Thukpa

My new favorite meal in Darjeeling, Tibetan Thukpa soup. OH! It's so delicious. It's hot (steaming, actually) and mild and full of vegetables, what could be better?

I love my hotel. Really, if you come to Darjeeling it's the best place to stay, hands down. This morning I was working on my ISP paper and the hotel owner interrupted me to tell me, "I can tell you are a very smart person." It was a bit strange, but nice all the same. Apparently this guy has been all over the world, he was in the British military. He listed his many stomping grounds: Singapore, Austria, Germany, Italy, England, China, Japan, Nepal, Croatia, etc, etc, etc, etc. He told me he "knows foreigners" and he can tell that I'm a good traveler, not like those people who fight with him because of the room rates. Despite his slight pessimissism about the state of foreigners in general, it was very flattering and nice.

It's a bit foggy today, but I welcome the fog. I'm feeling homesick (I guess that makes sense, I'm home in less than two weeks) and somehow the fog is comforting. At night the city is always covered in fog, and I sit out on the roof with my friends and watch the kerosene lamps light up all over town. There's electricity here, but many people don't have it. I prefer kerosene, at least for aesthetic purposes. The light is softer and orange, and looks beautiful in the fog.

I spent too long at an internet cafe yesterday, trying to get good scans of all my artwork so that I can make color prints for my final report. It was a frustrating experience, but I have some okay scans. Trying to accomplish anything "business-like" in India is a bit of a pain in the ass. The good news is that I'm almost finished, and that means I can just read some books for pleasure and wander around the back corners of Darjeeling. It's a cold day, which means it might be another tea-sampling day. There really is nothing better than wandering around the city and drinking tea. Although, I did hear about a little cafe that serves homemade warm beer (curious). Apparently it's famous and delicious, so I think I'll venture there today, once my paper is finished, to celebrate my accomplishments.

Nothing more to report other than work, fogs, and mountains.