Thanksgiving and the beast

I was Thanksgiving in Dehradun yesterday. As the only American it seems for miles, I was on my own for celebrating. So what does a southerner in the land of no turkey eat on turkey day?

Fried chicken of course!

With my friend Achui who very generously agreed to spend some time with me and eat KFC even though she had a very busy day. I could tell she was exhausted... and hungry. During our conversation about Christmas and what her family does to celebrate, she mentioned pork no less than five times. When i asked her what she misses most about home (because she hasn't been home to see her parents since last Christmas) she looked me in the eyes, and without a hint of humor, she said "pork" - as if I clearly had not heard her the other four times she'd brought it up.

I love Achui... we have similar minds. I mean, don't get me wrong. I really miss my family. But I also really miss cheese. Not that those are on the same level but if I made a list of the foods I miss the most, cheese would definitely top the list.

Can you tell I haven't had dinner yet?

Well I haven't.

Today was busy. I had a test. It doesn't actually count for anything and I don't really get graded, but I think it's supposed to motivate me to study harder. It kinda does.

But in addition to the test, the beast decided to stop working today. I guess the clutch plate went out (again) so it wouldn't start. Luckily I was back at the hostel when I realized this but I REALLY didn't relish the prospect of pushing the beast to the nearest mechanic (not close, and they're finally fixing the street in front of the hostel which means that one whole side is blocked off).

Luckily for me, Neelam (a student from Sri Lanka) agreed to help me try to push start it. And amazingly, it worked!

So I took off for the row of mechanics on Gandhi road where I found a very nice Sikh mechanic who knew right away what was wrong with the thing.

And then he fixed it. And he fixed the sari guard (a little step thing the passenger uses as a foot rest) which I totally broke on a cycle pushcart. And then he may or may not have fixed a leaking fuel line. He said it was "no problem" which could mean he fixed it or could mean it "isn't going to cause me any problems". Hard to say. But all in all, not bad for about six bucks.

He also let me watch. If I were a mechanic, it would make me nervous to have an audience, but here, you wait while they fix your two wheeler so I guess they're used to it. Random men who were also having their bikes fixed would point out things to my mechanic. I couldn't always tell what they were saying but my mechanic took it all with good grace although I did catch the occasional eye roll and I just knew he was thinking "B---- please! Does it look like I don't know what I'm doing?"