half of the program anyway.) A senior from the U of M and I will have the same host mother and father, who live in an apartment near the temple to Ganesha on Moti Doongri (Hill of Pearls). In this video you can start to see the hill/temple around 0:12. Anyway I'm taking this as an excellent sign; Ganesha is always prayed to first, especially when beginning a journey. He is known as the Lord of Obstacles (removing them or placing them in people's paths when they need to slow down) as well as the god of intelligence and wisdom. If starting my study abroad experience near one of his temples isn't an auspicious sign, I don't know what is ^-^.
I have begun packing; now I have only to finish that, pick up gifts for my host parents, and depart...
(well, and intensively study Hindi...that's the one goal I'm really lagging behind on. If only I could find all my old notes!)
1. I have finished reading the MSID packet
2. I have procured a pair of wide-leg khakis, and a cute collared tunic in summer cotton
and most excitingly.................
3. I got an email from MSID telling me with whom and where I will live! (For the first half of the program anyway.) A senior from the U of M and I will have the same host mother and father, who live in an apartment near the temple to Ganesha on Moti Doongri (Hill of Pearls). In this video you can start to see the hill/temple around 0:12. Anyway I'm taking this as an excellent sign; Ganesha is always prayed to first, especially when beginning a journey. He is known as the Lord of Obstacles (removing them or placing them in people's paths when they need to slow down) as well as the god of intelligence and wisdom. If starting my study abroad experience near one of his temples isn't an auspicious sign, I don't know what is ^-^.
I have begun packing; now I have only to finish that, pick up gifts for my host parents, and depart...
(well, and intensively study Hindi...that's the one goal I'm really lagging behind on. If only I could find all my old notes!)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Success! सफलता !
Just returned from many many hours in the center of the city, and am pleased to report that I have procured:
1 gray-khaki linen pleated skirt (over the knee o' course)
1 black cotton skirt -- quite voluminous and with white embroidery that vaguely evokes lotuses on the hem
1 pair of slightly platform flip flops, as the ones I have are worn down and hard. They feel like walking on pillows, ahh.
1 luggage tag which has "Upgrade Me!" embroidered on it...we'll see if it works :P
1 copy of Hesse's Siddhartha in the original German, so I can keep in touch with the language while remaining topically on task
and best of all:
1 adorable little children's book--the kind with hard pages--called "Goodnight Chicago," which is basically a tour of the city given by the happiest, most diverse group of people ever. Hopefully my host family will have a small child...or have relatives who have a small child...or my internship will involve small children...
Sadly no good pants were to be found, but I'm considering bringing my favorite old pair of jeans. They don't have that much life left in them anyway, and I can wear long shirts over them to make up for them being form-fitting. 3 bottoms should be enough for a week, riight..?
Since I last wrote I have finished Narayan's Mahabharata and Paro, Dreams of Passion. New goal: finish MSID packet by the end of the week. Also must locate The Little Book of Hindu Deities...finished reading it ages ago but it's been hiding somewhere in the apartment for most of the summer, and cannot be renewed any longer.
P.S. I have now been on malaria-prevention pills for a week, and I think I have had too many vivid dream recollections during it for this to be a coincidence. However, none of them have really been disturbing or nightmarish, so I think it will be fine. (I had to begin the pills extra early to make sure that I am not one of the people who experiences the rare side effect of really intense, terrible dreams.) It is still pretty strange to always start the day coming out of a dream.
1 gray-khaki linen pleated skirt (over the knee o' course)
1 black cotton skirt -- quite voluminous and with white embroidery that vaguely evokes lotuses on the hem
1 pair of slightly platform flip flops, as the ones I have are worn down and hard. They feel like walking on pillows, ahh.
1 luggage tag which has "Upgrade Me!" embroidered on it...we'll see if it works :P
1 copy of Hesse's Siddhartha in the original German, so I can keep in touch with the language while remaining topically on task
and best of all:
1 adorable little children's book--the kind with hard pages--called "Goodnight Chicago," which is basically a tour of the city given by the happiest, most diverse group of people ever. Hopefully my host family will have a small child...or have relatives who have a small child...or my internship will involve small children...
Sadly no good pants were to be found, but I'm considering bringing my favorite old pair of jeans. They don't have that much life left in them anyway, and I can wear long shirts over them to make up for them being form-fitting. 3 bottoms should be enough for a week, riight..?
Since I last wrote I have finished Narayan's Mahabharata and Paro, Dreams of Passion. New goal: finish MSID packet by the end of the week. Also must locate The Little Book of Hindu Deities...finished reading it ages ago but it's been hiding somewhere in the apartment for most of the summer, and cannot be renewed any longer.
P.S. I have now been on malaria-prevention pills for a week, and I think I have had too many vivid dream recollections during it for this to be a coincidence. However, none of them have really been disturbing or nightmarish, so I think it will be fine. (I had to begin the pills extra early to make sure that I am not one of the people who experiences the rare side effect of really intense, terrible dreams.) It is still pretty strange to always start the day coming out of a dream.
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