House

This is outside of my apartment building. Ours is the whole top floor and we have access to a beautiful terrace where I often read and get some sun. Climbing the stairs all the way up is kind of a bummer.

 Leslie (my roommate) and I's room is at the back of the apartment and through the kitchen, which means lots of yummy smells all the time!

 When I am home and not in my room, I spend the most time in the kitchen. I eat, take tea, and chat with my host mom and grandma or Aiee (which means Mother and is pronounced EYE-eee). I have learned a lot about their lives this way, and they are also teaching me to cook!

 My closet. It is hard to think I can fit almost all of my belongings in this tiny space, but here they are!

Our room is very simple, but still very homey. My roommate and I get along really well. It is kind of like living in a dorm again. Some of you may think that actually sounds terrible, but having someone around when I am feeling lonely, want to vent, or just want to hang out is really great.

Theme 1: Home

I decided to structure this blog in weekly themes to break up the info and make it easy to follow. The first theme will be about the idea of home. Every day when my roommate and I walk to school one of us always ends up saying something like, "Hey, can you believe we are in India?" We are so far away from home, (really look at a map!), and yet here we are trying to make a home for ourselves anyways. This week, I am going to show you around my new home, take a look at some new adjustments, and introduce you to the daily life of a foreign student in India.

Human Traffic

Written on 01/22/12

I arrived in Pune two days ago. With everything so new, my first impressions are still forming. There is one aspect that is impossible to ignore about Indian cities, however. The traffic. It is different than anything I have experienced, even this not being my first time outside the country. There is no clear definition between pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. Rickshaws (Indian taxis), motorcycles and walkers all share the street. Honking your horn is the primary mode of communication, and it is used often. At times the traffic is so slow and so thick, people can actually talk to one another from rickshaw to motorcyle on the road, asking for directions or just simply chatting. Sidewalks exist, but only sometimes around major commerical centers. Alliance doesn't permit us to operate a motor vehicle here in Pune, but I have to learn India's unique "rules of the road" all the same. As a country of 1 billion, India has a definite human traffic that you can feel, hear, smell, and sometimes even taste at all times.

Interesting side note: Today my roommate and I saw a man riding an elephant strolling down a main street. To our amazement, our host family said that is very common. *Since writing this post (there was a delay in posting this due to issues with internet access) I have seen three elephants.