Where the hell am I??


And you thought I was socially retarded before...

Well, I seem to have lost whatever social skills I once had in India. Every time I see friends, even though they smile and say, "Welcome back!", I am totally weirded-out every time, and mostly unable to form complete sentences. I wouldn't so much call it culture shock as ... I don't know, sensory overload, maybe.

On the upside (I think), Kolkata has made me braver and saucier. Yesterday I was talking to my mom on the phone while walking down King, and some guy --no shit-- freaking hit me on the arm, and yelled "Shut Up!" at me. WTF!? If I hadn't been talking to my mom, I totally would have given that guy what-for, Calcutta style. But because I never ever interrupt my mom when she is telling me something, I just shot him an exasperated WTF-look. Before India, that interaction would have made me cry. Yesterday, I was really ready to pick a fight.

Now I kind of wish I hadn't hesitated, though maybe it's better that way because kicking that guy in the crotch shin might not be the Christian response, and besides that, you never know when you are dealing with a psycho who will hurt you. That's one thing I learned. In India, everything that's screwed up about the world is out in the open ---you get harassed every day if you're a white girl, but those guys are harmless and there are always people around who will help you. Here, there's no telling whether a guy like that is just a hipster-asshole, or whether he's some sort of dark evil man. Everything is nice on the surface, but underneath that, it's just as messed.

I know, I know...
less talk; more pictures!

This is what Kolkata looks like:



And this is my friend Laura and I reacting to it all at dinner.


I like this picture because we look like cool veteran missionary-types, but really, we're probably talking about clothes and boys.

I'm going to be like my friend Nick and start posting the songs that go with my mood when I post.

Current song: "Overloaded" by Sugarbabes. (Eurotrash? You betcha!)

Posted: Mon - July 18, 2005 at 07:51 AM        

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