My New Love Speaks Marathi (Part 1)

I have fallen in love... WITH INDIA!


So, since October 2011, I have begun to focus my efforts on getting to India. I don't know exactly what the path will be but I am learning and taking as many steps as I can while finishing school here. I want to live and work in Mumbai. I don't know if that will look like exactly. I am open to working for the US government, an NGO, a private company or a school. 


For a long time (I mean 5+ years) I have loved watching Showbiz India and Namaste America on Saturday mornings. It's on TV36 in the Bay Area. I loved hearing about the movies and the latest happenings of those Khan fellows. I could follow things pretty much and could recognize quite a few of the actors. I really loved the music and dancing, though.


I moved to Redding for school this fall. It took me a while to find a job and it's part time at that. I haven't had to spend too much time on homework, so that left quite a few hours to fill. I have read some good books (Wilder Life), joined some local interest groups (Redding Folk Dancers, Shasta Miners & Prospectors), visited church a few times and checked out a few local trails.


One weekend, I was looking for movies to watch on Hulu, since I don't have TV here. I decided on a movie called Baabul. Oh. My. Goodness. This is the day I fell in love. 


The movie was long. There were lots of bits and pieces to the characters but I found my self caring about what happened to them. It was like I was watching a Sandra Bullock movie in a language I couldn't understand. But the thing was, I could understand it, partly because there were subtitles. But mostly because I didn't need the subtitles. I knew why the girl was so sad she couldn't eat, and why she was crying and eating at the same time when it was time to bless her husband. 


So the quest began that night. I looked up Indian weddings and marriages. I looked up some of the words and phrases. The world opened up and I realized This is just the beginning.