The Jet Lag Kicked In & My First Weekend

I woke up quite early the next morning (Saturday). I tried to get back to bed but it didn’t work. I decided to explore my place. The pics from the previous post were taken Saturday morning. That’s when I got a chance to explore my place.Well first let me start with the fact that our kitchen is insane. It’s fully stocked. You may have seen the pictures I posted but in case you didn’t we have 2 refrigerators and they are both full to the brim. We have tons of snacks and a big plate of fruit that seems to be replenished every day. The food is coming out of our ears. After exploring a bit, I ate breakfast (a bowl full of cereal with soy milk – bad idea according to me – soy milk is not my favorite) outside on the balcony/patio/verandah. I really enjoyed the serenity outside. There were a few people off in the far distance but it was so peaceful. There was some faint music in the background and I couldn’t make out what it was exactly. The area surrounding our complex is all under construction. There’s a lot of land being worked on. In fact, the outside of our building is still being worked on. In the distance, you can see a gorgeous white temple of some sort. I can’t make out what it is but it looks less than an inch tall from where I was.

It wasn’t too hot out yet since it was still quite early. I believe it gets to about 104* F on average with a max of 116* F. Right now it’s not that hot and we’re indoors for most of the day anyway. After breakfast and poking around the house my roomies and I went over to Thomas’s apartment for breakfast (yes I ate again!). Thomas wasn’t up but Brian and Adam who were staying there as well were. Breakfast used to be served there for everyone but now it’s not limited to just their place (more details about food in the next post). After chatting and eating we all decided to head out to get some basic necessities (ie shampoo, Kleenex, etc.). We went to a place called Q-mart. They have so many things available and most of the things they have are imported from other countries mainly the US. After spending a lot of time there we headed over to an indoor mall called Hyderabad Central. OH I ALMOST FORGOT TO MENTION - I FINALLY HAD MY FIRST **ORANGE BAR** SINCE I ARRIVED. IT WAS SO SO SO GOOD. BRIAN WAS THE ONE WHO POINTED IT OUT TO ME ON OUR WAY OUT. IT MADE MY DAY. I TOTALLY OWE HIM. But back to my story. Hyderabad Central - I went there in search of a pillow and they didn’t have any. We did buy a few board games to play when we have time. I’m looking forward to game nights; it will be so much fun. While Heather and Lauren were finishing up shopping, Adam, Brian and I played some arcade games. We all had lunch at a noodle bar and then headed off to Meena Baazar. This is where everyone here goes to buy fabric in order to make clothes. believe you can get suits made for $30. I haven’t verified that statement yet but I don’t think it is that far from the truth though. These fabric stores have such vibrant colors. Meena Baazar has a lot of little shops that together make up this bazaar. We were only there for a little bit before we left for yet another store, Lifestyles. This is where I found my pillow! Let me tell you, by the end of the day, we had tons of bags between the six of us (Heather, Lauren, Adam, Brian, Chris and myself). We had a chance to finally rest a little and unwind before we all headed out to dinner. Now this is really pathetic – we ate dinner at this restaurant – a post Happy Birthday dinner for Thomas – and everyone there was devouring their food while I was drinking tons of water since I (yes, ONLY me) thought the food was SO spicy. This is sad. After dinner we all went out separate ways…I went to go meet my mom.

OK that was Saturday. Sunday was yet another day when I woke up way too early. Apparently every Sunday everyone gets together and goes out to Brunch at this hotel called Taj Krishna. It’s an all you can eat buffet and they make whatever you request. The food was really good and we even had a samba band play for us. It was so sweet. The first song was ‘Welcome to India.’ I think Shadie and Chris have their CD. They were singing along with the band since they’ve heard the song 15 different times. I left the group to spend the day with my family. It was nice to see them all. Towards the end of the day I brought my mom back to my place to check it out. Everyone (Saamra, Brian, Kirti, HAL, Thomas, Chris, and Shadie) was at my place so I had a chance to introduce my mom to everyone. Sunday I went to bed hoping to get lots of sleep. And sadly it didn’t happen. I woke up Monday at 5 AM!!!