Humor is Good, Subtext is Better

A continual point of contention, both in our home-stays and at the Institute, is how much independence female students should have. I can step back and look at this as an anthropologist and come to some kind of understanding of how and why women are treated as they are here. On my good days I can even summon some respect for it. But I do not agree with it. I do however, have to live it, in albeit limited fashion, every day. And that wears on me. It brings a deeper understanding of what it means to be a woman here, and a greater appreciation for how hard the struggle was, and still is, for generations of women in the U.S. It's also exhausting. So on a bad day I made a play for greater independence. Disputes were had. Concessions made. And in proper Indian fashion, sweets were brought to "smooth over" our differences. This particular sweet is called "caja."