eat with your hands

I've arrived!

I'm still getting over some major jetlag that has me wanting to sleep during the day and stay up all night, but it's slowly but surely working its way out of my system.

I'm adjusting to the food as well. A lot of south Indian food is super spicy...luckily my hosts recognized that I have a wimpy American mouth and point out the less spicy dishes for me. Most of my meals consist of rice or idlis (rice dumplings) with an assortment of curries to dip them in. The best part about an Indian meal--you don't have to use a fork! I'm getting used to eating with my hands and learning the etiquette of eating Indian-style. For starters, eat only with your right hand.

Another cultural thing that will take some time to get used to is head nodding. Side-to-side (which usually means no) means "yes". A bobble-head type of gesture can mean anything from "ok" to "maybe" to "I have no idea." I'm trying to perfect my own version of the bobble-head...it's coming along nicely. I still haven't figured out how to say no with head nods--that could turn out to be a problem.

Looks like I'll be going out into the field to do some breeding bird surveys and toxicology work for about five days. Then, I'll return to SACON to take a course in analytical chemistry (pretty much chemistry hopped up on mathematics). Then, I'll probably do some more field work and lab work. Hope to have some nice pictures for you soon!

P.S. There are supposed to be wild elephants around here. I'm hoping to see one!