Last week I went to my first Hindi movie in an Indian theater. It was called 3 Idiots and it was fantastic! Considering 90% of it was in Hindi (without subtitles) and I had no idea what was going on in the dialogue, that's saying a lot. However, despite the language barrier, I thought that the movie was fairly easy to follow. I didn't feel as if I was really missing anything by not knowing what was being said, except for this one scene, when the entire audience was laughing hysterically and I wasn't in on the joke, but that's okay. The movie was still really good. I'm actually contemplating going to see it again!

Sunday was Valentine's Day, the Chinese New year and according to my best friend, the day of the Great American Race, aka the Daytona 500.

In honor of the New Year, a couple of the girls in my residence and I decided to dress up and eat Chinese food, at an upscale Chinese restaurant. Chinese food in India, is nothing like you have ever had. Before coming to India, various brown people told me how awesome Indian-Chinese food is and I didn't believe them. I kept asking myself, "How could Chinese food in India be better than Chinese food in the U.S.?" Well, first of all there is the merger of soy sauce and curry. It doesn't sound too delicious but try it, and you'll wonder why you ever thought otherwise. Secondly, like all Indian food, the Chinese variety is filled with spices. I think I've said this before, but the best way to describe it is, an explosion of spices in your mouth. It's just so good . . . and flavorful. My favorite dish is called Hakka noodles. The noodle is a thin rice noodle that I've never seen in the states before. Hakka Noodles is a dish very similar to a stir-fry and sometimes it has paneer (Indian cheese). Visually, it appears bland because there is no sauce, instead the flavor comes from dry seasonings, but it is amazing.

Speaking of food, this past week there was a cooking class/demonstration with one of the home stay moms. Because I was so enthusiastic, I was invited back for private lessons! I was told that I will be taught anything I want. The first items on my list are biryani and palak paneer.

It was recently pointed out to me that I've been here for five weeks. I feel like it's only been half of that. Maybe that's because orientation was 2 weeks long and then it was another week and a half before schedules were settled. Even with fives classes, the workload is significantly easier here and instead of feeling like a student, I feel like I'm on vacation. I am relaxed. The food is fantastic. If I want, I can watch a movie everyday of the week (and at least 3 days a week I do). I get to sit for hours and have awesome conversations with people. The abundance of ancient ruins and tourist sites makes exploring history, no more than a short rickshaw ride away from my house. Going abroad is perhaps the best decision I have made in college thus far. Needless to say, I've become comfortable here and everything feels normal. I think I've finally assimilated into a life in India . . . at least for the next 3 months.

Continuing to engage in adventures . . .