India!!! And How I Almost Maybe Got Kidnapped.

Hiya friends!

Skyping with A Woman of No Importance Cast

     I hope your week is going swimmingly. I haven't posted anything new lately because not much blog-worthy has happened. I do have a few things to write about now though, so here goes.

     Thursday, I was Skyped in at my 2 AM to watch Newman University's production of A Woman of No Importance. Although I couldn't really see/hear the first act, I was moved closer for the second and I really enjoyed the performance. Good job guys! I loved being there to support you and I'm glad you had a successful run. CL rocked as the WONI. You were born for that role, Dahling. I had fun talking to the cast and crew after, as well. It was a great feeling to see everyone together again. It was a great contrast to what I usually endure on Skype.

Pancho singing me The National Anthem while Blake
respectfully puts his hand over his heart.

     On Sunday I had the pleasure of Skyping Blake and Matt again. It was a long 48 minutes of them singing Johanna from Sweeney Todd and Matt giving me a tour of their microwave. Pancho also gave a riveting performance of The Star Spangled Banner with Blake saluting the nonexistent flag in the background. Sorry; BLAKE's microwave. He claims that is a very important detail. I suppose it is a good thing to never know what to expect with them. I also got to Skype Mom, Dad, and Loni this week as well. I showed them my tentative route for the Summer and they showed me Loni's nasty dog. Ew.

Couldn't resist.

     Did you know: People here have never heard of breakfast burritos or apples and peanut butter. They think I'm crazy! Well... I may be crazy, but not for eating breakfast burritos. That's normal. I will cook it for them eventually. But first I need to learn how to cook. I also learned from Laura (a student who will be coming to US Newman next semester) that when someone asks you to come over for tea, tea means dinner. What the heck. That blew my mind. 

     Saturday we had a girl's night and I played the only movie I brought with me: The Hot Chick. Yesssss. I restrained myself from quoting the entire script. It really made me miss Brittany and Kacy. Sssick. Ssssick!

My next prom dress

      So here's the India part of my blog. Tuesday I received a phone call from one of the girls in my English lecture asking if I would like to go to India with her. For free. Naturally I fainted. Okay not really, but I was flabbergasted. She asked if I knew anyone else who would like to go as she had a couple tickets. I asked Naomi, who was standing next to me, and she said she was interested. We told her we would think it over and let her know. Naomi's mother immediately forbid her to go, so I asked Kris to go with me. She was psyched too, but realized she had a conflict and couldn't go. Finally, I asked Luka and he said he would love to go.

Being on the wrong side of the road is trippy

     When I saw my classmate the next day, she basically explained that she had planned on going on holiday with a group of friends and a few had dropped out. The plane ticket was nonrefundable so all I had to buy was a visa. She said we would be going to the Taj Mahal and staying in a five star hotel. This all sounded fantastic, but what I didn't understand really was why she asked me. I had only seen her about four times in class. It was a little odd to me, so I tried to get as much information as I could. She didn't have exact flight times. (Weird.) And she couldn't give me many details at all because "her boyfriend was handling the trip." She told me she needed to know for sure within two days if we were coming or not because they were going to get the visas on Friday and they had to know how many people were going when they booked the hotel. Wait. What? They said they are staying in a five star hotel which they haven't booked yet. And I don't have to pay? Their friends who dropped out surely were refunded for that since it hadn't even been paid for yet. She called the next day and asked for my decision. I told her Luka and I would go because Naomi and Kris couldn't come. She said that was fine and on Friday she would call when she was on campus to pick up our passports and the visa fee of 95 pounds. "Um. I'm not sure you can get a visa for me without me there. I can just go to London next weekend and get it myself." She said not to worry and that she can just do it to save time. I'm pretty sure it's an AWFUL/DOWNRIGHT STUPID idea to give someone else your passport/visa when you are in a foreign country. Also, no. I don't believe someone can procure a visa for someone else legally. I said okay and we hung up. Of course at this point I was extremely doubtful and only said okay because I needed to talk it over with Luka. Plus, I admit, I was reluctant to let an opportunity like this slip away. Luka and I parted ways because I had to go to rehearsal and not five minutes later, she called me again asking if I could find a girl friend to come instead of Luka. Alarm bells went off in my head. I asked why and she said because her boyfriend would be off doing his own thing and the rest of the group were girls. She thought they'd be more comfortable without a guy around. Okay. The only thing making me feel better about this had been Luka. I felt safer having a guy along with me just in case. This was incredibly shady. Especially since she and her group of friends were in their late twenties. Who feels uncomfortable with men around at that age? Not many. I spoke with Luka that night and we both decided it was a fantastic opportunity, but so incredibly shady that we just couldn't say yes. Going to a far away country in Asia and giving our passports and money to someone I don't know well, no one I know here has heard of, and doesn't have a Facebook (who doesn't have a Facebook?! Grandma CiCi has one!) is probably one of the stupidest things I could have done. I told her my dad froze my bank account and threatened to drag me back to America if I didn't go.

     At the end of the day, my intuition was telling me no the whole time. Always trust your intuition. When I was making my decision, I just thought to myself: I could take this opportunity, but that could risk not coming home again. I HAVE TO come home. I have too many people there I couldn't live without seeing again. 

     If you are reading this, you are the reason I didn't go to India. Jerk.

     All in all, if it sounds too good to be true, maybe it is. Check all the facts before you commit to something like this and ask yourself if it's worth the risk.

Now, after all that seriousness, here's a little something to lighten the mood.

Enjoy. >:)

Love you all and I'll be home in five months exactly. :)

Russell x