UW SIGHTING!! :)

Hello faithful readers,

We have officially returned to Thanjuvar after a fun-filled weekend in Pondicherry! Good news: the trek back to Thanjuvar was much less eventful than the ride there!  A little background on the city: historically, Pondicherry was pretty much under French rule until 1962, when it was reclaimed by India.  This interesting mix of cultures has made the area a hot spot for Indian and worldwide tourists.

We stayed in a hotel called Ginger (no red-headed jokes, please, friends) that ended up costing me $20 for the three night stay (my family should be proud of that frugality!).  We spent the majority of the weekend exploring the city, which definitely included some shopping, as the city gets a lot of cloth imports.  Let's just say that there's a chance I purchased a pair of floral MC Hammer pants, and they may be more awesome than you could possibly imagine.

A lighthouse that took us 45 minutes to find, even with the help of some locals, and then it ended up being off limits to visitors.  Either way, it was a fun adventure!  Super cute side story: our driver asked a man on the side of the street for directions, and after we continued on, the same man showed up on his motorbike to make sure we found the lighthouse.  I really am finding the Indian culture to be incredibly hospitable and generous!  (As another side note:  Indian men are not afraid to ask for directions.  Just throwing that out there!)

If you look closely, you can see that instead of using barbed wire to keep people from climbing the wall, they use shards of glass, like broken bottles.

Bay of Bengal!  Woo!

I loved how colorful the egg cartons are!  These were on the back end of a man-powered (read: bicycle) rickshaw!

I love this picture!  Perfect timing of Epi and Josh getting soaked by a wave from the Bay of Bengal!

Necklaces being sold by a local vendor.  

Old lighthouse in downtown Pondicherry that is now being utilized as an office building.

Clearly the French still have an influence in Pondicherry!  

We also enjoyed over-indulging ourselves in French-influenced cuisine, which was a nice change of pace from curry and sumbar!!  I also spent a good chunk of the weekend perusing stores for gluten free cereal (as I've been craving some Chex right now), but sadly the only types I could find were Fruity Pebbles and Cupcake Pebbles (google it!).  AlthoughI love me some sugary cereal, I just can't bring myself to eat Fruity Pebbles.  Or Cupcake Pebbles.  Anyway, back to the French food!  I know this might be sacrilegious here in India, but I may have enjoyed a tenderloin steak...  And it may have been incredibly delicious...

We spent both Friday and Saturday nights at rooftop restaurants overlooking the Bay of Bengal.  Friday night, we enjoyed some beverages at a place called Seagull's (see picture) followed by dinner at Bamboo's Garden Restaurant (or something along these lines), where I enjoyed a delicious butter chicken masala under a palm hut!

Rooftop restaurant/bar called Seagull's that we hung out at Friday night!

Epi, me, and Megan at Seagull's

Saturday night, we ate at a pretty posh restaurant above the Promenade Hotel, a luxury boutique hotel overlooking the Bay of Bengal.  It was one of my classmate's (Shawn's) birthday, and we thought we all deserved a little spoiling for the occasion!  Some of my classmates actually met some other American students earlier in the day and invited them to join us for dinner.  We ended up comparing our experiences here in India and bonded over how often we get stared at because we don't look like native Indians.  Interestingly, we (or at least I) came to understand why we get so much attention here in India, because as we Americans were exploring  Pondicherry, I found myself curious and sneaking glimpses at the many Caucasians I encountered!  I guess the culture really is becoming a part of me!  Speaking of attention, Dessa, Epi, Josh, and I actually got mobbed by a tour bus of Indians who all wanted to shake our hands, hug us, and get pictures of us.  I can now say that I understand what it feels like to be a famous celebrity!

Promenade Hotel (stole this pic from Leslie)!

Celebrating Shawn's birthday at the Promenade Hotel in Pondicherry (again, stole this pic from Leslie).
Left to Right:  Josh, Megan, Epi, Leslie, Whitney, Shawn, Dessa, me, Erin R., Sonia

Anyway, in addition to meeting some other American students at the Promenade Hotel, I also had a Wisconsin Badgers T-shirt sighting!  I guess it is true that Badgers are everywhere!  Unfortunately, I didn't get to talk to the guy to discuss our assumed mutual love of cheese and cardinal red, but I'm sure it would have been a great conversation!  Weirdly enough, I also met an Indian man at the Promenade Hotel who claims to have been a drinking buddy with Brett Favre.  I didn't quite know how to respond to that without relaying my disdain from the man, so I cut the conversation short! :)

Josh in our van of awesomeness, getting ready to head back to the Thanjavur!