American Madam goes from India to China...

Well, this last week was stressful with the skin/nerve condition but I made it through the Eastern medicines without any further complications. I am grateful for God’s healing grace each day. The slow boat to India has several prayer groups praying that it will make it here before I leave or else I give up everything I ever owed. I only kept 1% and now it is in jeopardy. When I arrived my luggage was delayed which took too much brain damage to get. I worked hard to get a flat to put my belongings from the boat in while I’m in China and now I have to struggle to see if they will arrive in time. Ufffff, everything was so easy leaving the states and everything here takes so much effort.

My studies have gone down the tubes. I decided I put too much on my plate and made a decision to enjoy life while I am here and start the studies again in China. I started to organize myself today. I had my suitcases under the beds forgetting that I put all my winter clothes in there so I had to empty them out before packing. I will put everything in plastic bags so they don’t collect dust for four months. I’m taking very little to China. As the director told me “they make everything in China, buy it here.” So I will be purchasing my toiletries, clothes and whatever else I need there. I’m bringing a few clothes and my art supplies; that’s it. If they get lost so be it, I won’t care.

While my new flat is nasty and totally a dump I have labored the last few weeks to buy some materials to cover up the couch, bed, floor and have glued some sketches on the walls to cover up the dirt. No one is interested in visiting my new place except Auntie. While I’m disappointed in the lack of interest of the others, Auntie makes me a little nervous as she is 75 and very set in her Bengali ways. I told her my curtains would be finished on Wednesday and asked if she would like to come Thursday. She does her religious ceremonies all day on Thursdays so she suggested Friday. I leave on Saturday and need to put everything in plastic bags so they don’t get dirty while I’m gone but agreed to Friday. So after the little tea party, I will take everything I put up down and clear the room.

She informed me last night she invited Supretty, Rena, Mona and Supta to come as well. They all went to the Horticultural Show and want to see the pictures I took on my laptop. LOL…I have one small couch that fits two, a tea pot the boils two cups of water at a time and no tray to serve tea on. In India if you are invited to a home it is very formal and service must be done according to custom. So, not only will I be serving 5 elderly women they will have to sit on my bed in their saris and I will have to serve 2 at a time. I will also have to wear a sari which I’ve done twice but both times I was dressed by Sukriti so I will most likely look very sorry in my sari  All things considered I believe they will tell me they are appreciating my home and leave with words of horror. I’m laughing because it’s absurd. They would never tell me they don’t like something about me to my face but they will talk and sooner or later it comes out what they truly feel. Like Chandana, the cook. She comes to my place for her tutoring and she told me “Very Nice” and went home and told Ishita she was not appreciating my place. I asked Ishita what that meant and she said Chandana thought my place was bad. How ironic that an 18 year old girl who sleeps on the floor in a room with a 75 year old woman and cooks from 7am to midnight every day of the year; cooking between 21 and 24 meals a day, serving tea 4 to 6 times a day and doing laundry, cleaning, errands in exchange to sleep on the floor cannot appreciate my little flat that is private and has a toilet that I don’t have to share with seven other people. I don’t understand but accept the irony of it all.

I took my computer to the Roy’s last night to Skype with my mom so she could meet everyone. I was so concerned about walking at night with my lap top and my 4 D cell flashlight (my pen light battery died and I cannot see going up the 4 flights of stairs in the dark when I get home). I was not in myself as they say here and took a wrong turn and found myself lost going to the Roy’s. For two months I’ve walked to their home and last night I had no idea where I was and there were no street signs and very few people on the streets. I did not want to make a call and say I’m lost. How foolish! But….I had to, I went in so many directions that I didn’t have a clue which direction I was going. I called and walked and described my surroundings and by the time Satyaki figured out where I was I found his street. I was still not in myself today and did the same damn thing. I realized when I saw a T junction in the road that it looked familiar and realized I took the same wrong road again. This time being daylight, I was able to look around, look at buildings and take a few wrong roads purposely to familiarize myself with the part of the neighborhood I hadn’t explored. I didn’t tell anyone I did it two times in a row, I think the Roy’s will be happy I’m gone for a while. My high maintenance is too high for me. At any rate, last night it was so much fun to interact with my mother and the Roy’s. I believe everyone was happy to meet each other. My mom will make plans to come visit by the end of the year. This will be a very happy reunion. We have not been in each other’s presence since 1998.

Today I went to the market. In India, if you aren't Indian they think they can charge you double what they charge an Indian because foreigners think they are getting a good deal. Which they are, things are cheap here. But I live here now and I try to establish relationships with vendors and let them know I live here and I won't be taken for a ride. I bring my Indian friends with me to get the Indian price. Then I return and purchase something and they still over charge me but not as much. Slowly this will change.

I know so little Bengali, Hindi, Muslim and the 100 other dialects in India that I fumble all the time. Bengali is one of the hardest languages to learn. Not only do I not understand, they don't understand my American English. They understand UK English and Indian English. So I am misunderstood everyday in just about every situation.

Today at the market I went to get some material sown together. I knew the price should be 25 rupees which is about 55 cents. Not a big deal right? Well the guy shakes his head no, but I don't understand and the 4 men standing there laugh at me. The vendor tells me to sit down. I am sitting there wondering what I just agreed to.

Finally one of them said you don't understand Bengali do you? I said 'aami Bangla jani na" which means "I don't understand Bengali" all of them clap their hands. The vendor said he was shaking his head no because he only wanted to charge me 20 rupees and I'm telling him to give me back my material I can go down the street and get it done for 25 rupees.

So....Saturday I go to China and start this process all over again. For four months I will attempt Chinese and when I return to India I'll most likely forget the little Bengali I know and have a Chinese English accent.