Aadaab, Asaalam alaikam, Namaste

The pollution, the heat, and the humidity, seems much stronger after spending a couple of days away from it. I visited Nani Tol, a hill station in the foothills of the Himalayas, with a group of friends this weekend. We went by car, passing through villages, and open spaces, until finally the land formed into hills, and then mountains. Before long, we were making our way up the mountains on the sharp and weaving roads, cringing every couple of minutes as we nearly missed buses, motorcycles, and pedestrians. The mountains were shrouded in trees and mist, and surrounded a lake. If you were wondering, the answer is yes, we were those foreigners that decided to go swimming in the lake. And if you are worried, don’t be, because it’s not nearly as dirty as the Ganga. We also went to a Bollywood dance party because we heard the music from across the lake—when in India.

The week before this, I started doing something extremely exciting: I started running. I’ve been waking up early and walking to a somewhat closed-off neighborhood, and running there. The heat, humidity, staring, and looks of utter bewilderment are still a lot at this time and in this area, but it’s better than it would be at any other time or in any other place. And since I’ve started running, I’ve started to feel a lot happier here.

I am now able to find my way to several places on foot, which I take as a sign that I am getting to know the city. It’s comforting to know that I don’t have to take a rickshaw to all of the places that I want to go, and it’s a lot less of a hassle.

I’ve continued to break fast with my family every night around 7:00 pm, and it’s become one of my favorite traditions. My host family has also become one of my favorite parts of this program.

I’m also still learning Urdu. As my vocabulary has (slowly) expanded, my range of conversation topics has as well. I have recently been able to talk to my family about what they think about Hindu-Muslim relations in India, Nirendra Modi, Pakistan, and politics and general. That’s why I wanted to do this program in the first place—I wanted to be able to have important conversations with people in a different language. I like hearing people talk about their lives and their opinions, and I like that Urdu enables me to access these kinds of things from a large group of people that I wouldn’t get to really hear from if I only had English.

Last update, I’m going to Varanasi this weekend and I’m excited.

Lots of love,

Ada