Daily Life, Yaudaipur Style

Most of my posts have been primarily about the trips I have taken and the things I have seen so far. But in between the adventures, I have really settled into Udaipur, Seva Mandir, and life in India. So I thought I would post a blog entry about what the day to day is like. Since this is a pretty boring topic, I am going to let the pictures do most of the talking.

Work Life:
Welcome to my office. Ok, so not exactly an office, but rather the third floor of the Seva Mandir library. This is where they have set aside space for all the volunteers to work. You can also see the couches in the corner where many a volunteer have caught a quick midday nap.



This is the view outside the library window. The real offices are across the street and to the right. This is where my mentors work. I spend most of my work day on the couches mentioned above.



Food:
People often ask what I normally eat. At the beginning, my roommates and I regularly went out to the same restaurants. Our local favorite, Kuwar, has come to know us and now gives us the "Indian" menu, which is basically the same as the "Foreigner" menu but with cheaper prices. Recently though, my roommate Alvaro has begun cooking up some amazing dishes.


Salad with tomatoes, onion, pepper, cheese and oil and vingar dressing. The main dish is rice with fried egg and fried banana.







Shrimp and fish paella. It was delicious but Alvaro said he could do better so I'm not going to stop him from trying.






Social Life:
So there is not much of a night life here in Udaipur but we do have a movie theater. Last night I went with a few coworkers to see a recent Bollywood flick, Dostana. The entire movie (3 hrs+) was in Hindi but has such a basic plot that I was able to follow most of it without subtitles or a translator. I did miss a few jokes here or there but am pretty confident that I did not miss out on any deep dialogue. The movie wasn't great, but I really enjoyed the music and have since bought the soundtrack (this also the soundtrack that we listened to on repeat throughout my Kerala trip, so there is the added nostalgia element).