| “India is great!” |
[Sep. 5th, 2005|05:39 am] |
“India is great!”
Greetings from Delhi, India! I left Chicago on Friday as masses of Muslims converged on the city for the ISNA conference. As I walked off the plane, the heat, humidity, masses of people and earthy smell combined to welcome me to my new home. We drove through the city in the early morning hours and arrived at the guesthouse of AIIS (American Institute of Indian Studies). I keep contrasting how I feel here to how I felt in Cairo, especially when I first arrived. I was so happy when I arrived here, and I feel so comfortable, whereas in Cairo my first reaction was “what did I get myself into?” and I felt so lost. Much of this must have to do with language since I’m conversational in Urdu whereas I had no exposure to Egyptian dialect before I headed off to Cairo. I think a lot of it also has to do with identity and belonging. When I went to Cairo, I think I subconsciously went under the false notion that a Muslim living in a Muslim country would naturally feel at home and that maybe I could find a place where I belonged (oh, the ever so trite immigrant identity crisis). More than anything, living in Egypt reinforced just how American I am. It also reinforced how important having a connection to South Asian Culture is to my life. I remember seeking out the Embassies of India and Pakistan to see if they have any events and going to the Diwali and Holi celebrations and how happy that made me. Living in Egypt was exhausting because I never quite knew what was going on. I’m also a lot more careful here than I was when I first arrived in Egypt, and I think my goals have changed as well. Some of the other students here have traveled extensively and say that Lucknow isn’t really the most exciting city, and there isn’t much to do at night. But this actually doesn’t really bother me. All I want to do is focus on language, instead of spreading myself too thin as I did at Georgetown and AUC as well. I’m really excited because I may even be able to get Farsi and Arabic tutoring from our instructors, which would be absolutely amazing. Yes, I’m a huge nerd ☺ |
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| Comments: |
I'm glad you're having a great time so far! Keep us posted!
India is great, I agree, and its what ive been telling all these ppl here for a long time, as you know. By the way, you called a NERDBUST on yourself, so i guess that makes you less of a nerd for having confidence, haha. Take it easy, and keep in touch!
ah, yes. i thought i saw your brother sitting at a lecture at ISNA and i tried to look around to find you, but i see now you were off in india! | |
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