Long day of travelling, including me as the lone crier at the airport (think tissues and mascara streaks, not yelling the news or the time to the masses). Note to self: airports in Chicago and especially San Francisco are much cooler, more invigorating (in a good way) than the White Plains airport. Got to hotel too early to check in so went for a run. Very smart thinking to put running gear in a separate bag in my carry-on. Evidence that we keep learning as we age. For people who run in Brookfield and Roxbury, Berkeley is a piece of cake. You call that a hill? Houses around the university adorable and small, with scented blossoms making the air interesting (not like the skunk carnage on Rte. 67, ick.)
Saw my beautiful Wellesley friend, Suzanna Smith, and her super handsome 7-week old boy, Miles. Suzanna is a jazz singer, graphic designer, mom and general centered competent kind woman who's consistently gorgeous AND I don't hold it against her (that shows her real power). Her new album, Halfway Between Heaven and Love, will be out on iTunes soon, and all the coolest people will have it, putting jazz back into their vernacular. We were having so much fun, we forgot to take a picture of our charming trio. Drat. Next time.
I just had a splendid dinner of fried green tomatoes and black eyed peas at the Hotel Shattuck. I'll skip the picture this time, as I plan to load up this blog with pics of food, street scenes, people, etc. Please send your suggestions: what do you wonder about? What do you want to see?
Let me know!
I want to see pics of life on the street. I want to see a cow in the road. I want to see flyers and posters and billboards. I want to see a street vendor cleaning the earwax from someone's ears (preferably yours).
ReplyDeleteI want you to learn to greet someone in the language of every state you visit. Obviously, i already know it in Punjabi and Hindi, so you can skip those.
I want to know how different people in different places feel about the British, 65 years after independence. I want to know how people feel about partition 65 years after. And the dispute over Kashmir and relations with Pakistan.
I want to know how the folks in the north (esp. northeast) feel about the Maoist movement. I want to know if the plight of widows in Varanasi is really as bad as the media paints it.
I want to know how people feel about the movement to make Tamil one of the official languages at the UN.
I want to know the differences in regional cuisine. In the states, you get mostly food from the Punjab, but I understand there are amazing delicacies in the south, such as these teepee-shaped crepe things...forget the name.
I want to know how popular RK Narayan continues to be, how his work is viewed now. I want to know if Deepa Mehta's films are really as controversial as the media reports. I want to know if Bollywood is moving toward more western production values.
That's the short list. I'm sure I'll think of more stuff as we go along.
Oh...DATING...is that a thing yet?