Will and I have been venturing out of our little safe neighborhood into town, and even up the mountain a tiny bit. I'm constantly amazed at the drastic contrasts between beauty and filth, rich and....I can't even call it poor, compared to what I've known as poor, but a devastating amount of poverty and brokenness. I'm learning that the middle class is in fact growing, but it still seems like I mostly only see the extremes between the "haves" and the "have nots".
We have made a friend in our constant tour guide Priyam. She's the one in the picture with Will at the Tibetan cafe, where we had lunch on Sunday, sitting on the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. Priyam has allowed me to ask any and every kind of question about the community and culture we are in, and she and I have easily lapsed into some friendly girl talk as well. Priyam is a bit younger than me, but well traveled and and an only child which I think makes her a bit more independent and wiser than her age. I'm enjoying her very much, and am glad that she seems to feel the same.
Last night Will and I had a fun experience. We went to one of the "fancy" restaurants in our neighborhood. Two cute/funny things about this place. First of all the restaurant was advertised as having a mocktail menu, and it means exactly what it sounds like as this is a pretty dry town due to local practices. With the "bar" full of mocktail options, which we declined in sampling, there was also a wonderful collection of American music playing in the background. Some country (poor Will had Shania Twain stuck in his head until we fell asleep), some 90's club music, and my favorite addition un-sensored hip-hop. Mind you there was a family with small children sitting next to us, but no one seemed to notice the curse words bouncing with the bass in the background. I giggled a lot about this, and Will shrugged his shoulders in polite ignorance of the whole event. The food was pretty great though, and for that I am thankful. I had a sweet Thai curry dish, which was a nice break from all of the intense spice our bodies have been consuming lately.
3 comments:
it looks really great. the trash images are always disturbing, it must be more so in person.
the trash is really hard to see, and smells something aweful. what's even harder is seeing shacks built over the open sewig. folks must be sick a lot....
Oh hearing your stories makes me miss India. A lot. You have to try bihrulyni.(sp?) It sounds like bee ru lee ni. It's a rice dish. And it's delicious. So glad you are enjoying your time!
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