More quirks and strange things:

• Cows abound. Cowabunga. There are cows everywhere in India.
• How I Met Your Mother is addicting and the writers have an uncanny ability to mirror your life, no matter how far fetched that seems.
• Stray dogs everywhere on campus. I’m scared of them at night, walking alone back to the hostel. They’re out to survive and to defend their turf.
• Insects crawl all over the place here and I’ve learned to ignore them.
• Nutella must be sealed shut and put into it’s own Tupperware box. Nutella is also the nectar of the gods.
• Food at the mess (which is free!) is monotonous and bland except on Thursday. There, I’ve stated the obligatory mess food complaint.
• Autorickshaws must be the most dangerous form of transportation known to man. 5 grown men stuffed in the back of a three-wheeled rickety rickshaw with a motor barreling down a potholed, chaotically populated Delhi road just might not be safe.
• Crossing the road is simply a matter of staring down the car in the next “lane”. Concentration is key. Move quickly but under control, and preferably in packs.
• Speaking of traffic, horns are generally used like lights are in Vancouver. “Hey watch out I’m in your blind spot and about to cut you off” is a long beep, while “Hey I know you’re trying to turn but I’m not gonna let you” warrants a shorter blast. People, bikes, dogs, cows, and other things (camels, elephants?!) warrant these shorter blasts as well.
• I think I’ve learned more French than Hindi here. That’s what happens when most of the exchange students default to French.
• Everything is cheaper here; therefore, I spend more. Food, drinks, ice cream, more food, textbooks, clothes…. An unexpected benefit to being in India.
• Someone may or may not be a beer pong champion at an undisclosed location. A German male may or may not have been involved.

Most importantly: India is a different place. It’s impossible to compare India to a developed Western nation as everything is different: the culture, the people, the education, the development process. What you have to understand is that India is simply different. Learn the local views, be a local, live like it is home, and maybe, just maybe, get a glimpse into life here. It’s just different.