Mary in India

To simplify this post, I am including random things I think about saying and never do.

Interesting facts: (I apologize if some turned into rants)

#1. I haven't worn jeans since December (my Christmas vacation in the states). For the simple reason that India is hot, and wearing jeans is uncomfortable. I enjoy my lighter (what we expats nicknamed "expat pants" because we're always wearing them) black balloon-y style Alladin pants. I also own a short pair of white cotton pants, lots of skirts, some linen slacks (like pyjama pants), and of course...plenty of leggings (we're India of course!). It's just more comfortable and easier for me. Also, I get stared at everywhere I go, and honestly...it feels nice for me to wear something less contoured to my body. The more hugging material does to me (like jeans on my ass) the more looked at I get and the weirder I feel.

#2. My head is almost always itchy. There are two reasons for this issue, one being the water here is dreadful. The quality of it would not pass as "usable" in the U.S.A. and I feel icky even using it to brush my teeth or shower. However I don't have the choice. To make the water somewhat "safe" they load it up with chemicals. Occasionally the water can be tasted when brushing our teeth and it's disgusting, and sometimes when we turn on the hot water for a shower it has a weird smell. So, whatever in is in the water, it agitates my scalp, giving me itchy scalp and sometimes dandruff. WHICH FYI - I HAVE NEVER HAD IN MY LIFE UNTIL MOVING HERE. It's horrible. The second issue that makes it worst is the heat, pollution, and humidity/dryness (going from AC rooms to intense humid heat).

#3. I stopped drinking coffee. The simple and fast explanation of this is that coffee sucks here and it's not even worth drinking, so I gave up my morning coffee. I'm sure my teeth will be happy, less coffee staining.

#4. I've become somewhat rude to sales people. It's true. It just sort of happens, they bring it out in me. They follow you around endlessly, staring at you. Sometimes in pairs, where both sales dudes will be looking you up and down speaking in Marathi to one another...no doubt it's about me. This is the Indian standard for "good service" following potential customers around the store like flies on stink. They just keep hovering, no matter how many times you tell them you don't need help or you're "just looking", I mean if I need help I'll ask for it. I've actually run away from sales people here. It's awkward and it can even make me hate shopping sometimes. Even at expensive malls I will get stared at non-stop. They don't even look away when I stare back at them with angry eyes...they just keep staring with this blank dumbfounded expression on their faces. Sometimes I just want to shout, "YEAH...I'M WHITE, GET OVER IT."

#5. The first and last movie I'll ever see in India was in January (see movie rant post). After an awful, and I mean ridiculously awful) movie experience, Remi and I have decided we'd rather download movies with shit quality than see them in the theaters here. To sum it up, too much late arrivals, too much talking during the movies, ridiculous National Anthem they make you stand up for, intermissions that disrupt the movie, people arriving late from intermission, cutting out scenes whenever they feel like it, opening the exit door with the last 2 minutes of the movie playing, and people actually LEAVING when the doors are opened. In short, there is zero respect for the art of cinema here. And any one who knows Remi and I knows how much we love going to the movies! We used to go to a movie every Sunday night together in SF. Movies are one of our favorite things, so we avoid seeing them here...it just breaks your heart.

#6. I don't sleep that well here. I mean, I sleep...but not that really delicious sleep you almost never want to wake up from. That amazing feeling of waking up on a cloud of comfort knowing you've sleep like 9-10 hours solid. That never happens here for me. Mostly because either an electrical outage in the night turns off my AC unit so the room heats up and within 20 minutes I am awake and sweating. Or, our bed. Our bed is hard as nails, and this is common here in India, as it is in Europe. So of course Remi sleeps fine, but I am often tossing and turning to find a good position. In general, I just wake up more from discomfort, it sucks.

So there is my full explanation of ordering drinks in India. :)

#8. I haven't worn real shoes in forever. I stick to sandals and flip-flops because they are more comfortable here. Anything with socks is too hot. As a result my feet are growing calluses that I have to file down every so often. It's annoying.

#9. I no longer flat iron my hair. Most people who know me see me with flat ironed hair. Only those in my family or who have lived with me (roomates, etc) know I actually have highly unmanageable curly/wavy hair. So I always have flat ironed it. However here, it's pointless. If I do manage to flat iron it, by the time I reach my destination in town it's already frizzy and beginning to wave-up again. The heat and humidity are not good for my hair. As a result, I've been trying new ways of just dealing with what my parents gave me. I've found some Moroccan coconut oils that keep the frizz down and ways to air dry my hair for optimum wavy locks. It's actually quite nice sometimes, so I guess I will thank India for forcing me finally deal with AND appreciate my hair for what it is, instead of always hiding it with a flat iron. (See pic above of long *hasn't been cut since December* wavy India hair).

#10. I think I've added at least 100 new freckles to my body. My Mom always used to call them "sun kisses" when I was little. I spent too much time at the beach and my nose would get cute little freckles. I don't actually spend time laying around in the sun here in India, and yet I've collected more "sun kisses" on my arms, shoulders, and legs in one year here than the past 3 years in SF combined. All I can say is the sun here is intense, I am just very happy my daily face lotion has SPF 95 in it or I might come back home looking 5 years older!!