I love Southern California. I really do. But if there’s one thing that makes me forget that love rather easily, it’s the heat. I’ve yet to spend more than a single boiling summer in the SoCal area, and this year has been no different. Every summer, my family and I make the impossible journey back to Bangalore, India, where we’d lived until I was nine years old. This year, though, I did something pretty out of the norm and went to Maui with my best-friend, Kristin.
Needless to say it was incredible. We went to the beach everyday (funny how I live in SoCal but this is still such a big deal), hiked, snorkeled, SNUBA dived (like scuba diving, but for noobs of the ocean like me who aren’t certified), and even pretend-adulted by cooking most of our meals ourselves!
I discovered this quaint little area next to what became my favorite restaurant, the Mala Ocean Tavern. We went there whenever we were too tired to cook.
Post-Maui though, it’s been business as usual, and I’m happily writing to y’all from Bangalore!
I’ve been interning at EVRY India, a global software engineering company that provides software services to other companies. As a part of the internship, I’m learning how to create a fully functional website using the MEAN stack. The biggest challenge so far has been how much independence I’ve been given. I do get checked up on, but I’ve been tasked with doing most of the learning on my own. Thank God for Google.
Beyond work, I’ve been diving into the shopping haven that is India. Everywhere you look, there’s an artsy boutique that’s either super cultural, or just gorgeous to walk through. There’re always exhibitions popping up here and there where designers set up shop with dress materials they’ve woven so you can browse, buy, and stitch them into your next favorite outfit.
This perfume boutique had the most peaceful and spiritual vibe going.
This place, called Good Earth Café, featured incredibly beautiful china pieces.
But of course, let’s not the forget the most important part: the FOOD! For the brave soul willing to risk it all, the possibilities for eating out are endless. When I’m not eating my grandma’s precious cooking, I love seeking out Chinese food especially. Beyond there being a sizable number of vegetarian options, the Chinese food here has an Indian twang to it that makes it irresistible. In fact, everything here has an Indian twang to it, from the paneer burgers at McDonald’s to kathitos at Taco Bell (burritos made with an Indian tortilla). Even the movie theatres have Masala Chili Popcorn and Samosas at their concession stands.
This restaurant, Shiro, had such a big array of vegetarian dumplings to offer that my mom and I convinced our non-vegetarian friends to get some veggie dumplings too so we could try out more options.
As fun as it’s been here in India, I’ll be heading back to SoCal next week. It’s bittersweet because even though I am definitely going to miss being in India, I’m super excited to come back home and relax before the next semester starts.
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