Little India

I went to Jersey City this week, two days in a row. There's one street there, Newark Avenue, that a lot of Indians from around here call Little India. My friend told me it could be inspiration for my blog. I like to think of it as the closest we can get to India without having to buy a $2,000 ticket. It reminded me so much of India because how close all the stores are to each other and just the look and feel of the place.

This street is filled with typical shops you would see on the streets of India. There are plenty of salons that do normal salon things plus eyebrow threading. Shops that sell beautiful Indian clothes, gold, sweets and even little booths that sell chewing tobacco are all over. And of course, the restaurants.

The restaurants are the reason I went to Jersey City this week. Sunday night, my cousin picked me up for dinner and she chose an Indian restaurant  there called Rasoi. It was my first time there, but so many people have told me that it's the best Indian food they've had. This particular restaurant was a little fancier than the other ones on the street, but was still fairly priced. I ordered a chicken tikka masala that came with white rice and naan bread. Chicken tikka masala is a chicken curry with a typical tomato paste base. And naan is really similar to pita bread.This curry is really savory and each bite was just filled with juicy goodness. It's definitely one of my favorite Indian dishes and I would recommend it to anyone who was interested in trying Indian food.    

The other restaurant I went to, Dosa Hut, had a totally different type of atmosphere. It was more like a fast food type of place and it served only vegetarian food. This is normal among Indians because Hinduism is the most popular religion and they do not eat meat. I ordered a paper dosa with sambar. A paper dosa is like a really thin and crispy pancake but not sweet at all. Kind of like a unsweetened crepe, I guess. The sambar is also like a curry but the broth is thinner so it seems more like a warm soup filled with vegetables. Every bite had me wanting more. And I don't even like vegetables. Paper dosa is also something I would highly recommend to new Indian food eaters.

 

Newark Avenue in Jersey City is a place my parents go when they need to restock on Indian spices. Actually, they go there for all their Indian needs. Luckily for us, it's not too far. Being there this week was seriously making me too nostalgic. It's filled with Indians and their stores, what more does it need to be like India? It doesn't have the same environment, India doesn't get very cold because it's right next to the equator. But I think Jersey City is a great place to go if buying a ticket across the world isn't in your price range. Or if you just feel like trying different kinds of food!

Indian living in America vs. Indian living in India

Indian Living in America: That would be me.


Indian Living in India: That would be my mother.


We both lived very different childhoods. I have one little sister. My mom had 6 other siblings. It's normal to have this many children because you need them to do things around the house or even help out with the family business, like a plantation. If you didn't have money for this many kids, you would absolutely find a way. I am confident when I say I have not worked as hard in my life as my mom has. In India, the children are taught to do chores, which is typical in America, too. But in India, the girls need to learn how to cook, take care of each other, go to school and pray. My mom used to tell me how her mother woke all of her children up at 5 a.m. to pray together and then they would all walk to school. Here, I would wake up as late as possible and my dad would drive me to school. He would also pack lunch for me. My grandma had to pack lunches for 7 children, and times were hard. She wasn't able to pack as much as she would like, but she did make sure her kids ate, even if it didn't fill their stomachs.

I'm only 21. But by the time my mom was 23, she married my dad. They moved to America and my mom was required to know how to cook for her little family. I only started learning how to cook my sophomore year of college because I had a kitchen and no meal plan. I find cooking fun and only know how to make easy dishes. My mom could make a whole Indian restaurant menu of food when she was my age. Trust me, she reminds me of this every weekend. She tells me I'm never going to find a husband if I don't learn how to cook REAL food.

My parents don't even try to raise my sister and I like their parents did. It has to be because America is way too different from India. I always see that saying "the stricter the parents, the sneakier the kids." As an Indian, I know this is true. There are a lot of strict parents that I know, and I also know the crazy things their kids do. My parents aren't really that strict because I think they realize this. In India, the parents are strict and the kids follow what they say because they have no other choice. In America,  kids can call the cops on their parents. Ha. That does not go AT ALL in India. It's either the parents way or no way. Plus it's normal to get beat by your parents. Maybe that's why the kids always do as their parents say?

I hope I can raise my children like my parents did. I would tweak some things (like how my parents don't like us talking to boys). Maybe make my kids work a little harder. But overall, I would try to follow a lot of the things they did.

Growing Up in America as an Indian

I mean, technically I am an American because I was born and raised here. But when someone asks me "what I am" I tell them I'm from India, the southern part. I'm included in the first generation of my family to be born and raised here because my parents immigrated to America just a few years before I was born. I know that it must have been difficult to raise your own children in such a different environment. America is in so many ways different from India, and my parents were not used to that when they were raising me. Luckily for my sister who is seven years younger than me, they got the hang of it. When I look at my school pictures from elementary school, I wonder if what I'm wearing was the style back then or if my mom tried to dress me like herself. I always had a bow on my half up half down hairstyle that was practically bigger than my head. I also noticed my mom liked pairing different prints and different colors. In India, girls wear uniforms to school or traditional Indian outfits. It was really rare to see girls wearing pants in India back then. Now, it's becoming a lot more popular to see around. Anyways, in elementary school and I guess the beginning of middle school, people would make comments about being Indian to me all the time. I would get those stereotypical questions like does my dad own a 7-11 and does my mom talk like this (insert phrase with an Indian accent here) . People would also ask why I don't come to school with red dot on the middle of my forehead. I would just ignore them, it bothered me a lot more in elementary school. Now, I will gladly tell people my dad works at a dental lab and my mom speaks English really well. And that I don't wear a "red dot" because I'm not married nor am I Hindu. I actually think its kind of funny when people ask me these kind of questions now. Sometimes I'll just go along with what they want to hear just because it's humorous to me, and I am a very sarcastic person so I'll add a little more to the story to see if the person actually believes the bs that I'm telling them.

After the beginning of middle school, I don't think it was as difficult for me. Or maybe I just gave people attitude when they asked me questions like that. Or asked them stupid questions back. Either way I think I deal with it a lot better.

I always wonder how it is for my parents to raise two daughters in America, well not just my parents but also other parents who came from a different country. It must be so hard to instill their cultural values in their children, especially with outside influences. And to raise your child in a place that you're just getting used to? My sister and I have been raised so different from how my parents were and my dad always reminds us. He tells us of how times were so hard, especially with 4 other brothers and 2 sisters. Whenever my sister and I go shopping, he tells us stories about how he only had three pairs of clothes, and they were hand me downs. And when I drive my sister to her school down the street, he tells me of the miles he had to walk just to get to school. There are so many stories he tells us, all for different, simple and daily things we do in our lives. It really makes me appreciate everything I have and all my parents have done for me.

Is it too late for an Introduction??

I just realized I didn't really start this blog with an introduction. Oops? Better late than never, right??

I figured I would make my blog about my culture. Honestly, I didn't know what to write about so I started looking around my room for something that could possibly spark some interest in my classmates. As I was looking around I realized a lot of my pictures included my family and I wearing Indian clothes. So why not write about India?! I could write about the different aspects of it like the fashion, holidays, traditions and so much more.

I also knew that there are a lot of stereotypes out there about Indians. Some people can be really ignorant with their comments. Especially because some people will think just because a person is brown, they are automatically Indian and Hindu. I'm not saying they're completely wrong, but maybe I could teach people more through this blog.

Maybe I should give you a little of my background. My name is Sherin Thomas, probably a weird name for an Indian to have. Why do I have two first names? My last name is Thomas because I am Christian. I come from a family that goes to church every single sunday. I also am a member of a huge family. My dad has 4 brothers and 2 sisters. My mom has 4 sisters and 2 brothers. Weird, right? And of course with all these aunts and uncles comes all my cousins. My cousins and I really close, we consider each other siblings. I was born and raised in America, but I love my culture. I've only gone to India a few times, but when I do go, I really enjoy it to the fullest. That's usually not normal. Most Indians who are born and raised in America absolutely hate going to India. I don't know what it is, but I love it.

Bollywood in Hollywood

A saree is really just 6 yards of fabric. It is folded and pleated and put on a person with just three safety pins. How do you even get that much material to stick on your body with THREE safety pins? I don't know, I still don't get it.

I think saree's have been starting to become very popular outside of India. It's nice to see that a different culture is starting emerge on the red carpet. I don't know if this is because of the release of Slumdog Millionaire or what but I definitely take pride in this. I googled to see which celebrities have worn saree style outfits and it is seriously so fascinating to see who! Among these celebrities are Jessica Alba, Angelina Jolie, Hayden Panettiere, Blake Lively, Paris Hilton, Jennifer Lopez, Oprah and plenty more. The ones that stuck out to me the most was Madonna and The Pussycat Dolls.


Okay, I think all these sarees are really gorgeous but there is a reason why the two above stuck out to me the most. These celebrities were the ones who wore it the most different from the usual. In The Pussycat Dolls, only two out of the five members are wearing it correctly. I guess they were all trying to be different and unique, but as someone who wears sarees, I think the last two on the right look absolutely ridiculous. It's a great idea for people to wear it so that it  can show their personality but I personally think it looks like the outfit itself is choking them. The only two members wearing it correctly is the one all the way to the left and the member in the center. I think they look amazing and they are wearing it well in the traditional way.

Madonna, who is also wearing the saree in a kind of weird way, looks great but I think her saree choice could have been a much better one. She is wearing a more traditional and old fashioned type saree, there is nothing wrong with that, but people don't usually wear it in that modern way like Madonna is wearing. Madonna is usually known for wearing outfits that are out of the norm, so this probably didn't feel too different for her, but I definitely do give credit to her for wearing an outfit from a different country.
 
I just think its really awesome when you're watching a "pre" award show and you see one of your favorite celebrities strutting down the red carpet in a saree. Bollywood fashion has been something I came to obsess about since I was probably a pre-teen or so. I just love the eccentric work, bright and bold colors, and so many different styles. I can honestly say I have sat on the computer for hours  just looking at different sarees. There is so much out there and what's trending changes every few months. So for someone who is really in love with Bollywood clothes, I might get a little too excited to see Americans wearing it!