1/27 Things I've learned

Class I is almost done translating their letters into Hindi.  While I'm quite proud of them, Siddarth has said that they have done just okay.  For instance, a lot of the American girls used the term "hanging out with my friends and family".  The translation into Hindi went something like "I like to hang my family and friends outside" pretty hard not to laugh at that one;). With only a week to go, I started to get prematurely nostalgic.  Started to think of things that I've learned.  So listed below are just a few of the more mundane things ... I'll save the sappy ones for later;)

I've learned:

• How to eat with my hand (only the right of course) effectively and efficiently.
• How to wash my clothes till they are almost perfectly clean with a hand pump and bucket.
• How to live with out internet for up to five days.
• How to sing the Indian National Anthem in Hindi.
• How to effectively bath with a bucket in very cold weather - this one I only accomplished twice.
• How to use EVERYTHING - i.e. how to stop being the "I'll just buy another one American".
• That Spring starts in January in India.
• That one can indeed thrive off of three meals of rice a day - and still like it.
• That an occasional sweet treat is a vital ingredient for an urbanite to successfully navigate rural living (much more important than running water or electricity ... I'm so not kidding:)).