for most of history, anonymous was a woman

she is so outfit inspo i want to be her and be with her

Firstly, bad pickup lines are literally my thing so thankyou.

so I can only really speak to south Asia but i hope there something in there for everyone. 

sliced fruits and tea while you study

takings rikshaws to class

bleached white uniforms and polished shoes

studying on the roof on a sunny day listening to the street noises

street food with friends

fountain pens and perfect handwriting

late nights studying without coffee

studying through repetition and reading

teachers who point with their middle finger

full bookshelves of textbooks and class readings full annotated

richly annotated books of the poems of Tagore

exchanging political ideas with friends over cigarettes

a big book that’s falling apart that you carry anyway

taking breaks from studying to watch old black and white movies by Satyajit Ray

protesting in university campuses

waking up late on a Sunday to the smell of food cooking after a long night of studying

spending afternoons buying second hand books

absorbed in reading on an old tram in Old Calcutta

Listening to Noor Jahan on your grandad’s radio from the 70′s

Reading Faiz Ahmed Faiz while sitting on a charpai that’s on the roof 

Drinking Chai in a white cotton shalwar kameez 

Secretly smoking at the Quaid’s Mazar

Attending a political rally or sit-in

Digging through your great-aunt’s storage to find a copy of the Pakistan Declaration in perfect condition.

reading Keat’s while balancing yourself on your brother’s motorcycle while he weaves through Karachi’s traffic, trying to get you to university on time.

talking politics in tiny khan market cafés

colonial era architecture that’s beautiful yet crumbling. classrooms with high ceilings that barely fit every student.

natraj pencils

‘borrowing’ notes from classmates, from seniors, from a friend you knew four years ago

chai and sutta from hole in the wall establishments next to metro stations. finding your meaning in life while sitting on an unravelling charpai.

crying on the metro. finding out your friend has been arrested on the metro. checking university entrances on the metro. wildly scrabbling through notes the morning before an exam on the metro.

Here’s a continuation to this post about Hispanic Dark Academia Book Recs because I have to produce the content I want to see, I guess, and if I don’t talk about Mexican literature who the hell will. With PDFs included in both languages that took me so long to find. 

The Houseguest by Amparo Dávila: Amparo Dávila was one of Mexico’s best writers of the 20th century, and won the Xavier Villaurrutia, one of the countries biggest and most important literature annual prizes. Her writing style can be compared to Shirley Jackson’s, whom I also love. I personally recommend reading The Houseguest/El huésped, which is one of my favorite stories ever and is a horror story. The version in Spanish can be found here. 

The Body Where I Was Born by Guadalupe Nettel: Tells the intimate story about a girl who was born with vision defect and how she navigates living in Latin America in the 70s. A very acclaimed novel about identity. 

Historia de Mariquita by Guadalupe Dueñas: I couldn’t find a translation of this one, but most people that follow this blog know or are studying Spanish, so here’s the link for the short story in Spanish. 

Hurricane Season or Temporada de Huracanes by Fernanda Melchor: Also considered one of the country’s best book from the last decade, that explores violence and sexism in México centered around a supernatural event from a female perspective. Here’s the PDF in Spanish. 

It sounds very cool.

Learning to enjoy your own company. Going abroad often makes you realise how you're the most important person in your life.

Taking the time to learn at least a few phrases from the languages of countries you visit, maybe taking intensive language courses while you're there.

Keeping a diary about the language and culture. You're bound to make some cultural mistakes, so keeping a diary of them will help you learn!

Buying a book as soon as you arrive in a new country, to work your way through and translate, helping you learn the language.

Writing letters to numerous penpals all over the world.

The satisfaction of seeing the stamps in your passport.

Keeping a map on your wall of the places you've visited.

Reading books on language and anthropology. Learning how to see the world through different lenses, and gaining a deeper understanding of cultures around the world.

Collecting copies of one book from around the world. For example, buying a copy of Dracula in the native language of every country you visit.

- leaving the theater after watching a movie

- looking up from reading a book and realizing where you are

- any place that’s open 24 hours (bonus: going to said place in the early hours and hearing both “good evening” and “good morning”)

- playgrounds at night

- arriving for an early morning flight and seeing a deserted airport with most of the shops closed

- dead malls with decor that hasn’t changed since the 90s

- motels of any kind

- stopping at a gas station at night in the middle of nowhere while on a road trip

- grocery stores in small towns

- places meant for children’s birthday parties (especially if you went there as a kid and are now older)

Perfume by Patrick Süskind

Set in mid 18th century France, a man who has an extraordinary sense of smell sets out to create the most beautiful, angelic, otherworldly scent. He resorts to killing to achieve this dream.

The Bartimäus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud

An over-ambitious young magician summons a demon. However, he makes a mistake, and the demon finds out his name.

The Charioteer by Mary Renault

This book broke my queer little heart. It's the 1940s, Britain is war stricken, and Laurie Odell (an injured corporal in hospital) falls in love with an orderly. Then an old mentor from his days at school appears, and draws him into a community of gay men. Laurie has to choose between the perfect friendship with Andrew and the pleasures offered by being openly gay in a community.

Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver