Getting to Know India

I'm now wrapping up the sixth day of being in India. I haven't written for a couple days because I felt like I wanted something to happen, but what I didn't realize is that everything I have experienced so far is fair game to share and that plenty of things are happening.

Today I went into the town of Lingampalli with some of my friends. While half of our study abroad group spent their morning at the police station registering with them, the rest of us decided to go exploring. Yesterday our peer tutors took us on a bus tour of the neighborhoods (towns?) near the university, so we decided to go back to Lingampalli to do some further exploration. We took the local bus, which we had learned how to use three days earlier (it's a bit overwhelming to use since it's so crowded and seemingly unorderly, but I felt better riding it this time around). While in Lingampalli I bought some fabric and took it to a tailor to have a Salwaar Kamiz (a traditional Indian tunic outfit) made for me. It cost me in total 890 rupees, which is about $20. I think that's quite a steal. I also bought some cheap bangles, which are quite pretty.

After that excursion I felt quite tired, so I rested during the afternoon while we had free time before dinner. Tonight I had a delightful conversation with one of the girls in my program about what classes we are interested in taking. We may end up in an Indian philosophy class together. I would like that very much if I had another study abroad student in at least one or two of the classes I'm taking. I'm still getting to know many of the people in my program, and thus far I really enjoy their company. We're quite an interesting and compatible group of people. Unlike the first week of college, I don't feel lonely and I don't have trouble striking up a conversation with people and connecting with them from the get go. I think that being here in India together gives us an initial bond that helps us build quick and worthwhile relationships with one another.

I very much look forward to classes starting and meeting my fellow Indian university students. We'll be picking our classes in 4 or 5 days, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Love,
M