Hey, guys! I hope you all are well. Me? Well, I'm actually very proud of myself. I think I am finally settling into the life of an Indian college student. My body is use to the time change, my stomach is use to the food and I'm use to the showering areas ( though I will admit I still miss my hot water). I believe that when I return to the States both me and my immune system will be much stronger from this journey. I'm really learning to live in another culture with people who are extremely different from myself and the people I am use to living with. One thing I have noticed is that people always want to know why I would ever come to India. The idea of an American leaving her comfy life to spend several months in a developing country both confuses and amazes them. From these questions I get a feeling that to an extent people here glorify the US. I just simply tell them that I love America and am proud to be a citizen of the country, but that every country has its pros and cons including America. I am not sure if they were sure of the point I was trying to get across, but at east I tried!
Most people I have met are extremely polite and respectful. They understand that I don't know their language and so we mostly communicate through body language. I try to be just as respectful so that I create a good impression of my school and the US. (Fun fact: people love Obama here and they always compare him to Bush.) However, there are a few incidents where I've seen the uglier side of India. For example, a week ago, I was walking from school to my hostel when a man decided he really had to pee. So, he just turned to the side, whipped it out and drained the lizard. Don't get me wrong, people in my city do this, too, but it was broad daylight and I was right there! I closed my eyes, walked around him and tried to erase the image from my mind ( all efforts have failed). There is also the issue with drivers. When walking around the city, the drivers here expect me to jump into water puddles( its rainy season) just so they can have space in the street. They beep their horns and I just look at them. I'm sorry, but where I come from pedestrians have the right of way and so I don't move. Call me a snob if you wish, but I am not a fan of the traffic here I have to admit.
I get along pretty well with most of the other college students though I know some of them only want to be my friend because I am the American (lame). There are a few people who purposely don' t interact with me because they want to be so cool that they don't even talk to the American (also lame). These people I just ignore. Overall, I would say most people here are courteous, but it is a city so (let's be honest) manners can only go so far. I may get some special treatment because I am a foreigner and female. I know in the airport several Indian families guided me on my way to Cochin because they knew I was traveling alone. I don't think they believed this was appropriate, but I didn't mind because it gave me some company during my journey. I was an orphan who had temporarily been adopted. :)
Actually, a friend and I had an interesting conversation the other day. I asked her if she planned to do an arranged marriage or a love marriage. She said an arranged marriage, but she admitted to me that the idea of getting married and having kids scared her. Now, it's not like she is a child bride or something. She probably won't get married until 23-25. Similar to when a lot of Americans get married. She asked me about my relationship and if I had ever thought of marriage or family life. I admitted to her that I had thought of both, but just like her the idea terrified me. I found this interesting. She was doing an arranged marriage and I planned for a love marriage, but we were both terrified despite these differences. If you ask me this is a perfect example of finding similarities through our differences. I can't imagine having an arranged marriage nor can she imagine having a love marriage, but beyond that, at our center, we still see ourselves as young girls, much too young for marriage. We have hopes, dreams and goals that we want to accomplish before we are tied down by the bonds of marriage. It makes me happy to know that people aren't so different after all.
Actually, this weekend this friend and I will be traveling to the slums of India so I can interview two people living there. First,crack at journalism in India! I am so excited. This is one of the things I dreamed of doing in India. I have started a youtube channel and will be posting videos on there so I encourage you all to watch. Please and thank you! Below is the link and I'll be writing to you all later! Until then! :)
http://youtu.be/XPtYm2xrF48
Most people I have met are extremely polite and respectful. They understand that I don't know their language and so we mostly communicate through body language. I try to be just as respectful so that I create a good impression of my school and the US. (Fun fact: people love Obama here and they always compare him to Bush.) However, there are a few incidents where I've seen the uglier side of India. For example, a week ago, I was walking from school to my hostel when a man decided he really had to pee. So, he just turned to the side, whipped it out and drained the lizard. Don't get me wrong, people in my city do this, too, but it was broad daylight and I was right there! I closed my eyes, walked around him and tried to erase the image from my mind ( all efforts have failed). There is also the issue with drivers. When walking around the city, the drivers here expect me to jump into water puddles( its rainy season) just so they can have space in the street. They beep their horns and I just look at them. I'm sorry, but where I come from pedestrians have the right of way and so I don't move. Call me a snob if you wish, but I am not a fan of the traffic here I have to admit.
I get along pretty well with most of the other college students though I know some of them only want to be my friend because I am the American (lame). There are a few people who purposely don' t interact with me because they want to be so cool that they don't even talk to the American (also lame). These people I just ignore. Overall, I would say most people here are courteous, but it is a city so (let's be honest) manners can only go so far. I may get some special treatment because I am a foreigner and female. I know in the airport several Indian families guided me on my way to Cochin because they knew I was traveling alone. I don't think they believed this was appropriate, but I didn't mind because it gave me some company during my journey. I was an orphan who had temporarily been adopted. :)
Actually, a friend and I had an interesting conversation the other day. I asked her if she planned to do an arranged marriage or a love marriage. She said an arranged marriage, but she admitted to me that the idea of getting married and having kids scared her. Now, it's not like she is a child bride or something. She probably won't get married until 23-25. Similar to when a lot of Americans get married. She asked me about my relationship and if I had ever thought of marriage or family life. I admitted to her that I had thought of both, but just like her the idea terrified me. I found this interesting. She was doing an arranged marriage and I planned for a love marriage, but we were both terrified despite these differences. If you ask me this is a perfect example of finding similarities through our differences. I can't imagine having an arranged marriage nor can she imagine having a love marriage, but beyond that, at our center, we still see ourselves as young girls, much too young for marriage. We have hopes, dreams and goals that we want to accomplish before we are tied down by the bonds of marriage. It makes me happy to know that people aren't so different after all.
Actually, this weekend this friend and I will be traveling to the slums of India so I can interview two people living there. First,crack at journalism in India! I am so excited. This is one of the things I dreamed of doing in India. I have started a youtube channel and will be posting videos on there so I encourage you all to watch. Please and thank you! Below is the link and I'll be writing to you all later! Until then! :)
http://youtu.be/XPtYm2xrF48
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