So less than 2 weeks left on the clock and I know when I get back I’m going to get the question “What did you do in India for 3 months?” Since “just kinda hung out” is probably not the most satisfying answer I decided to compile a list of the accomplishments I’ve achieved while in India. Here ya go :)
-I learned the Telugu alphabet. It took me a while but I finally got it down. For those of you singing the ABCs and scoffing at me, silence. With over 50 letters, plus sub letters, and changing vowel forms this was no small feat.
-I’ve gotten very good at always breathing through my mouth, not my nose. I had a guinea pig as a child so I was already pretty good at this but in a country where the world is both your toilet and your garbage can, I’ve definitely perfected this skill.
-I learned how to fit as many people as possible in a rickshaw. These things are a little bit bigger than your average golf cart and work like taxis. On average, we cram 7 people into one of these bad boys but our record’s 12. I now find clown cars to be considerably less impressive.
-I got in touch with nature in close encounters with cows, rats, chickens, puppies, camels, mongooses (mongeese? mongi? I have no idea), parrots, monkeys, lizards, and bats.
-I learned a lot about Hinduism and participated in quite a few different kinds of ceremonies.
-I have gotten excellent at the art of the bucket shower. I was pretty good in Thailand, but India has put its own little twist on it. The power goes out for an hour at least twice a day, meaning I have now mastered showering with a bucket in the dark. Yeah, I’m that good.
-I learned how to do henna.
-I got my nerd on by reading the Hobbit in one sitting, watching Firefly, and have become very familiar with the back stories of every Avengers superhero (thank you Wikipedia). I think I successfully counteracted any cool points I might have gotten by coming to India.
-I saw one of the wonders of the world. Taj Mahal :)
-I learned 5 shlokas. These are Sanskrit chants that most Indian students learn when they’re really little. They’re kind of like proverbs. It’s actually pretty cool and I’m basically a pro chanter now.
-I’ve picked up a decent amount of Indian sign. One of the girls in our group does her research at a deaf school near our house. We’ve all gotten really close to the kids there. I’m hoping to tell you all about them in the next post but getting to know them has just been awesome. Sign language is so cool. I’m still not very good, but it’s amazing how much you can understand once you learn the alphabet and a few important words.
-I have watched all of the Fast and the Furious movies.
-I learned how to play cricket…ish. Well I’ve got the general idea at least. I’ve gone to an official game, watched kids play a ton, and had a British guy try to explain it to me. From those experiences I’ve concluded cricket consists of 4 things: hit, run, catch, throw. What more do I need to know?
-I’ve conducted 32 interviews (and counting) for my senior thesis, officially the reason I came to India.
Well I’d say that’s a pretty fulfilling semester if I ever had one. Peace!
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