Kikani Higher Secondary School

First day of school Indian-style was last Monday, the sixth. Walking into the grounds, I was SO nervous because of the difference between me and the rest of the students, and I wasn't sure how my classmates and teachers would react to this new tall white girl with "golden hairs and bluish eyes". As I should have known, school started half an hour late, so Ma and I sat around waiting for the vice principal to come take charge of me. I expected some staring, but literally every student gave me some wierd look, whether it was a furtive side glance or a full on stop-and-gape (open-mouthed). This was mostly the littler kids- middle school and younger. The older ones seemed to hardly notice me.  At the weekly assembly, I was introduced as a new student from America to the entire school, and although it did nothing to deter the staring, it gave the students some newfound courage to come speak to me. All day I was followed around with the same questions: 

          Hi, what's your name? Where are you from? How long have you been here? What do your parents           do? What are their names? When's your birthday? Do you have any siblings? Names? Who are your favorite heroes (actors)? etc. 

Pretty sure there was an unwritten New Student Questionnaire that everyone knew about. These interrogations persisted throughout the week, and I am confident that if I gave my own Anna Questionnaire on Monday the majority would pass with flying colors. 

I have made a ton of new friends and they are all very sweet and welcoming, but it is RIDICULOUS how much they text! I thought I was bad, but coming here I find that my thumbs of fury are nothing. I will look at my phone and try to answer five new messages but before I can, I will probably get between two and three new ones, generally from the same people wondering why I didn't respond in t minus 5 seconds. There has been one time when I didn't look up from my phone for a solid ten or eleven minutes, and, from that time, I have vowed never to text again. If we were talking about something important or making plans it would be different, but the conversation is about trivial things that I can NOT see the point in asking, like what did I have for dinner. Regardless, I do have a good time with them and am glad to finally be in school with people my age. Progress!