The Masala Travels of Ruby Rose: Day One, Take Two

My subsequent impression of LSR was vastly different to the previous day’s experience. What was an empty college with echoing halls and hostile looks on the twenty-second became chaotic, loud, colourful and welcoming on the twenty third of July.

'Svaagatam'. Welcome.

Feeling slightly seedy, as is common to a 2pm wake-up, I walked in through the front gates of what seemed a different college. A constant stream of girls flowed in through the gates next to me, wheeling person-sized suitcases and being trailed by their family retinue. All the newcomers were looking around just as curiously as I felt, pointing out the big, faded-red ‘LSR’ sculpture and the lawns of freshly mown grass. I strolled along beside them in the same outfit I had worn the day before (I had washed it and hung it up to dry under the fan in the B&B dorm at 5am that morning): a flowy Anokhi skirt over my Solomon trekking boots, a plain blue t-shirt and my fake Ray-Bans. Not that you could see much besides my boots as I was all wrapped up in my front and back trekking packs, which I had to peer around to see where I was going.

Through the front gates

Again I made my way to the reception office and this time I was met with clear instructions to find the college Hostel – my home for the next six months. I had begun walking when two girls, Charu and Avanika, came up and informed me they would be my guides for the day. It was a relief to have friendly and welcoming faces that knew what was going on and were willing to spend time helping me figure out how things worked. Charu took me into the Hostel and managed to squeeze me past the hordes of freshers waiting to find their new room numbers and parents queuing up to officially relinquish the supervision of their beloved daughters for the next three years. Charu showed me to my room, which turned out not to be my room but one shared between Chrissie, the other Aussie exchange student and myself.

As I walked into the room Chrissie stumbled off the top bunk bed looking sleepy, happy to see me and apologetic; both of us had been under the impression we were to have our own rooms. Looking at the four by three metre space, the two tiny desks and neighbouring wardrobes, the pull out bunk beds that would clearly take up the whole room and block the front door when we used them I wondered how Chrissie and I would make it work without killing each other. We would be living on top of each other for the next six months. Our initial conversations went something along the lines of:

How about we alternate times for going out for walks, that way we’ll have more space,

We will have to make sure we won’t be in the same tute classes,

Or if we are in the same classes…we could sit on the opposite sides of the room!

and so on.

Babin' babes Chrissie (my wonderful roomie), Jordy and Emma. The other exchange students from Aus.

Looking back on those conversations I am impressed by how easily we coexist. We have transformed our twelve metres into a pretty awesome home, complete with Tibetan prayer flags from Leh, chalk boards, magazine cuttings of sexy Indian men and a couple of cool monkeys. I wouldn’t have it any other way.