In this Field Note, I interview Omesh (my host nephew) about his life in India. Omesh is the best, and we are now good friends. He turned 15 since I arrived here in August. He is very funny and has lots of big ideas.
Omesh says: "For breakfast, I eat bread or daniya. For lunch, we eat rice or daal, and for dinner we eat leftovers or things like vegetables and chapati."
Daniya is a kind of porridge that can be sweet or salty. Daal is the Hindi word for "lentils." Chapati is a flat bread.
Omesh: "It's big and it's beatiful. It's a good shelter that makes me feel comfortable."
Omesh: "First thing is studying. [My other chores are] Throwing the waste out, filling the water bottles, [and] washing the dishes that I eat on. Sometimes I cook food, maybe once a month."
The household garbage has to be brought to the curb every day. That's what Omesh means when he talks about "throwing the waste out." When he talks about "filling the water bottles," he means from a larger tank of filtered water. In India, we can't drink water from the tap.
