However, Saturday we went to the zoo, which was fine...everything you would expect from a zoo. We did go on this safari ride thing where lions, tigers etc. were on a free range. Some tigers were really close to the vehicle. I would show you the pictures I took of it buuuuuuuuut...yeah.
Yesterday we went to Golconda fort, which I don't know that much about suffice to say it is the ruins of a really old one. You climb steps to the top where there is a great view, I think I recall that it was built during Islamic rule. I will just have to take some other people's photos of it and post them.
On other random news, we are set to go to Madras and Pondicherry on Feb. 18th I think, where we will spend five days. I am excited for that, and now that I know that dragging the photos to the camera icon deletes them, hopefully I will retain those photos. These cities are on the east coast, so we are bound to be on some beaches; not that anyone will be scantily clad, women are usually in traditional Indian garb no matter the temperature it seems, and traditional Indian garb=a lot of cloth. But maybe, just maybe some Muslim women will show some face by temporarily removing their birka for the sake of being on the beach, sexy. And if we're lucky, some elbow and ankle...but I wont count on it.
In thinking about it, conservative pentecostals in some ways could fit in here, when it comes to the conviction to dress modestly. As the normative notion of modesty here is in some ways more conservative than that of American conservative evangelism. At least until missionaries come and teach American conservative evangelism, then those converts start looking like American pentecostals rather than Indian pentecostals, with women in jean skirts and such. Which is odd, considering that person's standard of modesty prior was probably much more modest than the showing of her bare calves and face. It seems that in conservative evangelical missionary work, the missionaries forget that standards of modesty are culturally normative, and so while spreading the Gospel they simultaneously spread the 'merican way concerning modest appearance; at least the old fashion 'merican way. So while conservative pentecostals SHOULD feel somewhat at home with the modesty of dress you usually find in India, it would probably be foolish to think that they would, as the methods to this modesty of dress are different.
For example, a lot of men here wear what is essentially a long skirt, there is a name but I do not know what it is. It is just a cloth wrapped around their waste, which is usually very long. So along comes the missionary, who tells the man of the gospel news. Let's say the man frequents the church and eventually becomes a "born again" member. Does this man keep wearing his chosen garb of having a cloth "dress-like" thing to cover his lower self? I really doubt it, and it probably has to do with an undertone message coming from the missionary, as he/she teaches what is "appropriate" dress and what isn't. Of course the Pentecostal-apostolic missionary will teach the staple scripture of Duet. 22:5, where a man should not wear the clothing of a woman and visa versa, and supposing that we accept this logic, it does not apply here. The man was not wearing anything that a woman in India wears, it is designated as man's apparel in this particular cultural norm. For the man to be violating the above principle he would need to be wearing a Sari or something of the like, as that is specifically female apparel. Though, as the 'merican missionary sees this man in his "skirt-like" apparel, it just wouldn't seem right in the missionary's cultural conviction of what is appropriate for a man and woman to wear, and I doubt that the missionary would accept this man's apparel as appropriate in the long run; as I have never seen an Indian pentecostal-apostolic wearing such apparel. No, they look very "proper" and western. Hence the reason why missionary work is at times not looked upon too kindly, as there seems to be difficulty in separating the spreading of the religion from the spreading of the culture from which it originates, or is that even possible?
Suffice to say, there will probably not be the immodesty on the beaches of India that you see on the beaches of America; such immodesty in apparel and actions are reserved for Bollywood movies and/or billboards and advertisements. I have been in India for about 1 month, and I have seen one female thigh lol, which is very scandilous and only seen in places where westerners would be, which was in this really nice hotel. The moral of this story is, if you want hot Indian cleavage, leg, or rear...watch bollywood movies; such dress is considered to be extremely inappropriate in public settings, at least in the places I have been thus far, places like bombay could very well be different as it is a much more western kind of city.
Also, Dr. Pappu is going to nominate for this scholarship designated for philosophy students. He said he got the email asking professors for nominations, and he asked me where I stand as a Philosophy major. As I have received A's in all of my philosophy courses, he will nominate me for the scholarship, then whoever is directing the scholarship will get in touch with the nominees. So far, this is all I know about it. It would be pretty sweet if I could score another scholarship for next year, especially one designed for philosophers, (can I call myself a philosopher yet? At what point can one do that?).
So in light of the photo disaster, I will gather photos from other people, and then post them later.
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