It happened again. Two things. First, I got my nose pierced again, but by a competent doctor this time. It now has a stud in it and I am happy with my new look. Second, I heard it again. An Indian man, who has spent the last decade living in the States, rieterated what I […]

This morning I went with Maria, a Colombian woman, to have our noses pierced. I have been thinking about doing this for years and finally decided that India was the place to do it. Maria had purchased the wrong kind of stud, so I took her back to the store to exchange it. The man […]

I am beginning to understand a bit what it means to be a minority. Because people don’t see many of your kind, they make assumptions about you that are more often than not, completely incorrect. Prime example: this evening, I had dinner with Joseph, a student from Ethiopia. He is here in Mysore finishing his […]

I heard about this French book called Le Syndrome de l’Inde. It was written by a French physician who treated patients in India over many years. He encountered numerous people who seemed to all be suffering from some strange India-induced madness. He termed this condition the India Syndrome. Some people, who might already have a […]

I got a totally different attitude from people in Mahabalipuram. I am wondering if this has to do with the fact that the two other states I have visited thus far maintained their princely state status during British rule. Tamil Nadu was firmly in the grasp of the British, and I could tell people were […]

I woke up after a long, solid night’s sleep, terrified of the city. I kind of wanted to go home to Mysore but the next train wasn’t until 8 p.m. and the idea of getting a rickshaw to take me to that huge train station completely freaked me out. I opened my guide book and […]

I took the night train to Chennai. Smooth trip there, smooth arrival to my hotel which was pretty dingy, but charming nonetheless. I ordered some room service and had a look at my guide book. I decided to dive right into the city and headed downstairs to catch a rickshaw. I went first to the […]

I ate a pizza today. When your stomach isn’t happy with the food it has been given, it craves the food it is used to. I have been dreaming of French cheeses and white wine cream sauces all week. I would kill for a fresh tomato and mozzarella salad with some basil from the garden […]

There are different stages in adapting to a culture. For the sake of arguing my point, I’m going to make up a three part system as follows. First, there is culture shock, the period during which you are thrust into a setting which causes you to readjust your way of thinking. Inside you, a revolution […]