Stanford in Sanjauli

This morning, while waiting at the bus stop on my way to work, I noticed a cardinal-colored hooded sweatshirt out of the corner of my eye. At the angle he was standing in relation to me, all I could see were the letters "ORD." But that was enough.

I became stupid-excited. I ran up to this stranger, and as I expected, it was indeed the same Stanford hoodie that I have owned since high school and still wear with pride (oh how elitist I am). I practically yelled in Hindi, "मेरे पास यह स्वेटशर्ट है! मैं स्टन्फोर्ड गयी!!" ("I have this sweatshirt! I went to Stanford!" In retrospect, I'm fairly certain "sweatshirt" is not a word in Hindi, and I should've said "sweater.") His response? He spoke no words but shot me a look that whispered "please don't molest me."

Of course, I continued to molest him (not physically, only verbally, I promise):

Me: "Stanford? University? I went there!"

Victim: Stare pleading, "please get away from me."

Me: "Your sweatshirt! It says Stanford." Pointing at his chest: "See, STANFORD!"

Victim: Glance upwards, asking Vishnu or other Hindu god, "why won't this insane woman leave me alone?"

Me: "Stanford is a university, I attended that university, and I have the same sweatshirt you're wearing!"

Victim: Shifts his eyes back and forth, and then spins his head around, in a desperate search for someone, anyone, to rescue him from his attacker

Me, excitement subsiding: "FINE. I'll go."

Ok, I lied. My excitement still hasn't subsided. SOMEONE WAS WEARING MY FAVORITE STANFORD HOODIE, THE ICON OF MY UNDERGRADUATE EXPERIENCE, TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!111oneone.

(No, I do not know how Indians manage to get American university sweatshirts. I have seen Maryland, Florida, UMiami, Harvard, Ohio State, Nebraska, Brigham Young, etc. I assume these sweatshirts are donated by Americans to some organization or another, and then they end up being sold for super cheap in secondhand markets or on the street in India. How the sweatshirt travels from point A to point B is beyond my comprehension.)