From the Pink House to the Pink City
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The last time I employed my Iowa Guru blog was 3 years ago when I
was on a Fulbright exchange in India.
For a while now partner S. and I have been planning an exit from our
home of 25 years, Iowa City, Iowa, in order to have an excellent
adventure. Toward that end I took a job
as a “Senior English Language Fellow in Jaipur, India on a grant from the Department
of State administered through Georgetown University”. That's the official job description, not my
mouthful of clauses. While we’re in the official arena, here is the official
“She’s-got-nothing-to-do-with-us disclosure” I’ve been asked to post."This
blog is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and
information presented are the English Language Fellows' own and do not
represent the English Language Fellow Program or the U.S. Department of
State."Consider yourself warned! Although because you all know me, I doubt you
find it surprising that what I say or put to print is solely my opinion and no
one else’s. I wouldn’t have it any other
way.
So, a week ago we left the pink house, the garden, my comfy grey robe, and our
friends, colleagues, and family. Many of you were so generous in your good wishes
and sincere desire to keep in touch, it was a Sally Fields moment. (“You like
me. You really like me!”) It was a
bittersweet time to leave behind so many friends and family for a short while,
although we were excited to begin and relieved to be leaving behind many weeks
of “TO DO” lists.You asked to keep in touch, so I offer this
blog for your amusement and consideration. Our first few days in India were a
bit blurry from jet lag, and yet we mushed through the process of apartment
hunting at the rate of speed-dating and tried to buy what we needed to set up a
household here. More on those efforts in a later blog; suffice it to say I will
never again in my lifetime complain about having to go to Target. Ever.The House Hunt:. Those of you who asked if
this experience would be like House Hunters International on HGTV, not so
much. I don’t how those people don’t
have speech issues from extreme jet lag, first of all, and second, they don’t
seem to spend a butt-numbing amount of time sitting in the back seats going
from place to place. But we got lucky, really. One place stood out over the others, and we
grabbed it. It’s a heritage home built
in typical Rajastani style and some of the rooms have been converted into a B
and B type operation which you can check out on the website, www.jaipurheritagehome.com . BTW, some of those pics are from our
room! It includes a green space in the lush
back yard that we overlook in our second story room, a security gate and guard,
and a lovely landlady who has befriended us like family and introduced us to
many essential and fun places in Jaipur.
I am once again relying on the kindness of strangers, and we have a gem
in our landlady. And, oh yes, the place is SWEEEET. It’s a large room with granite floors, 5
large windows, furnished with antique furniture from Rajasthan (state Jaipur is
in), 2 beautiful carpets, and original artwork on the walls by a local artist
of typical Rajastani scenes. There is a
large bathroom as well. No kitchen,
which many of you will be aghast at knowing my cooking ways, but I was fine
with it, because our kind landlady is in the process of repurposing a small
screened-in porch type room into a kitchen for only me. (Again with the Sally Fields, “She likes me,
she really likes me!”) Eating out has been delicious, cheap, and a great time
saver in a busy time, so I told her not to hurry on my account. Oh, and there’s no TV, which is fine, too. I have my Macbook Air I can turn to if I need
a GLEE fix or perhaps SMASH, but for now, different is good. I didn’t come half way around the world to
recreate my environment from 345 Magowan.We have made many adjustments one makes when
coming to another culture, such as learning how to work the hot-water heater in
the bathroom, remembering to retain your receipt in shops so you can show the
guard at the door so he can count your items, then let you out the door,
brushing up our British English for the occasional lexical difference, readjusting
our American proxemics for the much closer Indian space, remembering that the
traffic is backwards, chaotic and that you have no right of way as a
pedestrian, nor rights or a way sometimes, and the list goes on. I highly recommend if you do this to take
along a life long companion who makes you laugh when you’re frustrated or tired
or confused or all 3.Jaipur and the state of Rajasthan is going to
be a great place to explore, with its rich history and cultural
traditions. There are forts and royalty
and mosaics and festivals galore. The colors and fashion from Rajasthan are
like no other state in India, as I saw on a recap of New York Fashion Week,
which was HIGHLY influenced by Rajastani fashion savvy, thank you very much.
Tomorrow I’m rocking a pair of elephant pants in honor of Ganesha’s birthday
and my first official day of work.
Picture to follow.
I invite you to come along with us and enjoy the loud, the chaotic, the
friendly and the confusing we will undoubtedly encounter along the way. Namaste.
The last time I employed my Iowa Guru blog was 3 years ago when I
was on a Fulbright exchange in India.
For a while now partner S. and I have been planning an exit from our
home of 25 years, Iowa City, Iowa, in order to have an excellent
adventure. Toward that end I took a job
as a “Senior English Language Fellow in Jaipur, India on a grant from the Department
of State administered through Georgetown University”. That's the official job description, not my
mouthful of clauses. While we’re in the official arena, here is the official
“She’s-got-nothing-to-do-with-us disclosure” I’ve been asked to post."This
blog is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and
information presented are the English Language Fellows' own and do not
represent the English Language Fellow Program or the U.S. Department of
State."Consider yourself warned! Although because you all know me, I doubt you
find it surprising that what I say or put to print is solely my opinion and no
one else’s. I wouldn’t have it any other
way.
So, a week ago we left the pink house, the garden, my comfy grey robe, and our
friends, colleagues, and family. Many of you were so generous in your good wishes
and sincere desire to keep in touch, it was a Sally Fields moment. (“You like
me. You really like me!”) It was a
bittersweet time to leave behind so many friends and family for a short while,
although we were excited to begin and relieved to be leaving behind many weeks
of “TO DO” lists.You asked to keep in touch, so I offer this
blog for your amusement and consideration. Our first few days in India were a
bit blurry from jet lag, and yet we mushed through the process of apartment
hunting at the rate of speed-dating and tried to buy what we needed to set up a
household here. More on those efforts in a later blog; suffice it to say I will
never again in my lifetime complain about having to go to Target. Ever.The House Hunt:. Those of you who asked if
this experience would be like House Hunters International on HGTV, not so
much. I don’t how those people don’t
have speech issues from extreme jet lag, first of all, and second, they don’t
seem to spend a butt-numbing amount of time sitting in the back seats going
from place to place. But we got lucky, really. One place stood out over the others, and we
grabbed it. It’s a heritage home built
in typical Rajastani style and some of the rooms have been converted into a B
and B type operation which you can check out on the website, www.jaipurheritagehome.com . BTW, some of those pics are from our
room! It includes a green space in the lush
back yard that we overlook in our second story room, a security gate and guard,
and a lovely landlady who has befriended us like family and introduced us to
many essential and fun places in Jaipur.
I am once again relying on the kindness of strangers, and we have a gem
in our landlady. And, oh yes, the place is SWEEEET. It’s a large room with granite floors, 5
large windows, furnished with antique furniture from Rajasthan (state Jaipur is
in), 2 beautiful carpets, and original artwork on the walls by a local artist
of typical Rajastani scenes. There is a
large bathroom as well. No kitchen,
which many of you will be aghast at knowing my cooking ways, but I was fine
with it, because our kind landlady is in the process of repurposing a small
screened-in porch type room into a kitchen for only me. (Again with the Sally Fields, “She likes me,
she really likes me!”) Eating out has been delicious, cheap, and a great time
saver in a busy time, so I told her not to hurry on my account. Oh, and there’s no TV, which is fine, too. I have my Macbook Air I can turn to if I need
a GLEE fix or perhaps SMASH, but for now, different is good. I didn’t come half way around the world to
recreate my environment from 345 Magowan.We have made many adjustments one makes when
coming to another culture, such as learning how to work the hot-water heater in
the bathroom, remembering to retain your receipt in shops so you can show the
guard at the door so he can count your items, then let you out the door,
brushing up our British English for the occasional lexical difference, readjusting
our American proxemics for the much closer Indian space, remembering that the
traffic is backwards, chaotic and that you have no right of way as a
pedestrian, nor rights or a way sometimes, and the list goes on. I highly recommend if you do this to take
along a life long companion who makes you laugh when you’re frustrated or tired
or confused or all 3.Jaipur and the state of Rajasthan is going to
be a great place to explore, with its rich history and cultural
traditions. There are forts and royalty
and mosaics and festivals galore. The colors and fashion from Rajasthan are
like no other state in India, as I saw on a recap of New York Fashion Week,
which was HIGHLY influenced by Rajastani fashion savvy, thank you very much.
Tomorrow I’m rocking a pair of elephant pants in honor of Ganesha’s birthday
and my first official day of work.
Picture to follow.
I invite you to come along with us and enjoy the loud, the chaotic, the
friendly and the confusing we will undoubtedly encounter along the way. Namaste.
Jaipur is heritage city and hundreds of palaces are here to visit like forts, temples and gardens. Every place is unique and identify for unique value.
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