First Week
After being told at home to prepare myself for a "massive culture shock" I'm amazed at how quickly I've managed to settle in and how many similarities there are with home.
Calcutta doesn't smell horrendous, doesn't have cows roaming the streets, does have a metro system and the road that I'm living on is Cal's answer to Oxford St - full of shops and restaurants with a massive park at one end. The woman at my homestay seems very friendly and I get on well with Celia, who has been here for a month and who I share a room with. I don't remember being this busy in my life, but I'm having a lot of fun - I'm working at the entertainment section of the Telegraph which means that I've already been out to a brilliant play, two concerts and a scrummy north indian restaurant. Lizzie and Celia had already established a great group of gapper friends and as we hit the bars on the weekend, I was feeling very much at home - particularly since I lived in a pub!