So today Rahul came to pick me up. I had just checked my e-mail and received another security alert from the US Embassy. I told Rahul about it but he ignored it. We went to Barista to grab a coffee. While we were talking about the differences in education between the US and India, Rahul received a call from his mother. Apparently because all the national embassies were sending out warnings, the Delhi Police decided to amp up their security as a precaution. It was all over the news. To Indians, it's not a big deal until their own government says it is. Apparently the Delhi Police are so hush-hush about everything, that if they're saying to stay out of the markets, SPECIFIC markets even, then it means something's going on.
Our attention shifted from schools to where to go. We were planning on going to a market or two. I was in favor of going to a mall but Rahul said that the terrorist activities in Delhi usually try to hit a mall but never succeed, a mall would not be a good place. So what to do? He suggest visiting the stores in South Extension (South Ex) as it's not really a market but not a mall. Sid and Shweta came to Barista and suggested a movie. We weren't in the mood to see a movie. I hate movie theaters and I wanted to go shopping. Then Rahul's friend, Karuna had called. She wanted to meet up and would be in South Ex shopping for a Saree. Perfect! We parted with Sid and Shweta, who went to the movie.
Rahul and I met up with Karuna at a store called “Nalli” where they sell cloth to make Sarees, Salwar Kameez, basically any Indian clothing style. Karuna asked me what color I wanted for a saree to which I replied, “A darker blue.”
She asked a clerk to show them. And there it was! An almost near identical match to the saree I wore in my dream a few days back. I had to have it! It's a beautiful navy blue with gold embellishments! Now what's crazy is this dream. I don't remember all of it, just that I tried on this beautiful blue saree at a shop ...I think it had a redish carpet and I was standing on a platform...in front of Rahul and one of Rahul's friends.
I'm not sure who she was, so we'll see in the coming weeks. I have to take the cloth to a tailor to have a shirt and petticoat made to wear under the saree as it is a very sheer fabric. I plan to wear this for the wedding I'm going to in the coming weeks. Beautiful fabric, isn't it?In addition to the saree, Karuna took us upstairs to see fabric for making kurtis. A kurta is a shirt that's worn with Indian style pants, or jeans. I went through all the cotton fabrics they had and found four which caught my eye:
The blue paisley and salmon color fabrics will be worn with a cream colored bottom and matching dupatta. The white will be worn with black bottoms and my black dupatta. The purple with gold trim will be worn with jeans (we couldn't decide on any of the colors they had to match with the top). I paid about $60 for all of it and having it stitched should cost about $20, or so I hope. Karuna said she has a tailor who will stitch everything and have it all ready within a week. We're to go there some time this week to have it done. I'm really excited! I get to have clothes made...just for me! It's considered the cheap alternative to buying clothes already made (labels vs. non-labels) but I'd prefer to have a non-label that fits. No labels were fitting so I'm excited to have Indian clothing which fits! Only took a month of being here. The right people make all the difference!
After shopping, we went to Cafe Coffee Day to get a drink. While we were there, it started to rain. Within a matter of minutes, the clouds literally came and started to pour with thunder and lightening. The past couple nights it's been doing this, so I wasn't surprised. While it's raining, it's quite nice. After, it's muggy and sucks. Rahul and I made the mutual decision to just go to Agra tomorrow as it'd be somewhat pleasant, and to get it out of the way. On one hand, I'm extremely excited to see the Taj Mahal and all of it's glorious romantic beauty. On the other, I think the trip is cursed so it puts me off...
Sid and Rahul dropped Shweta and myself to my apartment so they could go get a suitcase from a relative. The car wouldn't start. Son-of-a... They thought it might be out of gas so they went to get gas but the car still wouldn't start. So Rahul, Sid, and I pushed the car out of it's parking spot. Sid jumped into the drivers seat and Rahul and I pushed the car until it started, half way down the block. Thank goodness for being a manual! However, that means Rahul's car is going in to the shop tomorrow; which means no Agra.
This is what I mean by the trip being cursed.
Rahul asked me how badly I wanted to go see the Taj Mahal. I told him how badly I wanted to see it. His response was, “So you want to see it as much as I want to show it to you?” Yep, pretty much.
He promised “hell or high water” we'd see the Taj Mahal before I leave. We only have two more weekends before we're out of options, unless I find a way to stay here longer. Which reminds me, I've been considering extending my trip a month. I think it would be fiscally feasible and would give me more of a chance to enjoy India. We'll see if it's possible or just a dream.
**Goa tickets have been booked. We're going to Goa and Hampi. I'm going to skip Mumbai since I've been told there's really nothing special there. I'd love to see the elephant caves which is off the coast of Mumbai but we don't really have the time. Not only that, I've decided that regardless if I stay and extra month or not, I WILL be visiting India again, soon. I just have to figure out a way to do it (=
This place is too amazing and I love it too much to want to leave. I wish the Mumbai attacks hadn't happened, then I could do a visa run and stay here for 10 years; or I could get a job without all the rules and regulation.
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