Mocha, Blisters, and Kathak

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Mocha is a coffe bar that serves coffee drinks, desserts, dinner items, and hookah. I wasn't going to go tonight, but then Sienna mentioned something about chocolate, and I realized that there was no way I could resist. I ended up ordering something called the "Chocolate Avalanche Jr." I'd hate to see the Sr. version, because Jr. was enormous. And I now have satisfied my chocolate craving for the rest of the month, after going through half of the chocolate truffle, chocolate mousse, chocolate fudge, and chocolate brownie. Oh yes, and the chocolate ice cream too. Admittedly, it was a bad idea in the end, but worth the initial satisfaction.
Hookah, for some reason, consistently makes me nauseous now. I used to enjoy smoking hookah quite a bit, but now even the smell makes me feel a little off color. So, I didn't partake in that tonight. I don't think I can see myself getting used to it again actually--I'm not sure what it is.
It was a rather cool place to hang out and do homework. Apparently Tollywood stars like to come and eat there on occassion. We've been going there because it was listed in our CIEE handbook as a good place to go. Apparently they recommend some of the latest and most stylish places to be. It was a very nice place at which to spend an evening, but I also feel like we're living a rather lavish Hyderabad night life, what with the coffee shops and fancy restaurants. I guess I should decide how I feel about that. On the one hand, I feel spoiled. On the other hand, I figure that if I didn't go out in the evening every now and then, I would just end up staying on campus in the guest house, which isn't the most enriching experience (though it's a very pleasant place to be).
I'm really looking forward to Nanaji and Naniji coming this Friday. We have a long weekend so a lot of students in the program are travelling. A few groups are going to Aurangabad to see the Ajanta caves, to which I'm glad I've already been or else I would be rather jealous.
Today I walked to the Lakeview Guesthouse in which Nanaji and Naniji will be staying. I wanted to see where it was, and to also confirm their reservation I unintentionally took the longest route possible, and also decided to wear my new sandals since they appeared to be fairly comfortable. Appearances, as always, can be deceiving. I have some mean looking blisters on more than a few parts of my feet, and will be using these shoes for future nice occassions only.
Oh, I was about to end this entry, but I realized that I forgot to talk about my first Kathak lesson. It was pretty awesome. Challenging and awesome. I mean, I like to dance and all, but coordinating my hands and feet is a completing different story. It took me forever to get the basic sequence of steps down, and then we had to add hand movements to it. Definitely took a lot of concentration, but once you get it right, it was really gratifying. I am so happy to finally be learning classical Indian dance. And to learn it while in India just makes for a really special opportunity.
OK, I think I covered most of the interesting parts of today. There are even a few photos...

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Photos

Mocha
Siena and Rachael

Mocha
Leslie and Fred

Mocha
I think this dessert was called "Lava Lava," or something to that effect.

Comments

[Shruti/Mom]

food, food, food...and chocolate!
Tollywood - the South Indian/Telugu equivalent of the Bollywood entertainment industry Kathak - a form of Indian classical dance Nana/Naniji - maternal grandparents :) Just thought I'd add a few words of explanation...love you!

[Aunt Dana (AD)]

Ahhhhhh
Ahhhhh, Coffe and Chocolate. I would really like this place......Love, Dana