Tools are international.

No not this kind of tool.

I mean this kind of tool.

If you didn’t already know, and couldn’t figure it out from the picture, a tool is essentially a chauvinist jerk. I can think of a few more synonyms, but since my grandma reads this blog we’ll leave it at that. These kinds of guys are definitely not just an American phenomenon. There are jerks everywhere, including India. As a group with 6 American girls we seem to attract a large number of this sort. We haven’t encountered anything too extreme. Mostly just yells of stuff like “hey baby” and some unwanted forwardness. So guys, in case you were wondering, it’s not cute in any culture. A quick shout-out to all the nice non-tool guys all over the world. Thank you for existing and keeping us sane.

Exotic Indian Wildlife

So I’ve been asked a few times whether I’ve seen any tigers or elephants yet. Sadly the answer is no, though I am keeping my eyes peeled for em. Here’s a list of the exciting animals I have sited.

Dogs: tons of dogs roam the streets in India. I’m a sucker for dogs (especially puppies, who doesn’t love puppies?) but I resist the urge to play with them. To quote my wise friend Kate Patterson “they’re cute but you know what’s not cute, rabies.”

Crows: These guys are everywhere. Somedays I feel like I’m in an Alfred Hitchcock movie and not in a good way. If you’ve talked to me on skyped you’ve most likely heard their cawing in the background. I don’t mind them so long as I don’t end up like Dr. Screweyes at the end of We’re Back.

Chipmunks and rats: Chipmunks run all around the trees here. They’re kind of adorable. Rats are slightly less adorable. They usually come out at nights, particulary in the streets and open sewers.

Geckos: we see these all the time. They’re pretty cool. The one in the picture likes to hang out in our living room. His name is Dennis.

Camels: I got to ride out on the beach. It was awesome.

Monkeys: People will have them on leashes now and then on the beach. There’s no picture for this one because they’re evil and if you’re close enough to get a picture you’re TOO CLOSE!

Cows: They’re everywhere. They just kind of roam wherever they want, which I didn’t mind until one got a little too close. This cow came up to the gate of my house one day and as I was trying to get around him he straight up head butted me. Jerky cow (pun intended). I got a perfect horn shaped bruise, I took a picture of it. If you think you may be scarred by a picture of my upper thigh, do not scroll down. I repeat do not scroll down!

Enough to make a girl reconsider her vegetarianism. Just playing! I won’t blame all of animal kind for one brute’s bad behavior, though I’m seriously considering starting to wear leather again. ;)

I got a bruise on my stomach from the cow too but I decided not to take a picture of that. It’s less impressive. Besides I think I’ve traumatized the internet enough for one post.

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S

Ok so with humidity hair and no make-up maybe glamorous isn’t the right word, but it very well might be the only word Fergie knows how to spell (aside from her name) so we’ll make it work. ;) I’ve got to say though I do feel pretty fancy in the clothes here. None of the women here really wear western clothes so in order to blend in better we all wear traditional Indian clothes. It’s not super effective, but people do seem to respect us for trying to embrace their culture. I like it. The clothes are super comfy. We mostly wear like kind of lose shirt/dress tops and baggy genie pants or leggings. Man do I love baggy pants. They’re one size fits all and gianormous which is definitely a good thing considering how much I eat here. Don't worry, a blogpost on the amazing food is definitely coming soon, so stayed tuned. :)

If I’m feeling super ambitious I’ll wear a sari. Married women wear them almost everyday. It kind of blows my mind. They’re so much work to put on! It takes time and skill to wrap several yards of cloth around you and make it stay up. Some mornings back home throwing on a clean t-shirt is too much effort for me.

I love how colorful everyone's clothes are!

Us in our everday Indian clothes on the beach.

Getting ready to get in my sari. Yes, I am aware that I look a bit like a polygamist creamsicle.

All saried up

The whole group in Saris, except for Taylor. Couldn't quite talk him into it.

Same same but different

People would say this phrase the time in Thailand, “same same but different” and I thought it was really fitting because as much as I love India man does it make me miss Chiang Mai. It’s hard to believe I finished my internship there over 6 months ago. Feels like just yesterday and like it was ages ago at the same time. It’s kind of funny, after Thailand I sort of felt like “Thailand check! Been there done that country!” But being here has made me really want to go back. There are a lot of things in India that remind me of Thailand: the lack of toilet paper, of course cold bucket showers (which I’m pro at by the way), language barriers, bugs, sticking out like crazy, eating constantly, meeting great people, beautiful sites, and awesome opportunities.

I think the biggest similarity is just how it’s a whole new world being in a different country. It takes quite a bit of work and flexibility to really get comfortable in a new place. Some days are hard but in the end it’s so worth it.

I wanted to do a shout-out to my Thailand group. Not sure if anyone of you guys still read this but I miss you all. Thanks for helping make my summer so crazy sweet.

Ralph Brown, the professor over my Thailand program, was actually in India my first week! He's the very very tall one. :)

Ralph even went to some Buddhist ruins with us in India, something I did with him in Thailand too. Talk about deja vu.

A couple old pictures of my Thailand group. Some cool people right there

Ciao word.

Okay, so I know I’ve got a reputation for being kind of a hater when it comes love. I openly mock mooshy couples and have most definitely made gagging noises at the sight of PDA. Very mature I know. But I do have a confession. There is a little romantic in me buried deep deep deep deep down. That romantic side manifests itself in my great love of the Lizzie McGuire movie. I watched it with my study abroad group the other night. I’ve loved this movie since I was 12 years old. I actually saw it in theaters with my brother Logan, therefore it will always remind me of him. Sorry Log. :) In this movie the beloved Disney sitcom character Lizzie goes to Rome on a school trip, is mistaken for an Italian pop star, stars in her own concert, finds total confidence, and gets her first kiss. Awesome, right? Ha I know definitely not high quality cinema, but I can’t help but love it. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t secretly hope to find my Indian celebrity twin and fall in love during the course of my study abroad. Sadly, last time I checked my life wasn’t a Disney movie, but hey it could happen. :)

That's Lizzie and her best friend Gordo. They fall in love and it's adorable.

And so ends my brief dancing career

Hi people. Today I had my first (and last) Indian dance class. In response to anyone calling me a quitter or giving me lectures on not giving up and sticking with things, I’m going to quote Shawn Spencer “I do quit, all the time, but not until the moment is right.” The moment is right. Turns out not that much has changed since I was a 4 year old taking jazz dance. I still do each step 5 seconds late. However, I do have bigger feet than I did back in 1995. That translates into more to trip over. Also, my added height equals a much longer way to fall. Therefore, it's time to yet again turn in my dancing shoes. I am glad I tried it though. Definitely an experience. One thing I thought was cool is that she brought this statue of Shiva down to pray to him before we started because he’s the God of dance. We also prayed to mother earth to apologize for jumping on the ground. Cool right?

My dance class was not my only encounter with the art of dance this week. Taylor (the boy from my study abroad group) and I made friends with an Indian family while we were at the Hindu temple for prayer. They invited us over to their house. We ate a lot of Indian desserts and watched their daughters do Indian dance. They were really good too! After they finished, the family told us we needed to do some American dance. I looked at them like a deer in headlights but somehow managed to get up in front of them. After I’d exhausted all of the dance moves I know (the sprinkler, some Saturday night fever disco action, and of course my signature move which I have been told is reminiscent of Danny Tanner) they were still looking at me expectantly. I had no other choice but to dust of the kindergarten classic, the Macarena. They were dying laughing, but it seemed to satisfy their craving for ridiculous American dance.

Why do I get the feeling that even without a dance class, there are many embarrassing dancing encounters to come during my stay in India? I blame Bollywood.

One of the little girls we watched dance. Stinkin cute.

The family that invited us over. So nice and generous

me as a dancing queen. youngest queen, only.....4. and that's where i have to stop singing Abba. :)

The Return of the Fanny Pack!!!

Wow. That title would make such a cool movie. Admit it, you’d go see that movie. So I am now in India!!! Wooh! After a 3 hour flight, a 9 hour layover, a 14 ½ hour flight, a 13 hour layover, and a 2 hour flight, I was thrilled to arrive in Vizag. First chance I got, my fanny pack was back in action. Oh how I missed it. It got a lot of use back in my Thailand days. I figure as a white girl in Asia, I look ridiculous regardless so why not go whole hog. Besides, they’re incredibly convenient. And all you judgers out there, don’t knock it till you try it.

So India is amazing! It’s so colorful! We live really close to the beach and it’s incredible. Man I love the ocean. We don’t really have a set schedule yet, since this week’s a holiday. Next week we’ll start classes and get to researching. I’m pretty pumped to start. I’ve changed my project a little bit so I’ll mostly be interviewing girls in a local college dorm.

This week we’ve mostly been getting settled, exploring, and doing some siteseeing. Lots of Hindu temples! They’re really cool. There’s one right by our house, but we’ve been to a few different ones. I think they’re beautiful. The statues, the paintings, the colors, the architecture. Incredible. The rituals there are really interesting. We usually get to take part so that’s cool. I’ve drunk a lot of holy water.

Some other things we’ve gone to are Buddhist monastery ruins, an old fort that’s been turned into a school, a dutch cemetery, and an old battle ground. We also went to a catholic church, a mosque, and a hindu temple all build on the same hill to show religious unity. I liked that a lot. Yesterday we met the man whose father was the last crowned king of the area before independence.

We’ve also gotten to see some traditional Indian dancing too. We’re going to take Indian dance classes starting next week. I don’t know how many of you know this, but I actually have a history in dance. Ancient history. I was 4 years old. My costume was a pink tutu, and I did each step precisely 4 seconds after everyone else. Dusting off those dancing shoes will definitely be an experience. Don’t worry. I will be keeping you updated on any and all injuries and embarrassing moments that will inevitably ensue.

I feel like that’s a pretty good intro to India. I’ll post again soon!

Peace!

The fort/palace turned school

hanging out with Ghandi. I love him.

Not too far from our house. so pretty

Hanging out on the roof