One week down, 9 to go

I have just finished up my first week in Dehradun, India. The host family experience was wonderful and the city itself was...well quite an experience. I've gotten used to walking around here without gasping constantly. I find myself weaving in and out of traffic like a true native...well except today when a bike came out of nowhere attempting to end my trip early. At least the many people around me got a good laugh at the foreign girl scream while almost getting ran over in the middle of the square. The square (I don't think it's really called that but I tend to make up a lot of words which I don't know here) is a massive market with hunrdeds of outdoor shops. There are alleys shooting off in every direction with the most colorful items for sale. It's packed with people. I've come to miss the "No Motorized Vehicles" signs in the US because here even though you can't see two feet in front of you, you always have to be ready to dodge the speedy motorcycles that creep up behind you without warning. At least everyone has LOUD working horns which I get the pleasure of hearing 24 hours a day. Just a warning, I may come home half deaf. This place is so different (Duh I know). A massage lady comes to the house everyday for only 50 rupees per hour (that's $1 btw!) yet I find my self crouching in the corner of a dusty bathroom attempting to rinse my hair with the drizzle of cold water that might come out of the spicket if I'm lucky. I find that services here are extremely cheap. I got two pairs of pants tailored for 40 rupees (80 cents) and I spend 5 rupees (10 cents) to get anywhere in town I want on the auto rickshaw. Maybe that's also because it's the sketchiest thing I've ever been in lol. It's finding normal goods here that's the hard part. I asked about where a grocery store might be, a place to find food, products, and what not. They pointed me to the MEGA MART down the street. Basically it's half the size of the smallest market in the most rural towns. I leave to go to Than Goan for the next week. I'll be without internet and phone and living in a stone hut. Oh ya I have to carry a 4 foot long stick with me everywhere for... reptiles? Here goes nothing!