Firstly, the decor is beautiful. Built around a central courtyard with a small fountain and with gorgeous, vibrant Indian curtains hanging about, it is really striking when you first enter. In addition to the courtyard, there are various shaded open-air rooms throughout the guesthouse's roof where there are floor cushions and pillows or small daybeds so one can relax, read, eat meals, etc. away from the sun.
My room, though pretty bare, is painted a very pretty blue, has its own set of pretty green silk curtains and has paintings of bird flying on the walls. Very, very cute.
I think it's truly impossible to capture how pretty the decor is, but I will keep trying. For now...
My room, with birds flying overhead
The family who runs the guesthouse is also incredible. It is made up of: Govind, a young and progressive man who runs an NGO for the empowerment of untouchable women on-site and seems to know every NGO in town; his beautiful wife; an adorable 3 1/2 year old boy; the son's mother; a shaggy and cute dog; and at the moment, the wife's sister's family as well.
Govind is extremely impressive and extremely kind. With many guests staying for over a month to do volunteer work, he emphasizes that he is friends with all of his guests--and it is true. He is always very generous and helpful and I hope to be helpful to him in return (I have offered to help out at the organization, and will be proofreading documents for him once his volunteers go). It is also really interesting to be a part of such an active family in Jodhpur...Govind never seems to stop and currently is going to great lengths to help one particular girl he met get treatment for mental illness. He is simply an extremely caring guy to both his guests and to his community; through him, I will likely meet some fascinating people and hear fascinating stories throughout my stay.
In addition to the beautiful decor and fantastic family, the food here is amazing (which is good, because it is all included in the measly rent I pay). Cooked by the various women in the family, all of the food has been vegetarian (though veganism is simply impossible, due to ghee) and my meals so far have included okra, lentils or daal, flatbread or chapati, cheese/curd or paneer, roti, etc. It has been extremely delicious and there is always chai available, which is lovely (I am slowly coping with the idea of drinking hot, sweet tea in the heat).
Lastly, the other guests are definitely going to be a great addition to my experience. Two other college students (one from the UK and one from Duke) are working as volunteers in Jodhpur until the end of July, so I will likely get to know them quite well. Last night there was also a really fun South African woman and a set of three French backpackers. It was nice to all have dinner together and stay up late chatting. And as the other volunteers have been here for a bit already, they have all been really helpful as I settle in. We are also already planning some small weekend trips together to other cities in Rajasthan, and it will be nice to have new friends with whom to travel.
Not only that, but the guesthouse is only a fifteen minute walk to work and takes me down quiet streets. So far, Jodhpur is nothing like Delhi. Though polluted (I can feel my skin breaking out as I write), the litter is not atrocious, the streets are not very crowded and the traffic is manageable. This may not be true for all of Jodhpur, but it is true for the section I will be in most of the time. It is always over 90 degrees here it seems (with it hitting 98 yesterday, though people said yesterday was particularly hot). But it's not quite as oppressive as it was in Delhi, because the humidity isn't quite as atrocious. Or maybe I am just getting used to it...
Other news:
I found, through Govind and another guest, a Hindi teacher and, with another guest, I may start doing daily hour-long classes.
I will be going on Sunday to a fabric store and a tailor, so that I can have a salwar kameez made just for me. Very exciting.
More on my job tomorrow (I was launched full-force into working the minute I walked in the door)...
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