My grocery store wishes me a Happy Diwali.
Lunch with a friend in my neighborhood involves eight different types of curry.
A two hour trip via train takes me here, to Cambridge,
where I can see this...
and this.
Living in a new culture is hard. Anyone who has tried, or
who as even thought about it a second could probably tell you that. But what I
didn’t expect was the slow-burning sensation of getting used to living life in
a radically new culture. At first, things were shocking, and also kind of
exciting. And some days I still have ‘honeymoon’ moments of living in Southall.
For instance, recently my college friend came to visit, and we had a delicious
South Indian lunch (pictured above). Yay Little India!
But then there are other days when the little differences
stick like sand to wet skin. Think about getting sand off your feet with a dry
towel: you could sit there, rubbing until your feet get red, but there would
always be just one more grain of sand hiding between your toes. Some days it’s conversations
in Hindi that go straight over my head. Some days it’s sounds of Bhangra music
from passing cars, the smell of curry that hangs in my neighborhood, or all of
the women I see on the street wearing headscarves. These are all beautiful
pieces of living in Southall. But in my human brokenness, sometimes I can only
see them as unfamiliar, representing a culture I don’t yet understand.
So after about two months of living in Southall, it was nice
to get away and spend a few days touring Cambridge. My friends and I rambled
around the banks of the ‘Cam’ drinking in all the colorful trees, statuesque
buildings and trying not to get hit by students on bikes. We ended the day at Evensong
at Kings College Chapel, an experience so beautiful it was a real gift. Thanks,
Father!
This is my life now!
