Nightlife!

What do we do at night in Pune? Well! I'm glad you asked. Two nights a week we have class until 8 pm, and all we do on those nights is eat dinner & go to bed. In fact, that's what we do most nights... but we have had a few fun and special outings worthy of mention.

Of course you MUST go to a Bollywood movie! Last night we were here in India, Musty and I tried to go to a movie, but it had just opened and was totally sold out! wow. So, this time around I was determined not to miss out. Abbey, Jen, Anne, and I went out and saw this movie "WELCOME" - it was hilariously perfect. Very dorky, very slapstick, and totally fun. Of course, I am always thinking of my blog readers! so I whipped out my camera and started taking sneaky pictures during the movie! The movie was all in Hindi, with a few little english words dropped in here and there, but we were still happily able to get the general concept. Also of note, we saw this movie at a VERY modern multiplex called "E-Square" near our place... it's a big huge modern building with many movie screens, a nice food court, a cafe, shops, a bookstore... AND even a bulletin board with pictures of street dogs that need to be adopted (how COOL!). I made a poster for our little kitty and put some up around our neighborhood, including one there. Cross your fingers for her - she needs a nice home!

One of my most favorite things in the whole entire world (or at least, my experience of the world to date) is India's little shops at night. I've mentioned it before on this blog, and I think this picture really captures the excitement of it. See all the colors, the people, the sparkle, the activity?? What fun! So, a few times we have ended up out shopping for little gifts and goodies in the evening hours, which fills me with delight. Really, it could be as good, but nothing could be better.

We were very fortunate that the Times of India (one of India's most widely read newspapers) held its Times Pune Festival while we were here. All the events were free... all you had to do was swing by the Times office and pick up a ticket. So we went to a few different events. We went to two lovely Sunday night concerts held outdoors at the Poona Club. How wonderful! The evening air is cool, and both nights, the musicians were of top notch caliber. The first concert was with a woman who sang traditional Hindustani songs for the first half, and then popular "pop" songs for the second half. You should have heard the crowd go WILD for those popular favorites! It was so fun! Also, one night when I was too sick to go, Jen and Abbey went and saw The Vagina Monologues, being performed for the first time in India. What an unexpected thing to see here in India, but they said they were the only foreigners (but the play was in English), and there were many men in the audience. Right on! And all for free! So, we are feeling grateful to have been here for the Festival season, and to the Times of India for some great free cultural experiences.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Jen and I had our picture featured on Page 2 of the Times the morning after the concert! That's me in the middle and Jen to my left in the bottom picture. We had our eyes closed so that we could more attentively listen to the music. I never even knew anyone took my picture! Then the next morning, I was in the bathroom during class, and someone said "Nice Picture" - I had no idea what she was talking about! But our friend Jennifer brought us a clipping. It's interesting how many people noticed and commented, even my buddy from the Internet cafe!

Hope you are all doing well. I am slowly recovering... for the first time in 4-5 nights I actually got some sleep last night without being awake and coughing all night - what a difference! Love Amey