Samode Village

Our first stop in Jaipur was Samode Village, where we spent two nights with my parents who were in India for a conference. It was our first visit to an Indian village on this trip, and as soon as we walked out of the hotel, we were taken under the wing of a local painter who spent the afternoon walking us through the market and alleyways of the village (for the small price of us buying one of his little paintings). We saw lac bangles being made, iron pots and shovels being hammered into shape, goats wearing sweatshirts to protect them from the cold, and hundreds of kids screaming for pens and chocolates.

I used the opportunity to practice some Hindi with our guide, which got some stares as we walked around the village. When we went back to his house for chai, I introduced myself, Joe, and my mom to his sister and niece. When introducing Joe, instead of using the formal term for "husband/(or boyfriend, if you aren't hiding the fact that you aren't married in a conservative country)" I used the slang term, "admi" (meaning man), which I had learned in conversation with someone else. Hearing a slang word come out of my mouth sent screams of laughter around the house as they cried out "Admi! Admiiiiii!" and clutched each other. Imagine a foreigner coming to your house and stammering "Zis...iz....my boo." After their invitation to come and live with them (which I did consider), we headed back to the hotel, miniature painting in tow.