A Tornado of Fresh Air
And now the long-awaited whimsical romance with Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Couple weekends ago (which really feels like a lifetime), my flatmates and I visited Jaipur, a city couple hours outside of Delhi and in the state of Rajasthan. Rajasthan. I love the name, and fell in love with the "Pink City," as it's known.
It wasn't love at first sight, mind you, as our arrival to a throng of over-bearing, extremely aggressive auto drivers was less than auspicious. Just to get out of the train station, we hopped in a guy's ride and off we went...to his brother's shop. Turns out he didn't know how to get to our hotel, but his brother did and the brother slid into the front seat and we into a tricky situation. Do we trust the other guy? Were we in a dark alley in Jaipur at 9 pm? Driver took us safely to our hotel, introduced himself as Ali and offered his tour services for the next day. He met us promptly at 10:30 Saturday morning, and nattily dressed for the ocassion. We squeezed into his stylish rickshaw (electric blue plastic covered seats) and he delivered a thrilling tour of the city with intermitten moments of whimsical romance. To christen the moment we crossed into the old city, the section surrounded by a pink wall, Ali disappeared from the auto (we groaned in distress) and returned with four rose garlands that he hung around our necks. Sigh. We saw a few incredible sites, like the marvelous City Palace, a museum of sundials, and the hardest-working laziest-looking camels in Jaipur. Mostly, we enjoyed the fresh air, a true gift that Delhi rarely delivers, and an open view of a gorgeous sunset atop our hotel. We're returning to Rajasthan this weekend, and this time not in search of romance, but tigers. Yes, Rhonda is going to a tiger reserve. Watch. Out.
I returned to class the following Monday and explained the excitement to the students, and happily most understood. Since our class began a few weeks ago, it has changed significantly in format. Where we had a small group of young women who come for a couple hours for conversation and grammar, our current schedule looks like this:
1st period: Neighborhood kids for rounds of Hokey-Pokey and Dr. Suess
2nd period: Young women for gossip and grammar
3rd period: Integrated class of young women and university guys for conversation and role playing.
Did we ask for it? No. It just happened, and it's working. Gayatri, 17, regularly asks for homework and is making real progress. Prerna, 18, continues to amaze us with her pointed insights about American and Indian culture. The university guy's conversation has really picked up, as had their understanding of English witticism. I'm most excited about Sunita, 17, who barely spoke at all, but has returned to class diligently, and now complains that the excersices are boring!
Sadly, two of the most advanced girls have left the class to, respectively, prepare for a wedding and tend to their families. I respects their decisions, but certainly miss their company.
Signing off...
Couple weekends ago (which really feels like a lifetime), my flatmates and I visited Jaipur, a city couple hours outside of Delhi and in the state of Rajasthan. Rajasthan. I love the name, and fell in love with the "Pink City," as it's known.
It wasn't love at first sight, mind you, as our arrival to a throng of over-bearing, extremely aggressive auto drivers was less than auspicious. Just to get out of the train station, we hopped in a guy's ride and off we went...to his brother's shop. Turns out he didn't know how to get to our hotel, but his brother did and the brother slid into the front seat and we into a tricky situation. Do we trust the other guy? Were we in a dark alley in Jaipur at 9 pm? Driver took us safely to our hotel, introduced himself as Ali and offered his tour services for the next day. He met us promptly at 10:30 Saturday morning, and nattily dressed for the ocassion. We squeezed into his stylish rickshaw (electric blue plastic covered seats) and he delivered a thrilling tour of the city with intermitten moments of whimsical romance. To christen the moment we crossed into the old city, the section surrounded by a pink wall, Ali disappeared from the auto (we groaned in distress) and returned with four rose garlands that he hung around our necks. Sigh. We saw a few incredible sites, like the marvelous City Palace, a museum of sundials, and the hardest-working laziest-looking camels in Jaipur. Mostly, we enjoyed the fresh air, a true gift that Delhi rarely delivers, and an open view of a gorgeous sunset atop our hotel. We're returning to Rajasthan this weekend, and this time not in search of romance, but tigers. Yes, Rhonda is going to a tiger reserve. Watch. Out.
I returned to class the following Monday and explained the excitement to the students, and happily most understood. Since our class began a few weeks ago, it has changed significantly in format. Where we had a small group of young women who come for a couple hours for conversation and grammar, our current schedule looks like this:
1st period: Neighborhood kids for rounds of Hokey-Pokey and Dr. Suess
2nd period: Young women for gossip and grammar
3rd period: Integrated class of young women and university guys for conversation and role playing.
Did we ask for it? No. It just happened, and it's working. Gayatri, 17, regularly asks for homework and is making real progress. Prerna, 18, continues to amaze us with her pointed insights about American and Indian culture. The university guy's conversation has really picked up, as had their understanding of English witticism. I'm most excited about Sunita, 17, who barely spoke at all, but has returned to class diligently, and now complains that the excersices are boring!
Sadly, two of the most advanced girls have left the class to, respectively, prepare for a wedding and tend to their families. I respects their decisions, but certainly miss their company.
Signing off...
posted by Rhonda Henderson at 7:17 AM
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