i had to pick up some hindi while in hindustan.
i'm not 100% courageous in using what i've learned, but i'm working at it. it's been funny being with my folks because they didn't grow up speaking hindi, only hearing some other people use it, and in east africa no less... but immersed in it now, they sound like true hindiphiles.
if anyone's up for a little hindi lesson, i'm laying down some key phrases here...
hello = NAMASKAR
hello (in a rajasthani village) = RAM-RAM (hands in prayer pose)
ok = ACHHA (best with the ihw)
please = KRIPYA
thank you = DHANYAVAD / SHUKRIYA
how are you = KYA HAAL HAIN
my name is.... = MERA NAAM HAI....
your name is? = AAPNA NAAM KYA HAI?
no problem / my pleasure = KOI BAAT NAHI (best with the ihw)
i like it a lot = MUJHKO BOHOT PASAN HAI
where is the bathroom? = MEN'S /LADIES NA TOILET KAHAAN HAI?
it is nice to meet you = AAP SE MIL KE KHU-SHI HUI
take me to my hotel = KRIPYA MUJHE HOTAL LE CHLIYE
how much does this cost? = YEH KITNE KA HAI?
it's expensive = YEH BOHOT MEHENGA HAI
this = YEH
to make a phone call = PHONE KARNAA
where's the phone? = PHONE KAHAAN HAIN?
what time is it? = KYA SAMAY HAI?
help = MADAD
doctor = DOCTOR
police = PULIS
taxi = TAXI
tea = CHAI
water = PAANEE
do you speak English? = KYA AAP ANGREZI AATEH HAI?
i don't understand = MERI SAMAJ MEI NAHIN AAYA
one, two, three, four, five = EK, DO, THEEN, CHAR, PANCH
six, seven, eight, nine, ten = CHEH, SAAT, AAT, NAU, DAS
come here = IDHAR AAO
don't touch me = DON'T TOUCH ME
when in doubt, use your hands and gesticulate wildly....
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
1.10.2007
1.04.2007
01.03 q and a...
even though i have decided not to write about specific people, today i got the funniest e-mail from taz, my sister. it was a series of questions that had me laughing like a madwoman in the icafe a few seconds ago... probably because i can practically hear her voice as i read them. i've decided to post it here with answers...
just when i think she's a regular girl, she surprises me with the most imaginative lingo... this post is dedicated to you babes!! miss you tonnes!
arent u glad ur chillin in the motherland?
arrrey! batchhi, you don't know how good we have it at home. food to eat, hot water on tap and none of these ridiculous macchars - no need for mosquito spray! ok ta admit, i'm loving it.
how are the eye workshops?
all's well on the eye front. day 4 or 5, and i've been retested, successfully reading the next smaller line on the eye chart! woohoo! took the cam in today to snap still photos and record video. they love me. but then again, who doesn't??
how are the men in their dhotti pants?
i know you love those natural, cultured types.
dahhhling. they are more cultured than you think! and they are called "luuungis". pretty much full length sarongs, and when they get to be a pain around the ankles, they are folded halfway up and tucked in, exposing the knees a la miniskirt! mmmm. verrrry sexxxy!!
don't you love your week of freedom from peeeps asking about your sanas and loud snoring at night?
'peeps' is referring to my parents. 'sanas' refers to regular bowel movements, and the loud snoring. well, that's my mom to be exact... sharing a room with her was so painful! yes i'm thoroughly enjoying my new found freedom. but the first day it was very noticeable that there was no one checking up with me on my 'sanas' status!!
have you met any cool people?
yes. a few really cool ones. it's like anywhere else in the world. there are some very cool people. there are some that like to dress like very cool people, but are not cool. and then there are some that are cool until they become uncool, often just when you get up close to them. i've been lucky and been mainly hanging out by myself! and i'm seriously cool. i even dress the part!
do you have the indian head wiggle when you speak?
omg yes i noticed i was doing that today! on my daily walk to the vision centre, i always get approached by the autorickshaw drivers asking me if i want a ride. today i think i did it. i didn't even know i was doing it. but afterward, i had this weird feeling because they were not persisting as per usual. i think the indian head wiggle (IHW) sealed my firm, "no thank you" with an extra bit of "and don't ask me again"!
gotta say that i love the indian head wiggle. more on that in another post...
do you say 'HAI?' with a loud, nasal, high pitchedsound if you dont hear or understand what somebody said?
(giggle) yes.
are you wiping the sweat of your brow with your dupatta?
i don't wear a dupatta!!!
are you dhasering your champals around in the dirt?
'dhasering' is dragging, 'champals are sandals, or flips... and yes. although i didn't bring any with me, i succame to the heat and picked up a pair at the fashionable store in the market. they set me back $8 and are good enough to wear home. although today they came in handy at the beach...
are you sneeking out and eating pappadams and gulabjambu from street vendors at night?
i try not to. pappadams are not readily available at night. gulabjambus either. i have taken a strong liking to the ginger and coconut cookies. the street vendor i like the best is an old lady near the vision center. she sells me banana and oranges, which are deeeeelish and cost roughly 2 cents!!
[update: i did find hot and fresh gulabjammus at a sweet shop one night and they were pure heaven and covered in sweet syruppy bliss......]
are you having a passionate love affair with a hotbodied, smelly rickshaw driver?
awwww! wouldn't that be fun!!
do you spit the paan juice as you cruise down the streets?
did you read the blog on spitting? it's requisite, babes.
have you seen hanuman?
i visited his tomb, does that count? i think he came to me in a dream one night after i parted with the parents. not for a love affair, more as a fatherly figure to remind me to be regular with my sanas...
just when i think she's a regular girl, she surprises me with the most imaginative lingo... this post is dedicated to you babes!! miss you tonnes!
arent u glad ur chillin in the motherland?
arrrey! batchhi, you don't know how good we have it at home. food to eat, hot water on tap and none of these ridiculous macchars - no need for mosquito spray! ok ta admit, i'm loving it.
how are the eye workshops?
all's well on the eye front. day 4 or 5, and i've been retested, successfully reading the next smaller line on the eye chart! woohoo! took the cam in today to snap still photos and record video. they love me. but then again, who doesn't??
how are the men in their dhotti pants?
i know you love those natural, cultured types.
dahhhling. they are more cultured than you think! and they are called "luuungis". pretty much full length sarongs, and when they get to be a pain around the ankles, they are folded halfway up and tucked in, exposing the knees a la miniskirt! mmmm. verrrry sexxxy!!
don't you love your week of freedom from peeeps asking about your sanas and loud snoring at night?
'peeps' is referring to my parents. 'sanas' refers to regular bowel movements, and the loud snoring. well, that's my mom to be exact... sharing a room with her was so painful! yes i'm thoroughly enjoying my new found freedom. but the first day it was very noticeable that there was no one checking up with me on my 'sanas' status!!
have you met any cool people?
yes. a few really cool ones. it's like anywhere else in the world. there are some very cool people. there are some that like to dress like very cool people, but are not cool. and then there are some that are cool until they become uncool, often just when you get up close to them. i've been lucky and been mainly hanging out by myself! and i'm seriously cool. i even dress the part!
do you have the indian head wiggle when you speak?
omg yes i noticed i was doing that today! on my daily walk to the vision centre, i always get approached by the autorickshaw drivers asking me if i want a ride. today i think i did it. i didn't even know i was doing it. but afterward, i had this weird feeling because they were not persisting as per usual. i think the indian head wiggle (IHW) sealed my firm, "no thank you" with an extra bit of "and don't ask me again"!
gotta say that i love the indian head wiggle. more on that in another post...
do you say 'HAI?' with a loud, nasal, high pitchedsound if you dont hear or understand what somebody said?
(giggle) yes.
are you wiping the sweat of your brow with your dupatta?
i don't wear a dupatta!!!
are you dhasering your champals around in the dirt?
'dhasering' is dragging, 'champals are sandals, or flips... and yes. although i didn't bring any with me, i succame to the heat and picked up a pair at the fashionable store in the market. they set me back $8 and are good enough to wear home. although today they came in handy at the beach...
are you sneeking out and eating pappadams and gulabjambu from street vendors at night?
i try not to. pappadams are not readily available at night. gulabjambus either. i have taken a strong liking to the ginger and coconut cookies. the street vendor i like the best is an old lady near the vision center. she sells me banana and oranges, which are deeeeelish and cost roughly 2 cents!!
[update: i did find hot and fresh gulabjammus at a sweet shop one night and they were pure heaven and covered in sweet syruppy bliss......]
are you having a passionate love affair with a hotbodied, smelly rickshaw driver?
awwww! wouldn't that be fun!!
do you spit the paan juice as you cruise down the streets?
did you read the blog on spitting? it's requisite, babes.
have you seen hanuman?
i visited his tomb, does that count? i think he came to me in a dream one night after i parted with the parents. not for a love affair, more as a fatherly figure to remind me to be regular with my sanas...
12.29.2006
12.29 planes trains and automobiles
transportation in india is a bitch. i think it will be an indian who will make teleportation a reality.
so far i have been driven around spoiled silly with a personal driver. i've taken two overnight trains, neither of which even had first class seating. and i've flown indian airlines. with a cold.
the "rail ghadi", (rail car in english), is an adventure. book early. for overnight trips "1A" is your best option. "1" being the class, and "A" being short for A/C. in my case we booked 1A but when the train appeared, there was only 2A. you have to go right up to the cars and look for your name on pieces of paper taped to the train outside! it's the most disorganized system ever! we found our names on the 2A list. 2A has two bunks, one on top of the other, pretty crammed, but i also saw a 3A car. the word sardines comes to mind. 'A' cars are not only air conditioned but safer i've heard than non-A. i found there were bunches of indian business travellers in the A cars, all of them who i spoke to were very cool and were very helpful. they really understand the NRI (non-resident indian), and give you the kind of good advice that only someone who cares about their country's economy will.
the ride is surprisingly smooth, but noisy. there is no closed 'compartment', only curtains separating you from strangers walking by. there are 'western' (seats) and 'indian' (hole in the ground) toilets for each car. one sink, outside the toilets. bring sanitizer! forget fresh air. the rail cars look almost greenish on the insides, and on a couple of occasions i almost pulled aside all the curtains in our car to find the elusive 2am chain smoker.
i went against the rules and between cars, i opened the door so i could catch some railside action. as the sun came up, i saw the most amazing things. train tracks and train stations are almost always in the seediest areas of towns. no exception here. many 'homeless' people make their beds by the tracks, some in tents, some in open air. i even saw a real bed out in the grass under a bypass bridge! like so many other speeding by moments i didnt' have my camera ready to capture it! in the morning, these people are all doing their matinal abolutions (ie blowing their noses without paper, horking and spitting, urinating or taking a dump) in plain view of locomotive passgeners.
the coolest part is that you are never thirsty. there are a multitude of 'chai-boys' pedaling hot tea. they climb on at one stop and walk up and down selling their stuff. and the chai is soooo good. even gets your mind off the stopper-poopers outside for a few minutes...
as for planes, i took a horrific air india flight from cochin to chennai. the flight itself was fine (they still hand out candies before the take off; even BA has stopped doing that!), but after two sleepness nights and a head cold to boot, i underwent the most acute ear pain since i was 12 (that was the last time i flew with a cold). apart from the massive power out at the airport, and heavy security checks (in a curtained room a guard smears the metal detector ALL over you), the trip was fine. i was even distracted from my ear pain by a croissant puppet thanks to my charming travel companion who i met prior to the flight.
i must mention that the east coast road trip from chennai to pondicherry is the most beautiful route i've taken in a long time. during the 3 hours, my driver stopped so i could visit the ruins in mahabalipuram. these are a series of ancient rock carved structures that were built by the pallava dynasty in the 7th century. like the taj mahal and lal q'ilah, the red fort in dehli, there is a stretch of tourist shops lining the entrance to the monuments. i spend 20 minutes visiting the structures, 10 minutes chiling at the beach. by the time we reach pondi, i am so tired and hot that i am nodding off. i wrestle myself awake, taking everything in as we enter the french enclave where i am to spend a week improving my vision... and very glad to not be in transit mode for a full 8 days!
12.21.2006
12.21 thaali with truckers
if you've ever shared a meal with me at some point, you know very well that i love love love food. this is one meal i gotta tell you about!
while we were out for our full day of driving and visiting small villages in my ancestral stomping gounds, we naturally worked up an appetite. there was no where in sight to eat except this one remote truck stop our driver recommended we stop at.
in north america, i grew up traveling on interstate or national highways (the time before roadside MAC and Wendy's), so i'm no stranger to the truck-stop. i was a bit curious, wondering what type of food they would be serving up.
the food was the most amazing i've had yet. for about 50 cents we had traditional thaali for lunch. the thaali is a north indian concept of eating, mostly vegetarian, where your food is served in a large metallic platter. inside the platter, individual dishes are served in small matching metallic cups. along with papadam and chapattis (an indian flatbread), i had curried okra and curried mixed veggies, daal, the most increidble curried spinach, rice, mango puree (to die for), all served with a small shot of chai.
the waiters loved us, and kept coming back with their hanging tins filled with yummy food to refill. i think i had about 6 chapatis in total. they came around with ladoos - the type of indian after dinner sweet thing that you get at very traditional weddings.
mmmm. pure heaven.
12.12.2006
12.11 what's the dehli?
i've arrived!! safe but with a cold, we were welcomed by the bright face of sanjeev, the owner of nexus tours and travel, with whom my father has arranged the first several days of our trip. i'm instantly thrilled to see the gleaming white ambassador - not a man, but the penultimate tourist vehicle of india! this thing looks like a true vintage, a lada or trabant - always in white for the tourists!
our driver is kharak bhadur. he sounds exactly like my uncle. you listen to him and you want to go smoke a cigarette and play some pool with the man. i was thrilled. sanjeev piled in the car with us and we drove off, i have been equally interested the whole time in listening to him tell us everything the first time traveller to india would like to know, plus taking in the sights: the abundance of everything on the road, from cars to beggars, the roads with their roundabouts, the temples, and mostly the people. everyone is brown! i'm finally in india!!
the one cultural thing i notice right away - dehli-ites don't say "dehli" the way we westerners do. to be a true delhi-ite, you gotta say "dilli", as in "yo, what's the dilli!". that's right. say it now. out loud a few times. yeah. you'll get it... you'll get the dilli.
after we got ourselves settled and warmed. dehli is cold at night this time of year. i didn't realise how far north we actually are. evening time, it was off to dinner, but not before a night time visit to the beautiful and lit-up laxmi's temple (a must for the first time visitor, laxmi is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and good luck as i believe). bring it on i say!
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our driver is kharak bhadur. he sounds exactly like my uncle. you listen to him and you want to go smoke a cigarette and play some pool with the man. i was thrilled. sanjeev piled in the car with us and we drove off, i have been equally interested the whole time in listening to him tell us everything the first time traveller to india would like to know, plus taking in the sights: the abundance of everything on the road, from cars to beggars, the roads with their roundabouts, the temples, and mostly the people. everyone is brown! i'm finally in india!!
the one cultural thing i notice right away - dehli-ites don't say "dehli" the way we westerners do. to be a true delhi-ite, you gotta say "dilli", as in "yo, what's the dilli!". that's right. say it now. out loud a few times. yeah. you'll get it... you'll get the dilli.
after we got ourselves settled and warmed. dehli is cold at night this time of year. i didn't realise how far north we actually are. evening time, it was off to dinner, but not before a night time visit to the beautiful and lit-up laxmi's temple (a must for the first time visitor, laxmi is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and good luck as i believe). bring it on i say!
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