Finally in Lucknow!

I am sitting in my room in Lucknow, eating the breakfast that my auntie-ji just brought to my room. I arrived in Lucknow on Monday, on Tuesday arranged to begin living in my room, and made the move on Wednesday. The family I am living with is very friendly and very patient with my painfully small amount of Urdu and my (probably constant) rude manners as I struggle to remember all the little things that indicate that I am a polite person. It is hard to remember everything, especially when I am constantly struggling to put together a rudimentary sentence. I am finding these beginning moments in my language immersion process to be challenging and fun.

Regarding my living situation, I live very near to my school and only have a minute walk to classes in the morning. I think that five family members, in addition to myself, live in the house. I live in the room on the second floor. My room is very nice and comfortable. One wall is windows – this gives me the option of opening the windows and using the ceiling fan or turning on the AC. Yesterday it seemed quite hot and I used the AC. I am looking forward to the beginning of the monsoon, when the weather breaks a little and the rains and winds come. The windows in my room open to my veranda and look out onto the street. In the morning, I eat breakfast alone in my room, look out onto the garden, and watch people on the street. In the evening, I eat dinner with my auntie-ji. I am looking forward to the time when my conversational Urdu has improved to the point where our dinner conversation is not punctuated by long silences and confused stares. The food here, as at the school, is very good. I am happy here.

Since my arrival in Lucknow, I have spent time quite a bit of time at my school, but classes have not officially begun yet – they will begin today. HOORAY! I have explored some of the shopping areas of Lucknow, but I have yet to see the historic monuments. The city seems delightful.

Before I came to Lucknow, I was in Delhi. I had a wonderful first visit Delhi - despite the heat and smog. My friend and I went shopping and purchased some salwar-kameez – the pajama pants, long shirt, and scarf worn by many Indian women. These clothes are much cooler in the heat than any of the clothing that I brought and I am wearing them almost exclusively. We also went to quite a few historic monuments including Raj Ghat, the place where Mohatma Gandhi was cremated following his assassination, and the Lotus Temple, a Baha’i temple shaped like a lotus. We also visited Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India, it was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the mid 17th century. While we were at the Jama Masjid we climbed the minaret and we rewarded with a fantastic view of the city and of the Red Fort. The pictures in this entry are of me on the steps of the masjid and of the view of the Red Fort from the minaret. We also visited the Red Fort, also built by Shah Jahan, it was very impressive with a beautiful garden and intricate detailed buildings.