did I really just bow to that man?

So today as I was walking through Patel Bros buying incense and looking for a dish without a god on it to use for burning it, I thought to myself...WOW. I also bought henna and we're having a mehndi party tonight at the apartment to decorate our hands and feet with hanna. It hits me every few days, really, that I am such a different person than I was a few months ago. I know I've only been here for 6 weeks, but with the way our schedule works it is very easy to just immerse ourselves in this new and strange culture. A few months ago I would've thought long and hard about putting henna tattoos all over my hands/feet. I would not have jumped at the opportunity to get my nose pierced by a nonchalant Indian woman. I wouldn't have realized the significance of Patel Bros in Jackson (Patel Bros was the beginning of Little India in Chicago) or the absurdity of the the temple in Ridgeland being associated with BAPS here. The prayer time I had with Sunita this morning would've terrified me, and I would've been surprised to find myself reading through Frog and Toad with a 17 year old Hindu girl. Bargaining with a woman over how many tickets a pencil costs at block party would have been unheard of. All of these things are a part of everyday life here. I accept most things without question. I don't mind awkward- it's normal. When there are a lot of Americans around sometimes I feel nervous. There's a Sheik boy in the room next door. He's never cut his hair. I thought he was a girl for a few days. I speak in the present tense as much as possible. I leave out articles in my speech. I say "yes?" or "ok?" or "you know (understand)?" at the end of most every sentence. I thoroughly enjoy finding that Mark and Michelle interpret dreams on the streets of Chicago during festivals and such as a ministry tool. I'm planning to get Michelle to teach me how. I have only a few days left to come to Little India. It breaks my heart. I will miss this place so much. It has impacted me in an unforgettable way and has left its unavoidable mark on my worldview. I am not who I was.