Email: Chapter 2

It's 8:30 and I got up 30 minutes ago. I very much over slept today. I set my alarm for 6:30 (because I go back to bed after I wake up at 5:30) but didn't hear it today. Everyone wakes up early to get something, Anything, done before the day starts to fry your brain. I usually sit at my computer, emailing and hoping that I'll hear from you and those to whom this is being forwarded. I forgot, in my last email, to include how to contact me, I think. So... You can "Skype" me. For anyone who is unfamiliar with this, www.skype.com/download/ Download that and you can talk with me, so long as we're both online at the same time, through the internet for free. (Nice). The other way one can reach me is by calling me over the phone. I would also recommend what is early morning for me and night for you. I'll be up, I'm usually here, and no one else has come into Srini's office yet. The number should be 044-2432-6587. In order to avoid potentially disastrous international rates, go to uniontelecard.com/ This is where I bought all of the phone cards which I used to call Mendon last year. They add up, but if there's no other way to her a person's voice, you won't think twice about it.

This brings me to the heat. Everyone here complains about the heat. I'm the only one who doesn't. If you make sense of that, please let me know. The only guess I have is that they've 20 years of heat and I've not even had 20 days. Still, I'm not sure that I'm going to lose patience for it. It's also interesting to watch everyone here get concerned for my safety if I'm not airconditioned for more than 5 minutes. This concern is restrictive and I almost couldn't go to a concert for it. I'm perceived to be so fragile-such a delicate flower. I'm certainly less fragile than many of the young women that come to see Srini. Srini is a consultant for the wealthy Indian students that want to study abroad. Ha, I'm probably tougher than many of the boys that come in here. Back to the heat. What is important about the heat is not the temperature, but the humidity. How humid is it? Well, hm. Let's talk about condensation. The first night I got here, I had an airconditioned taxi home. I got out of the taxi (as happens when I get out of Every airconditioned ride) and my glasses fog up. And they stay fogged up. It takes a full 30 seconds before I can wipe them off and have them stay clear. My glasses have also proved to be an interesting meter for the humidity because I cannot clean them like I can in the states. Usually, I can put them in/near my mouth and give a breathy "Hhhhha" and they'll fog up. Not so in India. "Hhhhha" here, and my glasses do nothing. Bad command or file name. So, it's probably about as humid as the inside of my mouth. Great. Additionally, it feels like everything is always condensing on me. When going from airconditioning to the heat, my nose "runs." I think that this is the humidity in the air collecting on the colder inside of my nose.

I am generally not experiencing culture shock. I have 3 states in which I move: cultural awareness, amusement, and concern. I think I have avoided shock because I didn't assume that I knew anything about this culture, nor did I assume that it would be very Westernized. Just a quick note for that, not much to say.

Yesterday, I went for my first motorcycle ride, I hope to get my camera on the bike. The guy who took me is Srini's "big teddy bear," "Big, black teddy bear." Srini is evidentially very amused by this student, because he wants to laugh every time he sees him. He has a distinct face, and Srini seems to enjoy his
cheeks the most.

Srini also insisted that I go to a Tamil film. This was quite an experience. The theater was huge; the parking lot required flaggers. Our film was on the 4th floor, and we were in the balcony. The seats were leather, and the floors were hard, smooth stone. The sound system would make my brother cry of jealousy; he would have loved that part of it. But the movie was the worst that I've allowed myself to see in a long time. The movie itself proved to be an experience in which I could see the influence of Western culture on India. I saw the power of money, both on those who have all of it, and those who have much less. The actor/producer used his money to make more and to shamelessly self-glorify (The only part of the film that was well done was the glorification of the "super star." I forget his name). Those in attendance accepted it. Luckily, when I'm asked if I liked the movie, it is also immediately stated that I probably didn't understand it. To that, I agree, because, although I understood the plot of the film, I don't
understand how such senselessness is condoned.

Happier note: I went out for dinner last night with Srini, Prianka, and her sister, Aishwarya. None of the food here tastes like I think it should. Oh my goodness. We were brough this bowl that looked like it had donughts and cream poured over them. No, they were sponges and sour cream. What was supposed to be sweet ended up being salty. It was so frustrating. The other interesting part about eating is that silverware is just used for serving. This means that all of the sauces, the rice, all of it, gets eaten from fingers. It is, needless to say, messy. But fun. Part of the eating process involves mixing/working your food. It's a little bit like being a little kid and being allowed to have shaving cream. Smooth it all out, mix it around, pile it up, and instead of smashing it and sending it flying, one eats it at that point (although, I don't think eating is unusual when it comes to shaving cream).