First Full Day in India

June 23, 2010

I woke up at 9, which was surprising because normally, the rules of jetlag stated that I would be up at 4 in the morning (like my mother). Breakfast was mango shake and toast, which was eaten on the table. The kitchen area did not have air-conditioning, and the temperature was well over 100º. The temperature dictated that a shower would be necessary, so a shower I took after breakfast. Note to all that most bathrooms in India do not have showers; instead, they have a big bucket filled with water, and a smaller hand-sized bucket used to pour water on yourself. That’s why showers in India tend to be actually five minutes long, whereas in the US, a “five” minute shower is actually a ten minute shower. Afterwards came more AP US History work (I had a few assignments due Friday). By this time, it was about 11:30 pm in New Jersey, so my brother, mother, and I were all in the throes of jetlag. We weren’t sleepy, more lethargic, but if we had slept, then the night’s sleep would be ruined. Then began the crazy activities that people do to keep themselves awake. We ate sour worms, listened to Lady Gaga and Taio Cruz, and played various card games to ensure that sleep wouldn’t arrive before we were ready to sleep (afternoon-ish). By the time my aunt and grandfather returned from a doctor’s appointment, we were ready for lunch. My favorite foods made an appearance at the table: rice, kidney beans, and okra. Doesn’t sound very delicious in English, but it was extremely scrumptious. Speaking of English, I was not speaking much of it. My cousin sister was more comfortable speaking in Hindi, and it was a chance for me to practice as well. Already my Hindi had improved-the halting Hindi that I had used last night gave way to a more fluid Hindi, mixed with English (and in my head, sometimes mixed with Spanish).
Anyway, after lunch, came SLEEP! Only two hours, but it was magnificent. My cousin brother had returned from his tutoring class, so with him we made the typical jokes that adolescents make and listened to Linkin Park, all while he attempted to hack into the Wi-Fi so I could get internet. Between APUSH-ing and blogging, my day was spent. The power just went off (happens when it gets too hot), so this blog post will be ending.

June 20th: The day before we leave

Tomorrow, my mother, brother, and I will be leaving for India. After not having visited India in three years, tomorrow will be the first time that the myriad relatives that we have in India will be seeing us (of course, that also means that most of our time will be spent at relatives' houses, attempting to remember the names that belong with the faces). I'm excited to be returning to India. When I visited the last time, I had seen some of the improvements that had been taking place in New Delhi. With the developments completed, Delhi will be comparable to other metropolitan cities in Asia.

In addition to visiting relatives, we will be attending a marriage. I don't actually know the people getting married aside from the fact that they are from my dad's side of the family. No matter. Indian weddings often have relatives from all sides of the family, some twice and thrice removed, in attendance. Different parts of India have different wedding traditions. The last wedding I went to was my dad's sister's, so the wedding should be similar, but with it being held in a smaller town (compared to being held in a city), the expectations will be different. See, with my brother and I being raised in America, many of the relatives will be eager to see if we behave like typical Indian children are supposed to. Most Indians who have never visited America believe that children there have no boundaries, and are free to do whatever they want to do. Their ideas about America come from shows like Jersey Shore, and so they assume that kids are just as wild as Snookie. It will be my brother and I's job to debunk those beliefs, in addition to upholding the reputation of our parents, as our behavior will reflect on how our parents have done their job (in raising us).

That's it for now. It's now time for me to pack, which is probably the most difficult part of going to India. Conservative values and society along with an idea of what a girl from a "good" family should wear will make packing a long process.