It all started by going into Nate and Ashley's room to see what was going on. Actually, it started a few nights before. Nate and Ashley came into my and Gwen's room to see what was going on and we had a group vent session on how ridiculous many of the cultural proof requirements were. Cultural Proofs is one of the classes offered through a potential visiting faculty member, and three of us in the village are enrolled for various numbers of credit hours. One of the options listed is "go fishing with a native". That one didn't seem to fit the context of the village and we joked about going with one of the kids and sitting on a bucket in the bathroom with a stick and string and pretend to fish for the basin fish that Mathew and Geeva keep for water cleansing purposes. That conversation is how it started.
It continued by my going to Nate and Ashley's room on Friday night to see what was going on. Priya and Ahbi were also in there, looking for something to do. And fishing, in a manner of speaking, was the determined method of alleviating boredom. Initially, I was an observer. Then I joined in as an assistant to Priya. She would put sets of matching cards down about her on the floor. And so, when Ashley asked if she had any 8s, there were times when Priya answered "no, go fish", even though I was confident that she had two face down on the floor somewhere about her. So I held (ps, 'tell me the meaning of being lonely' is playing on the radio right now) all her paired cards for her and aided her in her fishing expedition. I must have earned her trust because as the next round started, she automatically gave me all her pairs. The next game marked a new milestone of acceptance, I was able to play independently without the native's mentoring.
So, that was my experience fishing with a native. We played "Go, Fish" using facecards. I hope that my professor will accept that as a cultural proof, because if he doesn't, I'm going to have to make a makeshift pole without a hook and head to the bathroom.
1 comment:
Odd that both you and Melanie would mention the Backstreet Boys in your accounts of life in India. Apparently it's a very important part of life there. In other words, I've bought my ticket, loaded up my officially licensed Nick Carter underwear, and am on my way.
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