Reflections on my homestay

While my Indian home is sweltering hot and we only have flimsy fans (so I often wake up sweating in the middle of the night) and there are rats roaming in the kitchen, lizards and spiders creeping on the walls, besides this I sometimes feel I could be in any typical American home as we eat dinner every evening in front of the TV, watching Indian reality TV or Bollywood movies. My host sister plays on her phone (the only way she can access facebook at home since there is not computer or internet access). She talks about the places she’d like to visit, shows me her latest shopping purchases, and hums the catchy commercial jingles for Blackberries and Fructius Garnier shampoo (the add campaigns for American companies change drastically from country to country, in India they always incorporate a song and dance, with vibrant colors splashing across the tv screen).
She wonders why I don’t use facebook that often. Almost shocked that a young American is not eager to discuss popular culture, past boyfriends, or go shopping every evening. She lingers on this thought for a brief moment before she receives another text message and the thought doesn’t bother her any longer as she quickly becomes absorbed in her ‘texting world’, while her mom and I dip chapta in dal and spicy yellow and maroon tinted sauces. She banters with her mom like any twenty year old daughter and spends most of her time in her room or out with friends. If her mom is gone for the day she might sleep in and skip class because she is too tired, reminding me of college in the U.S. where students would complain about getting up for any class earlier than noon.
Despite her affinity to modern culture, when I asked her about the prospect of her mom arranging her marriage, the question almost sounded silly to her. Of course she would have an arranged marriage was her response. How could she know at such a young age who was best for her? Her mom would interview families and young men for her when she was finished with her computer degree, and she would be married. It sounded just like applying for college or a job. When the time was right, the family would decide who she would be married off to and then that would be settled. No second guessing or wondering when she would get married, it was not a mystery or surprise when she would meet her future husband, it would happen systematically and in an organized fashion. The good part is that she will avoid the awkward first meeting with the parents, since the parents approve the fiancé before the kid!