H

I found this letter on some brick siding that lined a path of one of the temples we visited.

I

J

This is my favorite find. When we were in Jaipur, we were fortunate enough to ride elephants up to a fort. After we arrived at our destinations, the trainers let us take a few pictures of them with their elephants. As one was moving her trunk, I noticed the letter “J” and snapped this shot.

K

I have been barefoot a lot during this trip. So, I have made a habit of taking pictures of my feet at the temples we go to. I had taken this photo then noticed later that there was a letter “K” formed by the cracks between the stone.

L

The "L" in this photo is the silhouette of each individual stair in the staircase. I took this photo when we visited a film school in Mumbai.

M

On our way to Mt. Abu, we saw some gorgeous scenery. The hour or so drive up the mountain gifted us with gorgeous views of trees and wildlife but also let us see locals’ homes and hangouts. This photo is of a dwelling near the hotel we stayed at. The “M” can be found in the shape of the pants hanging on the clothesline.

N

O

This is a knot in a tree right outside Mudra in Mumbai.

P

One of our favorite hangouts in Ahmedabad was a restaurant chain called Havmor. One night we ate there I ordered pasta with green peppers. As I was eating, I noticed this “P” in the middle of my plate. It took me by surprise because I did not think that peppers could make this shape at all.

Q

I found this “Q” in the pedal of a bicycle that was propped outside an agency we visited.

R

One night, one of the MICA professors took us all out to dinner at an authentic Gujarati restaurant. I noticed a lowercase “R” in the glass above the doorway.

S

V

I took this photo at the fort by the Taj Mahal. The “V” is formed by a chain that is binding two doors together.

W

Again, this photo was taken at the fort by the Taj. I found a “W” in the stained stone atop the archways.

X

This “X” pattern appeared on the ceiling of one of the many temples we visited on this trip.

Z

This photo was taken at the fort we went to at Jaipur. I found the “Z” by looking at the shape the sitting man makes when his body interacts with the stairs.

Happy Bday, America...India-style

The other day, we went to the market and LOADED UP on fireworks for July 4th. So tonight, after spending a very long day sightseeing, we went out to the cricket field at the MICA campus and started our celebration! It lasted about a couple hours or so...that alone should give you a clue of how much we bought. We waved around sparklers even though they attracted bugs like no other! While we held the sparklers, bugs would just fly up and hit us in the face. It was weird. Campus has been overthrown with bugs because it didn't rain today. When we came home from town, we discovered bugs had invaded our rooms...from under the doors and through cracks in the windows. It felt like a plague from the Bible. We literally had to kick bugs off the ground to walk to get to our rooms. I have never seen that many bugs before. It seems India is the land of the extremes...but since we hail from Texas, I'm sure we won't have much problem adjusting.

Heritage Walk: Old Town Ahmedebad

We went to walk through old town Ahmedebad today and I can honestly say I have never been so hot in my entire life. The humidity here is ridiculous. We spent a couple hours tooling around town and by the end of our walk, all of us were completely drenched in sweat--head to toe. I really didn't know that my butt could sweat like that! Anyway, it's funny because when you're outside walking around all you want is to be in the path of some righteous A/C. But, when you finally get to some relief, you're so wet from the sweat that you nearly freeze! It's hard to find a happy medium.

Anyway, regardless of the heat, I had an amazing time. We saw some really great places--temples, mosques--and got to ride rickshaws! Rickshaws are 3 wheeled motorcycle type vehicles that people use as taxis...at their own risk, of course. Rickshaw drivers are INSANE. They hardly ever lay off their horn and drive like the Devil is chasing them.

I am not surprised by how many animals I encountered on the streets today. I am, however, surprised that they didn't appear to be too malnourished. When I went to Africa, it was heartbreaking to see really thin dogs and cows. Here, I learned that people feed strays and try to take care of them to be in good standing with their gods. They see that taking care of these animals is a way to find purity and spread good karma. Good news for me, an animal lover!

A very busy day...I haven't even touched on half the stuff I saw! More to come later!

Primpin' Ain't Easy

To my knowledge, all of us girls have surrendered our vanity because there is really no point. You walk outside, you are drenched in sweat. Your face suddenly has more oil than the Florida beaches (too soon?). A perfect bouffant? Forget about it. By the time the clock strikes noon, your roots are already soaked and your hair is already in a ponytail. My first night here, I tried to dry my hair so I wouldn't freeze under the ac and also, I wanted to maintain some semblance of civility, but as soon as I plugged in my roomie's hairdryer, more sparks flew than on the 4th of July. It was actually a little scary because our lights started to flicker and there was a lot of buzzing, zapping, and blue light coming from the dryer. But we're still alive, so everything's okay. Regardless of our declarations to go au natural, we picked up an Indian hairdryer yesterday while we were at the mall and so far, so good. I have used it a couple times and no sparks/smoke/zapping noises so far!

A Nice Welcome

I am so taken aback by how hospitable our hosts are here at the MICA campus. Upon our initial arrival, we were greeted with fresh bouquets of flowers and the MICA mascot, a German Shepherd named Roxy. Everyone here is so eager to make us feel comfortable and at home.