Letter to Miriam

I really wish that our plans had worked out… it would’ve been so much fun to be here with you! There are a lot of things that remind me of you and things you’ve told me about India. Like the mangoes! Mmm so good. And also I’ve bought a lot of kourtas (sp??) , some of which remind me of your shirts from here – like the one with the mirrors that I always try to look into, lol.

The project itself is exciting but it’s so hard not speaking any of the languages - I’m limited to things like “kis taraf?” “panni saaf” and numbers 1-10. I’m working on it, but being here is inspiring me to try to learn as many languages as I can.. I came up with this plan to work one a language for at least an hour everyday … but we’ll see how long I last.

There’re a lot of development themes that have come up so far that I’d love to talk to you about – what’s my role here, what am I getting out of this, what am I brining, is it hypocritical that we’re living in a fully furnished AC-ed corporate apartment… just a few of the questions we’re all asking ourselves. I don’t feel up to plunging into all of it now, but sometime soon…

In the meantime, I’ve been learning a lot – about class and regional differences, politics, how things get done in Bombay, how to wear a sari, what different food dishes are and how to eat with my fingers, how to jump on and off trains and squeeze four or five people in a rickshaw, why people paint gods on walls (so that people don’t piss on them!) and where all of the couples go to make out (along the beach, under the woman’s shawl) – all of the differences that seem so strange at first and then quickly become so normal. I was walking around buying groceries the other day, and realized that I didn’t feel like a tourist anymore. I felt like I was beginning to live here.