irony

Well, i’m all tucked away here in bed. The only place to be. Listening to tunes on my ipod, Deepak Chopras “gift of love” music set to poems by Rumi... thanks to Janice. Thanks Janice!
Candelight.... just chillin. Contemplating our next moves. What we need to do to prepare for the next leg of the journey.
I bit the bullet and bathed today. Yes, in my bucket. Haha. My mom is laughing at me because she has this great shower she says... tons of hot water and pressure, just like living in the real world, and i am here, swimming in a bucket. Haha, jokes on me. Even though i have waaaay better blankets than her, actual duvets and the like, she has an actual space heater. Yum. Boy its nice to turn your feet towards that thing. she has it pointed at her bed and it is coooooooozy!
But i am happy and content here. It is romantic, the ambiance in my room, the candlelight, the music, the austerity. I am content, or full of “santosh”, in Sanskrit. In the daytime, my windows on all four sides let in so much light, it is like living outside.
My hindi is still coming along abysmally. Meaning: i am making little to no effort, therefore little or no progress, except to ask a few questions here and there.... how to say this, how to say that. I am just storing up my intention to learn and getting ready to make the concerted leap IN to actual learning. I don’t even need to be fluent or anything, i just want to be able to offer a few words here and there. More than just “bas” which means “enough”, (amazing how useful this word comes in in india, you can use it when people are offering you waaaay too much food, or even in the circumstance when someone is pestering you and you want to tell them to bug off). Of course there is my ubiquitous “shubratri”: goodnight, and its buddy shupraba: goodmorning. I know.... the words for milk and for water, or course, so i won’t go hungry or thirsty in the desert. Or i know alot of words for all the herbs, of course, these were the first words i learned last trip. Kind of obscure and A weird place to start when learning a language, i know, but i was always so interested in identifying my favourite Indian flavours. Kind of ironic that i know the words for saffron, cilantro and cardamom but i don’t know how to ask for help, or to tell someone to be careful, or to ask “how much does this cost?” or “what is this?” which is like.... the most basic tool for learning any language. If you can ask “what is this” in any language, that is your doorway to learn more. Or also you have to learn how to say “how do you say_______ in hindi?” in Hindi. Also very helpful.
So i gotta get on this.
Somehow i inevitably end up being taught words that are totally not useful in your everyday life here. like... oh..... the word for skunk (of which, by the way, there are none in india, so i will never need this word). Instead i figure i should at least be learning the words for monkey, cow and dog. These are the important animals I need to learn. And then the next one i want to learn is snake. Because i am simultaneously afraid and fascinated by them and want to know how to stay away from them. And i want to be able to shout SNAKE! At the inopportune moment that i might find one in front of me. Apparently rainy season is the problem for snakes here, so as long as i don’t come in august or September, i figure i’m sittin pretty and i won’t find one under my bed waiting for me when i come home at night..... eeek. I remember a time in Thailand when one was found in the kitchen. A big black one.... a BIG one, even the locals were marvelling at its size. I believe they killed it and after the commotion was over, the story was told with great glee and relish to all who were gathered around, drawn in by the sound of pandemonium coming from the kitchen. Like i said, i am simultaneously fearful and fascinated by the creatures, so i was both glad and a little disappointed that time when i arrived just after the snake had been disposed of. I think it is their power, their potential lethal dangerousness along with their exotic and strange beauty that i find so captivating.
There are other words too.... i am compiling a list of essentials in my notebook, and then i will accost my Indian friends and ply them with questions.
Some people teach easily and speak easily for me to understand. Others think it is a big joke and laugh at any attempt i make to twist my tongue around their words. A tremendous joke. Glad to be of entertainment to you guys. Thanks. Now what is the word for “irony”?