::The Pharmacy Girl::

Coming to the close of the program, I'm trying to think how I could describe India...  How could I describe the people... I don't feel like you can do a people justice and try to describe the personality of millions in just four short months, but I can definitely give you a range of personalities that I've met since I've been here.  So I thought I would write up a few.

The Pharmacy Girl

She’s plump with a dimpled chin, olive-skinned, with large, dark eyes lit by the enthusiasm of her thoughts.  Every movement is animated with happiness, giddiness, or some kind of good-natured, exagerated teasing.  Her lime clothes do not disapoint the representation of her nature in vibrancy and color.  She appears neat, clean, and simple, with her black hair braided.

“Hey!  I have a questions for you!” she said, waving us over brashly.  “Do you have an American dollar!?  I want to see one!”  Her English rings perfectly like that of an educated person.

“I have one, but I don't know if I should take it out...” Sarah whispers, feeling a little awkward.

“I think she just wants to see it,” I said, not sensing anything malicious about the young woman. 

Sarah turns her back to the girl in the little pharmacy booth and pulls out the dollar bill for the young woman to see.

“I'll pay you for it!” she said, hardly even looking at it.  “How many ruppees?  How much?”

“How many ruppees is it worth?”

“Sixty,” I say.

“Sixty-five,” says Stefanie.

“Sixty-five,” says Sarah.

She shouts to her co-worker, (most probably her brother) to hurry up and to give Sarah her sixty-five ruppees.  Her brother, though clearly older, does not hesitate to obey or seem gruging to do so, and he counts out the exact sixty-five ruppees to give to Sarah.

“Thank you!” she says, when her deal is done, though in a way that shows she is not surprised she has gotten what she wants.  “Want to see my dog!?” she holds up a fluffy little pomeranian puppy.

“Oooooh, cuuuuute!” Stefanie exclaims.

“You can’t have him!” she says, joking, but the joke falls because it is a tone that should not be used with acquaintances but with close friends.

“Oh, ok,” Stef says.

“You will come here again tomorrow?”  From other people this might be irritating, but from her the behavior is only natural.

“Probably next week,” I say.

“No, you must come tomorrow!  You have the dvd today so you will have to come tomorrow.”

“Oh, that's right.  We have to turn it in tomorrow,” I say, surprised that she had thought of this.

“You'll say 'hi' to me tomorrow then,” she says, more as a demand than a question.  “Don't forget.”

“Yeah, we won't forget,” Stefanie assures her.

“Wow!  She is right out of the movies!” I say, as we’re walking away.  “Seriously!  That is a movie character!  I always wondered if there were girls that were actually like that here!”

I like how one of the main characters describes this vivid, outgoing personality.  At one point he says, “You are such a cartoon, you know that?”  (movie: Jab We Met).