Page 137 - USA BOOK FINAL PDF---08-09-2020web-1_Neat-final

whenever I go there, my cousins go to school and I have to wait until they come back

home. But they come back home with lots of home work, they go to tuitions, also they
carry heavy bags with lot of books in them.

My first experience in India was very strange. I thought I was on a different planet!
Then I got used to it and started liking it. It’s easy to have a pet dog there. I see lots of
dogs on the streets too. Also the electricity goes off sometimes during the night, but my
family has something called generator which starts some lights and fans when there is
no power. We even light up the candle when there is no power. It was fun to look for
a match box in the dark. I see lot of mosquitoes in the evening so we close the door to
stop them from entering. I like the mosquito bat which is similar to the tennis racquet

to kill the mosquitoes. I enjoyed riding in Auto Rickshaws, they do not have windows or
doors and they run on 3 wheels. I like the sound they make when they are moving. I loved
honking while we were driving. I could sit in the front seat too. I enjoyed the bike ride
as well. I ate the best Gobi Manchurian in India. The hotels are always crowded in India.
There is no winter like us in India, no snow, so they don’t have to wear jackets or shiver.

Apart from all that I feel the kids are less independent than we are, because they don’t
clean up after they eat and they are fed most of the times; I would say things are done
at the drop of the hat. I enjoy the same luxury when I am there, also there is someone
to give us a bath and someone to walk us to the park too. My mom gets some time for
herself there. I see her shopping a lot, smiling a lot and most important talking a lot. I see

my mom and dad going out together which I don’t get to see in USA. Here one of them
goes out since the other has to stay with the kids. The vegetable seller comes to the
streets calling, ‘‘erulli, tomato, soppu” which I don’t get to see in USA. I like it when they
put water outside the gate and make Rangoli, I enjoyed filling colors in that. My mom
even took me to a village where I could see the cows and sheep.

One of my favorite parts is when we celebrate holidays together. We celebrated the
Lakshmi festival, and Ganesha festival in India. My cousins and me even practiced a dance
to perform in front of the gods. In America we go to VPA to celebrate festivals. But in
India, we do actual things like set up a pool of lily pads around the Pooja place at home,

then go to the temple with whole family. We even cook many varieties of food compared
to what we do in the USA. There are so many people coming home.

Another point is the television in India has certain number codes. How do they
memorize? I started watching all my favorite English shows in Hindi. When my
relatives come to America, they always say it is easy to put the TV on.

One thing that surprises me right off the bat is when they are not used to certain things
such as a closed bathroom. They always make a fuss about it. I do not want to point out
because I am too embarrassed. Another thing is English- whenever I’m talking quickly
to someone else, a family member just says I’m “a natural” even though I’m saying basic
things like “Hi how are you?” or “What are you doing?”

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