jonathan/ferguson

a friend asked me this morning whether i’d be having tandoori turkey, masala mashed potatoes and cranberry curry for thanksgiving today. it sounded like a good idea. but since i’m in the heartland of america now, i figured i’d blend in. so i went with hardcore traditional. and loved every minute of it. thanks for the fantastic meal emily!

today was a lazy day of trying to stay warm in a chilly chicago apartment on a chilly chicago day. i tried to avoid using the word freezing. but i was. and still am. both yesterday and today have been fighting-off-the-jet-lag days. chicago is nearly 12 hours behind delhi. and i’ve done pretty well reversing my schedule so far. imagine eating breakfast before you go to bed. a huge thanksgiving lunch in the middle of the night. and a light dinner just as you should be waking up. its amazing the body doesn’t cry foul play and completely shut down.

my last few days in delhi were a whirlwind. rushing from here to there. tackling the massive task of squeezing a year into a couple of bags that american airlines would penny pinch me for. in the midst of it all my friends were amazing. coming through in every way. supporting me. cooking for me. sitting on my bags, while i zipped. driving me to the airport. wishing me farewell. making sure i reached ok. thanks punit! dushyant! reeta! naresh! ruby! ankur! louise! you are the reason i will return.

there are plenty of others to thank. thanks to viviana for buying all of my stuff. to madhu for carrying off every last item i didn’t sell. to rahul and his brother for picking up my newspapers and dry cleaning. geetaji and subodhji for the last minute hindi lessons. vibha for the good conversation. sonu store for allowing me to weigh my bags on your rice/grain scale. boren for the fellowship. taxpayers for the funding. my parents for having me. oh, and chipotle for their guacamole post-return. i can’t believe i went a year without it.

it feels good to be home. to catch up. to speak super fast using terrible grammar and 90% slang and be completely understood. i’ve been pretending that i’ve just arrived for the first time. examining this strange culture and its people. making observations. asking questions. like, why are people rushing to stores in the middle of the night, as i write this, to find so-called specials that will cost them money but convince them that they’ve saved money, all while making their lives better? pure pandemonium. i would join them for a closer look but i have no dollars. and since no one takes rupees, i think i’ll just spend my black friday adding masala to my leftovers.