Workin' On My Fitness

Adding to the list of culture shocking events, every so often--a little too often--the power shuts down at MICA. Keeping up good spirits with humor, a few ladies sent these to everyone to lighten the mood with the following message: 


Dear Cohort,

Due to the recent power outages, Lauren and I took it upon us to call local TXU reps in Ahmedabad to help alleviate the situation.  If you have any more issues with the power in your rooms or around campus, please feel free to contact them.  We have attached their pictures so you can recognize them around campus.

Thank you for your cooperation and best of luck moving forward.

Sincerely yours and best regards,

Room #25 

MiCafe (clever, right?), the cool kid hangout on campus was out of panne bottles today (panne=water--that's phonetically speaking--I'm sure that's not how spell it). After our water search, it was time for P90X instruction. Four "scantily clad," by Indian standards, ladies doing plyometrics in the quad for an hour and fifteen minutes while chanting "GOA GOA" was a novel attraction at MICA. To all those P90Xer's out there, be thankful for your air-conditioned in home gym--the outdoor quad just doesn't even compare. It is my observation that regular exercise is not a popular hobby among college students. Yoga, however is a regularly practiced spiritual/physical workout. Excitedly, SMU students have been offered the chance to take part in regular sessions throughout our stay here in India from a yoga master who shares her talent with Ahmedabad companies, families and individuals at her ashram.       

Class at 1:30. Bird Sanctuary (?). Butter sandwich (a random snack that is offered at "tea time" from 5-7 p.m. on campus. 

To never wearing hova/safari clothes again.

Culture Shock

Student life on campus is everything that the US is not. Each class, our professor and host are served hot tea/coffee by a formally dressed young man. Slightly awkward yet unintentional, the attendant just stands by the professor at the front of the room until the professor either senses his presence or turns around to speak. He thanks the silent attendant where then he may depart from the room.

Other culture-shocking moments:

1-Harleen, a wonderful host, warned us not to leave MICA grounds due to protests.

2-The inability to pronounce "v" and "s" sounds, such as "wizit" instead of visit the web site and "conjumers" instead of consumers. Fortunately, I think I have conquered this pronunciation dilemma and rarely have problems understanding our professor and speakers.

3-The entire city of Ahmedabad is dry. Prohibition, something so distant to us as Americans, is still happening in the state of Gujarat. So, what do 350+ MICA students do at night? Tennis, dancing, and music--lots of music. Random 80s like Aerosmith and REO Speedwagon and even David Guetta's, "Sexy Bitch" are among a few artists that radiate the air on warm campus nights. If you do choose to take part in illegal drinking, like the young man stumbling into the cafeteria one afternoon, then you just might be dragged by your feet out of campus by security guards. (This really happened).

4-Administration comments to director on scantily clad Americans, with inappropriate clothing items being Nike shorts. Proper clothing on campus is nonnegotiable--even knees must be covered.

Class. Lunch. Free night.

In good news, we have been informed that we will not be traveling via train (12-15 hours) from Mumbai to Goa, but we will be flying! Extra day in Goa on sandy beaches, minus bugs and classrooms? F yes please.

Here's to August.