Incredible India (continued)

So I arrived in Bangalore on October 16th, and was picked up at the train station by the driver from Casa Piccola Service Apartments, where I planned to stay for the first few weeks or so. That same day, I met up with a fellow Watson Fellow, Dawn Teele, at Hotel Ajanta. Dawn had been in Sri Lanka and India since the beginning of the fellowship year doing research on post-Tsunami reconstruction efforts. We spent the next few days enjoying life in Bangalore, which we dubbed "Fake India", with all of its North American-style malls, lounges, cafés and bars.

I got sick twice that week (well, maybe it was really just once, and I didn't fully recover from the initial bug), which was not fun at all! I was glad that Dawn was around because I become a baby when I'm ill (ask my Mom - lol), and she helped me out a lot (thanks, Dawn!)

After Dawn left, I had to put my nose to the grindstone - I had to crank out nine law school applications ("from behind God's back", as my friend Shani so eloquently put it), and also figure out what to do about my Watson research, with no leads or real contact. At the internet cafe, where I ended up living during the application process, I was befriended by the owners, Rebecca and Karnan, and as luck would have it, Rebecca's cousin, Frida, is a teacher a beauty school in Bangalore - I was so happy!

Everyday during my law school application process, Rebecca and Karnan would bring me tidbits of information, products, and hair accessories (namely flowers and jasmine garlands) to help me with my project. Honestly, they kept me sane during that time - they helped me with my research, welcomed me into their family, helped me adjust to Indian life and taught me about their culture, took me to church with them, fed me, looked after me when I got sick (again), and they'd always make me great "chai" (tea)!

Once I finished my applications, they introduced me to Frida, and I went to her beauty school (Chik Mik Beauty School) a couple of times, where they taught me about Indian hairdressing and gave me a bridal makeover. I was also solicited by my landlord at Casa Piccola (where I ended up staying), Mr. Ravi Oberoi, to braid hair at the weekly Fun Fair at their restaurant, Casa del Sol, which was a great experience for me. Benjamine Oberoi, his sister-in-law, also asked me to braid her son Jeremy's hair - he's of mixed heritage - Indian and French - and had grown his hair out just so he could have it braided (perfect timing). Benjamine also introduced me to Manjunath, this Indian designer who's become famous as a model in India because of his dredlocks.

I would've stayed in Bangalore until I had to leave for Egypt (on the 28th), but I wanted to make sure that I had my Egyptian visa in advance (even though you can get it at the airport on arrival - didn't want any problems with customs and immigration), so I headed back to New Delhi on Monday, October 20 via plane this time (!) - turns out the man at the tourism office in Delhi was way outdated and I could have taken a 2-hr flight to Bangalore for the same price that I had paid for that 35-hr train ride that he'd suggested! Yeah...I was NOT impressed...

I spent my last week in India, back at Smyle Inn, getting ready for Egypt (I ended up leaving that little suitcase of my stuff behind in India because I really couldn't carry it all on my own, which made me really sad, but I had no choice!).

By the end of my stay in Bangalore, I'd finally adjusted to life in India and was actually starting to enjoy myself, which surprised me more than it surprised anyone else! I feel like my Indian experience allowed me to grow A LOT - it took me completely out of my comfort zone and put me in situations where I was forced to find my inner strength and adapt to conditions that I'd never been exposed to before.

I really hated some of things that I experienced there, like dealing with discrimination, which really surprised me, actually, but in retrospect, I can honestly sawy that it wasn't all that bad - thanks to Dawn, Rebecca, Karnan, and the people at Casa Piccola! I'm glad that I went through it because now I think that I can survive just about anything else that comes my way for the rest of the fellowship year!