My favorite picture thus far--Hoken, Jens, Andi and Banks at Golconda

While walking around a temple inside Golconda...

wall art next to a shrine

I love this picture because it gives a glimpse of how colorful all of the people here are

From the top of Golconda fort...overlooking the rest of the fort and Hyderabad in the distance

Pictures!

Celebrities at Golconda Fort...so I starting taking pictures of them taking pictures of us!

Michele from Montana and Banks from Richmond in the background, relaxing after lunch at Golconda

An Indian couple playing on the lawn...

View from the top of the Charminar in the middle of the Old City--believe it or not, it was a Sunday and one of the less-busy times in traffic

lessons learned.

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday (Monday): rickshaw drivers are not omniscient. Last night was a wild ride. The seven independents decided we were ready for our first venture into the city without a guide. We had three phones, a map and probably a smidge too much confidence. First lesson learned: never put all the phones in one rickshaw and all the women in the other. All the guys climbed into one rickshaw and took off, while we hopped in one with two drivers who didn’t speak a word of English. (Mistake number 2) We managed to stay with the other rickshaw for about an hour, but with the Indian pop blasting (a special treat for a group of girls, I think) and the drivers preoccupied with finding a good song, we soon lost the men and started to stop in random places on the busy Indian streets to ask for directions. (They asked; we just sat there, exchanging nervous glances.) After about two hours (hard to estimate time because none of us had watches either) we finally decided to just have them take us to a shopping center where we could find some English speakers with directions to food. After assuring these two (friendly) amateurs that we did not need them to wait for us while we shopped, we found some very nice FabIndia employees who directed us to a gorgeous restaurant. It was called “Our Place” and felt like a five star restaurant, dining in an open air garden glittering with lights in all the trees. The waiters not only brought the food, but continued to stand around and plate it for you whenever it looked like you were nearing a clean plate. I had two courses for six dollars (300 rupees) and it was incredible!

Getting home was much less of an adventure. We were discerning this time, and chose rickshaw drivers who spoke more than a smattering of English and who knew what we were talking about when we said “central university near Gachi Bowli”. We made it back in half the time, and after one more round of rate haggling, we staggered onto our bikes inside the gate and made our way back.

The best part of the story, however, was that it wasn’t even ten minutes after we’d arrived that the guys showed up, with an identical story; their rickshaw driver had gotten lost as well, they’d spent a good amount of time driving around looking for us, (we actually passed by each other at one point and both started yelling at the drivers to turn around) and then found a nice restaurant and headed back. So we opened a bottle of wine on the roof and toasted our first venture, deciding to try it again today.

celebrities.

True to my nature, I managed to get lost for a good hour yesterday, cycling aimlessly around campus and missing (what I thought was) my first day of my international relations course. The university is like a maze; our student facilitator Ilika described it as roads that all go everywhere. Yesterday I had my first Thought and Culture of India class at nine, and then after an afternoon of wandering through buildings learned that because we’re in a sort of “festival season” right now, a lot of students won’t be back for another week. So I have one class until next week! Indian professors are so friendly and helpful; yesterday I knocked on four different doors, and they all invited me to come in and sit down and one even ordered me a coffee.

One thing I love about the campus is how there is no shortage of places to be peaceful. There are several beautiful lawns that truly resemble some sort of fondant cake top and then balconies and rooftops and two different lounges in the SIP Guesthouse if you get tired of being stared at.

There’s something else I’ll never get used to. Blond hair and blue eyes really does equal celebrity in the eyes of Indian children.

Sunday was probably the most enjoyable day yet, and I can’t deny that the autographs I was asked for and the pictures taken with me didn’t make the day just a little bit more exciting. Ilika took us seven independent students out for a day of sightseeing and the best food I’ve had yet (all paid for by SIP as well!). We headed into the “old city” where we first climbed the Charminar, which was built in 1591 and is considered the landmark of Hyderabad. A sign at the entrance read “Indian nationals: 5 rupees / foreign visitors: 100 rupees.” Beautiful view of the busy streets below—I’ll get pictures up soon! Then we spent a couple hours in a museum called Salarjung Museum which is a massive collection of all the possessions of Salar Jung III, a former prime minister. He collected everything from children’s toys to the famous statue of the veiled Rebecca. After the museum Ilika took us to a restaurant where each plate had nine or ten different sauces and curries—some from the North so we could alternate with the burning Southern spices—arranged around a bed of rice and chapata bread on banana leaves, followed by dessert and coffee. If you know me, you know how excited I get about new foods; it was heaven, even if sweat was running down my face the entire time!

I thought nothing was going to be better than that restaurant, but then Ilika took us to Golconda Fort. Originally it was a mud fort built by the Kakatiya kings in 1143. However, it was then taken over by the Qutub Shah dynasty and rebuilt. Absolutely massive, it now has 87 semi-circular bastions, eight gateways and four draw bridges. The public is free to walk around the ruins and up to the highest towers overlooking all of Hyderabad. Or you can hang out on the lawns at the foot of the fort, where you’re also most likely to get “mobbed” by sixty school children or groups of giggling adolescent boys, all wanting to have their picture taken with you individually and shake your hand. The toddlers are the sweetest though. Parents prod them to inch closer to us and wish us a happy new year with their gorgeous brown eyes and their mini tunics.
It never failed. If you stand or sit somewhere for more than a minute in the city, you’ll soon be completely surrounded by smiling, waving schoolchildren.

Anyway, after a light show about the history of the fort, we headed for one last destination: a restaurant popular with the students just outside of campus called Kaipula. It resembled a small town biker bar—maybe because a lot of students have mopeds and motorcycles. The meal was delicious but hilarious, because in true Indian fashion, there was no silverware. So you poured some curry onto your rice, mashed it around with your fingers and then proceeded to eat everything—curries, rice, yogurt, fried fish—with your fingers. There must be a technique we haven’t learned yet, because I’m pretty sure every table around us was watching and laughing. Oh well. It was delicious. And you’ll be glad to know, my stomach handled it like a pro.

The Group

Seven of us have kind of fallen into step with each other. There is Justina, my roommate, from North Carolina, Andi—also from NC, Michele from Montana, Jens from Denmark, Banks from Virginia and Hoken from Norway. We all came independently; all the other international students came in groups with scheduled tours and things like that.

Something Substantial

Good morning!
We have a free couple of hours this morning, so a friend and I trekked to the library (about a 20 minute walk). The campus is enormous, and as of yet--quite confusing. I think the map they've given us is slightly outdated--the library isn't even listed. :) But long walks are far from disagreeable! Yesterday we discovered the monkeys--akin to the squirrel population in SD. They're adorable and everywhere!
The campus is also incredibly beautiful--parts of it at least. The disparity is equally as incredible. Right behind our enormous guesthouse is a community of tents where the employees live. Every morning we awake to singing (a call to worship) around 6am.
We take all of our meals in the guesthouse (meaning me and the other exchange students--about 60 in all, although I've only seen about 20 others) and I'm pretty sure it's all prepared with purified water, because I haven't heard any "noises" coming from the bathrooms yet. I still get excited everytime I remind myself that I get to eat nothing but Indian food for the next four months--it's absolutely delicious. After a misjudged bite of something ungodly hot yesterday though, I thought I would have to make a trip to the university clinic, and (in the words of my roommate Justina) have my tongue removed.
Yesterday we spent the late afternoon at an enormous market celebrating a festival, which was crawling with people and craft vendors. I've never seen so many beautiful textiles and carvings and foods. It was held in a park with greens and rock gardens and a river; there was also an amphitheater with entertainment when we got tired of pushing through crowds.
Everyone is so incredibly beautiful--the only rule for dress seems to be "the brighter the better". I had heard that dressing "Indian" would be the best way to go--definitely definitely correct. (And some of you scoffed...) I'm stared at enough for my blond hair--every single person I pass stares for at least 5 seconds.
Dressing Indian is definitely not enough of a disguise though--during my first rickshaw ride to and from the market, (more fun than a rollercoaster!!) we stopped and were immediately invaded by a swarm of beggers with their babies, blessing our feet and grabbing our arms. It probably looked pretty comical--three pasty American girls shouting NO at the beggars and GO at the rickshaw driver, none of which probably understood either. I doubt if Hindi would have worked much better though...
It's hard to write much more, as I haven't quite figured out where I am. My room feels like the hostel in Berlin. Sometimes I feel like a tourist; other times I'm a 5-year old; other times I'm like an animal in a zoo. To everyone here, I'm simply "white". I keep reminding myself of that. And living in the international guesthouse and being herded around on tours and orientation sessions feels a bit like summer camp.
I'm really excited for classes to start, so I can feel like a student.
This afternoon we're headed to the "old city"--the center of Hyderabad, I think. Hopefully I'll be able to start using the real names of everything soon, so this will be a bit more interesting!
I'll get pictures up as soon as we get internet in our rooms.
In the meantime, thanks for reading, many many thanks for your messages and emails, and keep 'em coming. I miss you.

Love always, Alison

Arrived!

Here's a quick note that will hopefully soon be followed by a proper account of London, new years on the plane and my first few days in Hyderabad. But know that I'm here, I'm safe, and I'm already donning a salwar kameez. So everything is fantastic, and I can't wait to tell you more soon! 

-al-