Chocolate Room and Day 2 at FRO

It can get frustrating here, too, though. It was raining a lot this morning, but it was so nice and cool, I couldn’t mind it at all. I still don’t feel settled though. At IIM we were spoiled, the internet connection was nice and fast. I tried to get a USB port internet connection, but everything requires all these documents for foreigners and I’ll have to have a friend take it out in her name. It will just be nice to be able to get online anytime! Also I still feel somewhat nomadic, despite having a flat now which I am still very thankful for. But at CEPT I don’t really have a space at which to work yet, or to spread out and leave some of my things, so as it is we have to lug our laptops and all this. In the meantime it is taking several days to get my library card. Then at the library some books are locked up, so you have to have the librarian get them for you, and then I can’t check anything out yet. So it’s just a bit of a pain, since it’s not a system I’m used to.

For the second day we had to go all the way out to the Foreign Registration Office which is an experience equivalent to going to the DMV only in a foreign country, so you don’t always understand what is going on…But the rickshaw ride is far! And we have to get all these letters and make copies and bring passport photos. Luckily we weren’t late, so we don’t have to pay the fine, but we still have to come back for a police investigation!

When we got back, we decided to go to the Chocolate Room that Arpita has been telling us about. It’s this chocolate lounge like Bissinger’s back home in St. Louis. Even though Arpita has sworn off of chocolate for a month, her favorite thing, she finally agreed to at least get some chocolate coffee. Caryn tried a chocolate brownie sundae, and I had this chocolate cake stuff with ice cream. When we got back, this movie Devdas was on TV. I actually just bought it because I bought the soundtrack when I was here last, but hadn’t seen the movie, so it was exciting to actually watch it, and my roommates were explaining it to me.

People eat quite a lot later for dinner here – like 8 or 9 pm, so Arpita and Rashmi decided to order from Dominos for dinner. The pizza was the same pretty much except it had corn on it, and the breadsticks were pretty similar too. Also it came with a container of pasta which was really good. It’s so funny though because Rashmi hardly eats anything, and Arpita is always telling her to eat more. Arpita says she loves to eat and is addicted to chocolate, but she is so small too! But it was a really nice evening with my roommates! Arpita was telling me about her urban development research, and how these new urban renewal programs in India are affecting/not affecting the lower castes. It’s really interesting and also amazing how much her research is relevant to my own study, and especially how much she knows about politics and even American politics! It’s just so interesting to hear, and amazing that even though it’s been difficult for Nihal and Caryn to find a flat, I have been so lucky as to find a flat for cheap, but to also find roommates that are so enjoyable and have so much in common with, especially Arpita, despite living on opposite sides of the world is such different cultures. I think having these roommates will really enhance my experience here. And really meeting people is the best part of this! And even the most basic things that we take for granted in the US, like washing clothes, is different here. People just go about it differently so it’s nice to have roommates to ask these things like how they go about everyday activities.