T Minus One Month: How I Survived India

First of all, VIVA ESPAÑA!
Secondly, Tomorrow being the 1-month-left mark, it's time for an extra special post.

Last week, when this

7-foot long Black King Cobra jumped out at me from a pile of rubble, followed by this

oily mass of vegetables greeting me for lunch, I began to seriously wonder how I ever survived India. The following are the top ten ways I did it, counting downward to the most helpful:

10. Insect Poison Spray - better know as 'death spray' my apartment has been a no-go zone for four legged critters since January. I imagine they tell horror stories about me.

9. Phone calls - weekly check-ins with a few select fellows across India have kept me sane through the last ten months. I found that dropping one rupee per minute to complain to somebody is an excellent form of therapy.

8. Packages from home - thanks to Jessie (collage), Viva (soccer balls), Daniel (Newsweeks - and for the monthly calls from the DC-Philly train), Botsy (Parmesan cheese), and to Josh for his ghost package of peanut M&Ms that is lost somewhere in the world. Whoever got that package is a lucky, lucky person.

7. Making master sandwiches - I am consistently entertained by trying to make the best sandwich possible with the limited food I can find. Specimens have included cucumber/tomato/onion tuna melts, tomato-grilled cheeses, egg salad, and fried egg masterpieces.

6. Reading random stuff on the internet - for instance about Snoop Dogg trying to rent out the country of Lichtenstein. Oh, and of course watching You Tube replays of all the World Cup soccer goals.

5. Thomas and Abby - although infested with fleas, meeting them every morning has been the best possible start to the day.

4. My 1TB external HD - possibly the best $100 I spent last year. Although only 400gb full, this has provided me endless hours of movies, TV shows, documentaries, and relics of America. It has been my best friend on Sunday afternoons. And on that note:

3. All 9 seasons of the X-Files - thank you to Tyler for giving me this kickback to the 90's and the best nostlagia rush I could have ever asked for. It has become my bedtime cuddling buddy for the last 9 months. Yes, I am a nerd and Yes I still want to be an FBI agent when I grow up.

2. Gabe - this guy is a gentleman. I would be remiss not to mention our daily conversations. Topics are mostly, but not limited to, 1) what we will do when we go back to the US, 2) what we will eat when we go back to the US, and 3) who makes the best grilled cheese sandwich.

And the number 1 thing that has helped me to survive in India:

1. Gchat - I came halfway around the world to spend way too much time on this. Some things are just unavoidable.


VIVA ESPAÑA!