Where Nobody Knows My Name

Since I am doing "community based" language learning, I have to find creative ways to be out in the community to use the Hindi that I have learned. The thing with being in the community, as wonderful as it is, is that people expect me to talk back when they speak to me. Also,we are some of the only foreigners in this town so we draw alot of attention when we go out. I have grown to generally ignore the attention. As much as I 'love' the cat calls, the stareing and men proclaiming their love for me, I generally tune them out. I feel like sometimes we are the source of their entertainment for the day. I thought about getting a shirt that says "I Can Sing and Juggle Too".

So, we have found a nice break from the hussle and bussle of life in M Town... BOLLYWOOD! Bollywood is their version of Hollywood here. There is one decent theater that plays movies in town. So, for a mere $2.50 we can sit and listen to a 3 hour movie in Hindi. I know it may sound silly, but I actually enjoy these times. For one, we can sit in a cool theater. Also, its dark, so that means- no attention. Ahhh...its just nice to be ignored sometimes, ya know? (Insert Cheers theme song here) Sometimes I wanna go..... where nobody knows my name and they don't care if I came.

It is a good opportunity to listen to Hindi and not be exspected to quickly respond. I can improve my listening skills and also can pick up on more of the slang. Like for example, "Some Ja?" is "got it'? I also learn so much about the culture and life in a relatively stress free environment. And although the story lines are cheesy ( they LOVE the drama), I can learn about what entertains South Asians (other than me). As a bonus, I can buy tasty popcorn and a drink for under a dollar. So, its a nice language and cultural learning experience. Thank you Bollywood.