I am so overwhelmed, Mr. Reader! It’s just so beautiful here
at HEC! And it’s so quiet, so quiet indeed! The campus is far away from the
mainland Paris and has got such dense woods and such large fields around, complete
with a lake. I chose HEC primarily because it has its own campus (and ofcourse
the ranking), and I must say the campus has come true to my every expectation;
it was love- at-first-sight with my room, the classrooms and even the
mess-cafeteria! Ofcourse the food is horrible
though; well if you can even call it food in the first place! Plus, I am a vegetarian,
so I am reduced to just choosing between salads and fruits. Blimey! I am a vegetarian,
not a cow!
There are some Indians around and we hang out together all
the time. I have also met so many more people from so many different places on
the globe. We have such an eclectic mix of backgrounds in the class- there are
law undergrads and finance bachelors, Egyptians and Americans, traders and
investment bankers. Suddenly I have become so conscious about my heritage and also so consciously proud of it; I am loving the Bollywood
songs almost fiercely here, like I were trying to desperately hold on to a
shred of connection with my upbringing.
I am so nervous, Mr. Reader. Nothing in my life has prepared
me for my life here. It’s very competitive but excelling in academics is
no longer adequate. You have to “network” and pretend to be calm and relaxed
when talking to burly 6 feet 5 inch European men, like all your life that’s all
what you have been doing. People talk about politics and tax rates; when I say
I am from India they discuss the falling Indian rupee with me (that ofcourse has never been my opening lines with friends ever before, never even the subject matter really!)
I can go on and on- the co-ed hostels, the drinking parties,
the short skirts. That’s not exactly scary but just so new for me. I wear
skirts too and I absolutely love to put them on- so that’s one good thing about
Paris, I feel so free, it’s so liberating! I wish India bettered it’s sorry
state for the women. I don’t drink and sometimes I panic with the liberal amount
of drinking endorsed here.
The French are so polite and use oh-so-much French! Even my
bank account documents are all in French! Did I tell you Mr. Reader that I had
tried taking a French course in Aurangabad for last two months? Well, I realise
now I don’t understand one word of this French version of French and I feel
completely lost in this regard as well.
One adjective if I have to give to everything- exciting!
Well Mr. Reader au revoir for now. Time for a skype call to mom!
:)
ReplyDeleteWishes!