A Big Decision

Udaipur, India – Day 2

Hello, it’s Kylie. We decided not to go to the upstairs cafe for breakfast today.  Instead, we tried a different rooftop restaurant where we ended up moving tables three times.  The first time we moved because Dad and I were in the sun, the second and third time was due to a man smoking.  The man who was smoking must not have watched much Indian TV because all commercial breaks have at least one commercial talking about smoking being injurious to your health.  Like we normally do, we played Hearts while waiting for our food.  When our food did come, we discussed what we are going to do for the rest of the day.  The decision was to go shopping for some early Christmas gifts.  Mom and Dex would go to get the items we'd seen the previous day, while Dad and I went to look for our $5 gifts.  

At the first shop we went to, the man showed us lots of items, but we didn't like them very much. Dad had explained to me how we were going to go to at least three shops before making any purchases. The second shop we went to, however, we enjoyed very much. The reason we were drawn into the shop was from the items that were outside.  I had mentioned to Dad that if we were less enthusiastic about them, we might get them for less. When we were inside the second store, Dad asked me if we should go to see another store and I said yes.  As we started to leave, the man started lowering the price until Dad and I thought that that was the best price we would ever get. We were able to happily purchase our items not for 3000 rupees, but only 1200 -- 60% savings!

When we left the store, we went in search of Mom and Dex.  We kept hearing other store owners saying "Momma and Brother up the road" or "America!" making it clear that they had seen Dex and Mom recently.  When we got to the right store, they weren't there, so we went back to our hotel and found them.  We all showed off our purchases and Mom and Dex explained how their negotiations went.  At the very end of the conversation, Dex threw out that the man at the shop was offering to pierce ears too.  

Mom and Dad still had some shopping to do and asked if Dex and I would like to come. Instead, Dex and I had seen a garden in the courtyard of our hotel, so we brought down the KinderMen to play, but I was still left with the big decision of whether to pierce my ears or not.  Dex and I had fun trying to keep a particularly curious snail on top of our KinderMen, making sure it didn't touch the ground and slowly slime away.  

An hour or so later, Mom and Dad came home and showed us yet more stuff.  Everybody was pleased with the days shopping.  It was getting late, and Mom asked me if I wanted to get my ears pierced.  I said yes!  So we all headed off to the shop.  I was feeling nervous, but excited.  When we got to the shop, I picked out my first pair of earrings that would be in my ears for 2 weeks, and I also picked out a second pair, a small turquoise blue stone surrounded by a silver base.  I had never seen the piercing gun before and I had always imagined something white that was big and would clamp down and then release.  This was more like a golden gun with a very sharp point for the earring.  Mom had explained it would be like a bee sting for a little while, and when it was all over, the shop owner showed me a mirror.  I definitely looked older, something I both liked and disliked at the same time.