Things I Love

So I realised the other day that many of the things I have written about in my blog may seem quite negative. In order to clarify, I am really beginning to love living here. Honestly, it has taken a while. India can be a really hard place to live in if you don't know some of the 'rules' of society. So I thought I would give some of the things that I love about India:

1) FOOD! I love the really good, really cheap food that I can find just about anywhere. I love getting chana masala or thali plates with malai kofta, dal, curd, rice, and nan. Oh and nan! How I love nan. It is like the bread that just keeps on giving. And then there is pretty much anything made with potatoes: aloo mutter, allo puri, etc. And the paneer dishes? Mmmmmm...

2) The community in which i work. i love the kids, the people in the community, and the man I work with (Marang). It is one of those things where i constantly am thinking about all the people I know there. I love thinking about conversations I have had or stories told.

3) Dilip Menon. Dilip Menon is my professor at Delhi University. He is an amazing guy. He is incredibly smart and I love hearing him lecture. The class is "The Rise of British Power" and deals with the East India Company from its inception to the Mutiny of 1857. It is very interesting both learning the history and hearing him interject philosophical theory into his history lessons. It makes on see how all the intellectual history I have had can be applied.

4) My roommates. The EAP students I am living with are unbelievably cool. I love hanging out with them in the kitchen and talking about our common experiences in India. We also talk to about all kinds of things though, not just India. From politics, to relationships (or lack thereof for many) to ideas to music to anything one can imagine. It is a terribly fascinating group to be with especially in the midst of our collective Indian adventures.

5) SETTLERS! I brought Settlers of Catan, a board game, from home to India and it is easily the best comfort thing I brought from the USA. I play with a group of 5 other people and we love it. Before I had to get up early (ie before I was volunteering), it was not uncommon for several of us to play until 2 or 3 in the morning. And I really have a blast... we are all such nerds.

6) Traveling. Traveling in India is wonderful. First of all it is entirely too cheap. I mean i feel like I am seeing another country, another world really, for so cheap. I mean the trip to Varanasi for a weekend totaled to about $35. You can't beat that. And secondly, the places I am visiting are ridiculously cool. Jodhpur, for example, was basically like the movie Aladdin. I was just waiting for the flying carpet. Or Yamunotri. I was in the Himalayas looking at some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever scene. There is something all to wonderful and exotic, even still, about traveling in India.

7) Getting India. While I don't feel I know the ins and outs of India, its politics, and its culture, I do feel that I am beginning to be able to function normally in this country. I feel less surprised by things (minus kids peeing on the train floor) and no longer am just bewildered by everything. I feel like I can keep up and even contribute a little to the mass chaos that is Delhi.

8) Delhi. Delhi is a great city. It is very cosmopolitan in some senses but in other senses it is a world away. I love going to Chawri Bazaar and walking to Karin's for dinner. I love taking the metro and not having to look at the map to see which stop I am at or where I need to go. I love talking cycle rickshaws to class and hanging out in the canteen for a quick lunch before jetting off to go to Connaught Place to hang out. It is world class city and I am enjoying what it has to offer.

So that is my shortlist. Hopefully now people will also see the lovely side of India that I get to see everyday. There are a lot of things that seem trying here but there is also just so much that I love about this place.