Didn't you know India is fat camp?

Let's start out with a deep understanding that I am a very adventurous person when it comes to trying new things, including food. I have had Indian food before, and always enjoyed what I have gotten. However, the Indian food served on the MICA (Mudra Institute of Communication Arts) campus is extremely different... and not in a good way. The funny thing is that it all looks like its going to taste really good, but it is surprisingly bland mixed with really spicy... I know, that is a hard concept to grasp, but it's true. We generally have two yellow curry based sauces with different things in them to choose from, as well as rice, tortillas, and occasionally steamed vegetables.

I can count on one hand the number of full meals I have eaten since I arrived here. We went to a restaurant called Havmor, and it was Indian food as well as an ice cream parlor. It was incredible! I had this thing called a Paneer Frankie. It was basically green peppers, onion, tofu, and yellow curry sauce wrapped in a thin tortilla, served with a green chutney. I generally don't like veggies like that, but this tasted awesome.

We also went to a restaurant called Barbeque Nation. They had these places for grills on the table that held kabobs, and served us different marinades and dipping sauces. Because it is extremely rare to find meat around here, it was a real treat to have chicken. The food was delicious and only made me feel slightly ill.

This blog makes it sound like India is awful, but it is not. It is just easy to make fun of.

I absolutely love the people on this trip. We have all gotten really close already and everyone is really chill and gets along well. The only thing that has been really sucky about this trip so far is that we have generally only been on campus. It gets boring because classes haven't really kicked up so we don't have anything to do in our free time but sit around on Facebook. But, Facebook is useless because no one is awake because of the time difference.

We did travel to the Old City of Ahmadabad, the Sun Temple, as well as Ghandi's Ashram (his house). That was really awesome to walk where he lived and spent the majority of his life. In the Old City, we went to a Hindu temple that was bursting with vibrant colors, as well as a mosque that we heard the call to prayer. Hearing the call to prayer really made me miss being in Istanbul, Turkey, because we got so used to hearing it while we were there.







Although the trips were cool, I was not. I sweat more than I ever have in my life. The weather is just incredibly hot and humid, so it makes it difficult to not sweat. I sweat all the way through my shirts on all of our trips... it was disgusting. Luckily, we found these Tide Bars, which allow you to hand wash clothes with a lot of ease, so we have all been washing our clothes in the shower, as the on campus laundry can take a week and a half to get done.

Tomorrow we leave early in the morning for Mount Abu. It is supposed to be gorgeous, so hopefully it will be a good change of pace (to actually give us a pace).

So far I just feel like I haven't really seen any of India yet. We have met a few people around campus and everyone here is super nice. Even on the streets, people want you to take their pictures and they don't ask for money afterwards. Peace is just really a major part of society here.





Although, last night on campus I went and saw the "ragging" of the freshmen. It is what everyone in America knows as hazing. All of the new students were forced to stand with their heads down and their hands behind their backs while all the seniors ran through yelling at them "army style." It was crazy. The guy I was with kept laughing and saying "they are abusing them left right and center." It was actually kind of comical. After that, everyone was drenched in ice cold water. This was their last night of being ragged and it was like their initiation. From here on out, they have a lot of fun and the upper and lower classmen bond a lot.

The Beginnings of Injia

As I took one last look around my apartment, assessing the amount of things my hungover mind could have forgotten, I realized the only thing I could do at this point was to call the cab company to arrive early. When the Cowboy Cab came bustling around the corner, I was equipped with my 48 pound obnoxiously loud yellow North Face duffle bag, an electronic filled backpack, and a very heavy purse. I found the current thunderstorm that had overtaken Dallas that morning to be a nice foreshadowing moment of the upcoming monsoon season in India.

Once I was settledin the minivan taxi, the driver, who I have named Spencer (because he looked like a real crack head) peppered me with questions about my life and my flight information. I wasn't sure if he just wanted a really nice tip, or if he wanted to come along and impose himself as my fiance to eventually make me his drone of a wife named Heidi.

On the way to the airport he checked the fastest routes on his CB radio, which proved to be unhelpful. We ended up choosing the right way to the airport, and I made my entrance in a fashionably late manner. Hungover and tired, I began to introduce myself to all the people I had not yet met who were making this fabulous journey with me. Reluctantly, I made small talk with my new found friends and professors, waging our craziest fantasies about what might happen over the next 5 weeks.

Some possibilities:
- mauled by a monkey


- stranded at the Taj Mahal only to be found missing and hallucinating 2 days later


- the entire group was to get upgraded into first class for free because SMU suddenly realized how ridiculous their prices are


- someone in the group would get caught trying to smuggle bags of cocaine and opium back into the country


My two new found friends, Jenny and Brittany, and I decided to go get breakfast. Little did we know, this would be our last real meal for the next five weeks. We discussed all sorts of things, but all I can say now is that I did not eat enough at this sitting. I got cocky; I thought, surely, Indian food will be delicious, and if not, we will have other options... boy was I wrong. I am getting ahead of myself at this point.

Cut to the first plane.


Newark Airport: Now we were in for a ride. As we made our way through the Air India line to receive our boarding passes, I soon realized that my fear of smelling intense body odor would begin earlier than planned. We then shimmied our way through security a second time just incase we were able to pick up a shank or a bomb on the last plane.

The next 7 hours aboard the 777 aircraft were similar to having back to back charlie horse's accompanied with a severe case of ADD. I was so bored and twitchy I probably looked like a cocaine addict coming off of a 72 hour snort-o-thon.

Frankfort Airport: Because I never listen to flight attendant information, I was unaware our boarding passes were to be used to re-board the same aircraft after de-boarding in Germany. Tell me how this makes any logical sense... we got off the airplane with all of our carryon luggage, got on a bus, went to the terminal, stripped down a third time for security, had multiple passport checks while trying to get to our gate, all to get on the exact same aircraft and sit in the exact same seat we were in before. Furthermore, I somehow managed to do all of this without a boarding pass for the flight.

Indian fliers proved to be just as stupid as American travelers, crowding the gate as soon as first class was allowed to board. Much like my fellow Americans, the Indians would be in group 5 or 6, waiting impatiently next to the ticket scanner so that no one who was in groups 1-4 could board without being able to pass through via another dimension. It is interesting to me how much people complain about feeling cramped and crowded on flights, but do not have the common sense to wait until the last possible second to get on the flying hearse.

By the time I made it to seat 38A, I was ready to crash on my surprisingly comfy blow-up pillow that even Bare Grills would not turn down for a 7 hour flight. The next 5 hours were like an LSD trip coupled with severe exhaustion. My 5 hour nap was intermittently interrupted by the obnoxiously rude Indian flight attendants who have no qualms about waking you from a deep slumber and asking you if you preferred lamb or chicken. I always answered that I prefer the back of my eyelids, as if that was not already undeniably obvious.

Getting our luggage was like being a penguin surrounded by lions in an all you can eat blood-fest. No one could move, but everyone crowded the conveyor belt, waiting for their kill. I stood idly by taking in the madness that had taken over many of my fellow travelers. Of course, my bag was one of the very last to come around, and we soon were piling into the bus that would take us to our new home.

This is hysterical...

Turkey

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and school is as hectic as ever. I don't think I have ever been this stressed during a semester. In fact, yesterday, I got so stressed out that I threw up. I know, gross, but it happened. Although the majority of my "break" will be spent working on ads or doing projects on my computer, I am so ready for the big day of Thanksgiving! For the past five years, my cousins and I have banned turkey on Thanksgiving (pause for gasps). This is not because we are trying to go against the grain, make a statement, or because we do not like turkey. We boycott the poultry on this day because we know what lies ahead, vats of turkey salad. Every Friday after Thanksgiving, my Mamaw takes all of the leftover turkey and makes it into the most mouth watering, crunchy, sweet turkey salad you have ever had. Pecans, relish, mayo, and turkey along with her special touch... incredible. Because of this great treat, we give up turkey so that there is more turkey for turkey salad. I am too hungry to write anymore at this point, but I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

I would go gay for Taylor Swift...

Skip forward to like 6 minutes because thats where it starts.

Funny/Strange Words

if they aren't funny at first, just say them over and over again until they start to sound really weird:

goat
croissant
equestrian
mars
folks
yodel
tinsel
laminate
algae
fork
snort
ficus
curtsy
poop
boob
tingle
toilet
pinto
easel
porridge
meal
leak
lint
eel
purple
nose
posse
mouse

that is all for now.

Knees

I really hate knees. Although they serve a good purpose, they are the ugliest part of the body. If there was one way to describe them it would probably be bulbous. I don't really know what that word means, but I think that it really summarizes knees. More than knees, its knee caps. The protrude from the body and look weird if the legs are held straight. It is possible to lessen the ugliness by keeping the knee bent. But you can't have both knees bent unless you are sitting or are really uncomfortable, so one leg always looks ugly when you are standing. I find knees extremely unfortunate.