Exploring a Bit

This is me with the three Singapore students (Jeannie, May, and Yi Sze) we are on the balcony of the boys' hostel 13. We were being shown around by the student representative and turns out the boys' hostels are much nicer than ours. It was huge and much newer. I asked about the exact male female ratio, at it is about 1:10. So the two female hostels are also a lot smaller than the boys. We had a fun time today exploring outside the campus gates. The student rep (Abhi) took us to a shopping area and to a grocery store. We needed to buy some basic things like shampoo and toilet paper. Before we were allowed into the grocery store we had to check our bags which I thought was a bit odd. It was so crowded as well and quite small. The grocery store has some brands that I recognized such as Dove (Thank goodness), Herbal Essences, etc but then there is a lot of local, non-English brands too. The selection is also much less, like they will have Dove, but only two types of bar soap and face cream, not the rest of the product line. I'm not sure if I was more surprised to see brands I recognized or to realize that they didn't carry all of the line... Oh well, the essentials are there so it works out. The four of us also went out to the streets close to campus to explore a bit which was fun. We went into a few fabric places to ask about custom clothing. I was disappointed to find out that they can make me any custom fit traditional dress I want but Western US style clothes is a no-go. So I may just have to start wearing Saris. Hey, they are pretty amazing in color and texture - I just don't think I could wear it back in the States.

I realized today that I've got to keep making more Indian friends because now that there are four of us international students, all chemE it will be very easy to not branch out and meet more Indians but I want friends! I also realized that I get stared at - a lot. I turn a corner and all the shop people just look at me, if I smile they will smile back but they just stare. I sort of was expecting it but it is a bit odd. My height doesn't really help either. (In the picture, I'm standing on a lower step than the other girls - for an idea of the height difference)

Miss you all!!

*cow sightings - more than I have fingers and toes*