Bollywood and Beginning

It has been an eventful two days.  A little ironic how just as I write a blog about my inactivity, I suddenly become busy!  Yesterday I met Aishwarya on FC Road so she could show me around and do a little shopping.  We spent a while walking up and down this street, then headed over to Central, a large, red mall primarily for clothing.  This mall was different from most malls I have encountered in that it is all one big store with walls rented out to brands instead of whole sections like the familiar Mall of America.  Here I acquired the wallet I will use this year, because unlike my old one, this new wallet is tall enough to conceal rupees.  After that, we met up with two of Aishwarya’s friends for lunch.  This was fun, but proved to be a mistake because it put me in my bed with a slightly upset stomach for the rest of the day.

When I awoke this morning, though, I felt fine and quickly got dressed before attending Catholic mass in English in the oldest church in Pune.  I went with my sister (cousin, the one from the Raksha Bandhan picture) and her Christian friend.  Though it was an unfamiliar set of songs (with no music, only lyrics which made it impossible to sing along), it was still good to be back in a familiar setting.  It was nice of my Hindu family to set this up for me, and I really appreciated the gesture.

I just got back from seeing a Bollywood movie with Aishwarya and some of her other friends, and it was quite the experience.  First, I took my first solitary rickshaw ride and came out fine!  Though really not that impressive, it marked for me my first big step toward independence and I felt it an accomplishment.  The building itself was vastly different from anything I have seen in the US.  As you walk in, it appears like more of a mall than a movie theater, with small kiosks selling bags, clothing, watches, etc.  There was even a book store!  On the upper level there was a food court, with multiple restaurants in case you forgot to eat lunch before coming to the movies.  The inside of our theater would not have been out of place in Lakeville’s collection, except for more comfortable seats. 

Aishwarya had warned me that the movie was in Hindi without subtitles, but I was eager to get a taste of Bollywood.  This movie was an interesting first look into Indian film. 

It was a movie nearly three hours long detailing a war between two rivaling gangs.  To give you an indication: picture the Godfather, replace the Italians with Indians, insert a surprising number of (apparently) hilarious dialogues, and, oh yeah, you can’t understand a single word.  Now you have a pretty good idea of what I took away from this experience.  It really was interesting, but I couldn’t tell you who won the war.  To me, because I couldn’t keep the characters straight, it appeared like a lot of random events.

I don’t know how much other people here will want to see it, but I saw a poster for the new James Bond film, Skyfall, coming out in November, and I am dragging someone to go see it with me. 

Tomorrow is my first day of school.  It is a familiar feeling to me after completing 13 years of public education in Minnesota, but it is also different.  Since moving to Northfield in 2^nd grade, I have known all the kids who would be in my grade every year.  This year, I am being thrown into an unfamiliar school with classmates I have never met, and who primarily speak a language I do not know.  It is a little unnerving to say the least.  This will be especially difficult for me coming out of my senior year, where I was the top of the hierarchy and I ruled the school.  Here, I am a foreign kid two grades younger than my age who knows nothing about my surroundings.  It will be quite a shock.  However though it is, I at least have Colby with me to figure things out and hopefully we will be joined by some of the other exchange students when they arrive.  I am determined to use this opportunity to reach outside my comfort zone and at least try to connect with some Indian classmates.  Once I have made one friend, everything will be easier.

Well, here is the real starting point.  I have been introduced to the culture, but tomorrow I am truly thrown into my exchange.  I’m going to hope for the best and remain confident, and I’ll let you know how it goes.  Wish me luck!