Introduction to My India and the Tangore House

Blah, uninspired posts are just so not fun to write or read for that matter... but here goes (This is for you Dipesh!).

Tagore International House

       So, having been living in Hyderabad over two months, I feel fully settled into "life in India". Life in India is in quotation marks because the life that I am experiencing here in India is really only one type of experience, and a very sheltered experience at that. India is quite large and has a fair number of people live here (to under-exaggerate it completely).



Actually that's one thing that never ceases to amaze me, the crowds. The traffic at rush hour, the number of people you can fit into a bus (or a rickshaw for that matter), a busy market, or a crowded festive. Sometime I stop and think to myself "I don't think I have ever seen so many people" and then I'll go out again and see an even bigger crowd. 

There are a lot of things that amaze me about India though. While most of these things are amazing in the best possible way, there are plenty of other things that can be frustrating beyond belief. Everything is just a little more work here. 

This blog should have been called "Series of Unattractive ID Photos"

Lets start with the campus life. For anyone who may not know, i'm studying at the University of Hyderabad. The University is beautiful but huge. It takes about 35 minutes walking at a brisk pace to make it from south campus to main campus. Tagore International House is located in south campus. This is only ever inconvenient if you're trying to get anywhere, including a class that is not in the SIP building. 

SIP- Study In India Program (Why it's not SIIP I don't know (Maybe because that sounds ridiculous. Stop being silly!)). Although all of us came on different programs, SIP is the way that they can clump us foreigners who are only here for a semester or year together. 

Semester for the most part. I am one of three people actually staying for a full year. Meaning for most of the SIP students here, their exchange in India is already halfway over...

For me however its still just beginning (That's why i can put such big gaps in my blog posting ;p).

My Name in Hindi 

I finalized my schedule a while ago... 

I'm taking 
- Indo-U.S. Relations
-Intro to Kuchipudi (I am not skilled...)
- Hindi (again...)
- Advanced Studio Production

The teaching style is quite different here (I could write a full post on my Advanced Studio production class alone). While I enjoy some aspects of these classes quite a lot, I feel like i'm learning more outside of class than in them. 

India has been amazing for teaching me how much I really don't know.  I feel ignorant less often now than I did at the beginning of the semester (Yay improvement!). But the moments do still come. 

Thanks to everyone who told me to bring sunscreen to India.
 I didn't bring a rain jacket...

One of the main things I have come to accept though is looking and feeling silly. There is really very little chance for me to not stand out as a foreigner, so it takes a lot of the pressure off. When I don't understand something or don't know how to do something, with (often without) a little prodding I always get help. Nearly everyone I have meet here in India has been extremely friendly and helpful.  Even when I know I am being laughed at, I just choose to laugh right along with them because often I feel so silly that i'm sure I must look absolutely ridiculous to everyone around me, and what do we do when we encounter something foreign or a little strange. 

A beloved pastime by many of the SIP students is reading
different advertisements and signs (ah cultural differences)

I chose to believe that we can either get frustrated/upset or we can laugh it off. I personally love a good laugh. 

Added for my amusement. Songs of my exchange:

Song # 1 (Yay for Telugu music!)

Song # 2  (So darn catchy, will forever remind me of Mya and Annie and coming back from Karaoke)

Song # 3 ( Needed to be done) 

My Roommate: Sharmila  

Tina and Aaron in the dining room

Lea giving me the stink eye in Kuchipudi

When It Rains It Pours

So it has been about two weeks now since I arrived in Hyderabad and I keep starting posts but not actually finishing them. There is a guy named Aaron in the house who says that he can't go to bed until he has written about his day. So far that hasn't been a problem for me...I could do a recap of the various events that happened during this week but instead I will be lazy and just copy and paste my responses to an email. Wait for it...

1. What time is it in Hyderabad when it is noon here? So I can schedule accordingly, in case we wanna Skype. (San Jose)

-It's a 12 1/2 hour time difference so when its noon there, it is 12:30pm in Hyderabad and I will be sleeping because my roommate wakes up at 5:30am and goes to bed at 9pm.

2. What have you been up to?

-Trying to figure out what classes to take for the semester. I really dislike the way they organize classes here. Well.. it would be good if I wasn't here for an exchange. Each department has basically one class schedule depending on what year you are. It means everyone knows everyone else in their department and they are all basically taking the same classes. Problem is I want to take classes from multiple departments and I would like to avoid weekend classes. I got the RTVF departments schedule but everything clashes or is on the weekend or is something i have already taken. It's annoying. Plus the 
department is so disorganized (Quite similarly to the RTVF department back home). I have tried to attend multiple different classes only to be told they are canceled or rescheduled or relocated. Also most of them start at least 15 minutes late. Except the one class I really wanted to take which started early and then locked the door. 

3. Have classes started yet? What are they like?

-The one class I know for sure I am taking is Hindi and it is hard.


4. Have you met any India people yet?

- A few in passing. Mostly I have been with the other International students in the house. It's not mixed like I-house with locals. I get a lot of people looking at me (Mostly when i travel with other people from the house). Everyone is super nice. The more I go to the same departments and classes the more people I've been talking and I have a few potentials, but so far it's mostly Americans.

5. Have you gotten sunburned yet? (Hope not.)

-It's actually monsoon season. No sunburn, just a lot of rain and BUG BITES. I am telling you they have started a war. I kill the mosquitoes without mercy but i still get eaten. I've been sleeping with a mosquito net every night and i think i need to start wearing poison during the day.

6. What do people do for fun around there? What are the hotspots?

-Thursday nights are karaoke night, Its a lot of fun but more of an international house thing than a local thing i would say.

-There are several western style malls around, with theaters that play cheap Bollywood films.

-Markets, where you have to barter. Problem is that as obvious tourists we get horrendously overpriced for everything. My roommate just found out that she spent 1,500 INR (approximately $25) for a scarf that was worth about 200 INR ($4). There was this whole big thing with the guy that sold it to her too and now she feels really crappy about it. I love the markets though (The trick is I just don't buy anything).


7. What is the food like there?

-When I first got here I thought the food was great. I am starting to get  a little tired of it now. Think of DC only better quality and always Indian food. It is good but gets a bit repetitive. There are also very specific mealtimes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Meaning less snacking and i spend a lot of time waiting around for meals. I think I have lost weight but now I found these cookies that they sell at the mini market across the street so...it won't last long. But I do a lot of biking because the campus is huge and all my classes are on the other side of it.


8. What are the people in your I-House like? What are the demographics? You can use our I-House comparisons, e.g. "He's like Dipesh, but slimmer." Or, "He's like Melvin, but without the cocoa."

-White and female for the most part. Mostly American. A few from Finland and Sweden and Russia but mostly different parts of the states. So far I have not spotted any similar characters.

9. Have you gone traveling around yet?

-We were taking on a tour of the touristy spots of Hyderabad. Otherwise I have not left the city.

10. Anything you really miss about the U.S.? Air conditioning, perhaps?

-Toilet paper being a norm in bathrooms.
-Warm showers
-People
-Driving

7/17/13

 First day of classes! Well, sort of. We had orientation yesterday, where we got a list of possible courses and we were told that we would have until the end of July to finalize our schedule. Until then we audit classes. 8:00am I woke up ate a quick breakfast and headed out to my first class: Society and Sexuality. The University of Hyderabads campus is huge (I want a bike).  One thing to know about classes at the University of Hyderabad, they don't have room numbers. Each school of study has a building that it is centered in and most students take courses all within that school. So I came to the social sciences building with no idea where the class I wanted to sit through was. I found it, and it turns out a Finnish boy from the house was trying out the same class. My next adventure was trying to find the communications building (did i mention the campus is huge). Before I left the states I was told often that India is hot and humid. Yet... Monsoon season. I arrived wet but in good spirits because two local girls helped me find my way and even shared their umbrella with me. I did not get to attend a class here but got a list of possible RTVF courses I can try. The walk back was long and wet. Hopeful for future classes.

Shilparamam

 I left the university campus for the first time and traveled out into the city. After spending most of the morning filling out registration paperwork it was a relief. My roommate, three other girls from the house and I walked to the end of campus where she hired a autorickshaws driver to take us to Shilparamam. The four of them squeezed into the back of this tiny little car while i shared half a seat with the car driver. The drive from the airport late at night in a four wheel car was nothing like this drive.With the six of us in the autorickshaw every time he hit a speed bump I was afraid the autorickshaws would stop and anytime he made a turn I though the whole thing would flip over. When we got to the market after a quick bathroom break, the shopping begun. 

Well for me the standing around begun. I quickly realized that U.S. or India I am not a very good shopper. Half the time I was just getting a kick out of listening to my roommate barter because she  was enjoying it so much. I honestly think that half the things she bought she only bought because she was proud she got the price down. The same lines would pop up over and over "Don't buy, Just look" and " Looking is free madam". (I don't think i'll get use to being called madam). We left Shilparamam in the dark and in the rain and the traffic on the way back was even more hectic. Venturing out into the city has made me realize just how much fun this trip will be.