Don't Angry Me!

Today was the first day I actually felt like I live in India.  I can't really explain it, but before now, it kind of felt like I was in some janky Disney theme park.  Like, "Oooo look at the people! Oooo lets buy things!"- cultural exposer, but only to the point that you can still leave the park and be back in Florida.

Today I went grocery shopping with my flatmate, Eddie.  Eddie is from Vegas, and is one of those people you carelessly describe as quiet until he says something unbelievably witty that literally knock you on your ass.  We braved the three mile trek to the grocery store, and for the first time since I've been here, I had a really mundane conversation.
"What are you getting?"
"Eggs.  Maybe some mango juice if it looks good.  Oh! And crackers for my nutela stash."
"I have crackers if you want to share, but since they wont be refrigerated, I don't think eggs are the best idea."
"fair point."

For all the exoticness of being here, there is something really comforting about making your guyfriend uncomfortable while you buy pads (no tampons in India! :C) and yogurt.  I really enjoy the non- touristy part of Bangaleur surrounding our apartment, especially now that I can actually navigate it.  The city here has a really beautiful, haphazard layout.  There are KFCs (fact: most popular American chain in India, God help us all) and restaurants without any semblance of english, back up to high end fabric shops, and nature reserves.  You can literally see camels next to the grocery store behind my apartment.  How the city moves seems really random and scary, but once you get a little bit used to it, you can see all the big intricate threads of communication, and every suddenly becomes a lot less "foreign."

Afterwards, Eddie and I went out for a lovely and non exotic dinner at au bau pain, where I dinned on a very non spiced and digest friendly tomato and mozzarella sandwich.  We took a rickshaw over to the theater, where all of our friends were waiting to go see a movie. I am in the USAC program with sixteen other people- fourteen girls, and two boys.  Most of us didn't know each other before coming, and today was the first night I felt a real sense of group bonding.  We all come from different backgrounds, and very different places in the country.  Some people are living it up here, and others are quietly (or less so) waiting to leave.  But there is something about sitting through a two hour "dramedy" in another language, and missing about ninety percent of the cultural cues that just makes for a really great shared bonding experience.  I like India, but I am really starting to love the people I am fortunate enough to share this trip with.