Indian photocopier

I photocopied some sheet music from my friend, Iris, the other day at this little shop in the market near my house. And boy did it take forever! The shopkeeper did all the photocopying for me because I guess that's how it's done here. The photocopier looked ancient with wires holding up the paper tray in a makeshift way. The printing was really light - probably to save on expensive toner. It reminded me of those old "ditto" photocopies we had at school - you know, the blue ones? (How did those copiers work anyway? I don't think I actually ever saw one. And why did they have to be blue?) The copies were really cheap though - just 1 Rupee per page (less than 3 cents). And you didn't have to pay for the ones where the copies got screwed up in some way (like being cut off).

By the way, if anyone wants to send me some sheet music here for my piano, then please do! I would love some good music, suited to the piano, to play. Or if you know of a good place online where I could order some, that would be great, too.

Musambi juice anyone?

Yummy! A glass of freshly squeezed musambi juice at your doorstep costs only 15 Rs a glass (37 cents in Canada). The musambi guy pushes the cart all around the neighbourhood just like the dickie dee guy used to do when we were young. It tastes almost exactly like orange juice, just a little less intense. Musambis are basically oranges that are greener on the outside and yellower on the inside. Normally the musambi seller provides the glass and you have to chug it on the spot so that he can have his glass back. But this time I had the foresight to bring some glasses from inside (and some ice cubes) so that we could enjoy them in the comfort of my house. Yum! Cheap freshly squeezed juice has got to be one of the best things about Asia.