Holy Bollywood...

We're on a set right now. It's 5 to 8 in the morning. We just ate something that I think might be called paratha. This morning we got up at the crack of dawn and left the hotel to meet at the McDonald's for the free bus to the site. When no one was there for a good ten minutes we realized that our watches were still wrong and were 30 mins fast so we walked around the area passing all the street vendors who were snuggled in their flea-infested blankets sleeping on or beside their stalls. The bus here was very old and it was a very bumpy ride. When we arrived we were given little to no instructions, just directed to a concrete wall with food on it. Turns out the shoot is outdoors and the only place to sit is on concrete bleachers or in the sun on the grass. Justin has just wandered off and left me sitting here. A group of Indian men have migrated my way which is disturbing but mostly annoying...

later...

Turned out the site was outdoors all day. They started picking people for "roles". Some guys were part of a Canadian soccer team, others were just fans in the stands with painted faces. Justin didn't have to change or have his face painted. A very odd white Indian guy came up to me and said, "You, pom poms, ok?" and made a little cheerleader gesture. Against my better judgment, I decided that there were worse things in life and that I would do it. Myself and four other girls were taken to a trailer out back and told to wait until our costumes arrived. Many moons later our black little numbers arrived. Little wrap skirts, spanx, and crop tops (with small tears) arrived. Oh goody. I've gained weight from many buffet trips and imbibing multus maekju (much beer) in my last week in Korea. That plus the sticky tape residue on my back from my back patches (*I'll note here that if you can find those hot cold back patches for pain you should buy then in mass quantities if you plan on travelling and ever suffer from back pain because they are a WONDER!!) made me oh so attractive for the Canadian team. All of a sudden they just pointed and drove us onto the field and said "cheer." And we were like, "uh....ok???" "Do some steps or something," the guy said. As if, dude. It was very hot on the field and very degrading. After many, many takes we were allowed to go relax and eat. By this point it was about 2pm and I had had it! The whole day was an awkward mess and I started to get one of my oh so common panic attacks. After 30 mins of working up the nerve to go and find my clothes in the trailer I changed and we ran away from the site. I know, I'm very mature. I say "dude" and teach small children "Englishee."

Turns out we were in some remote area with a giant petroleum station, many trucks, and many men. We walked along the side of the road for awhile looking for a cab. There were tons of autorikshaws but none would take us. It was a very sketchy area and I was not happy. Finally an autorikshaw agreed to take us to the border of where the autorikshaws can go which was close enough for us. Autorikshaws are insane little scooters with caps but are very fun at times. We had to walk again to try to find a cab after getting dropped off and it was very hard to avoid being hit by some kind of moving vehicle. Finally we got a cab to Haji Ali Mosque (a mosque on an island that you walk a long bridge or roadway to get to). From there, we walked to Malhalaxmi temple through winding, busy streets. We stopped at a gas station to buy a snack and bought some "Mint Mischief" Lays. I plan on buying lots of different chips while I'm here!

We went home at about 4pm hot and tired, took showers, went for some vegetarian curry ($4 for two!) and then went to a sports bar for two much-needed beers. We saw the bus with the movie people roll in at about 7:30pm!!! A couple walked into the bar and told us it was "Hell." So glad I bailed! We went to bed early to be ready for the next day...