So, it’s been exactly one week and we’re still surviving excellently without getting sick of masala overdose as yet.
Here I am in the land of Gandhi, mehndi, bathuras, Sachin Tendulkar, Chori Chori and “total democracy” –and that’s why Indians are the happiest people in the world.
The past week has been a whirlwind of surprises and chaos as a starter course for the 6 months to come. In a summary that doesn’t come close to justifying the experience, we have so far
- attended a classic Indian wedding
- gone sightseeing at a port museum and bird sanctuary
- chewed ‘pan’ (betel nut with just a pinch of tobacco)
- braved traffic in an auto rickshaw
- bathed in icy cold water with a pail and scoop
- chilled out at Chorta (the 24hr on-campus café) til 5am
- watched Taare Zameen Par in the cinema (hindi film about a boy with dyslexia starring an Indian hunk version of Jude Law) for the equivalent of S$3.40
- experimented with bhangra moves on New Year’s Eve with traditional folk music in the background
And this is just the beginning.
We have been accompanied everywhere by two Indian student buddies for now, Amit and Sumit, while we familiarise ourselves with how things go here. We have yet to learn haggling with auto drivers who have no qualms about doubling prices for foreign-looking newbies.

The guy on the left is Amit. He’s a camwhore and we think he’s a secret cannibal even though he claims to be vegetarian. He says that if he eats a fellow vegetarian, it’s essentially still just eating veg. The one on the right is Sumit. He’s a Singaporean in disguise because he crams 3 terms worth of classes into 2 terms so that he can be a free man earlier.
This is Silveroak, the international student hostel which is rather exclusive as compared to the other halls because of the exorbitant fees we are paying. MICA is a residential campus, which means all students have to stay in the hostels so you can expect the place to come alive at night. The best thing about this place is that alcohol is almost impossible to come by in Ahmedabad so you have to depend on great conversations and 'chai' to get high, which is not very difficult here because everyone is amazingly witty.

And this is headquarters, room 111, where I hole up and listen to bhangra music on my laptop.


These are some sights we see on a daily basis. Yes, water buffalos and sacred cows have just as much right to be on the roads as we do.


Field trip to a bird sanctuary where we took a boat ride into the sunset.

Here I am in the land of Gandhi, mehndi, bathuras, Sachin Tendulkar, Chori Chori and “total democracy” –and that’s why Indians are the happiest people in the world.
The past week has been a whirlwind of surprises and chaos as a starter course for the 6 months to come. In a summary that doesn’t come close to justifying the experience, we have so far
- attended a classic Indian wedding
- gone sightseeing at a port museum and bird sanctuary
- chewed ‘pan’ (betel nut with just a pinch of tobacco)
- braved traffic in an auto rickshaw
- bathed in icy cold water with a pail and scoop
- chilled out at Chorta (the 24hr on-campus café) til 5am
- watched Taare Zameen Par in the cinema (hindi film about a boy with dyslexia starring an Indian hunk version of Jude Law) for the equivalent of S$3.40
- experimented with bhangra moves on New Year’s Eve with traditional folk music in the background
And this is just the beginning.
We have been accompanied everywhere by two Indian student buddies for now, Amit and Sumit, while we familiarise ourselves with how things go here. We have yet to learn haggling with auto drivers who have no qualms about doubling prices for foreign-looking newbies.
The guy on the left is Amit. He’s a camwhore and we think he’s a secret cannibal even though he claims to be vegetarian. He says that if he eats a fellow vegetarian, it’s essentially still just eating veg. The one on the right is Sumit. He’s a Singaporean in disguise because he crams 3 terms worth of classes into 2 terms so that he can be a free man earlier.
This is Silveroak, the international student hostel which is rather exclusive as compared to the other halls because of the exorbitant fees we are paying. MICA is a residential campus, which means all students have to stay in the hostels so you can expect the place to come alive at night. The best thing about this place is that alcohol is almost impossible to come by in Ahmedabad so you have to depend on great conversations and 'chai' to get high, which is not very difficult here because everyone is amazingly witty.
And this is headquarters, room 111, where I hole up and listen to bhangra music on my laptop.
These are some sights we see on a daily basis. Yes, water buffalos and sacred cows have just as much right to be on the roads as we do.

Field trip to a bird sanctuary where we took a boat ride into the sunset.


NURIA LING LING wow. i'm honored to be the first person to post on your site. haha. hows it going man. i'm seriously gonna miss ur nonsense this sem. it's gonna be a deadtown here. TRAGIC.
nuria ling!!! amazing pictures and i was going to ask you how's the toilet like! haha. :D keep the posts going cos i believe india must be... rather incredible. :S haha. take care ok!!! :) we'll meet up when you get back. :D
p/s are you getting a tagboard? it's alot easier. hahaha.
NURIA LING... The pictures look gorgeous... More pictures please!! Haha and how come there's no you? Seriously no roti prata?! Sad. Haha. Take gd care girl... update soon!
Jodi
1 point: you spelt gandhi and mendhi wrongly.
wink
girl, you are so cool ;]
eh why no pictures of bollywood hunks? and seriously this 'leave your comment' thing is so irritating. why the hell do they need word verification? they think i'll kill people with my times new roman? anyway you sharpen your bollywood dance moves la. you're in india after all.
nuria please stay away from any Bollywood hunk types especially if they break into song and dance easily.
NURIA glad to see yr 500SGD dorm looks luxurious, i imagine, by india standards! keep the posts coming, and good to know that you're keeping well. beautiful shots but such thumbnail sized pictures, bigger please!
xx
Denise
NURIA!! stop haunting me in my dreams !!!
Your pictures are excellent beyond description. But bigger pic k. insert tagboard & *most importantly* update regularly k!
haha...and show me the toilet of your suite. =)