Journal 5

Dear Journal,

Wow, I am glad we went on the excursion to the country, but I can honestly say that I am glad to be back in the “city.” I now realize how spoiled we have been at the guesthouse with air-conditioning, no bugs, and great food three times a day and pretty much all the luxuries we are used to from home. I remember when I first stepped into the guest house I was still in “shock” and confused by the “culture shock” that I didn’t realize how luxurious even the guest house was…

After a horrible night in a very hot room full of bugs we ate breakfast and decided to leave the farmhouse a day earlier than planned…that was enough “country life” for us! We had to take the bus home, which was definitely an experience in itself. We sat side-by-side with the locals and they were VERY confused by our presence. Some looked at each other very confused, some simply stared at us and very few simply minded their own business. Even though the bus was very uncomfortable, very hot and cramped it was a very interesting ride…we drove through many small villages and saw another “India.” We saw under what conditions a big part of the population lives. It was definitely an eye-opening experience and I will never forget it.

After we arrived at the guesthouse and enjoyed the air-conditioned rooms, a very cold shower and some hot food, we decided to go out and experience the nightlife of Hyderabad. WOW…what a culture shock that was after a night in the country. After a very scary ride through our first real monsoon rain (and almost being washed of the road J) we arrived at the nightclub.

To me this was the strangest experience…we had just gotten back from the village and we had just experienced life in India for the poor. Now we were driving into this underground garage full of Mercedes and big guards greeted us and directed us to go upstairs. We walked through a very luxurious and beautiful hallway and found the entrance to the “touch.” We paid an entrance fee of 500 rupees, which was put towards drinks and were seated at a table near the entrance. We found a very chick small white table with rose leaves in the middle, many luxurious white leather couches and quite, electronical lounge music playing in the background. We sat down, ordered some drinks that were definitely much closer to American prices than anything else we had found in India before and took a look around the club.

The kind of “Indian” we found here was a very different “Indian” and had a very different IDENTITY than the Indian we had seen earlier that day out in Pilly Polly. The Indian here was educated, rich and the women wore much more revealing clothes…. We as a group had a great time eating, drinking, dancing and talking.

When we got home around 1 a.m. however, I sat down and took a few minutes reflecting on the day! It was a very odd day. It was a day full of CONTRAST, just like India itself…a place full of contrast….