This is the first post this year of things that have happened this year and lucky for you guys its a double.

Girl Scout Cookies

Every year I buy some Girl Scout cookies. Every year it gets harder and harder to find these cookies however. Freshman year I chanced upon a girl with a wagon. Sophomore year I followed Yaks until I found a table with some Girl Scouts. This year I was high and dry. That is until I stumbled upon a Facebook page called Girl Scouts at Georgia Tech or something like that. I staked out the times. Monday at 4:30. But apparently they sold out really quickly over the weekend so I knew I had to show up early to ensure I get my share. I head over around 2:30 just to be safe. Get some coffee and sit outside waiting. 4:30 comes around and I'm almost panicking. There are no Girl Scouts anywhere. I need Thin Mints. They end up coming at 4:40 and I am first in line. I get my single box (a case is still a box) of Thin Mints and leave a happy man.

Trivia

This week has been full of unnecessary snow days. This on top of the sudden arrival of Girl Scout cookies has made this into a great week thus far. I figure this is probably the peak and it's all downhill from there. Along comes a trivia competition called Buzz It in the student center. I'm like I got this and try to make a team. Like 20 mins before the event starts I've lassoed up a team of 2 other people at the last minute. We probably can't hold up to some of the bigger 5 man teams but oh well. We consistently are placing in the top 10 throughout the entire event. I notice that people are winning easy money doing the challenges. I decide to do a challenge. I go up and be my normal hilarious and winning self and it works. I leave the event with cash money.

An overall great week. 

Day 14

I went to McDonald's. My uncle and I got one of about 5 different burgers and sampled the menu. I have to say the McDonald's in India are much better than those in the US. My favorites were probably the McSpicy Paneer or the Masala Grilled Veg. Also the soda fountain has Thums Up which is cool

Day 11

Went back to the gym again today. It's a good routine. I wake up at 5 and go to the club. I work out from about 5:45 to 7. Then from 7-8 I read the newspaper while drinking coffee before going back home. Maybe I can keep up the same schedule back at school. Probably not.

Day 12

I read an article in the newspaper today that basically is my life story.

Day 6

Today was a day spent exploring the world of vegetables and fruits. There are many plants that are common here that you would be hard pressed to find in America. Several of these I don't even know how to say in English. Juices are fairly standard fare but nothing beats fresh juice. I don't mean fresh as in you squeeze the juice yourself. I mean fresh as in you grow the fruit yourself and then squeeze it. In terms of juices: Sugar cane > coconut > orange.

Day 7

Today was the day I finally succumbed to illness. One cannot go to India without being sick. However this time it wasn't food poisoning. I got a cold from something. Perhaps I'm allergic to one of the random foods I eat here. Knowing myself I'll probably keep eating or doing whatever it was that got me sick in the first place. I'm all about that immediate gratification that leads to later suffering. Oh well.

Day 8

Today was the first day without some sort of function going on here. It was a day of leisure. A busy schedule of resting was interspersed with breaks for food. The most strenuous of activities was picking vegetables for lunch. There is a quality about rural India that you can't find in the busy cities of the western world. I can sit here on the porch doing absolutely nothing for hours and not be bored. The air is so fresh, the wildlife is stunning and, when there is a slight breeze, it's just perfect.

Day 9

Today marks my last day out in the country with my dad's side of the family. At night I'll be taking a train back to Bangalore. It's hard to realize that I only have a week left in India before it's back to the hustle and bustle of school life.

On a side note I may have lost the house cat. I was going for a walk and it followed me to the road where I left it and it hasn't come back to the house yet. It was only 2 months old but probably led a good life.

Day 10

Nothing happened today.

Day 4

After an 8 hour drive that was actually only a distance of about 200 miles I have reached my dad's old house by Ishwaramangala. We're talking really rural here. The house is surrounded by forestry which is great. Life is nice and slow paced but not boring. I just spent an hour watching a kitten play with a piece of cardboard. Also I'm pretty occupied with swatting mosquitoes. All of you frequent readers probably know my views of mosquito bites by now but let me tell you there are no mosquitoes like rural Indian mosquitoes. Except those West Nile ones. Those are bad.

Well to combat the mosquitoes it's best to wear long sleeves and pants but it's easily 35-40 degrees all the time so if it's not the mosquitoes tormenting you it is the heat. So far I've voted on heat and limited my bites to only 5. These bites aren't too bad but one of them is just a pain. It's an inner ear one which is almost as annoying as an eyelid bite. But it's whatever. Regardless of the downfalls I always make it a point to come out here every time I come to India. Pretty much all my cousins live here, the food is great, and the air is so exceedingly fresh it makes up for the hella pollution in Bangalore.

You might be thinking, "yo, Nik just went and left Bangalore to avoid going to the gym." Fear not. There are other ways to find gains on a farmland. I was moving a bag of coconuts earlier and managed to sneak in a couple of squats so that was good.

Day 5

The thing about India is that every single time I come I am so out of the loop. This is especially so when I visit my dad's house. Him being one of 10 children means that his side of the family  is full of people who I need to know by name and honorific. Put into effect their limited English and my limited Kannada and there is a lot of confusion. For example there was this kid who I had no idea who she was but she knew me by name. Turns out she was born after my last visit. That's just not fair. It's OK though. I've just been not talking and all and doing a lot of smiling and waving. It works. The second thing about India is that it's hot and humid. Easily 30 degrees all the time. Compared to here, Hotlanta is a winter wonderland. Furthermore, all the long sleeve sweaters I brought don't help.

There is a third thing about India and it has to do with food. There is so much food to eat but half the time I have no idea what I'm doing/what it is/how to eat it. A game some of my cousins and I play is we point to things and teach each other the corresponding word. Most vegetables they point at I didn't know existed before I cam here. I certainly didn't know how to call them in English. So when it comes to a meal I sit quietly and let myself be served everything and hope for the best. Half the time it turns out to be bananas and I hat bananas but I eat it anyway. As a banana hater I should have rejected the banana but sometimes they are just so camouflaged that you mistake them for something else. So I've eaten maybe 2 bananas this trip.