so i’ve been in india for a few weeks now. i’ve already mentioned the bats, but now a few words about the people. first, there are so many of them. it’s impossible to go anywhere in bangalore at any time without encountering like a thousand people. people hanging out of buses. people climbing into trains through windows. people riding small motorcycles 4 or 5 at a time. one billion people is no joke. second, i’d say about half the people i’ve interacted with speak english. but of that half the majority speak what anna and i call indlish. i’m no pro at english (or even american) but i figure there has to be a different word for english spoken at such a rate.
what’s more, when i’m listening to the radio or watching television i concentrate to follow the speed and thick accent. suddenly i’m lost and trying really hard to get back into it only to realize that they’ve been speaking hindi. but like anywhere else yes, no, pointing, and using my fingers to sign numbers gets me through most any situation. and, lastly, of course, i will echo the typical guide book phrasing (about every country) and say that the people are kind and warm-hearted.
the majority of my time has been spent in bangalore. i’ve never spent so much time in a single foreign city before. anna’s work has put us up in a guest house on the edge of the city. there are no tourists and most of the meals we eat we cook in the kitchen. it’s been pretty interesting settling down so much in a foreign city. the internet cafe guy knows me. the vegetable seller guy knows me. the rickshaw drivers have stopped arguing with me about using the meter. it’s an interesting experience. this past weekend, however, anna and i took a trip up north a bit to a town called hampi. around hampi are the ruins of vijayanagar which was the capital of one of the hindu empires back in the 14th century. it was a really enjoyable trip. we wandered around the ruins, encountered a pack of wild monkeys (actual wild, not the “wild” monkeys which hang around tourist attractions and urban areas trying to steal you chips and glasses), and watched the sun set over the rice fields. the hostel style guest house we stayed in was across the river from hampi and everyday we had to be ferried over and back in little circular, bambo boats along side of bathing water buffalo. quaint.
originally, we were to leave bangalore the previous weekend to see a festival for the goddess durga (kali) in a city to the south called mysore. but. that was the same weekend that i got the flu and spent the entire time watching tv and remembering the last asian flu i got and again convincing myself that i didn’t have malaria. a couple words about indian television. they will put anything on tv here. so far i’ve seen a game show where a blindfolded kid was asked to finds books in a bookstore, a musical which appeared to be a period piece set in ancient india but which also had a scene where everyone was dancing around a 3 1/2″ diskette, and last but not least, that movie where arnold schwarzenegger gets pregnant.
oh. i also saw this movie. um … what? anyways, speaking of george bush. i’m voting today. by what seems to be a bona fide christmas miracle,
my absentee ballot made it to me (the addresses here are wicked confusing). but then again, maybe i shouldn’t be surprised. there’s about 800 million dieties in hinduism, surely there must be one that’s dedicated to delivering ballots to voters who, to quote kodos, wish to go ahead and throw their vote away. on the ballot is a non-binding question about whether or not i think a (presumably) unelected entity should be in charge of voter districting. call me a sentimental, anti-entrepreneurial cynic, but i think i’ll miss the days when i got to vote for the person who jerrymanders. i’ve had my ballot for a couple weeks now but am only sending it today. it has 10 days to get back to cambridge for it to “count.” like i always say, why put off ’til tomorrow what you can put off ’til next week.
