(18.8.17) At the beginning of the week, I got a message from my natural mom that her coworker was coming to India for business but had offered to spend time with me on Friday afternoon as she had free time after work and before her 11pm flight. I looked up where the hotel she was staying at was and luckily for me it was only about 30 minutes away! We made plans to meet at the hotel and go to Ambience Mall on Friday after school and I got permission from my host family and AFS. On Friday, I went directly after school to the hotel with my host sister. The hotel was VERY nice. We changed out of our school uniforms and waited for Kitty in the lobby. I had never met Kitty before but we had both heard of each other through my mom and were more than happy to meet each other. When she came at around 3:30, we hugged as if we had known each other our entire lives and we promptly got a cab to go to Ambience Mall. The hotel was so fancy that even the concierge service that took us to the mall was like something out of a movie with the doors being open and shut for you. It was the first time I had been in an automatic car since leaving the United States! Ambience was only about 10 minutes of a drive away and most of that was spent making a U-turn to get there. At the mall, I bought a pair of shorts and a pair of Nike leggings because I have been pretty much wearing jeans all the time. I am pretty used to the temperature now but it’s still nice to have some lighter clothing in this weather. After getting clothes we somehow made our way to a toy store. Kitty got something for her daughter and I bought a little something for my siblings in the US also. Ambience Mall is huge, it’s 5 stories of stores upon stores and the 5th floor is all full of restaurants. After the toy store we went to get dinner on the 5th floor. None of us had any idea of what we wanted to eat so we settled on a place that had just about everything. It was a little comical to eat in a place where everyone orders their own dish because it had Monisha a little bit confused at first. In India, from my own experience, people order many dishes and everyone shares. We were stuffed full of garlic bread, fries and fish sticks as appetizers and then filled to the brim with our meals. I got chicken (of course) lasagne, Monisha got a pizza and Kitty got grilled fish. Everything was delicious and the waiter even made us fill out a feedback form at the end of our visit which was something I had never had to do before lol. We had nice conversations over dinner about student exchange, India, family, and just about anything that came to mind. After about an hour, we left and continued walking through the mall. We only stopped at a McDonald’s kiosk to get ice cream. We called the concierge service back at about 6:30pm and waited outside the mall. The temperature in the evening is not too bad, especially if you just stand there. There was more traffic so the driver took a while to arrive but it took only 5 minutes to get back to the hotel because we did not have to make such a large U-Turn. Once back at the hotel, we got a picture of all of us together and called an Uber to take Monisha and I back home. I really enjoyed getting to meet Kitty and it made the world seem a little smaller for that evening as I met with someone else who works with my mom but still lives across the globe! I love making these sorts of connections and by the end of the year I am sure I will have even more!
1 Comment
Julie Slechta
9/17/2017 08:37:00 am
How wonderful that you were able to connect with someone back home. Isn't it funny how easily you can connect with someone you don't know? I suppose the fact that she's familiar with your mother explains it all ... she would likely be someone who has a familiarity because she has commonalities with someone you do to. It must have been a nice addition to the India experience ... being able to share it with someone who can bring home stories of you!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorNamaste! Mera naam Anna hai! Hi! my name is Anna. Please enjoy reading about my experience as a high school junior in India and ask any questions you may have! Archives
June 2019
Categories |