Elephant Crossing

I am in a place where more people stare when I walk down the street than when an elephant walks down the street.

I am here with my American roommate from the program, Viveka, in our host mom’s apartment in Pune. We spent one night at a hotel in Mumbai when we first arrived and then left the next morning for orientation at a nature retreat in Durashet, which is halfway between Mumbai and Pune. Durashet was beautiful and calm. There, we learned culturally appropriate behavior, like how to eat with only your right hand, and a little about our classes and our host families. It was really nice to get to meet the other thirty five people on the program before being thrown into the insanity of Pune. The other kids are great! Everyone seems to definitely have an adventurous, positive spirit and I think they will be excellent travel companions.

Our first night with our host mom, Preeti, was last Friday. Preeti is absolutely wonderful. She drew Viveka and I a detailed map of our neighborhood and wrote down directions to and from Ferguson College in English and Marathi (local language) for the rickshaw drivers. She took me to the tailor to get my new clothes altered (for 70 rupees = less than $1.50) and found me a new laptop charger when mine broke. Her food is to die for. We’re eating lots of cooked vegetables, dal, curry, chipati (like a flour tortilla, but more delicious), and interesting new sweets! Turns out I have a sweet tooth in all cultures. I also realized that “Three Cups of Chai” is the perfect title of this blog, since Viveka, Preeti and I sit down and have three cups of chai tea together multiple times a day!

Everyday Viveka and I risk our lives (not really, Mom) taking a rickshaw to and from Ferguson College campus. The roads are crazy here; no lanes, motorcycles, buses and cars everywhere. It’s a little stressful to walk down the street.

Some people have gotten frustrated with being constantly stared at wherever we go, but it doesn’t bother me too much. Everyone is probably just wondering what I’m doing here- and for good reason! I have never been somewhere where just looking at me I seemed interesting and exotic. When I went for a short run today around the neighborhood, I just tried to smile and nod at people in a way that said, “Yes, I know I am making a huge spectacle!”