A Taste of Home

I just had a great last two days.  Yesterday I woke up and went to school as usual, and found one or two classes canceled (also quite common).  When it came time for lunch, all the exchange students decided we wanted a change of pace.  Trent lives near the Hotel Marriot, one of the best-known hotels in Pune with, coincidentally, five stars.   He occasionally walks to Symbiosis, so we agreed to follow him with promises of milkshakes and cupcakes.  We were not disappointed.  The hotel was extravagant and so was the service.  We were waited on almost excessively, but it was not unwelcomed.  A taste of American dessert did us all good.  While Colby went for some red velvet, I craved a good old-fashioned strawberry malt and Axel went for a baguette (or two).  It was fantastic.  While I truly enjoy my new Indian diet, food is one of the things I miss most from home and as it turned out, it was my lucky day (but more on that later).  After an hour at a nearby mall, we split up and agreed to meet for dinner. 

Axel, living on the outskirts of the town, came back to my apartment to hang out for a few hours before we met up with the other exchange students.  When we arrived, I found a package waiting for me.  It was a collection of some of my favorite foods from the US (including skittles which sadly have yet to make the import list here) from the best family ever!  Love you all!  Words cannot express how excited I was to open my box and find an amazing feast of delicious American food.  After a few hours of light, giddy snacking it was time to meet up with Aishwarya and the other exchange students for dinner.

We went out for “sizzlers”, a term describing foods that make a sizzling sound when served much like fajitas at Mexican restaurants in the US.  And the best part (brace yourselves for this): BEEF!  Sizzlers are one of few dishes in Pune that serve beef and steak, and nothing has tasted so good ever in my life.  It has been six weeks since cow has been a part of my diet, and I had no idea how much I would miss it.  For those of you who, like me, love the show How I Met Your Mother, the feeling at eating my first steak in six weeks can be summed up by Marshal’s speech in “The Best Burger in New York”. For everyone else, let’s just say that it was absolutely amazing.  The sizzler I ordered was pretty much a pile of various meats with steamed vegetables and French fries.  The ideal meal to end the ideal food day. 

Afterwards, I had another (less enjoyable) “first” experience during my time here.  Axel, Colby, and I shared a rickshaw back to SP College near my apartment and we unfortunately chose the wrong driver.  Word of wisdom for anyone traveling to India: do not trust rickshaw drivers.  Not only do they take too much fare from Indian travelers to Pune, they really enjoy messing with foreigners and WILL take advantage of them.  It cost us Rs 60 to get to the restaurant, and the rickshaw driver asked for 170.  I’m proud that were not stupid enough to accept this outrageous initial price, but we didn’t do much better when we accidentally settled on 120.  Now, don’t ask me why all rickshaw drivers don’t just use the toll counter deal that tells you how much to pay, because I honestly have no idea.  All rickshaws have them, but it seems the drivers enjoy taking advantage of the occasional foreigner. 

As mad as we were at the driver for cheating us, our ride was not even close to over.  After about half an hour of driving, it became apparent that the driver had no idea where he was going and we seemed to make a ridiculous number of U-turns as we meandered through shady-looking neighborhoods.  We were more than a little freaked out, a story of another conniving driver we had heard at a Rotary orientation meeting came to mind.  Fortunately, with the help of a friendly roadside store owner our driver eventually found his way to the college.  After begrudgingly paying the driver the Rs 120 agreed upon, we were appalled that he asked for even more.  A few choice phrases came to mind, but we settled on a firm “absolutely not, get the heck out of here”.  I talked to my host family about the experience afterward, and they gave me some helpful advice for next time.  I suppose it is good that I experienced this early on, and with two friends along.  We are certainly now better equipped for dealing with drivers in this city and will not make the same mistake again.

Today was uneventful and relaxing, as I began the day with yoga and then spent a few hours with Colby while he shared a few good tv shows to fill some of my free time.  The rest of my day has consisted of watching quality American tv while doing some snacking from my box from home.  It was perfect.