I know it's been weeks since I've updated. Everytime I tried to write something, I couldn’t come up with enough to make an actual post, or a well formed sentence. The main reason I haven’t updated is because life is becoming normal. You try writing a blog on an average day – it’s difficult. Even when I learn something new, it’s no longer a special occasion. I have come to expect the unexpected, and not to waste so much energy on new things. But, Papa Khan wants an update, so let’s make something out of nothing.
My days are long and boring. I do close to nothing all day. I wake up at 7 for school, come back at 11 from school, nap until 2, eat lunch, kill time by either writing letters, watching dubbed cartoons with my host brother. Aafreen is a busy girl, so if she has time for me, we’ll go out and get some fresh juice and catch a Bollywood flick. But if she’s busy, it’s just me killing some more time, then eating, then bathing and going to bed. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I’ve learned that when Indians say “We’ll do it tomorrow” that they actually mean “We may or may not do that ever in your lifetime”. Every now and then I’ll ask about the extracurricular I wanted to take and I get a “Yes, I’ll talk to the teacher tomorrow." Right now, the answer is that I’ll be starting tabla, cooking, mehndi and arts&crafts this month. If this all happens, I’ll be a busy beaver through the day, but it's highly unlikely that I will. Luckily, I AM taking dance lessons and they are regular three times a week. I’m picking it up fast, and it’s really fun.
Physically, I am doing better. After two weeks of sickness, I went to the family doctor and got some antibiotics. Sleeping is great! It especially helps that it rains pretty much all day and cools everything down. Unfortunately, that means that mosquitoes are everywhere. These Indian mosquitoes are relentless. They really love my foreign blood. I apply an Indian cream now, and it’s helping a little, but I still manage to find huge welts in the oddest places. My upper thigh, the middle of my back… The worst places are on the knuckles though. By far. I have so many bites and scars.
Oh yeah, I had a huge visa scare as well! The Indian government only gave me six months on my visa when I need twelve. A couple of days after my last post, I sent in a whole bunch of forms. I was so nervous, and freaking out severely. But after talking to all the people I trust (Here and in Canada) I feel better. But srsly, I haven't freaked out that badly since I planned after-prom.
Part of adapting is accepting the loss of traits that I had in Canada. In Canada I was a big music person. I thought that music would be with me forever, that it couldn’t physically leave me body. I am wrong. Like everything else I knew about life, music has been left behind in Canada. It is the strangest type of loneliness I have ever experienced.
There is also no need for my over-polite Canadian habits. People look at me like I’m crazy when I habitually say "Thank you", "Please", and "Sorry" after everything. The funny looks are a nice reminder that I'm foreign. I'm having a hard time letting go of that Canadian habit. I'm caught in the middle of two cultures, trying to hold onto the one I'm comfortable in, as the other one that doesn't make any sense to me (yet) completely consumes me. Talk about Identity Crisis!
My days are long and boring. I do close to nothing all day. I wake up at 7 for school, come back at 11 from school, nap until 2, eat lunch, kill time by either writing letters, watching dubbed cartoons with my host brother. Aafreen is a busy girl, so if she has time for me, we’ll go out and get some fresh juice and catch a Bollywood flick. But if she’s busy, it’s just me killing some more time, then eating, then bathing and going to bed. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I’ve learned that when Indians say “We’ll do it tomorrow” that they actually mean “We may or may not do that ever in your lifetime”. Every now and then I’ll ask about the extracurricular I wanted to take and I get a “Yes, I’ll talk to the teacher tomorrow." Right now, the answer is that I’ll be starting tabla, cooking, mehndi and arts&crafts this month. If this all happens, I’ll be a busy beaver through the day, but it's highly unlikely that I will. Luckily, I AM taking dance lessons and they are regular three times a week. I’m picking it up fast, and it’s really fun.
Physically, I am doing better. After two weeks of sickness, I went to the family doctor and got some antibiotics. Sleeping is great! It especially helps that it rains pretty much all day and cools everything down. Unfortunately, that means that mosquitoes are everywhere. These Indian mosquitoes are relentless. They really love my foreign blood. I apply an Indian cream now, and it’s helping a little, but I still manage to find huge welts in the oddest places. My upper thigh, the middle of my back… The worst places are on the knuckles though. By far. I have so many bites and scars.
Oh yeah, I had a huge visa scare as well! The Indian government only gave me six months on my visa when I need twelve. A couple of days after my last post, I sent in a whole bunch of forms. I was so nervous, and freaking out severely. But after talking to all the people I trust (Here and in Canada) I feel better. But srsly, I haven't freaked out that badly since I planned after-prom.
Part of adapting is accepting the loss of traits that I had in Canada. In Canada I was a big music person. I thought that music would be with me forever, that it couldn’t physically leave me body. I am wrong. Like everything else I knew about life, music has been left behind in Canada. It is the strangest type of loneliness I have ever experienced.
There is also no need for my over-polite Canadian habits. People look at me like I’m crazy when I habitually say "Thank you", "Please", and "Sorry" after everything. The funny looks are a nice reminder that I'm foreign. I'm having a hard time letting go of that Canadian habit. I'm caught in the middle of two cultures, trying to hold onto the one I'm comfortable in, as the other one that doesn't make any sense to me (yet) completely consumes me. Talk about Identity Crisis!
Continue on to Part two of September 1st's post! (So skip it...it's all my feelings. No pictures or anything...)
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