Thoughts I wish I didn’t have

I hate to say it, but when an Indian person on the street is polite or nice to me, I’m shocked. For better or worse (I suspect for worse) I’ve become accustomed to the harassment, the rudeness, the glaring, and the general disrespect. So yesterday when I was walking home and a woman pulled up in front of me on her scooter, I was a little apprehensive.

Turns out she just wanted to talk. She either studied or taught at the local university (I couldn’t tell which) and she gave “private tuitions” in my neighborhood. She wanted to know what I was doing (traveling or studying) and why I was learning Hindi. The latter is a very good question, one I ask myself on a daily basis. Why AM I learning Hindi? My answer always jokingly starts with “Indian food” and everyone laughs, but it’s probably the best reason I’ve got.

Anyway, unlike the crazy family we met in Dharmshala, who continues to call me at all sorts of weird hours and keeps instructing me to come visit Jammu/Kashmir (yeah, right), the lady I met yesterday was very nice and we had a short conversation and then she drove off. It was quite pleasant and made me smile. And she didn’t insist on getting my phone number, either, which was a relief.

The other good news is that I’ve either become accustomed to the weather, or the temperatures have eased a little bit. There’s been some rain recently, so I think that helps. Lately I seem to be NOT soaked with sweat when I arrive at school, which is excellent. It’s amazing how even slightly cooler weather can lift my mood.

On a more somber note, the bombings in Ahmedabad and Bangalore (and the 18 bombs found undetonated in Surat) have put everyone on edge. People keep saying that it can’t happen again in Jaipur, but I’m (obviously) a little nervous. Terrorism takes on a whole new meaning when you’re in a country where public areas are frequently densely packed with people, public transportation has no security, religious tensions are high, and violence seems both random and particular sadistic. In Ahmedabad the terrorists bombed the hospitals, for god’s sake. It makes me nervous about any future traveling, especially the traveling that Matthew and I were going to do at the end of the trip. Among my fellow students, I seem to be somewhat alone in my nervousness. They say that if you change how you live your life than the terrorists have won. But if you pay with your life, haven’t they won then, too?