The Last Sunset

Note: As a final goodbye present to me from India, I spent the last three hours writing this blog post, only to have it all deleted when I went to publish it when the internet went out. Seriously?

I just saw the sunset over my last full day in India. The sky was starting to turn dark blue, but just above the horizon, there was an orange, purple, and pink layer. The sunset looks like that in Colorado over the mountains, but in Illinois? Not so much. I’ve never seen sunsets like the ones in India before.

My flight leaves Hyderabad in 24 hours and 15 minutes, and I’m hitching a ride to the airport with Jess, Emma, and Elizabeth because they are leaving for Delhi, or maybe Kerala, tomorrow around the same time. I’m really glad I will have other people with me. I’ve always liked being around other people, and I’m especially glad Jess will be there. We can eat my last meal in India together. Today, we went to the Ista Hotel to get massages, and they were amazing. That was an amazing way to end my 5 months here. After the massage, we went to Prasads to see the new Hindi movie Rockstar, but it was sold out by the time we went there. We ate our traditional McDonald’s movie lunch anyway, and then came back, tried to go to the Safrani School (the weavers) but they were closed. So I came to Tagore, and was exhausted. I took a nap for an hour, and now it’s almost dinner time.

At least, on our failed afternoon excursions, I got to see many of the places I’d spent my time in Hyderabad from the open sides of the rickshaw, or through the window of the shared autos we took. I looked out at the Muslim women covered in black from head to toe, the men with the little caps (what are those called?) and white kurtas. The Hindu (or at least not traditional Muslim) women in saris. The women in nicer saris were getting out of cabs, or their personal cars. The women in cotton, functional saris were sitting on my lap in the shared auto. The families on the motorcycles, babies sleeping on their moms, even as they dangle precariously close to the pavement. I saw the dirt along the sides of the road, the trash burning, the goats, cows, and stray dogs. The men pulled over, peeing on the wall around someone’s property, probably right below the painted notice not to urinate there. I saw the brightly painted, ornately carved temples scattered randomly through the city, as though everything else had been built around them. I saw the fruit vendors with flies buzzing around, the (probably) lower-caste women sweeping the streets (there was a study a while ago that found that even though Untouchability has been abolished, in many areas in India, street sweeping crews are made up entirely of the members of castes who were former Untouchables). I saw the fancy car dealers and international department stores with the huge nets over the windows to keep protesters with rocks away.

What happened to my days here? What have I done in India? I’m mostly confused that it’s ending. I’ve been leading an entirely different life here. I don’t have the extracurriculars, the meetings, the amount of reading for class, the sports (except cricket) or my friends from home. In being here, I learned a lot about India, myself, and the people around me. So I think the easiest way to order my thoughts is to make a list of the things I’ve learned, and some things I’ve done in India.

1.     I learned yoga. This has helped to give me some flexibility (finally), and also to calm me down. I know this is something I will keep with me for the rest of my life, and I am so happy to have learned the basics in India, the home of it. Anyone who has learned yoga in the US thinks of yoga as increasing flexibility, maybe finding a calm center. But in learning it here, I got to learn some of the theory. The idea that the asanas are simply preparation for the pranayama (breathing/meditation) is something I will definitely keep with me. Additionally, learning about the founders of yoga and its many forms has been a really interesting addition to the actual practice of it.

2.     I learned patience and flexibility not of the physical variety. India is so full of small challenges. Everything from not being able to speak to the people around you, to being pushed around in line at the ATM, to 100 Air India pilots going on sick leave without prior notice the week before I left India on an Air India flight, to spending hours at the FRRO to obtain a tiny stamp on the back of a piece of paper that will allow me to leave the country, to going to the tailor and discovering that your clothes which have been there for 17 days have not been touched. Being able to understand when people are late, classes are canceled with no prior notice, exams and class rescheduled for the weekends we had planned travel – all of these things are frustrating, but once I figured out that none of them are the end of the world, my life got a lot better in India. It helps that I have few obligations outside of class – if someone was late, it’s not like that made me late for the six things I had later that day. But still, I am proud of myself, and all of us, for adjusting to the much more laid back, much less timely lifestyle that people generally lead in India.

3.     I learned about the kindness of strangers. The man who explained to Jess and I how to take the MMTS commuter train to Necklace Road from Lingampally, the woman who walked my parents across the street in Medhipatnam and helped us negotiate a rickshaw, all because she saw me turn down a picture, and was proud of me. The man with his daughter in a tie-dye shirt who gave me his business card at Domino’s in case I needed any help with anything in Hyderabad. The Australian man who paid for part of Jess and my Subway purchase at the airport in Gujarat that doesn’t have an ATM and doesn’t take credit cards. All of these people, and many more, have been integral parts of the Indian experience. Often, they appear out of nowhere in moments of great need, and then seem to disappear just as quickly. I hope they know how much I appreciate their help. These are the people I will remember when I look back and think of how there are so many good people still in the world. And though we might not even be able to speak to each other, they were willing to drop everything to help.

4.     Getting mail is the best thing ever. This has always been the case (I LOVE MAIL), so thank you so much to Mom, Kristen, Morgan, Perin, and the SESP Student Affairs Office for sending me packages and letters in India.

5.     I went parasailing in Goa.

6.     I learned how important food is. This has a couple of different angles. The first is that roughly 50% of Indians live at or below the poverty line. The one established many, many years ago (I think it was the 60s or 70s) had the line at 50 paise per day in rural areas, and 75 in urban areas. One paise is 1/100 of a Rupee. It takes 53 Rupees to make a dollar. The line hasn’t moved much, to my knowledge. This means that people are living off pennies a day. And India is the most populous country in the world. That makes a lot of people. It’s interesting, though, how invisible poverty can be, even when it’s right in front of our faces. It becomes a part of the fabric of life here, and it’s unheard of to go somewhere without encountering several people asking for money. So what do you do? Do you give the person a couple Rupees? Then when 14 people see you do that, do you give each of them a couple? Where does it end? It’s difficult to make a good decision here, because a couple Rupees to someone living with none is a good thing, but giving one person some money also doesn’t solve the problem. Tell that to someone grabbing your elbow, your bag, or whatever else they can reach, looking at you with sad eyes. The other side of the food thing is what my friend Ronil would call “first world problems.” Namely, I don’t particularly like Indian food. This isn’t in all-inclusive statement. But for the most part, eating in India is not an enjoyable activity for me. It is the act of putting nutrients (just enough to function) into my body. I cannot express how excited I am for a very long list of American foods, including, but certainly not limited to Kraft macaroni and cheese, anything my mother or grandmother cooks/bakes, steak, and salad. I haven’t eaten a salad, I don’t think, in 5 months. And I miss it so much. Perin has been sending me recipes of things we could make when I visit, and even the ones that have sweet potatoes (yuck) in them are starting to look really good.

7.     Speaking of Perin… I could not have asked for a better boyfriend. He stayed up late when I was homesick, didn’t eat my favorite foods in front of me on Skype, paid attention to me even when he had his first set of med school exams and I was sick, and most of all, he stuck with me even though I spent almost 5 of the 6 months of our relationship in India, ten and a half hours ahead. Also, he may or may not have sent me flowers to welcome me home (although I can’t confirm that until I arrive in Evanston).

8.     I have stayed in the nicest hotel I have probably ever been in (Delhi and Hyderabad with Mom and Dad) and also the grossest hotel I have ever been in (Gujarat with Jess). I think it’s safe to say that the college student travel budget does not equal the working adult travel budget in India.

9.     Geckos and jumping spiders love to live in shower stalls.

10.   Roommates are really important to, well, a happy life. This is something I definitely took for granted freshman and sophomore year, because Anshu was literally the best roommate in the world. Not getting along with a roommate was new to me, and it was really hard at first. I am not so good with passive-aggressive, and I spent a lot of my time cranky because I didn’t know what had made the situation so unbearable, but for the remaining 4 months in India, my roommate and I rarely were in the room together, and didn’t spend any time together that we didn’t have to. We had all our classes together, so it was more than either of us wanted, and saying goodbye was awkward. But now it’s over, and I’d like to assure you that contrary to the rumors in Tagore, I do not have anorexia. I just got sick of rice and daal. Watch me eat a pizza on Pizza Wednesday and see if you still feel that way.

11.   I have seen the Taj Mahal at sunrise.

12.   I have learned to appreciate the fun little surprises that sometimes happen. Alikiah brought me balloons at my goodbye dinner. I got my exit permit without having to promise my firstborn child to the Indian government. I was better prepared for my final exam in Dalit Politics than I thought. Mom brought me a whole bag of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. All of these little things add up, and make every single day special, contrary to what the narrator says in the beginning of 500 Days of Summer.

13.   I have learned how to be alone. And how to be lonely. See the roommate entry for the reasoning behind this feeling of loneliness, but I missed my friends, family, and Perin too. For the first time, I didn’t fit in right away, and it was very hard for me to find a group who liked me after a month of social isolation when I first got to India. Val, Karen, and especially Jess are some of the best friends I have anywhere in the world now, and I am so happy to have found them. My life took a much more positive turn when I started spending time with people who wanted me around.

14.   I have learned that getting into cars with almost complete strangers is sometimes a really good idea. Ishan, Kishan, and Raj in Gujarat were far and away the coolest strangers we met in India. They took us all around Ahmedabad, and we rode our first and only roller coaster in India with them. They also took us to the airport, which was so nice because it was really out of their way. And they looked at us like people, like friends. Not like foreigners.

15.   I have had candid conversations with Indian women my age who are in the process of being set up into an arranged marriage. Some of them are happy, some don’t mind, but some (like my peer tutor) are heartbreakingly resistant to the idea. Some people have certainly had love marriages that I’ve talked to, but many, many of them are still arranged. And sometimes I wonder if that is doing more harm than good, especially to the people who don’t want that, or for the people (mostly women) who have to give up their dreams, careers, and education when they marry.

16.   I have jumped on and off of both a moving bus and a moving train. This is a lot less exciting and a lot more scary than it sounds, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend doing it.

17.   I have yelled at Indian men for taking my picture without permission, and I have said no to those at least polite enough to ask. It’s a small thing, but this made me angrier than anything else. It’s a constant reminder that you don’t belong, it’s intrusive, and it’s especially inappropriate in Indian culture. Men taking pictures of women they don’t know is rude and I hate it. Especially in an around Hyderabad. It made it very difficult to feel at home, even when I was comfortable getting around and doing everything myself in Hyderabad, someone taking my picture was a subtle message that I would never fit in.

18.   I have ridden on the back of my Arabic speaking Libyan friend’s motorcycle.

19.   I have eaten more Domino’s Pizza in 5 months than most people eat in their whole lives.

20.   I have learned to communicate with people when no one speaks the same language. There are 30 languages in India spoken by more than 1 million people each. Gestures, and “Hinglish” go a really long way here, and I have probably had whole conversations with autorickshaw drivers using only the movement of my head, and hand gestures. I’ve learned pretty much no Telugu (I can say “thank you”), but I’ve been able to pick up a LOT of Hindi in my time here. I can understand a lot, and put together relatively acceptable sentences in a conversation, and the Bollywood movies have helped a lot.

21.   Speaking of Bollywood movies, I have purchased upwards of 30 in India. It’s going to be really fun to explain that to Customs in the US in a few hours.

22.   I have learned a ton about Indian politics and government. The classes I’ve taken, one in particular, has been amazing. My professor was very much about class discussion and debates, and the conversations we had about some of the most controversial issues in India have been an invaluable part of my experience here. Reservations, sex-selection (many more female fetuses are aborted here, and it’s now illegal for doctors to reveal the sex of the baby to the parents before it’s born), language, and Center-State relations, in addition to a great deal of background history has all been a part of my experience here. I feel well-informed, and I am so happy that I was able to learn as much as I did in the classroom here about India. Thank you to Professor Devare for being absolutely incredible.

23.   I have learned that the Indian police are the scariest police force on the planet. They carry the largest guns I hope I ever have to see in person. And they leer at you out of the windows of their big, unmarked vehicles. When I needed the phone number for the Gujarat police department for my travel form, Bapuji misunderstood and became really agitated when he thought I was in Indian police custody.

24.   I have listened to Northwestern beat Nebraska in football on the radio. In fact, I listened to all the games on the radio whenever I wasn’t traveling. I actually really liked listening – kudos to the WGN guys. They are really entertaining.

25.   I have learned that inefficiency and fragmentation short of total self-destruction are pretty much hallmarks of any sort of organization in India.

26.   The Norwegian girls in Tagore are the most beautiful people I have ever met, and are also the friendliest. I will miss Harriet, Anne Marte, Marlene, Marielle, Lena, and Miriam so much. Harriet and Anne Marte both cried today when I left for the airport, and they were some of the last to see me off. They’ve all assured me that I have a standing invitation to come visit them in Norway.

27.   I hate the Delhi airport. They confiscated my cute little Swiss army knife that I had forgotten to put in my checked bags, but they let me through with not one, not two, not three, but FOUR bottles of various liquids, all over the “ounce limit.” All the signs that say this is the “Number One Airport in the World” are false. And the more I have to stare at them, the angrier I get.

28.   I just met two really nice people on my flight from Hyderabad. We chatted the whole two hour flight.

29.   I have learned that banging drums loudly in academic building are a really effective way to halt classes. Jai Telangana.

30.   Now that I look back on it, pretty much most of the questionable decisions I made were with Jess. Go figure.

31.   I saw India play England in Cricket. (Also, what the heck is Kabaddi? And why are all the players on Team India Sikh and Punjabi?)

32.   I have learned that power and internet are not necessary for happiness, contrary to popular belief. Although they do make some things a heck of a lot easier.

33.   I have been in several Indian states, and seen some of the greatest monuments in India. Goa, Karnataka, Agra, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Mahableshwar, Gujarat… I want to come back for Kerala and Amritsar and Kashmir.

34. I have learned to be so thankful for the people who really do work so hard to make other people happy. I have the best friends in the world, and thank you so much for welcoming me back, and for supporting me even when I was making bad decisions in India. Happy Thanksgiving in America!

I am about to get on the flight from Delhi to Chicago in 2 hours, and I am so excited. I’m sure this list isn’t exhaustive, but for now, I am sleepy, and I am hungry. So I’m going to get some food, and then watch The West Wing.

 

 

Balloons and Chicken Crispers

In a few minutes, I am leaving for Chili’s for my farewell dinner with some of my favorite people in India. I am excited that I’ll be celebrating 5 months in India with chicken crispers and corn on the cob. Seems fitting. I got tired of Indian food, oh, about four and a half months ago, so every meal in Tagore tastes better because I know I only have about 4 left 🙂

My finals went well, which is great, and today, I made a slideshow in iPhoto, watched a movie, did henna on my feet, and in general just hung out. It was so nice! I’ll put up pictures of the henna in a little bit – the site isn’t letting me do it right now.

I also packed last night, so my side of the room looks considerably sparser than it did 24 hours ago. One of my bags is 2kg overweight, but I hope they’ll let it slide. If they don’t, my plan is to cry, and then cause a ruckus unpacking in front of the check-in counter. That should solve that problem.

Tanvi is also the cutest little girl in the world. I need to remember to get a picture with her before I leave.

Also, happy 6 months to Zoe and PK. I found this card that seems to sum us up pretty well.

http://www.someecards.com/anniversary-cards/its-remarkable-how-long-weve

INTERMISSION

Just like in a Hindi movie, there are intermissions n my blog posts. I just got back from dinner, and we are about to watch Love Actually, which is one of the best movies of all time. Val and Karen and I left around 5 to make it to the mall with enough time to do some shopping before we ate at 6:30, and we met up with the Norwegian girls at Chili’s, and also Ida and Alikiah. Alikiah, as a going-away present, bought me balloons. This was unexpected, and getting them home in the rickshaw was hilarious.

In other news, I SENT IN MY APPLICATION! I AM DONE! YES!

I promise I’ll be more thoughtful tomorrow, on my last night in Hyderabad, but for now, I’m going to go watch a movie with friends, listen to NU kick Minnesota around the block, and then go to sleep in time to get up for a massage tomorrow morning!

So excited 🙂

 

 

 

Exit Permit? I think so!

Yesterday, I got my exit permit. Today, I took two finals. Tomorrow, I will take my last final. And after 5pm tomorrow, I shall be free to enjoy my last two and a half days in India.

I had my last Pizza Wednesday yesterday. Val, Karen, and I (the original three) ordered Domino’s Pizza and ate, as per tradition, on Val and Karen’s floor. It was sad to see that go, but maybe when I get back to the US, I can do a Pizza Wednesday every now and then to relive the tradition of survival that we created by having one night a week we could always look forward to.

You may be wondering how the journey to obtain the exit permit went. I am happy to report that it could not have gone any better. Dave and I got a cab to pick us up at Tagore at 8:45 in the morning. It’s about an hour drive to Begumpet and the Old Airport where the police registration (FRRO) office is. Picture the DMV. Now picture the DMV in India. That’s what this place is like. Dave and I got there super early, so we were numbers 5 and 6 in line, which was great. The man, as he looked through my documents, paused at my airplane ticket for quite some time. I was so nervous that he was going to tell me I couldn’t get the permit, but he finally nodded at me, and told Dave and me to sit down, which we did happily. We were called up to the second counter, exchanged a few words, and then told to sit again. We did. Finally, we were called to the final counter. I was first, and the man asked me questions about why I was in India, and asked me when I could come back to pick up my permit. I told him I couldn’t – I had finals, and couldn’t come back unless I missed a final. He stared at me for a second, then asked me to put it in writing, and when he was satisfied, told me to come back to pick it up at “2, 2:30, 3.” He told Dave the same thing, so we left to go to a café and study a little bit. After several hours there, we went to the nearby mall and walked around for a little bit, and then finally went back to the office. Our permits were waiting for us when we got there. I put up a picture of the tiny stamp Dave and I had waited 8 hours to obtain. But at least now, I won’t get sent back to Hyderabad from Delhi. That’s a huge relief.

I took two finals today. My Politics in India Post Independence one was great. Except that they are doing construction on the top half of the building, so there was a jackhammer threatening to pound through the ceiling for the duration of the two hour final. No big deal. I got there, knew the answers to the questions, and then stayed for 45 minutes after to talk to the professor. Hindi was mostly great – there was one section that the directions were so confusing, but it was only a few questions, and my presentation went fine. Three down, one to go.

Tomorrow is Dalit Politics. It is unclear to me what will be on the test, and how I should study. So we’ll see how that goes. I will be excited to get back to the US where things like directions and study guides exist.

This weekend (my last weekend in India!) the agenda has a Bollywood movie, a massage, a Truman application, farewell dinner at Chili’s, and lots of packing. So much packing. Monday, I leave India at 7:15pm (well, that’s when I leave Hyderabad. I don’t leave Delhi until 1:30am). But then, I shall spend many, many hours on an Air India flight, and then I shall be in Chicago. It feels strange to be going anywhere but here. I’m used to here. But I am PSYCHED for cranberry sauce. So excited for cranberry sauce. I land early Tuesday morning at 6am. Gross. I’m mildly concerned about having to explain my 30+ Bollywood movies (I may have bought another one yesterday at the mall) to Customs.

In other news, I totally half-choreographed a dance for junior dance in my head today. I am REALLY excited for that!

I just took a picture or two of the sunset. One of my last in India. In impeccable timing, the song “Ik Junoon” (Take the World and Paint it Red) came on my iPod when I went out to take a few pictures of it. It’s more of an orange color today, but still. In just a couple days, I will be freezing cold again. It’s going to be hard to leave the heat.

I also registered for classes with the help of Mal, Morgan, and Anhsu (my registration time SUCKED in India), and one of the classes I wanted was full, but I’m signed up for Guitar for Non-Majors, Indian Feminism in Myth (or something like that), Bad News (sounds awesome), and 2 SESP classes, one with Mal! Yessssss!!!!!

Super excited for next quarter 🙂

It wouldn’t be India without the water buffalo

So today is the 15^th. I have 6 days and 1.25 hours until my plane leaves Hyderabad for the last time. I’m going to be really sad to see India go. I am finally used to things, and able to get around, and speak some functional Hindi. When I went to the tailor today, I spoke to him all in Hindi. He told me to come back the day after tomorrow (I dropped my stuff off like 20 days ago), and instead of getting cranky, I nodded and told him that I am leaving for the US, so I need it then. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, getting cranky would get you nowhere with a tailor. Me getting upset won’t make my clothes magically be ready J It is about 400000 degrees outside today, so I was sort of shvitzing in the small room while I waited for him to finish lunch so he could help me. While I stood there, I watched the older man on the sewing machine. The machine itself has to be from like 1903, but he was operating the foot pedal like he’d been doing it since 1903. It was so fun to watch him work on the pair of shiny black pants that are so popular in India. (Flared pants are so in right now. Among the male population).

I hopped back on Karen’s bike, which I’d ideally be a foot shorter to ride comfortably, and headed to the library to get my form signed saying I haven’t stolen any library books, or anything. The guy signed my form without even looking at my record, and he told me in Hindi (what did I do when I first got here?) to go “over there.” You know you’ve been in India a long time when you understand what that means. I went to the counter with the mean lady (see my post from the first week or so here). She scowled at me, and asked what I wanted. I showed her the form, and she pointed down a hallway. I opened a door at random, and struck gold. The man inside stamped my form, and I was good to go.

I go do police registration stuff tomorrow, and I’m getting all my patience saved up for that. I feel like it’s going to be terrible. Wish me luck.

I took my yoga final today. It was fine. I studied for stuff she told us to study for (like Ashtanga yoga, which had probably 35 Sanskrit words associated with it), and then it wasn’t on the test. So I put it on anyway, because I’d learned basically a year’s worth of Sanskrit for the test (who knew yoga and Sanskrit are such good buddies?). At the end, she handed back a paper I almost remembered writing (due date: Sept. 16) and it had a B+ on the top of it. I flipped through the five-ish pages and there was not a single comment anywhere on the paper. So….. I expressed my frustration to Anne Marte that there wasn’t any feedback, and she said she’d had to flip through them to find hers, and every single person in the class got a B+. Figures.

I bought some Lays and some Fanta at Shopcom, and sadly looked at where I used to recharge the minutes on my phone when I had one. On the way back, I ran into some petulant water buffaloes. And not just one or two. A whole herd. I am not a huge fan, because they are really big, and if you make them angry, you might as well be the slowest person running in Pamplona. I cut off the road as soon as I could and took the side path to avoid them. My friend Ali later told me that a friend of his hit one once in the dark. I asked if the buffalo was ok, and he said the buffalo probably didn’t even notice, but his friend got scraped up pretty bad. Tonight is tandoori chicken night – my last at Tagore! CRAZY! I just came back in from studying Hindi outside on the deck, and instead of studying, I got to talk to Are, and Ali, and Ole, and Sydney, and Harriet, and Miriam. I’m going to miss my family here in Tagore.

That’s pretty much it for life in India. I’m going to get myself together and do some studying. Later, gators!

This is just something I read and thought was interesting and pretty inspiring: http://news.bspindia.org/2011/11/285-indian-girls-replace-names-meaning-unwanted-rise-gender-discrimination/

Something a little more positive:

Extermination Day

I woke up this morning, still smiling from another Northwestern win (one more to be bowl eligible!) and walked down to breakfast. I ate, still happy, and came back upstairs. I got some good studying done, perfect, just as planned.

My first dilemma came when we lost internet for a long time, and I missed Jess asking if I wanted to go to the mall for lunch -we’d planned to go for dinner, but with no phone, I had no way to contact her, so I think I’m just going to order pizza tonight. I only have a few opportunities left to do that 🙂 It’s getting harder and harder to eat the food. I think it’s because my tummy knows that my mommy’s food is waiting for consumption in just over a week. Making it really hard to eat more rice and daal.

My second problem came when I saw Val in the hall, and we saw a swarm of ants eating another bug. This is pretty typical in the hallways, so no big deal. But I looked down at the trail of ants, and realized they were coming from underneath my door. That’s never a good sign. I opened the door, following the ants……

RIGHT INTO MY BACKPACK. EW. GROSS. YUCK.

They’d found my cough drops, and apparently liked them. Ants were EVERYWHERE. I picked up my backpack gingerly and turned it upside down in the hall, shaking its contents (and dozens of ants) onto the floor. I hadn’t used my backpack since Mumbai, so they’d had a while to move in.

After sorting everything, I sprayed the doorway with Off! Deep Woods (amazing ant killer, if anyone ever needs one), and the trail that the ants had been following into my room. After that, I rinsed out my whole backpack, and as I write this, it is drying in the hot Indian sun outside.

I sat outside too for awhile, enjoying my last few days of sun and heat before flying back to the igloo that is Chicago. Bhavani came back from shopping, and gave me a piece of sugarcane. She and Tanvi (who is 3) showed me how to eat it, and told me it’s a natural teeth cleaner. Cool! I’d never seen sugarcane before, so I took a picture. You suck on it, and then when it gets a little soft, you bite pieces off, suck all the juice out and spit out the pulp. It was really tasty! And on top of the liters of Sprite I seem to be consuming, the natural sugar was a nice change 🙂

I studied yoga for a little bit, then I did some yoga, and had tea, and now it’s time for some more studying. The Truman is up next. Go Get ‘Em, Tiger.

Fireworks for the Full Moon

India is a beautiful place. Sometimes I get sucked into being negative about the everyday things that are hard to manage (I walked 45 minutes today to get to a class meeting which was canceled, and no one had told me). But tonight, on a whim, I went out to the balcony at Tagore. There is a full moon out, and it was beautiful. Dave was out there with a tea candle just standing and looking out. He and I leave within a couple days of each other. I joined him on the balcony for a minute, and then I saw light below. Bhavani and Tanvi were lighting fireworks for the first full moon after Diwali.

I sat outside with probably ten other people from Tagore and we watched the sparklers and crackers go off. It was beautiful to watch, and it was so nice outside. I’ll miss these nights. I’ll miss relaxing and watching movies and sitting outside for a while in November because I feel like it. I fell like I need to squeeze everything in the last 10 days I have here. I had pizza tonight with Val, and I only have one more Pizza Wednesday before I leave, and I organized a dinner at Chili’s a few days before I leave, so I’ll get my last trip to InOrbit in.

I’m ready, but I’m also not. I’ll miss these nights.

Home Stretch

These last posts are probably all going to sound sort of the same. Hopefully there is some variation. As usual, I am freaking out about the Truman and finals, which I haven’t really studied for at all, except Hindi, which is the one final I could walk into without any preparation. Ugh. I really need to start studying everything else, but I am having so much trouble finding the motivation. I’m just ready to be home. The huge upside to all of this stuff (finals, application, etc.) happening here is that when I get home, I really just have to worry about myself, tour guiding, the family, and seeing friends. That will be a huge relief. I’m just in a mood. And I’d sort of like to not be in it, because I hate being cranky more than anything. It just makes me crankier.

Also, I am really nervous about obtaining the Exit Permit. Indian law enforcement is something I try to steer clear of, and I am not looking forward to going in there and asking for mercy. If I don’t get my Permit next Wednesday, I will have to choose between taking a final and not getting deported back to Hyderabad as I try to fly home. Also, the day I have to go is the day before I take two finals. So much for study time. The little inconveniences of living here are endearing, and have given me patience. The big ones just make me nervous and upset. I am so excited to get back to the US – maybe I just have selective memory, but I feel like sometimes logic prevails, and things can work out. Here, there are no guarantees of anything. Also, there’s the chance they won’t even look for the stamp in my passport when I go through Customs. But at this point, not worth the gamble. But boy, will I be an ANGRY Zoe if I go get the darn thing and then they don’t even check it.

I miss American food. My tummy hurts. My head hurts from thinking about the death penalty. And Pizza Wednesday got postponed AGAIN to Pizza Thursday. I can’t wait!

I turned in my bike today to get some cash money to go to the market with Jess for last minute presents, and then realized that means I will be walking everywhere for the last 2 weeks here. When I went to turn in my bike, I got there on lunch break, so I had to wait 30 minutes for the guy to eat, wash his hands, and amble back to the office. When we began the actual transaction, the entire process took less than 45 seconds.

I walked down to the Student’s Canteen, probably 2 miles from my dorm, but I had my iPod, so I rocked out to some bhangra music to get me walking faster. I got down there just in time to meet my peer tutor for the last time. She’d brought her father along because he’d come for a surprise visit, so I met him too. She encouraged me to speak to him in Hindi – he speaks no English. I smiled and gave it a try, telling him while she went to get chai that I was leaving soon, and I liked India. He ignored me. So that was that. I did get a picture of my tutor and me though. That’s below.

After we met at 2:30, I left at 3 for my Hindi class 2 miles the way I’d come that starts at 3. As I was leaving, so were my friends Berges and Andy. Andy had class, but Berges was heading back to South Campus, so we walked the hilly parts, and he gave me a ride on the back of his bike for the last part. It was great – his bike was so much nicer than the SIP bikes. I didn’t feel like my butt was going to fall off when I got of the bike, which was a nice change. There’s a thing at the Rocks on the 18th that he wanted to have me come to with some other SIP kids, and he asked for my number to send me details. I gave it to him. Not much good now because……

My phone dropped out of my pocket somewhere between Main Gate and Shilparamam. So there’s 2000 Rs. I’d been planning on using on a massage that I now won’t get back. I only had TEN DAYS left in India. Are you joking? At least, when I asked the guards on campus about it, they were unusually helpful and nice, and even spoke to me in English. That was good.

Let me backtrack a little. So I get to Hindi class at 3:15, shortly before the teacher. And also shortly before my classmates. At least here, EVERYONE runs on IST. We did some Hindi, and then I started the 2+ mile trek to the Main Gate to meet Jess. I ran into Krishna Ram, an SIP Program Assistant, on the way, and he gave me a ride down to Shop Com. I stopped there and got some snacks before heading to the Gate.

Jess and I hopped in a rickshaw to Shilparamam, bought some pearls and pillow covers and a billion scarves, and my present for Perin (finally found the right one!). There was this guy there (Alex) from Brooklyn at the pearl stand who kept asking us to go out with him tonight. We politely declined. I’m relatively certain he was like 35. Two hours later, we headed back. I walked the couple miles back to the dorm with my arms full of stuff, fuming about my phone.

I ate dinner (tandoori chicken, which was a relief after a riot practically broke out in Tagore when they didn’t have it last night when they were supposed to). And now I’m in my room trying to figure out my life. Blah. I have a Skype date at 12:30am for the application, so I’m trying to decide if I can go to sleep until then. I’m tired. I might do that. Blah.

Thirteen Days

Ok team. I’m ready. It’s time. Only four exams, one shopping trip, a massage at the Ista, a Truman application, and two Pizza Wednesdays stand between me and Chicago and Roger and Thanksgiving. When I say it like that, it seems a little unmanageable, but I think I can do it all. After all, my nickname is Xena Warrior Princess. And she seems pretty on top of her game.

I need to have Perin stop uploading episodes of the West Wing until I get back to the US. West Wing = more fun that essays on the death penalty and studying Indian political parties.

When Mom and Dad came to visit, we ate really well, which was super awesome, except that it made my tummy happy, and now, after great food, then the all Indian diet at Anshu’s family’s place, and back to the Tagore food that I took weeks to get used to, I’m back to frequent tummy aches. This is a huge bummer. I had gotten past my craving for American food until recently, and now that it’s back, I know my first meal at Walker Brothers’ Pancake House in Wilmette will be the most delicious thing on the planet. Just remind me not to finish the whole thing. Today, I couldn’t resist. I went out to South Gate, parked my bike, and went to buy some potato chips, a Kit Kat and a Sprite. I feel much better now.

The rest of the week is looking like a lot of studying, but tomorrow, I am turning in my bike, meeting my peer tutor for the last time, and going to Shilparamam at 5 with Jess for my last forseeable shopping trip. I might have to go to Chili’s before I leave, just because it’s been about a month, and that’s a tradition!

Gonna go write a little. Wish me luck.

Charminar

For what is probably the last time when I am in India, I went to Charminar yesterday with my three favorite people.Karen, Val, Jess, and I took a variety of modes of transportation – buses, shared autos, and private rickshaws, it took about an hour to get there, but we did it pretty inexpensively.

Charminar is one of the monuments protected by the Indian Archeological Survey, and so we had to pay to get in, but we showed our HCU Student IDs and they let us in for the Indian price of 5 Rs. The guy checking tickets didn’t believe us when we showed him the tickets, so we all had to get our IDs out again. We went up to the top, and the stairs were strangely reminiscent of the Duomo in Italy. Winding, narrow, and steep, I was really happy to get to the open air at the top.

We took some pictures at the top of Old City below, and also each other 🙂

I also just noticed we match each other. Good work, team.

There is a cool building on the left that I always confuse with Chowmahalla Palace, and on the right is the second largest Masjid in India. We saw the outside of the biggest one in Delhi when we were there.

Jess and Zoe at the top!

When we got down again, we bought a ton of bangles, some henna, and a henna design book. It was a good adventure. I am really comfortable bargaining at Charminar, especially for bangles, and I feel good about all the ones I bought. I helped Karen out when she tried to buy bangles for a bajillion Rupees. Jess, when she shops, makes friends with everyone she meets, so it takes a long time, but we always have a really good time. Karen wanted a sari, so near the end of our several-hour, exhausting bargaining excursion, she and Val went to a store where we finally found some that she liked. Zoe was getting hungry at this point, and not the good kind of hunger. So Jess and I went to the Cafe Coffee Day and I bought a choco-doughnut. They handed it to me with a fork and knife, which was good, because after a day of shopping, my hands were probably swimming in gross.

The way back was insane. We hopped in a rickshaw to Medhipatnam, and from there, waited for the 216 at the bus stop. Buses here don’t really stop, though, they roll slowly through the station, so getting on is every man for himself. We pushed through the crowd of people, and tried to avoid the people jumping off as we leaped on. The bus ride was SO long. There was a ton of traffic, and we were all pretty tired from our afternoon of shopping. It was 9 Rs. back to Triple IT where there was a restaurant called Chappatos (Indian Chipotle) that everyone else wanted, and a Dominoes, which I had been craving. Jess asked me to get her some breadsticks, so I went to Dominoes and ordered my pizza to go. It took a while, about 20 minutes, and they asked me to sit and wait, so I sat at the only sort of open table, which was already occupied by a man and his young daughter, wearing a tie-dye shirt. He apparently moves between Hyderabad and Oregon, because his wife works for Nike, and they are planning to move out there permanently in the next few months when he starts grad school. We chatted for a while, and when his pizzas were ready, he handed me his business card and told me to call if I ever needed anything.

I left when my pizza was ready and took it next door to where we all ate together. Gwen came to join us, which was nice, because I rarely see her. We had a really, really good day, and I’m going to miss this a lot, I think. I’m definitely going to miss Jess, Val, and Karen. They’re good people, and I will definitely stay in touch with them when I get back.

I am also going to miss a lot of things about India. I will miss the cheap public transportation. I will miss walking down a crowded street, hearing women covered in all black from head to toe, yelling “Are you crazy?” in Hindi at bangles vendors. I will miss the smog and the traffic. And I will miss people handing me, a stranger, and a foreigner, their business cards because they are genuinely friendly people. America is a land of foreigners. Everyone’s ancestors came from somewhere else (except the Native Americans, obviously), and we could learn a thing or two about welcoming people into our country from places like India. Everyone from the man at the cricket match who yelled at the security guards to let us in, to the woman who halted traffic in Medhipatnam to help us find a rickshaw, to the people who come to ask if you need help when we look lost. All these people have made India the positive and growing place that it is today. I know I’ll be back to India, probably in the next few years, and I will definitely have to come to Hyderabad every time I’m back. I’ll miss this city.

Pancakes and Heroes

Two nights ago, on Thursday after a long day of class, Micaela texted me saying she was having people over for pancakes, and asked me if I’d come. I hopped on my bike around 6:20 and rode to the South Gate in the dark. I’m getting really good at biking in the dark. I parked, and started waling on the road outside towards the apartment, hoping to hail a rickshaw for the 30-minute trek. I caught one just down the road, and hopped in for 20 Rs. He took me to the apartment, and I went upstairs to find a heart shaped pancake with Nutella on it waiting for me. Sydney, Micaela, Karen, Karissa, Rachel (one of the Duke girls) and a couple guys I didn’t know were there. Two of the guys were Indian (one from Mumbai, the other from Mizoram), one guy from Saudi Arabia, and the other from Libya. They spoke to each other in Arabic when they thought no one was listening. I tried to listen a lot. Arabic is such a cool sounding language.

Micaela took pictures, but I don’t have them yet, so I’ll put them up here when I get them. After a couple hours and a lot of pancakes, we decided to head out. I hadn’t really thought out how I was going to get back, but my new friend from Libya was like, “I’m taking Sydney back, just hop on my bike.” Um, YES! So I squeezed in the middle (3 people on a bike – there is nothing more Indian than that, except maybe 6 people on a bike). It was a really short ride, but super fun, and we were back at Tagore. Micaela also got a picture of the excursion, so I gotta add that one too 🙂

Yesterday, I was productive basically all day – what?!?!? Then at night, the productivity came to a grinding halt when I FINALLY went to go see “Ra One” with Jess. We left from the Main Gate together at 6:36pm, and hopped in a shared rickshaw to Gachibowli. We paid 14 Rs. for that, hopped in another shared to Medhipatnam, and it was another 20 Rs. between us, but the guy broke down, so we hopped out and just hailed an empty rickshaw for the rest of the way. We got there ten minutes before the movie was supposed to start (about 20 minutes longer than it usually takes), so I went and bought our tickets, and Jess went to get our food. I met her there just in time to order the usual McSpicy chicken sandwich meal with Diet Coke and an oreo McFlurry. YUMMMM. In India, you can take food and stuff into the theater, so we went in with our bags, and just ate through the previews and the beginning of the movie.

The movie was SO good – I will definitely be purchasing this one (it will be even better with subtitles). Sharukh Khan gets on my nerves, usually, but I really liked him in this. It was, I believe, the most money ever spent on the making of a film in India, and it was basically the Indian version of “Tron.” It’s funny that I’ve gotten so used to going to a movie and having to think so hard the whole time I’m there because I’m trying to understand the Hindi. It will be a relief to understand dialogue again when I get back. Additionally, I had unknowingly signed us up for the 3D version of the movie, and we were in the second row because we had bought tickets so late. Seats are assigned in India, which I really like, except when we are so close to the front 🙂 People in the theater were so funny – they cheered when Sharukh Khan came on screen and there were a lot of sort of inappropriate references in the movie that even I understood. It was so fun!

Also, it occurred to me yesterday around noon that all the Khans are Muslim. Duh. So Salman, Imran, Sharukh, Aamir – some of the biggest names in Bollywood. This is what I love about India. In politics, people are partisan, there is fighting about religion. Meanwhile, the entire country is going to see “Ra One” and cheering as Sharukh dances with Kareena Kapoor. People are a lot more accepting than they portray themselves when they are talking about it. But add in some Bollywood and anything goes. See the link below for the extensive list of Bollywood Khans 🙂

http://www.indiamarks.com/guide/Ruling-Khans-of-Bollywood/595/

On the way back, we argued for a rickshaw and got it down to 200 Rs. The driver almost killed us at one point – he was driving straight for a bus parked on the side of the road, and only slammed on the brakes at the last minute. The road was nearly empty because we were in Gachibowli by that point, but a guy with his friend on a motorcycle rode up next to us, and asked the driver “Kya Hua?” (“What happened?”). He muttered something I didn’t understand, and the guys on the motorcycle followed the rickshaw a while to make sure it was ok, and then waved at us as they turned towards Hitech City.

Also, I bought a couple movies, and they came in the mail yesterday – still waiting on a couple, but I am SO excited. I’m going to have a great collection when I get back to the US. Everyone get pumped. Every time I miss India, which I’m sure will happen a lot, I’ll watch one.

I will be leaving for the airport in almost exactly 16 days to the hour from now. So much to do, people to see, things to buy! I am going to Charminar in a couple hours with Jess, Val, and Karen to get some bangles and some other stuff, so that will be fun. Toodles for now!