Tabla in Inda!!

Hello again,

The trip has been getting better and better. India is such a fascinating place. Yesterday we went to visit a local private school for K-12 students. It was amazing. The campus was green and lush with palm trees and flowers everywhere. They had 2 big main buildings, a temple, and a couple of other smaller buildings for sports, art, music, etc. We did'nt have too much time to spend their because the students were taking their final exams for the year, so it was just a half day. We couldn't see the classes in action either, but we did get to visit the music room where I got to play some tabla with the music teacher. He played the harmonium. Scott brought his Indian flute and sat and played a bit too. I was so overjoyed to be playing tabla in India! Scott and I have also made plans to spend an extra day in Delhi so we can buy some nice instruments. I am hoping to go to a tabla maker and get a custom set made, but I am not sure of that quite yet. Other than that, we have been eating incredible food, (all vegetarian), and doing incredible amounts of shopping. The Indian people light up when the American crew walk through the doors. It has been such a friendly place. We have also noticed a lot of laughter at our expense, but it is not a bother. Actually, the first day here, Scott and I were wearing shorts, which is totally un-Indian, so when we put on the pants the next day we could walk down the street and not get pointed and laughed at. It has been so much fun to go out and find things. I will never take communication for granted again. Yesterday we were looking for a card reader for Scotts camera. We went to an area of town that had a lot of electronic places, but no one had what we needed. Then, one guy wrote something in Hindi on a piece of paper, pointed at it and nodded, so we started showing it around to people. They would look at it and then point us in a direction. About 20 minutes, 10 people, and a couple of wrong turns later we found ourselves in a building that must have had 50 little 5ft. wide stores in it. I stopped at watch place and bought a watch, while Scott found the store he was looking for. The man running the store spoke very good english and he was explaining a ton of stuff about India to Scott when I broke in to ask him if he knew where I could find an instrument store. He called over to a guy and told me to follow him. We walked through town for 5 minutes, twisting and turning through small alleys, past tiny shops and up to a second floor instrument shop with just enough room for some shelves and a tiny counter. The instruments he had were very poor quality, but it was so great to see. I asked the man I was following if he could get my friend and he nodded and left. I sat in the store watching the clerk sell a guitar. I was quiet, unable to talk to anyone. Suddenly Scott showed up and we went back to the hotel. It was so amazing. Tonight we are going to a local festival with music, dancing, and I don't know what else. I'll let you know. Thanks for reading.

John