Today a bunch of us took three rickshaws into town. The drive there was a lot of fun. We were racing each other and taking pictures along the way. We all went to the shop that we found last night. The owner and his son laid out piles of clothes and scarfs for us again. Almost everyone of us bought stuff. The colors were so vibrant. I found some fabric I liked and they are going to make me an Indian outfit. I was brought to another store where they had a tailor. He measured me and said my clothes would be ready on Tuesday. They served us water and soda while we shopped in the store. They wanted to make sure we were happy.

We all then went walking and viewing other stores. I found myself looking at the clothes women were wearing as we were walking down the street. They are so beautiful, exciting and to me - exotic. We stopped into a men's tailor store. Harvey, Karl and I spent several hours looking at fabric. We picked out fabric that we wanted tailored into clothes. I'm having three shirts made based on Harvey's measurements. I made them short sleeves so that I wouldn't have to worry as much about them fitting my guys back home. They will be done within 10 days. I'm excited to see how they look. The shop was owned by a father and son again. They made sure we understood that they were there to serve us. They wanted to make sure we were very comfortable and happy the entire time we were in the store. What a difference from many of the stores I normally shop at back home.

From there we went back to the hotel and ordered pizza. Lunch was pretty much over at the hotel and we were hungry. It was ok. A little dry. I wanted to see what pizza was like over here. We had cheese pizza and pineapple pizza.

In the evening we went to a palace. It was beautiful. They gave us a tour, which gave us background about the palace. There was a buffet dinner that we got to partake in. We sat at tables with six students and two instructors from the Institute. Our instructors were very interesting to talk to. The dinner had many choices to select from. I tried a little of almost everything. Some things I really liked and others did not suit my taste. I want to try as many different things as I can. There was Indian music playing in the background. Our host was the person in charge of the Institute.

It has been very interesting to see the differences within the Indian culture itself. There are the very poor and those of more wealth. In just two days, I have seen both. They seem to co-exist side by side one another. The hotel is nice, but is set in the middle of a very poor area. Then you drive a few kilometers away and there is the grandeur of the palace. I'm learning to appreciate the different aspects of each part of the culture. It was shocking at first, but I have now been able to get past the initial culture shock and move onto the desire to learn more about each aspect.