A New City

It’s taken awhile to get settled in the city, and the adjustment process is ongoing, but the small victories each day feel good. I’ve really been enjoying the food here. Paneer (similar to cheese curds) is my thing, it turns out. And momos (Tibetan dumplings) are amazing and readily available. For some other wins: I got a sim card, which is usually quite the process (it turns out my phone is unlocked), went to the clinic for some vaccines that would’ve cost ~$1,200 in the US and cost $100 here, I ordered culturally-appropriate clothes.

An aside about the clothes:

These are three-piece outfits (a long tunic shirt, pants, and a scarf) and they don’t come ready-made. So you buy the fabric from a fabric stall in the garment part of the city, then take that to the sewing booths that line the streets. I took my fabric to the seamstresses right outside my apartment. They took detailed measurements and told me it would be done in a week.

Four days later, I walked by and noticed my pants were finished, so I stopped in and asked the woman if I could take my pants. She said yes and put them in my bag for me. As she was doing that, she asked me something about an iron- I think she asked if I had an iron. She said the pants needed to be ironed, and when I told her I didn’t have an iron and didn’t need them ironed, she took them back out of my bag and told me to come back in a few days. I don’t understand that interaction, because I won’t have an iron for the rest of the time I’m wearing them, so I don’t see why they have to be ironed now. In the meantime, I dropped off a few more fabrics so I would have a small wardrobe and they told me those would be done in a week.

So finally, the day arrives that I get to pick up my first few outfits, and I hurry to the store all excited to finally have more than two pairs of pants to wear. Apparently, though, I can’t pick up my clothes until all of my clothes are ready. Even though they were sitting there, she said I had to take when they are all finished. It’s either a cultural thing or a language-barrier thing.. I’m supposed to finally pick up my clothes today, though, so wish me luck!

(Update: I wrote the last part and then went to go pick up my clothes, and since the power has been off for the past few days, she said she didn’t get a chance to iron. I said that was fine and I’d take them anyway, but it was a no-go on the clothes. Tomorrow’s a holiday, so she said to come back on Monday. Ironing must be very important.)

Public Water Tap (only has water once every few days)

The Fulbright staff has been great. I was given tour of the national Education USA center, the US government’s initiative for getting foreign students to study in the US. There were opportunities for me to volunteer there, both with resume/CV reviews and giving talks about life at US universities. The staff also asked if I could interview prospective Cornell students (like I did in the US). Unfortunately, with current American events, the center’s use has seen a 70% decline. It was really disheartening to see that most of the library was going unused, when the librarian said it used to be standing-room only, and there used to be long lines to get in every morning.

I’ve also been able to navigate a lot of places on my own, which feels great. I’ve ridden an overcrowded bus to the correct destination, I’ve navigated the grocery stores (separate ones for dried goods, fruits, veggies, and water), and I’ve strolled around my own neighborhood taking pictures. Here are some of my favorite pictures of my neighborhood: