6th November

Today is our hostel party. Cannot believe we are even going to participate in the charade that will be.
Before such shenanigans, Lauren and I decided to go and see 10 Days That Shook The World in the university. We have discovered that there is a student’s union near the Art Faculty. It has a book shop and a fair trade clothes shop and a canteen. It even has music practice rooms up the stairs – none of which we knew until today. The film is being shown in one of the upstairs rooms. Lauren’s classmate Ameet is coming with us. He is one of the ones who told her that women must not ‘roam’ after dark. He loves her dearly. He pulls his chair up behind her in class and everything.
When we got to the room however, it turned out that it was possibly a secret Indian Socialist society who was screening the film, and they had secured only one copy in Hindi. Not helpful. While we can follow the Bollywood movies, I reckon Russian revolutionary history is beyond our capabilities. So we left after about five seconds. The guys running the screening took our numbers though and were very enthusiastic about getting an English copy to show us so that we may join them as comrades in arms or whatever. They loved that we were studying history, and approved very much when they found out our teachers were the Marxist ones in the department. I am quite up for joining a secretive Indian student socialist society. Probably entertaining if nothing else.
Once we had shaken Ameet off we went to the book shop for a little while and I ended up buying more books that I didn’t need. I got a very interesting one though that is a collection of a reporter’s writings on violence against dalits in India. I am looking forward to reading it, but I fear what with all the work I should technically be doing, it may be after term ends that I finally get around to it.
The hostel party is apparently starting at half five (read half six probably…), so we just went home after the book shop and got ready. Amanda and Egle have both disappeared into the south rather than be caught at such a display of girliness. It is a bit ridiculous really, they should just have sucked it up. We get special dinner and everything.
Lauren just turned up at my door looking poe-faced and quite cute in my blue dress and her little black pumps. Not really Alice…but meh. Nor am I a great Jasmine. Slightly self-conscious about the fact my stomach is out at the moment anyways. I should have done more sit-ups methinks. My gyming has been down the drain since my parents came. All their fault…bah…
The party was slightly terrible. First the Freshers had to line up and BE JUDGED by guys from the International Men’s Hostel. I couldn’t believe it. I felt like an object. Thankfully Lauren and I had given up on the costume idea after about five minutes and were wearing normal clothes or else I would have felt even more self-conscious. Christ, first the Barbie them and then this…it is not particularly ‘empowering’ is it? Maria, the hostel Presidente, ran everything very tightly, though not overly smoothly. The best part of the night was the food (obv) and the band. This old guy was their mentor and he had come along. He was wearing an old 70s style shirt with a polo neck underneath and he was quite taken when Lauren announced she would like to play the mouth organ. He despaired with us against modern music and then got his band to play Coldplay because it was one of the few British things they knew. It was a sweet gesture. Apparently we can go the International Men’s Hostel Freshers party tomorrow night. I wonder if we are allowed to judge them? Think I might skip it though, as I don’t want to have to put others through this rigmarole. Blah. I actually made it to the finals of the ‘Miss Fresher’ competition as well, but unsurprisingly was beaten by a blonde Russian girl dressed as a Barbie. Sigh.