Thursday, October 26 Class, Train Drama

I spent class trying to sneak pictures of my two professors stealthily. A good quote was this: “Terror flows over the rivers of Bangladesh” –Veena Kukreja. Class is so boring and pointless; I go just to show my face. It’s worse that high school. Apparently Puran’s parents are coming to India, and staying from November 4 to December 15. Who is really studying abroad? That’s crazy! I went to Connaught Place and ate at Khana Unlimited, a yummy unlimited Punjabi thali restaurant. Then I came home and did some errands before catching my 6:00 train to Jodhpur in Rajasthan. I’m going to miss the Indian trains; how easy it is to get anywhere in the country, and the eclectic mix of people you can see at every station. I’m going to also miss the smell of sleeper class, of old urine and feces. What is it with people not making seat reservations? I was on the bed/seat in the train, and this random guy comes and pushes my feet out of the way so he can sit down. And then, when I get up to use the bathroom, some lady is sleeping in my seat. I have to wake her up and ask her to move, and she says in Hindi, “Well, next time, don’t leave your seat”. Excuse me, lady, but I believe this is my RESERVED seat. Now since I consider myself well-accustomed to riding Indian Railways, I think it’s really funny seeing clueless and paranoid white tourists trying to ride the trains. They stick out like a sore thumb because of their huge expensive backpacks or luggage, completely waterproof and mosquito-proof clothes, tennis shoes, and money belts sticking out. They’re usually scared of pickpockets (which I am too, now), so they wear all their packs in front, and their heads turn like sprinklers as they attempt to find their train and platform, and look out for beggars and interested boys, who usually swarm them. Just because I was bored, I went up to this young white couple (who were stereotypically reading the Lonely Planet India guide) and pretended to be a tout, to see what it was like on the other side. I said “Hello friend, which country”. They replied, “Australia”, without making eye contact, and didn’t turn around or continue talking to me, so I just ended it and walked away. It would suck to be a tout, forced to be the annoying hawker that everyone hates, because you have no other means of earning a living. And it also sucks for people who aren’t touts, and are just trying to make friends, because I’ve definitely ignored normal people because I thought they were just greedy touts. I caught the “Super Fast” overnight Mandore Express to Delhi, but it still took an hour longer than expected. What I love about Delhi is that it’s exceptionally well-connected to the rest of India and the world. I just took a daytrip to Jodhpur, two states and 450 km away, for $10 round-trip, and no loss of sleep.