so sorry to catch you on your mobile

So after much resistance and strong negative feelings against getting a cell phone during my time in India- I was sticking strongly to the fantasy that I would live my life as a true nomad, sans a constant zip code, bills and the short leash of a cell phone- I broke down and got one. It only took one experience of being completely lost all by my lonesome over 4 hours from home without any contact to the outside world for me to completely change my tune. That experience will change your mind real fast. Of course, this exact experience has been repeated numerous times (about once a week), so it changed my mind real fast. Apparently, I get lost a lot. Who knew? I thought the US was bad, but when you add in the exciting element of public buses, trains, rickshaws, and even ferries, new strange areas and the vast impenetrable language barrier it gets real interesting. However, my hope is that my time here will sharpen my directional skills and I will return will all the skills needed to claim victory (and a million dollars) on the Amazing Race. Which I will win.

So anyway, I spent less than 10 US dollars on a new phone and a year of services, so at least it didn’t exactly break the bank. On the upside, my automatic ring tone is a catchy Hindi tune guaranteed to start your feet- or your entire body dancing. In addition, the phone itself actually turns into a flashlight, which comes in great help during our regular power outages. Plus, India is about 10 years behind us on the cell phone craze, so at this stage, its extremely appropriate to always have your cell phone on…and on the loudest ringer possible- and to answer your phone any time it rings, even in the middle of class (this has happened on numerous occasions). And they haven't really conquered the skill of speaking (not yelling) into the cell phone. Oh, and they don’t call them cell phones, they call them mobiles. Which is so much better. The moral of the story is that I feel extra hip. And most importantly, I have a way to call someone for directions when I am utterly and completely lost in some rural village where english is not spoken. For those that wish to have the number it is: (91) 9745960926.