The India. (Shoulder Shrug)

Back in college every time something happened that was totally stereotypical of college my friend and I used to cheer “collllleeeedge!”. Someone does a keg stand and then runs outside to puke: colllleeeeedge! Everyone gets super excited because the dining hall has chicken parm…colllleeeeedge! Here in India I’ve decided the equivalent is the India. (shoulder shrug). The India. (shoulder shrug) can be used to describe most situations one encounters here. For example: my roommates and I all applied for ATM cards when we got here in the summer. Four of us received our cards within a few weeks as is often the case when one applies for an ATM card. It is now four months later and Aakash is still waiting for his and still goes to the bank every week to see if it’s there. Each time they reassure him it will be here within a week. India. (shoulder shrug).

November brought about the start of wedding season here, and apparently the banquet hall at our apartment complex is literally booked seven days a week all month for weddings, which means that at night as I sit in bed working on my grad school apps I hear a marching band go by outside my window followed by fireworks every single night. India. (shoulder shrug). In addition, a white horse is part of the wedding parade. I’m now fairly used to seeing livestock wandering the streets of Delhi, usually horses, goats, and of course cows. Note – for my first few weeks here these were a bizarre enough sight to warrant an India. (shoulder shrug.) But these days it’s just business as usual. The other day, though, I was sitting in an auto rickshaw at an extremely busy intersection between two huge roads, when all of the sudden this guy just goes galloping right through a red light waving a yellow flag like a madman signal all the cars to stop and let him through. India. (shoulder shrug.)

Apparently the breathalyzer also has not yet made it to Delhi. Last night, we were on our way back from a bar when our auto rickshaw was stopped at a police check point. The policeman asked the driver to blow on his hand, then smelled it to see if it reeked of vodka. Luckily for us our driver only blew a .0001 and was deemed safe to drive. Sucks for the cop who gets the guy who ordered extra garlic in his curry. India. (shoulder shrug).

Lastly, it is now officially fall here in Delhi, meaning that the nights are chilly but it still gets up into the low 80s during the day (or the high 20s as we Celsius users like say). The cooler temperatures have been accompanied by a change in Delhi fashion. Apparently men in Delhi are aware that the practicality of the sweater vest (I mean it really is just too warm for those bulky sweater arms) greatly outweighs the general nerdy qualities associated with it. One out of every two guys I pass on the street is wearing a sweater vest, and I’m not talking your basic cable-knit either. The most popular version is this weird shag-carpet style knit that occasionally has some glittery threads thrown in for some added flare. Unfortunately I haven’t seen any women bust out the sweater vest/sari combo, but I’m thinking I may just have to introduce that here. At that point it will be everyone else’s turn to bust out the USA. (shoulder shrug).