Struggles with Cooking and the FRO

I am trying my hand at cooking lentils again. Last night was a disaster (at least within the culinary sphere), I must have boiled the lentils for forty five minutes and still they were hard and had a distinctly burnt taste. On top of that, the kitchen flooded and the roti that I had draped over a pot of warm water to soften fell into the water and became a soggy mess. I wouldn't have minded molding the dough into little balls to fry them, but the warm water was from the tap and so it contaminated the bread.

I was on kind of a domestic kick last night because I also chose to do my laundry. Right when I had soaped all the clothes, the power went out and the water shut off. Usually Thursday is the day they cut power, but alas...it is a steep learning curve. I always realize that when I start to write about my time here I get a little bit too detailed, but that is kind of what it feels like. I feel like I am in a place with a million details crammed into every second. 

Yesterday I had an adventure. I went to the Foreigner's Registration Office for the third time, after being rejected twice, travelling to three other police stations for documents, running to a nearby a xerox machine at least ten times, running back and forth on campus for two weeks now pleading with the different faculties for "bonafide certificates"and final, stamped, and signed acceptance letters, printing out and notarizing 'c' forms 'a' forms and bringing a twelve page lease agreement to a lawyer, being told to go to the bank multiple times to deposit minuscule fifty rupee fees, and threatening to cry, and paying a 1,647 rupee 'late fee,’ I finally registered at the Police Commissioners Office. But that wasn't the adventure! No, I met an Afghani boy who was also at the FRO and he took me on a tour of the city on his motorbike. I feared for my life, helmet-less and dodging goats and cows in the old part of town, in fact I don't think I will do that again...it was pretty stupid, but it was so exhilarating. He bought me sunglasses too, all I needed was some Hindi music and we could have been in a bad Bollywood film. 

This morning it is full of the joy of having found cereal and being able to forego curry for breakfast. I feel like my days here revolve around food. My landlady is visiting today, so I have been shaking out the rug, doing my laundry, gathering the dust on the floor with pieces of paper (I don't yet have a broom), and wiping down the kitchen. I will take a break now and enjoy my muesli...