Sunday, June 6

extra, extra!

well, it seems i can't sleep.
i'm excited about my day off tomorrow - i'm gonna go shopping and buy chai since we have a stove in our little home now :) and i'm gonna get to be the best chai maker there ever was and teach you all!! and i'm gonna do allll my laundry, and i'm gonna eat chocolate and take pictures... somehow. i can't go to the slum by myself, but i'm told i'll go on tuesday. let's keep our collective and international fingers crossed for that, shall we, readers? thanks. :)

ok, remember how i told you about the university work we've been doing? well, after some time working out in the hot hazy scorching sun that causes sweating, smelliness, dehydration and death, the campus team stops in at the cute little cafeteria of whatever campus we happen to meet up and have refreshments AKA a goblet of something cool and refreshing and fruit-flavored that has been blended in a communal food processor along with all kinds of other delightful fruits. well, one day we were just chilling, waiting for our happyjuice (Maaza is my drink of choice these days... mostly because it comes in its own bottle and i get to skip the sketchy food processor bit. ha. it's basically mango juice. everything mango here is awesome; i think it must be the national fruit or something. i'm hoping in my heart i can find maaza back in the states, cuz i'm starting to become somewhat dependent on it, i think...) and one of the many camera men on campus started trolling the cafeteria grounds. He started to move people around and he asked us to sit at a specific table. we obliged, no big deal. he must want the cafeteria to look busy, i thought, so he'll shoot only one side after filling it up. he took some pictures of us specifically - though he didn't pose us i'm sure we were all aware of his lens jutting out at us and we all had a photogenically merry time together for a few minutes until he left. it was no big thing, just a passing moment. or so it seemed... no, friends. this moment was not as passing as i initially had thought! Prabin, the leader of the campus work (who is Fabulous at it, by the way) got a call a couple of days ago, asking if we wanted to include a tagline about what we're about and why we're on campus under our PICTURE IN THE TIMES OF INDIA. ha! that's right, i come to India for three weeks, and i get in the national newspaper. it's to be expected... i'm kind of a big deal. i think i always knew it, but now it's been confirmed. good thing i was wearing my cute kurta!

well, things are still swimming along quite well here. Number one... Prakash is in love with me - i know this because he has taken it upon himself to learn my name, and because sometimes he cries when i leave. Number two... Josh is learning to cook from Kagui - they made some stellar fried rice and chicken tonight... wow, yum. Number Three... i'm still developing my relationships with the girls here - i got to lead the women's fellowship time tonight in Study, and what a nice time that was! I felt more comfortable with them than i expected to, and we had a very profitable talk. i learned a ton just preparing to lead! Number four... i got to have some great conversation with Heather tonight. I really appreciate getting to know her, and i feel like we can be great friends. she's gotten to the point where she's comfortable joking around with me, and i think that's a good place for me to be. Number five... i've learned to sleep in a multitude of ways after a lifetime of never sleeping in any position other than that of a fetus. i think my favorite here is stretched out on my back with my arms above my head. i don't know if it's cooler or better for sleeping on the ground or what, but i like it. my neck still hurts from the one time i fell asleep in the middle of the day, just konked out after flopping down on my stomach. i woke up drooling hardcore and stiff like none other! note to self: don't abuse neck muscles or hydration reserve in this manner again.

well, i'm still trying to do what i can to help the malakars out. i think it's funny - usually i never notice the little things that need to be done, but here i'm so aware of anything i can do to clean up after them or make their lives easier. I can only hope my presence is more of a benefit than a burden to them.
i am their intern, after all! :)

okay, i'm going to try and go to sleep again.

yours truly,
maaza slurper && newspaper star.

ps:: though i made it sound like a ball of fun, don't try tummy time at home, (i'm a trained professional sleeper on a closed course.)

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