Yesterday I got and road an autorickshaw all by myself for the first time and I didn't even get cheated. That's sounds like a silly thing to be excited about, but it is something of an achievement since my Hindi isn't so existent and my skin is such that everyone wants to make an extra buck off me. I even knew how to get where I was going, which is nice because it is a bit nerve wrecking to always be trusting people you don't know and can't really communicate with. It's hard not trusting people, but we are constantly told not to trust people we don't know and not to talk to them, don't smile, etc. It's not that everyone is going to hurt you, but safety over being friendly right?
It absolutely poured yesterday...but I missed it =( because I was in a movie (Partner, it's basically the Bollywood version of Hitch...apparently there are lots of Bollywood movies that are take offs of American ones - literally some lines and scenes are identical). I'm starting to wonder what it will be like if it really does start acting like monsoon season because with the one rain yesterday the roads were pretty flooded making it hard to drive and walk down them without getting too much too wet. My host mom thinks the lack of rain in Delhi is due to the people here. She says people don't follow the rules here and they don't do what's right. She often says she wishes someone would take over for 20 years and fix it all, she even said she hoped the army took rule (considering they would do the right things for the people).

Tomorrow I'm planning on going to class at Delhi University for the first time. We (IES students) aren't supposed to start class for another week, but DU started class last week and since I can go to class, I figure why not? I'm a little nervous since I don't know anyone...and don't know if my enrollment is complete yet...and don't know what books to get or where, but I figure the only way to find out is to start showing up. I'm starting realize that here you just have to do things if you want them done or you want to know something. I say that like it's different from home...but it really is. There is some much that is so simple and straightforward at Loyola that is not here. At home if I wait around to do something eventually someone will call me on it or go with me somewhere or help me figure things out, but here it's more like if you wait...you'll just keep waiting and waiting and waiting. The stereotypical competitiveness that is associated with India scholastically is starting to make more sense to me. There are just so many people here that if you just sit and wait, you will be left behind. In colleges here it's something like 2,000 students competing for one seat. It makes me grateful that I have more lee-way in life; I can be in college and be unsure of what the next step is...and have things work out. I could be a good student in high school and know for sure that that meant I would go to college. It's not so simple here. I knew all of this before coming here, but it's different when I know my host sister, Juhi, is in the thrust of it all. I can't answer the question: "what's this change for me?" and that's frustrating. Being here just makes those nagging questions that you sometimes ponder about equality and basically luck in life all the more present and frequent. Why is that kid a beggar, where are his parents, why is she a house maid and why does he have to do unsafe construction work in 100 degrees? Why do I assume that my life is better than theirs? (better, of course, meaning more enjoyable as I go through it) Why even ask these questions over and over? I ask the same ones of the streets of Chicago, but I guess it's easier to think of reasons there or easier to be isolated.

Enough of that. There are many things I love here. My host family being on the top of that list. They are so goofy, which makes me feel more comfortable. They even started tugging my cheeks, which I think means I'm in, haha. Of course, I'm going to have to fight off food hard to not gain 20 pounds while I am here. Purnima ji even has put more food on my plate when I was looking the other way! It's good food, but my tummy can only hold so much. I also really like Delhi University and I'm excited to start classes there, it'll be nice to meet people my age and get into campus life.