Thursday, October 2, 2008

Getting settled in Calcutta

I was only home to visit in the US for about a month. I came to Calcutta on September 16th and I'm slowly adjusting to a new city and a new way of life. After a few days in a bad housing situation (I was living as a paying guest in a family's home) I now a nice little studio apartment in a good location. My apartment was literally a studio. The owner is a photographer and there's still some photography equipment in the corner and the backgrounds are rolled up and hung at the ceiling.

I'm taking Bengali classes twice a week at a cultural institute called Ramakrishna Mission. Classes are good but I need to find a tutor and another job or volunteer op in my free time. I've got way to much free time now.

The best part about being in Calcutta is Bengali food. It's supposedly the best food in India. And I loved Indian food to begin with. I'm hoping to learn to cook some Indian dishes myself but I haven't had a chance to go to the market yet or find a good teacher.

I will update more as I get a chance and once I get internet access in my apartment I plan to write much more. In the meantime know that I'm safe and sound here and slowly getting settled into life in Calcutta.