The pricking feeling came too soon for me to call out, although I made a little squeaking sound to punctuate the sharp object breaking through the sole of my flip flop and jabbing into my foot. We were just leaving the market and the guest house was still a few blocks away. After a mad dash across the weaving traffic and a relaxing walk back to what would be our home for the next couple of weeks, during which I limped to stop whatever impending doom might befall me from the unwanted visitor in my shoe piercing my skin, I finally bent to remove the offending flip flop. No worries everyone! The staple is now sitting on the desk and my foot is still intact. (And my flip flop's no worse for wear either...)
Today we transitioned from our friend's house to a guest house closer to the girl's home, due in part to some more friends arriving to volunteer with us at the home. They actually led the activity at the girl's home today, where we decorated prayer journals for the older girls and the younger ones painted pictures. Stickers and paint and flower petals were everywhere! But in the end, we had successfully completed the project.
After that, we all went to Surojeny (yeah...I have no idea how to spell it, but that's what it sounds like when you say it!) for some shopping. I bought a beautiful set of six mini-tea cups (My Grandma collected tea cups through her whole life and split them between me and my cousin when she died. It seemed appropriate to add to that collection.) and the beginnings of a sari. This in and of itself is quite a process. First, you pick out the color and type of fabric you want the sari and the bodice made of. Then you haggle down the price (I only spent 10 bucks for mine!). Then you have to buy the petticoat that goes underneath the sari, and since mine didn't have a drawstring with it, I had to buy the drawstring. (So, now we're up to about 12 dollars and some odd cents.) Lastly, I'll need to find time to take it to a tailor, who'll do all the measurements, sew the bodice, and hem the sari for me. That was my big expenditure today!
After we rode the metro back to the guest house, we trekked down to the local market to find dinner. We ended up at a restaurant that was actually part of a hotel. I had probably some of the best minestrone soup I've ever had accompanied by french fries. Not very Indian I know, but it was sooooooo good! This was really our first day of freedom, where we could choose where we went and what we ate and how we got to and from. Of course, freedom doesn't come without it's price...besides the shoe incident already mentioned, we had to brave the scorching heat at Surojeny and, on the way to the market, something akin to a nut that looked very much like a miniature lemon fell from a tree and hit me in the head! Battered and bruised (slight exaggeration there...) I have arrived back at the guest house and am looking forward to a well-deserved rest.
Today we transitioned from our friend's house to a guest house closer to the girl's home, due in part to some more friends arriving to volunteer with us at the home. They actually led the activity at the girl's home today, where we decorated prayer journals for the older girls and the younger ones painted pictures. Stickers and paint and flower petals were everywhere! But in the end, we had successfully completed the project.
After that, we all went to Surojeny (yeah...I have no idea how to spell it, but that's what it sounds like when you say it!) for some shopping. I bought a beautiful set of six mini-tea cups (My Grandma collected tea cups through her whole life and split them between me and my cousin when she died. It seemed appropriate to add to that collection.) and the beginnings of a sari. This in and of itself is quite a process. First, you pick out the color and type of fabric you want the sari and the bodice made of. Then you haggle down the price (I only spent 10 bucks for mine!). Then you have to buy the petticoat that goes underneath the sari, and since mine didn't have a drawstring with it, I had to buy the drawstring. (So, now we're up to about 12 dollars and some odd cents.) Lastly, I'll need to find time to take it to a tailor, who'll do all the measurements, sew the bodice, and hem the sari for me. That was my big expenditure today!
After we rode the metro back to the guest house, we trekked down to the local market to find dinner. We ended up at a restaurant that was actually part of a hotel. I had probably some of the best minestrone soup I've ever had accompanied by french fries. Not very Indian I know, but it was sooooooo good! This was really our first day of freedom, where we could choose where we went and what we ate and how we got to and from. Of course, freedom doesn't come without it's price...besides the shoe incident already mentioned, we had to brave the scorching heat at Surojeny and, on the way to the market, something akin to a nut that looked very much like a miniature lemon fell from a tree and hit me in the head! Battered and bruised (slight exaggeration there...) I have arrived back at the guest house and am looking forward to a well-deserved rest.
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