Articles by Grace Madigan

My time in Bengaluru is at its end. I could have never imagined how these ten weeks panned out the way they did. The fact that during this time frame I have ridden on the back of both a scooter and a motorcycle, played in a 63-year-old football tournament, and feel totally fine eating with my hands—although not as efficiently as others—is wild to me.  Even more wild to me are the things that I considered impossible or strange—like crossing the street without being hit or the fact that cows are frequently a traffic obstacle. But they are all things…

One of the things I had thought about before coming to Bengaluru was how I’d be seen as a Chinese American woman. The blogs I had read—mainly by white travelers—described the awkward staring that they experienced. Just a couple months before coming to India I visited a friend living abroad in Ireland. I stayed in a small sea-side town with her and her roommates who were all Irish. While her fair skin that I always teased her for and red hair made her blend in seamlessly, my black hair and tan skin stuck out like a sore thumb.  Being from…

Dirt covered cricket fields sprinkle Bengaluru. The sign of any football field—goal posts or otherwise are nary in sight. The lack of grass fields means footballers can get their fix by booking turf fields that have been planted in the midst of the busy city. Netting surrounds all sides of the field as cars, scooters, and autos zoom past the outdoor arena. The lights only went out twice during our field time and by the end of the two hours, I felt like I had found a bit of home amongst the craziness of India.  Since coming to the city…

I should have known better. After exchanging $70 I had in cash that I had received as a graduation gift less than a week ago, I handed over half of that to a man to help me get to my hotel from the airport. Unbeknownst to me, I had paid about four times as much as I should’ve for that car ride. But I was too distracted by the constant honking and what felt like at the time, one near-death traffic manoeuver right after another.  My plane dropped me in Bengaluru around midnight, Friday—I had started my journey from Seattle,…