Today's tea vendor experience was one for the books. Shiva asked me if I wanted Indian tea or English tea and I paused to appear like I was deep in thought before saying "You know I think I'll go with black tea today". Diplomacy. He also got me a sweet bun. I'm pretty sure the tea vendor keeps a special hot batch for me now. The reason being because, Manikandan (!!!), the tea vendor and I, are officially besties, as today we exchanged names. We're going to get a group picture as I am now a regular of his establishment. If you come to Trichy and see a framed picture of me with the owner of the tea shop you're at, be sure to say you know Emily, Manikandan will hook you up.
The mystery has been solved, Shiva is, in fact, committed. Today I asked him if he'd be getting married soon and he laughed and said not for two to three years. Excellent. I told him I'd have to come back for his wedding. He smiled and said absolutely, we could be friends on Facebook and he'd let me know. So friends, let it be known, that today I was invited- sort of by myself-to an Indian wedding. I will have to wait a while, but dreams do come true. Unfortunately, this prompted Shiva to ask when I'd be getting married. Sigh. I responded a quarter jokingly and three quarters impromptu pity party, that I'd get married when someone would marry me. Shiva and Shyam grew very serious and very adamantly told me that someone would absolutely marry me, "no problem". It made me giggle but I thanked them for their faith in my matrimonial potential. Apparently in India, friends don't let friends become cat ladies.
On the way back from our morning birding, Shiva offered to pick me up a tender coconut. The phrase tender coconut is a tad bizarre to me. If we're being honest, it sounds like the name of a terrible overly scented Bath and Body Works candle. Apparently, it contains the equivalent of two liters of water?! I learned this, as Shiva was staring at me, waiting for me to finish drinking the water. I didn't understand at first but the tender coconut experience happens in two parts. Part one is drinking the liquid from inside through a straw. The second part is taking the empty coconut back to the vendor, who chops it open with the machete so you can eat the meat from inside. After comprehending this system, there I was, chugging a coconut in a car on a busy Indian street at 8:00 am. I was feeling a lot of performance anxiety. As I was chugging the coconut I just kept looking at it and thinking, wow this looks like a food borne illness. Armed with antibiotics and a slightly self destructive nature though I carried on. All in all, it was an absolutely essential experience, but not one that I would repeat.
In the afternoon, I checked off a task on my India bucket list: I pet a cow, and not just a cow, a BABY cow. As I reached out my hand towards the little cow I prepared myself for a magical moment. The calf's nose touched my hand and it was every bit as adorable as you're currently imagining. When I went to scratch it on the forehead however, it seemed genuinely perplexed by this action. I think the calf thought I had food, but when I went for the pet instead, it felt a little let down. I think this whole "sacred creature thing" has gone to the little cow's head, because my dogs will tell you, I happen to be an excellent petter.
When you first get to India, you learn that everyone honks constantly while driving. It means everything from 'get out of my way, you're too slow' to 'I'm turning, get out of my way or I'll hit you'. After a week in India however, I've learned to differentiate between driving honks and 'hey white girl pay attention to me' honks, occasionally these honks are coupled with shouts, or hollers, if you will. There's a busy road by the site I work at, so this occurs frequently. Just so we're clear, grown men are cat calling me as I stand in an outfit that doesn't match, sweat is literally raining from my body, I am bird watching (because that screams super hot girl) and to really drive it home, I'm in a TRASH DUMP. I was initially offended and irritated, now I just wave. I can't fix stupid, I can only be amused by it.
The mystery has been solved, Shiva is, in fact, committed. Today I asked him if he'd be getting married soon and he laughed and said not for two to three years. Excellent. I told him I'd have to come back for his wedding. He smiled and said absolutely, we could be friends on Facebook and he'd let me know. So friends, let it be known, that today I was invited- sort of by myself-to an Indian wedding. I will have to wait a while, but dreams do come true. Unfortunately, this prompted Shiva to ask when I'd be getting married. Sigh. I responded a quarter jokingly and three quarters impromptu pity party, that I'd get married when someone would marry me. Shiva and Shyam grew very serious and very adamantly told me that someone would absolutely marry me, "no problem". It made me giggle but I thanked them for their faith in my matrimonial potential. Apparently in India, friends don't let friends become cat ladies.
On the way back from our morning birding, Shiva offered to pick me up a tender coconut. The phrase tender coconut is a tad bizarre to me. If we're being honest, it sounds like the name of a terrible overly scented Bath and Body Works candle. Apparently, it contains the equivalent of two liters of water?! I learned this, as Shiva was staring at me, waiting for me to finish drinking the water. I didn't understand at first but the tender coconut experience happens in two parts. Part one is drinking the liquid from inside through a straw. The second part is taking the empty coconut back to the vendor, who chops it open with the machete so you can eat the meat from inside. After comprehending this system, there I was, chugging a coconut in a car on a busy Indian street at 8:00 am. I was feeling a lot of performance anxiety. As I was chugging the coconut I just kept looking at it and thinking, wow this looks like a food borne illness. Armed with antibiotics and a slightly self destructive nature though I carried on. All in all, it was an absolutely essential experience, but not one that I would repeat.
In the afternoon, I checked off a task on my India bucket list: I pet a cow, and not just a cow, a BABY cow. As I reached out my hand towards the little cow I prepared myself for a magical moment. The calf's nose touched my hand and it was every bit as adorable as you're currently imagining. When I went to scratch it on the forehead however, it seemed genuinely perplexed by this action. I think the calf thought I had food, but when I went for the pet instead, it felt a little let down. I think this whole "sacred creature thing" has gone to the little cow's head, because my dogs will tell you, I happen to be an excellent petter.
When you first get to India, you learn that everyone honks constantly while driving. It means everything from 'get out of my way, you're too slow' to 'I'm turning, get out of my way or I'll hit you'. After a week in India however, I've learned to differentiate between driving honks and 'hey white girl pay attention to me' honks, occasionally these honks are coupled with shouts, or hollers, if you will. There's a busy road by the site I work at, so this occurs frequently. Just so we're clear, grown men are cat calling me as I stand in an outfit that doesn't match, sweat is literally raining from my body, I am bird watching (because that screams super hot girl) and to really drive it home, I'm in a TRASH DUMP. I was initially offended and irritated, now I just wave. I can't fix stupid, I can only be amused by it.
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