A year in India
Kassia Karr is a Boston University student who spent her junior year in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, and traveling to conduct research about women working in the tech industry in South Indian cities through a University of Wisconsin program (http://www.studyabroad.wisc.edu/asia/india_varanasi.asp).
RUDE AWAKENINGS: I would usually wake up before my alarm, either because of the roosters on the roof next door or a vegetable hawker shouting in the street outside. Around 8:30 a.m. my roommate and I would leave our flat and go to our program house a few blocks away, where they made breakfast for us from Monday through Saturday. Breakfast was usually idly, dosa, or uttapam withcoconut and tomato chutneys. (Then on to class, and work with an NGO.)
NOT-SO-QUICK STUDY: I've studied Tamil for four semesters now, but it's a difficult language for a Westerner to understand because of the speed at which people talk and the many different pronunciations available for words. I can understand most of what is said to me, even if I can't respond correctly all the time.
YOU WANT RICE WITH THAT? It's typical South Indian fare here: idlys, dosas, uppuma, pongal, idyappam, appam, poori, and so on. None of it's odd, but it's all mostly rice-based, so it gets a little redundant. I love appam, a Keralan rice-based steamed pancake that you eat with sweetened coconut milk.
WHAT'S DIFFERENT? Eating with my hand, all the time. Also, learning to drink from shared cups without putting my mouth on the glass - I would spill water all over myself at first, but now I do it with ease.
THE MAN IN INDIA: Tamil actor Rajnikanth is better known as "Super Star." His movies always run for months and he happens to be the highest-paid Asian actor after Jackie Chan. Here is a song from his recent movie"Sivaji: The Boss": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f7IEJuN_tw. I also really enjoy Vijay's music videos; he's a ridiculously good dancer. This one's a favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK1Uzm15eXY.
NEVER THE TWAIN . . . Young men and women basically aren't allowed to date, so if they do, they're either already engaged and their dates are supervised by their families or they go out in secret. I don't really talk to men very much as there are social issues that come with that so I miss having many male friends my own age around.
NO FENCE TOO HIGH: The family we live above frequently locks the gate to our house at 9 p.m. when they go to sleep. There have been several occasions when I've been out at a friend's house and have come back late only to find the gate locked. I had to start jumping our tall, spiked metal gate on a regular basis to get inside - and still have to sometimes!
JENNIFER EHRLICH 