Indian Heroes

Billboards advertising the latest Bollywood films have been the source of much entertainment this summer. Typical advertisements sell one of two things: romance movies or action films. Romance movie ads look a lot like the covers of trashy romance novels in America--with a sweaty-looking man embracing a gorgeous woman with flowing hair. Action movie ads always have pictures of a man wearing sunglasses and carrying a gun.

Regardless of whether its a romance film or an action movie, the main male character is called a hero. And people seem to take the term "hero" very literally. Many young Indian men seem to want to be like heroes, and we've noticed a distinct heroesque look. This includes what we call hero hair, which is a longer look that can be worn shaggy or slicked back with hair gel. Think of it as a mullet minus the "business in front" part. The look also includes shiny, button-up shirts, preferably in black. Maybe undo a few top buttons to show off your manly chest. Of course, jeans and sunglasses are a must if you want to really look like a hero. (Reference picture above.)

So, if any of you guys are looking for a new back-to-school look, the Indian hero look may be exactly what you need to kick off a killer school year.

Or not.

McDonald's in India

It was Taylor who begged me to cross the street and go to McDonald's. Yes, Taylor is a big fan of McDonald's now that we're in India. Not that he hated it before. He just always preferred Carl's Junior or Wendy's. (Sorry if you're hearing this for the first time, Dad. I've been trying to work on him.) Anyway, I guess that since those two are no longer options, Taylor has decided to root for McDonald's and thus strengthen family relationships.

You may be wondering what McDonald's is like without the beef. I was also curious. It's still good. Fries are the same golden, salty deliciousness as America. The ice cream tastes deliciously the same as well. They even have chocolate dipped cones, and yes we did get them. But the burgers... you have two options: chicken and veg. I think some places have mutton but not Hyderabad's McDonald's. I had an aloo (potato) tikka burger, which was pretty good. It had delicious sauce, but I didn't love the patty, which tasted like a hashbrown collided with green pea soup. I think I'll try chicken next time. But the ice cream and the french fries were worth the trip. Did I mention it's SO cheap? Like $4 for two meals including fries and drinks and ice cream. Too bad our McDonald's bucks don't work here. Think how much we could buy!

Anyway, I thoroughly loved my time at McDonald's and felt right at home. I even thought of applying there, but I don't know if they'd be willing to go through the visa process. Kind-of labor intensive for a minimum wage earner who can't even speak the local language. Ok, and I'm also trying to move on from visor jobs since I've already had two: lifeguarding and McDonald's. The post-work ringhead is more than I can bear!

Escape to Vizag

So Taylor's back from his village capers with SKS, and he really wanted to take a little vacation. The truth is, we are both pretty dang exhausted. Everyday feels like a job hunt, and I guess it really is. We're hunting for good partner organizations for HELP to work with now and in the future. Anyway, a vacation could be just the thing. This is the only week we could do it, since the other country director will be vacationing the next two weekends and then leaving for home. Taylor and I went to the train station on Tuesday to inquire about tickets and left having reserved a week's stay in Vizag.

Vizag is a smaller city on the eastern edge of the state. We're staying in a cheap hotel right on the ocean. We can hear the waves from our doorstep, and we only have to walk a minute or two to step into the ocean itself. Not to mention, we have the beach totally to ourselves. I don't think anyone else is staying at the hotel. Or maybe they just don't like to swim. Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining. It's totally worth the 12 hours overnight on the train and the cheap price to stay here.

The man who booked our hotel was wondering how we could possibly stay for a week in Vizag without getting really bored. But you know, it's been great. We've been reading and talking and swimming. We finally have some time to put into figuring out our life after this summer. It's a much-needed break.

Indian Weddings & Hanging with the Branch

So, yesterday was one of the longest days of my life. We went with some branch members to a member of the branch's sister's "authentic village wedding". (Don't worry, everyone goes to every wedding. You don't need to know the person.) It was good, but it was long. I don't think I can do it justice, but I'll try:

We (five girls from the team plus Mike Riding from the office) left at 7 am to catch a two-hour train. Everyone on the train kept taking pictures of us, which was funny. Then we took a short bus ride out into the country. The moment we arrived at the wedding hall, we were ushered to the front row to have a close-up view of the bride and groom. Basically, we sat for a few hours, watching them scoop rice onto each others' heads and listening to the nasally singing that accompanied it. After the ceremony, we congratulated the couple and took pictures with them. Then we ate lunch and headed off to see some sights with the 18 branch members who also came to the wedding.

But how do you transport 18 people without a bus? Easy. Pile them into the back of a flatbed truck caked with cow manure! Did I mention that 14 of the members with us were 18 to 26-year-old boys? They were going crazy, climbing all over the truck and yelling songs at the top of their lungs. The ride was hilarious and pretty fun and very long. Everyone stared at us, but that's normal. We went to a lake surrounded by tons of monkeys for about 20 minutes, and then we went to the Thousand Pillar Temple. We only stayed there for about 10 minutes, but it was good to see. It's funny because all the American people were taking pictures of the temple, but all of the Indians were taking pictures of us!

Then we rode another bus to a different train station, where we waited a very long time (again) for the train to come. Once we got on the train, we were pretty exhausted. We finally reached our house again at 11 pm. Like I said, it was long. But that's part of being authentic Indian. Things just take a while.

Maybe I'll become more patient living here.

That wouldn't be a bad thing.