You can't stop the beat

Due to my lack of activities lately, I haven't posted but things have picked up recently. My new host familyis very welcoming and eager to show me things. My host granddad (Dada) has even made a list! Although my host sister is usually doing her studies or working with the student council, my host mom is usually ready to take me out and we've gone to see some movies. Because Austin and I had switched residences, a few weeks back in January we had to go to the Foreigners' Regional Registration Office (the lovely FRRO) again, bunking school since they're only open on weekdays. Despite this perk though, the trip was exhausting because, due to it being peak time to come to India, it was positively packed inside and we had no clue what we were supposed to do. Eventually we figured it out (being persistant is one of the traits that really works in India) and were able to get it done in about an hour or so.

Afterward, Austin and I stopped to eat some yummy street sandwichs and then called my driver to take us to Inox theater to catch a movie. Theaters in India can be kind of interesting as sometimes, the ticket booths are on the ground floor and you have to take escalators to the top of the mall where the screens are. While you don't have to worry about your seat being taken, it is annoying to have to go so far, especially when you're in a hurry. But as I mentioned, Indians actually have numbered rows and give you actual places to sit so that's fine. We decided to see a hindi movie since we're both learning the language and decided to see this movie called Chance pe Dance. While buying the tickets, the ticket man had said," You want two tickets for Chance Pe Dance." And we were like," Yeah we do." So he said," Yes hindi movie, no subtitles." Again we said "Yes." I couldn't help but laugh a little.

Since there was tons of time to kill before the movie, we grabbed a bite to eat (falafels) at this food court called Spoon where you put money on cards and then go get your food. Afterward, we decided to walk around outside for a bit and found this really big square and garden which we could not find a reason why it was there. I found out later that that's where the state legistator sits which is why there are all these important looking statues around and security guards at the gates. Plus, I guess the Indian emblem was a dead give away. It was soon time to head back though, so we wound back to the theater and took our seats. Throughout the movie, we got really excited whenever we actually understood fully what the actors had said and scoffed at the use of fans but all in good fun. At the end, we took a cab back to my flat and Austin left for Bandra.

For one entire week, my host sister had to go to the Netherlands for an MUN conference, so I spent time with my host mom and Dada. One weekend, as a part of his list, my Dada took me to the dhobighatt, which means "washerman's area". An old system of hand washing laundry, it is still used by people who send their clothing weekly, and that Sunday, we saw loads of laundry set out to dry. We took a cab to the Mahalaxmi station which is literally right by dhobighatt, and stood above to take pictures of the area. Dada asked me if I wanted to go down so I said," Sure why not?" So we went down the stairs and approached the entrance but sadly couldn't why around inside. Kyun? Kyunki some guy stopped us at the gate saying we had to pay rs. 100 for each of us for a guided tour. Now we're all knowledgable about people who are trying to rip you off so my Dada said he wouldn't pay if he didn't give a receipt. So then the man went on and on about how it's written on the board, the government gave them this right as it was where they worked and so forth, but did not state whether they would give a receipt.

While we were down there, another firung had followed us and wished to walked around and they tried to play the same trick on him. But he also said he wouldn't pay and such. Finally, I told Dada that just seeing that much of the dhobighatt was enough and we should leave. He agreed and we walked back, took a few pictures from the top and then decided to go home by train. It was only 2 stops to the nearest station, Grant Road, so we quickly got on one and took a taxi the rest of the way back to the flat.

The night before, one of my school friends, Divya, had invited me to her old school's fair. It was quite the event. Since I had spent the day swimming and out with my host mom, I was only in a t-shirt and jeans ad when I arrved found myself quite a bit under-dressed. There were people everywhere dressed in nice clothing so I felt a bit too casual. Also it was pretty crowded. I'm not claustrophobic or anything but being in India has taught me to be wary of crowds and it only adds to the fact how much litter there is on the ground. But it was fun to meet her friends and talk to her.

The next weekend, after my host sister had gotten back from the Derby, my Dada took me to see the Indian Derby at Mahalaxmi race course. I've never been to one before, let alone watch one on TV but I had a good time cheering the horses on. It was one of those glamour events, where socialites and high class business people come to watch, along with regular citizens, and betting was quite common. At one point, my Dada and I were down on the lawn when some very beautiful girls and another man came to stand next to us, talking about their bets. Before we knew it, there were several photographers around them and they even ended up taking our picture! But, considering how many people were there, I shrugged it off because the chance of my picture getting in the newspaper was very little. We watched the rest of the races with anticipation and the last one was absolutely gorgeous. The horses were amazingly graceful and watching them was a treat. But the story doesn't end there. The next day after returning from school, I picked up the newspaper like normal and saw my face! It wasn't in the middle of the picture but it was very noticable (I'm putting it up here so you can see). I was so surprised and happy.

Soon it was time to go back to Matheran for our IAYP trip which was even more fun than the first time we went. IAYP is an adventure camp so we did a lot of hiking and learning "adventure" skills. I even got to face my fear of rock climbing by going up a 2-3 meter rock face! Well I just have a fear of falling from heights so it was awesome to face it and come out on top, literally. We had to rapell down which was just as scary but I got through it. We had to sleep in tents one night and every morning we had to get up early to jog and do stretches. It turned out to be a pretty okay weekend in all, we got to hang out with our friends while learning tiny bit of things.

As anyone in the IB knows, there's this amazing thing known as CAS which makes you go a little crazy at times. CAS stands for Creativity, Action, and Service and we actively participate in these things during the week. So to raise money for the charities we volunteer for, we hold a CAS Fete which is planned weeks in advance and that we have to plan ourselves since we're the first year IB students. I helped with making bookmarks and the stall for my NGO, Habitat for Humanity but during the fete I ended up passing out flyers for the village project. In order to raise awareness, Austin, me and some other students dressed up in traditional Indian clothing and preformed a skit 4 times throughout the day. It was so much fun and I loved running around in the clothes. As you already know, during Annual Day, I got a picture with Shah Rukh Khan and this time I also got a picture with another star, Farhan Akhtar. He has a new movie coming out so I told him that we were looking forward to seeing it and that we hoped to understand it despite probably not being able to understand it all.

The weekend after that, the French exchange students came to our school. I'll explain: DAIS has it's own exchange programs for its students, one to France and one to Mauritius for one week each, with students going and coming from India. So last week, the French students came to Mumbai. That Saturday we had parent teacher conferences and afterward we took the Frenchies to Pheonix Mills for lunch and to look around the mall. They were going to take them to Colaba Causeway but I decided to leave and meet up with Sanjana, Austin, and Utsav in Bandra because Sanjana was also hosting a French student. We took the girl, Rosie, street shopping and because there was a party that night, we decided to go there too. The previous weekend there had been a party at the same p-lace so we knew the way. I felt bad though because deciding to go to this party meant that I wouldn't be home for my Dada's 75th birthday but my host mom said it was fine and I wished him in the morning. The party turned out okay but ended early because the host didn't like the music the DJ was playing.

I was really excited though because that Monday was Holi, one of the coolest Hindu festivals. [EDIT] Sunday was the day to observe the religious aspect of it while Monday was for the fun. So while my host sister spent most of Sunday studying, that night my host mom, sister, and I went to a temple for the traditional prayers. There we went to pray and recieve blessings from the gods before walking around the burning pyre. Basically, everyone goes to the temple to make offering to the gods into a huge burning fire after a pooja has been preformed. The offerings include water, fire, and surprisingly coconuts. After walking around in a clockwise motion, we ate some pakoras and sandwiches at a nearby theatre then went home by taxi. We didn't have school and after dropping my host sister at her friend's house, I picked up Austin and we went to Sanjana's building. There, we went color shopping and water gun/pichkari shopping before assembling in the back of her building with the rest of our friends and Sanj's brother for an insane Holi party. Basically Holi is the celebration of the end of winter and a return to color so Sanj's parents filled up buckets of color water and trays of colored powder (organic because the type on the road can be toxic and stay in your hair for weeks afterward) (this didn't happen to me because my host mom insisted we oil EVERY pat of our bodies before leaving the house). We all had our own water guns and pichkaris to squirt water at each other and t was full out war of color. After a while we made a "hot seat" in which every person had to sit and we would all pour water on them and throw powder at their face. We were so gross and disgusting at the end that we had to eat lunch out in the hot sun.

We were still hungry after devouring a pot of lamb and egg biryani so we decided to take a trip to Carter road for food. If you happen to come to India for the first time during holi (or any holiday that involves big celebrations during the day for that matter), my advice is to make plans for your own little party and not go out walking. Austin and I are used to it by now but we kind of forgot to inform Rosie of everything. While we remained a happy party, we were weary of all large group of people, especially men, who could potentially be holding more arsenal in their pockets. We decided it was a good idea to spend time in the deserted kids' playground, which included a teeter-totter, swings, and slides. We decided eventually to go just as some group of boys started to come up behind us. Walking further down, we were semi-ambushed by them and I swiftly had to pull Rosie away, apologizing later for being really abrupt in my actions.

We bought doughnuts and went back to sanj's house, again having a run-in with a group of guys. When we got back, there was a mad-spree of showering to get rid of all the colors and oil and I had to borrow Sanj's mom's clothing since I hadn't brought any clothes to change into.

Everyone was planning to go out afterward for more food but I had to leave because my host sister was coming to pick me up. I said goodbye and hopped into the car, back to town.

This past weekend was myt Geography class trip to Rajasthan but I'll save that for another post.

New Year, New Place, New Blog post...

So, first of all, I'm sorry I'm such a horrible blogger but honestly, so much has happened since I last wrote that I barely had time to sit down and type out my thoughts for you guys. And you would not believe what I've been through! One thing is for sure about being on an exchange, it's a crazy adventure. Well, at least that's been my experience.

DAIMUN

So, as I mentioned, I've never taken part of a model UN conference before. In fact, I've never even particiapted in Model UN. In the end though, I'm not too sad that it ended up happening. With me in the Human Rights Commission was my fellow exchange student Austin and we got to meet some new people while doing our best to represent our countries views. The fun thing about MUN is that you get to represent views so differently from your own and try to back them up with evidence. In this case, kind of being a bad guy by American standards by supporting censory laws on journalists. We also got to have a few "Movements for entertainment" which was quite fun as we got to watch the Chair being made fun of. Plus, the delegate of Greece had the most amazing analogies I have ever heard, comparing resolutions to creme brulee and lifesavers.

I can't say I made a significant contribution to the committee at all, mainly trying to figure out what I wanted to say as well as trying to remain healthy and awake (sorry you guys). But I had fun with my fellow delegates, no matter how annoying and funny some were. Although, really that's life so I shouldn't complain. Plus, with several of my friends as delegates, chairs, and press, I got to see several parts of the conference. It was a busy weekend, going to the conference in the day and attending to various friends' places at night. That last day I got food poisoning from somewhere and ended up having a not-too-pleasant festivity in the bathroom, if you catch my drift (sorry if you're the sensitive type). But despite that, I'm really glad that I got to have fun with my friends.

Christmas in Gujarat

Because my host family, the Shahs, had planned out their own travel since I had planned to go to Gujarat to see my friend, they wouldn't be back until the 1st of January. 5 days after I would get back. So I had to pack up all of my stuff while packing to go to Baroda, which was a real pain. I honestly could not believe how much stuff I had bought in the past 5 months. In my big red suitcase, all of my Indian clothes made a solid bottom layer, and as my host mom commented, it took up a lot of space. Probably going to be sending some stuff back premature soon. Not to mention, I had bought Christmas presents for my family back home which I needed to send before I left. This included a very beautiful pink rose sari for my mom that I was very proud of. So, in one mad rush, I got the blouse back from the tailor, got my teeth cleaned, and rushed down to send a package to the US. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough money to send everything so I only sent the sari (sorry papi and sis!).

I eventually got everything packed up and the next morning I took a plane to Baroda (Why a plane? Because a) I have never taken the overnight train so would have no idea what to do and b) since the US government is funding me, they want to make sure I don't get killed). Reaching Baroda, my friend Aru and her dad met me at the airport and delivered some surprising news: we weren't staying in Baroda but instead taking an overnight bus to Bhuj, in northern Gujarat, which is known as the Kutch region. Basically, I was really shocked but not put out. I decided that this was an excellent time to pick up on what I was missing out on living in Mumbai: a true dash of Indian culture. I'm not saying that I don't get culture here but there's a big difference in living in the big city and going to a small town.

After dropping my luggage off at their apartment, we went to pick up some snacks and then headed over to her gandmother's flat to have lunch and I met some of her other relatives. After that, she took me to see some of her really good friends, visiting two different houses. If there's one thing that I really took away from Baroda was that it was clean. It wasn't as loud or muggy or smelly as Mumbai at all and... I really liked it. I don't know how it would've been living there, but I know that I got a nice impression of it. As soon as we got back, it was time to make sure we had everything packed and then we left to catch ricks to the bus stop. The bus itself was an experience. There are three options: You can have a seat, a single bed, or a double bed and if you take the bed you then either get one on the bottom or top. Ours were on top and they turned out to be surprising more comfortable than I thought and pretty clean too (if you're a clean freak, don't go to India. It's best not trying to wonder who has been where you're sitting right now). And in all, the ride wasn't that bad, not too bumpy and our conversations ranged into the nonsensical types you usually get into while travelling.

At about 11, we stopped at a roadside restaurant for a quick bite before continuing on. I had to go to the bathroom and took the brave walk to the outhouse. I'm saying brave because, you have to be really sure you can handle what lies in an Indian public toliet. Okay, okay don't get scared now but I'm just saying the truth because I did it myself. First off, there's the smell. I got the first wiff about 10 feet away from the door. When I got in, I saw that I had two options: open squat toliets on one side and out-of-shape western toliets on the other. I swear I will never complain about truck stops again. Getting into the stall, I found that the door didn't close all the way and there was no toliet seat so I would have to bear with it. There wasn't a hose, on a tap so I used that both for the dirty deed and to wash my hands afterward (you need more information, just let me know). There was an air of triumph as I exited the bathhouse, a sort of "Yes, I could do it", like this was some right of passage that I needed to take in order to prove myself. I guess, to me, it was. I had been worrying for a while what would happen if I did have to confront this situation so it was nice to do it and get it over with. Not that I suggest it for everyone but now I can say that I have lived through it.

The food at the dhabba was fine and despite my weak stomach from the previous day, everything went down okay. I didn't eat any of the raw stuff and only took what was hot (my mantra for all outside food anyway) and after finishing, it was straight back on the bus and onto Bhuj. We woke up at the last stop, not ours but close enough to take a rick to the NGO where we would be staying. It was chilly at 6 in the morning but when we got to the NGO we immediately fell asleep under felt blankets. We woke up around 10 or 11 and as I went to go have breakfast, I saw just how pretty the grounds were. Desert flowers among concrete, wood, and metal building, there's actually no way to really describe it. The room's were simple and it was all very relaxing. Since it was Christmas Day, they took me to a near-by catholic church in order to pray or at least get some feeling that it was a holiday. Indian churches are a bit different then those in America and Europe, including the fact that they have a prayer bell you can hit while going in and that you take your shoes off before going inside. Although I prefer to keep my religion as something personal, I would like to say that it was nice just going to the church despite that Santa Claus didn't come this year.

Afterwards, we went to go to some craft makers, where you can see traditional crafts like fabrics and bells being made. Everything was so gorgeously made and all by hand, it was hard to believe. At one part, we stopped at one of the traditional homes where a older mother and her daughter were and they were selling their own crafts, all of which were bright with various tiny mirrors patterned. When we had seen enough, we went back to the NGO for lunch where Aru fell asleep. Aru's mom asked if I wished to see an old Indian palace and I said yes so she, another lady and her daughter, and I went. It wasn't just this palace though but also a fort that the British had built when they gained power. Nor was the palace in the best condition due to an earthquake which had occured several years ago. Despite this, what was left was beautiful. The Aina Mahel, the indian palace, had been turned into a museum so that you could see all of the artifacts, from paintings to beds to jewelry. The walls were covered in old mirrors and you could see remanents of old designs on the walls. From there, we went to look into the British fort which was just as grand although having a few unfortunate pieces of rotting taxidermy. Inside was a grand ballroom open as well as a dining room and drawing room. The ballroom was amazing at two storeys tall with beautiful carvings into the walls. It would definitely need some restoration, but if anyone made it into a hotel, I'm sure it would be quite the draw. Or even just as a cultural site.

The next day, we took an early morning trip to see the sunrise at a famous Gujarati temple which was the birth place of a particular set of hindus who follow the teachings of a revered guru Swami Narayan. It was a huge temple and in the early morning light, everything felt fresh and new. After walking around and seeing a slightly scary talking doll re-enactment of his life and re-birth, we ate breakfast at the worker's quarters before setting back out. That afternoon we went to the edge of the border before the salt desert and went up into the black hills and overlooked Gujarat and into Pakistan. It was gorgeous up there and we visited the Hanuman temple to pay our respects (apparently, everyday they feed the jackles up there at sunset because they helped Hanuman at some point). My most best memory though was of my encounter with a special cow. As many of my friends here kow and my family back home, I love seeing cows on the road and hate it when I see that they're chewing on some plastic bag. But in this case, it was only the former and he (or she) was standing beside the wall which separated us from it. I don't remember why but we all got very excited and ran over to pet the cow. At first, it was being unresponsive and tried to avoid our hands but after we locked our eyes for a few seconds, the cow finally let me pet him. Least to say, I miss the cow :]

So after we left, we went down to the Indian bridge, separating India from "no man's land" aka the beginning of the border. It was here that the salt desert started and late afternoon sun shone brilliantly down upon the vast whiteness. I had another funny encounter while taking pictures of the stray white dogs near the gate. The driver looked over and commented on it, saying the dog was Karisma Kapoor (a famous Bollywood actress). I just laughed and nodded. We stopped on the way back to catch the sunset at a traditional gujarati themed hotel in which you stayed in traditional homes. I got to buy a small doll and hanging mirror mobile. When we got back, we quickly made sure all of our bags were packed and went to eat dinner at Aru's parents' friend's home, an NGO couple who had a very open, artistic home. We had a pleasant time and then we settled back in the car for one last trip to the bus stop.

The ride back was pretty much the same as going, bumpy and a bit cramped but alright in the end. Getting back into Baroda, we got back to Aru's place and I re-packed what I had taken out and prepared to catch my plane, which turned out to be late anyways. Getting back to Mumbai was a dream, I hardly felt like I was there but also that I had come back at all. It was great seeing rural India and it is hard to compare Mumbai to anything I saw there. But it's still India all right.

New Year

I spent the next few days lounging around the flat of an AFS volunteer and her daughter, trying to get in as much relaxing time as possible, despite how weird it felt to be between homes. It was New Year's Eve that I was waiting for though, a chance to get out and party with my friends. Despite an invitation to another party, my plans were already set with my friend Sajana, Austin the other exchange student, and her boyfriend. I took a rick to Bandra and changed at her house, before going to her boyfriend's place, where Austin was. Because of a mix up with reservations, we had to re-work our plans and the new place we intended to go had a dress code- white, which none of us were wearing. This lead to a mad rush to find white shirts and, in Austin's case, one that fitted. Finally all 6 of us (2 of her bf's friends joined) were ready and we set off.

We started with dinner in Bandra and proceeded to get into where our reservations were. Because it was New Years, there were a lot of drunk people around and least to say, we didn't have the most mentally smooth time. Now don't get too freaked out, I'll explain. You see, as we were walking down the street back to our car, we had passed a guy who was pretty sloshed by the looks of it and giving us the eye. By now though, we're pretty used to it so we just kept on walking but soon he started walking behind us so we all grabbed each other's hands and walked a bit quicker, but not quick enough because at some point, he touched Austin and it became pretty clear: he was gay. Now I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just that... well a drunk, gay man onNew Years following you? Yeah, pretty creepy. Thankfully, we got far enough away and found our car. But driving towards our final destination, we passed by the same area again and he was still there. I had to feel bad for the guy though, it can't be easy being so out of it like that where everyone is staring you down because you're so obviously drunk and gay. I hope he got safely home in the end.

Our reservation turned out to not have been written down and what could we do really but find a party to crash. It turned out that we did know one person and proceeded to trick them into inviting us over, which went down pretty effortlessly. Despite the fact that we had to spend the countdown in our car (pretty sucky right? Does this mean the rest of the year I will be stuck in one too?), we got to the party and spent the next 30 minutes dancing like mad. It was time to go though, so we said our goodbyes to the host and hopped back into the car. I stayed over at Sanjana's and Austin got a ride back so we were all safe. The next morning I ate dinner with Sanj and her family before taking a rick around 12 to go back to Powai. I spent the rest of my time doing a final check on luggage and soon enough, my new host mom had pressed the doorbell. We said hi, the AFS volunteer thanked her for hosting me and we loaded my insane amount of luggage into the tiny car. My last host mom had called me earlier that day to see how I was, wish me a happy new year and deliver a surprise: a package had come for me. So I asked my new host mom, Rupal aunty, if we could stop by there so that I could pick it up. She said yes so while I was visiting my old host family, she met up with her old college friend.

It was nice seeing them after so much time and to be able to say a proper goodbye. We talked about our trips and new years, and they gave me some leftover cake from the night before. The package turned out to be from Austin's parents for the holidays (curse you Austin! Making me have to send a thank you card to your parents and getting mine to send you one as well!). Our 10 minutes were over soon though and I said goodbye one last time and was off to South Mumbai.

Matheran

The last few weeks have been good, settling in, seeing some of my new neighborhood, with one exception- school, or more specifically- IOP. Individual Oral Presentations are 15 minute presentations on book read in school and required out of all the English batches. To give them, the school organized a trip to Matheran, a hill station in mainland Maharashtra. I was stressed the week before the trip as I had just been moving, now lived in a new location, and hadn't done any work on my IOP during break. So it was a mad rush to finish everything in time (which I did) and the trip didn't turn out to be so bad after all. While doing our IOPs, we were also checking out the village we were adopting for our CAS hours to help improve its' infrastructure, school, and impowerment.

The weekend was a lot of fun though. The school had bought off an old hotel so we were all in these dorm like room settings. Everyone was running around, hanging out with each other, and eating together. I got to talk to a lot of people that I had barely talked to before and gotten closer with others. The first night a lot of kids were working on their IOPs but the second was spent doing much more fun things. We spent ours watching The Hangover and New Moon (much to the boys' chagrin). The Hangover was just as funny as the first time and New Moon was much worse than expected but it was all in good fun. I almost didn't get to see the village because my IOP was planned to be at 1200 pm on the last day- when everyone would be going. But I spoke to my teachers, did my IOP at the last minute, and in good time, made it down to the village with another teacher and classmate. Because the village was in the valley, it was a steep walk down on a winding path that was at times rock and others gravelly dirt. But it was worth it to see the village, rural India in full force complete with dish TVs and worn clothing. Yes, it was very surprising to see the dish satellites on their roofs. But it was also interesting to find that out of the 3 months they work in a year, they only get rs. 1500 a month. That's a little less than the stipend I'm given monthly on my scholarship. And they have only 2 wells with water coming from a fresh water spring. But the well water gets polluted from various outside sources, making it unsafe. Before we left, we handed out chocolates and crackers to the little kids which was really fun and then we made the horrifying climb back up the hill.

Makar Sankranti

Or the kite flying festival, for those of us unaware with Indian culture. If you've read The Kite Runner, you probably know have an idea what I'm talking about. Makar Sankranti is a festival celebrating the end of winter and a return to work. As my host aunt described it, Makar Sankrant symbolizes the attitude you should have towards works: you should keep your eyes securely on your kite; if you turn to talk to the person next to you, someone will cut yours. My host mom took Austin and I to my host aunt's (masi's) house for kite flying because they have a private terrace that you can fly kites from. My host cousin helped us out, first getting the kite up in the air and then giving it to us to try our hand at. I was pretty good although I didn't cut anyone else's kite. Austin wasn't too lucky though and instead decided to become the kite "doctor" instead of flying them. I had a lot of fun though and it was nice getting to know my new family (I have two cousins- one boy and one girl, both around my age. The boy taught me to fly kites and the girl I had met earlier when we went to see Avatar in 3D).

Earlier today, I finally got to go play tennis again at the club my host family is members at. I thought I would suck horribly but my fore-hand was still good, only my back hand and serve suffered. Hopefully I'll be able to play more now and get back into the game so that I'm in shape when I get back to US :]

Second Wedding and Killer Exams

In the last post I did about Indian weddings, it was true when I said I hadn't attended one because I never got to see the ceremony. Last Sunday, my host parents took me to see one as my host father's cousin's daughter was getting married. I put up the pictures of the ceremony above so that you can have a small taste of what it was like. It started with the mother of the bride preforming a prayer or pooja for the husband to be and the bride welcoming the groom by putting a wreath around his neck.
After about thirty minutes, the groom went to the stage, having a big entrance as he had to go under some dancing peoples arms to get there and another pooja was preformed with the mother. Because the bride's brother couldn't make it for the wedding, they had a constant feed of the ceremony going back to the US for him to watch. Then the bride came in on a palaquin, which is one of the platforms that 4 men have to hold up. While she ascends the stage, the priests and one of the friends held a cloth in front of the groom's face to shield it from the bride. When she sat down, they dropped it and the rest of the ceremony begun. The bride and groom had to put wreaths once again, this time on both of their necks, and members of the family came up for give blessings. Auspicious presents were given to the bride and groom, like a sari for the bride and an expensive watch for the groom.
The final ritual is the sacred fire. The bride and groom usually have some piece of cloth or they hold hands and go around the fire seven times, each time presenting another promise. While they are going around, friends and family throw handfuls of flowers and petals on them. After this has finished and the priest has given the final words, they are married.
It was all very beautiful and there were so many colors. Indians dress up in their brightest and most beautiful clothes for weddings and there was no holding back here. Despite how long it was, I really liked it. There is nothing that compares with an Indian wedding and the only way to get the whole experience is to see it in person. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend going!
On to my second topic, it can be stated plain and simple: Exams suck. Especially in another country. As I mentioned before, I am trying as best as I can to do well in school since everything is in English anyways. But it's my own fault at times for forgetting my study habits after being so overwhelmed with everything here. So with the closeness of exams, I tried, really tried to study hard. But I'm a horrible procrastinator and something else cropped up that didn't help.
On the day before exams were supposed to start, one of the 9th graders who attended my school died in a car accident on the sealink. This caused significant disruption among the entire school, especially those teachers who taught him and the classmates who knew him. We got the next day off to respect his death but I also think it was because it event would still be too fresh in everyone's eyes to concentrate on the exams. The school postponed the exams to this week and on Thursday there was a special prayer ceremony for the boy.
Personally, I didn't know him but it is still something that affects everyone. His friends and classmates set up a petition for better surveillance of the area as well as the use of seatbelts in the backseats. This may surprise you but for two years, seatbelts aren't required by those riding in the back seat, which unnerves me quite a bit at times, considering the traffic and driving. It is also to say that the drivers of both vehicles were unharmed by the absent while this classmate and the one riding in the back of the taxi were killed.
In any case, at this point I have completed 4 of my 5 exams and thank goodness the last one is Hindi. I swear, I have never felt so dumb in my life. Although the horror of DAIMUN is coming up (I say horror because I have no idea what to expect), I can't wait until my trip to Baroda/Vadodara in a week! If you didn't know, I'm participating in my school's Model UN conference as Kazakhstan in the Human Rights Commission. Austin and I are both very scared but hopefully, it will turn out okay. Hopefully. :/
I'll update soon!
(the pun created in the title was unintentional. I just noticed it...)

Thanksgiving, 26/11, and Mid-stay Orientation update

So the last week has flown by and quite a few things have happened. For one, I had my mid-stay orientation in which the American YES girls staying in Delhi came down for the week-end. Least to say we had a blast. Because of our limited talking, we all took the opportunity to catch up and share our experiences. I actually ended up really enjoying it which I wasn't expecting since the last time I had an orientation, I felt like they were just repeating the same things over again (sorry AFS, just being honest). Anyways, we showed them a little bit of Mumbai, watching the gateway through the bus windows, driving down Marine Drive, going to Juhu beach... Almost the works. Plus I got to do a little bargaining with Sarah in order to buy a bag, which is something I haven't done yet. Shameful, right? But I hope I get more opportunities soon. It's a valuable asset to have.
Now, though, I am missing the rest of Team India dearly. Austin just isn't enough anymore... ahahaha just kidding. I really do miss everyone though. Especially Aru, who is one of the volunteers and is on the board of AFS India. How cool is that? She gets to make suggestions to improve our experience and such, plus she's only 19! And we get along so well ;] Actually Aru was there during my D.C. orientation so we've already gotten to know each other. I think this is another perk that I've been given. Since the YES program is only a few years old, a lot of the alumni are younger and excited to encourage other students. When I go back to U.S. I hope also to take up such a responsibility. Well I don't know about Aru's position, but definitely, working as a volunteer. Along with her were Mayank and Dushyant, both of whom I've known for a while and are also younger college volunteers and two older employees of AFS. It was sad saying good-bye but we'll all see each other again soon.

Thanksgiving in India was slightly more interesting and not just because I had to figure out what to make for my host family. First, I'll backtrack though. On the Wednesday before the holiday, Austin and I were invited for a celebration at the American Consulate here which we agreed to go to. We got there at the end, since we had school to escape from, but there were still turkey sandwiches and pumpkin cupcakes to eat. We got to talk to some of the employees and afterward set out for doughnuts and coffee. I hadn't really been to see much of his side of town so that was nice since I'll be moving there soon. Austin is moving to Bandra, one of my favourite places in Mumbai. But anyways, we had fun, just trotting around and talking.
On Thursday we had a school assembly and it wasn't at all about being thankful. It was instead in remembrance of the 26/11 terrorist attacks that took place in Mumbai a year ago and affected the entire city.The assembly consisted of some song performances, a poem reading, and a translation of a passage of the Q'uran. It put me into an interesting mood, one of both sadness and thankfulness. After getting back from school, I took the opportunity to write out my thoughts on Facebook. This was my note:

Reflection
I don't think many people will read this but that's okay because in the end, this is really for me. You could probably look at this and say I don't know anything. It would be accurate because according to TOK, none of us really do. But to me this is something I am sure of and I feel the need to put it out there, even if you will never absorb it.

I remember 9/11. I remember sitting in front of the TV while getting ready for school, not knowing why two buildings were crumbling or why the newspeople were so shocked. I remember rubbing one girl's back because she was crying and hoping her brother in New York was okay despite the fact that I didn't like her. And I remember what followed. The countless TV shows of psychics who predicted it and the documentaries on those who lived through it. The girl who said she was now scared everytime she heard a plane overhead. I don't think I'll ever forget it.

Around this time last year, I was preparing my application to go abroad and India was my top choice. When I saw the attacks on the news, I was stuck in place. The next few days were spent religiously following the news for what was going on. My parents said not to worry and that it probably wouldn't affect me going abroad. But I wasn't worried about that. I was worried about the people. I've never heard a gunshot before and I know even less about hiding in a corner a few meters from a door where someone could kill you. The fact that it took place so far away made it even less realistic in my mind. But I knew it was happening. I know it happened.

So maybe you feel more because you were there and they killed your people in your city. You can play a blame game, we all have, and recite the events over and over in your mind until it becomes a distorted fantasy of violence and terrorism that consumes you with hate for those people. I wouldn't put it against you. 365 days isn't that long when you think about it. But just because your innocence has been broken doesn't mean you should let your impression of all of them change. I know it's the most cliche thing to say but honestly, haven't you changed? You work hard on improving relations but to how much are you working to understand. Your ignorance can be laughed at with the small mistakes you make in every day but when it comes down to it, how much do you decide based on what you haven't experienced? You have met me. Has your perception changed? You might call me a weird American, but do you know Americans? Sometimes I question myself too, do I know America, can I represent America? Well I am myself, that is as close as I can get to representing my country.

You can decide for yourself, you have that ability granted to you. I will remember those who died in such unfortunate circumstances and will be upset that I can't do much to ease anyone's suffering. However shallow it might seem, I know the feeling of loss closely, it is universal and connecting. I will not blame anyone for what has happened. It's already over and done with and the focus should go to the aftermath and toward securing ourselves for the present and future. And since it's the American holiday of Thanksgiving, I would like to give thanks to all of my family, both natural and host, as well as my friends for everything that they do. Also for the government for working hard and for those in my community. Thank you. We all go through so much and I'm thankful we're all still together.
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An interesting conversation followed between myself and a classmate, but for confidentiality purposes I won't put it up. The note was basically to explain my own feeling on the results of terrorism attacks in no way related to it being because of religion, etc. Just loss and looking to an end to the blinding rage that stops our reasoning. Of course, that's a bit of a utopian ideal but I was thinking of my own classmates' predisposition to those types of feelings ( XD sorry for being wordy). Since I am an exchange student, offering my own views might be interesting to them so I wrote. And even then, the topic had been on my mind for a while, so I wanted to put it down before it went away forever.
In other updates, I saw an elephant on the road today. It kind of made me happy.
And a cow too. He was at the intersection, waiting to cross the street.

My Almost First Indian Wedding

Ever since I first saw an Indian wedding in a movie, I've always want to see one in person. SO I was really excited when I was told that a close friend of my host sister's would be getting married this year. I went to her engagement earlier during my stay and in these past few days the wedding happened. Well not just the wedding, as anyone who knows the Indian traditions can tell you. Many ceremonies and gatherings happened starting 5 days before the wedding and I got to even participate in one.
Each Indian family and group has it's own traditions and one that is common is what is called Sangeet (which means music). Basically, it is a reaffirmation that the couple is engaged by an exchanging of rings and they eat cake. There is also a pooja between the groom and the bride's brother. Afterward, there is a performance by the close friends and relatives (and sometimes the bride and groom). I was asked if I wanted to participate and so I said yes, doing 2 dances. Okay I'll back up and explain. The bride and groom employed a choreographer to make a compilation of dances set to Bollywood songs to be performed. There were about 14 or so songs and I learnt the steps to 2 of them while other like my host sister, participated in many. Despite the fact that I wasn't quite sure I knew the steps all the way and ended up messing up the first song, the second song went fine and I was happy.
That was Saturday night and on Monday was the Mehendi party and pooja in the girl's home. There was a DJ, singer, and Indian drummers playing music while the bride and friends/family danced in a circle. Numerous times, people would circle money around the bride's head as a blessing and give it to her. She had already gotten her mehendi done earlier so all the other women were getting it put on. I was waiting for a call from my mom so I left a bit early, after having cake (of course) and but soon got a call form my host mom saying to come back up and see the banglewalla. I was interested and so I went. The banglewalla wouldn't make one for me but I atleast got to see how big clay bangles are made. Basically, the banglewalla had a big stick of clay on which he put the heated painted and after letting it cool, spread it out like a thin stick and then wrapped it into a circle (sorry I don't have pictures).
The next night was the wedding or, as I have mentioned, the almost wedding. No, there wasn't a runaway bride or a secret girlfriend. Instead what happened was that first we missed the entrance of the groom because I had homework to finish so we figured we would go later, which is a shame because I've always wanted to see the groom riding on the horse with the band and everyone dancing around them. So after we were all dressed up, we got there during reception (backwards from American weddings, I know). Everyone was eating or going to congratulate the bride and groom + family up on stage. We had been there for quite a while when I was told that the wedding wasn't going to take place until 1:30. In the morning. Well it just so happened that I of course had school the next day and in no position to stay up late (more on that later).
So we ended up leaving early, not without also going up to congratulate. Despite not seeing the wedding, I had a good time anyway. Of course, I was the only white person there and so there were some awkward moments but at the same time, I loved dressing up in my new kagra choli.




As I mentioned before, at this point in time I'm in no position to stay up late. You must be thinking for obvious reasons since staying up late means lack of sleep and you would be correct. In America, I rarely stayed up past 12 and still managed to get about 7 or more hours of sleep; if I go below that and have to go for school, I end up falling asleep in class. Due to stress because of projects and various other distractions, I've been staying up rather late recently, sometimes til 2 which has caused my work and concentration to suffer. Now, you must be thinking, why does it matter if you fall asleep in class there? You're not completing the program with the kids.
That's true but I'm still a student of the school and, since it's an international school, I can still obtain credits for graduation by attending. But you can't really pass a class unless you put in effort. Another reason for my regard towards my classes is my own respect for my school and fellow students. I'm attending one of the best schools in Bombay, not to mention India, on a scholarship. Plus how can I relate to my classmates if I'm not doing the work with them and struggling on common ground? I would rather be respected for trying and failing to keep up with my friends and classmates than to attend class and not do the work at all. Plus, all of my teachers are doing a big thing by giving me advice and helping me with time management to do my work and possibly change my schedule so that I won't be too stress with experiencing culture and keeping up with work. That's a big thing to have while on an exchange and I know it's a rare opportunity. Which is why I'm making the most of it :D
In other news, I recently switched my service project. Although I loved the kids that I went to see every week, I decided to move to a new project that is a Habitat for Humanity club at school. Being world renowned, I think it would be a good way to get involved and change some lives. Just your average service project aims :]
My dance class is going well. I started learning choreography last week or so but now I have a break since my teacher is going to be in her hometown of Agra for about 20 days for a wedding and some performances. While I'm a bit put out, it isn't too bad considering what happened last class. You see, I learned out to go around in a circle on my knees but because I'm not used to it, my knees got skinned up. Consequently we had to put antiseptic and some indian medicine on it. But somehow, the wound got infected and my knees feel super sore so it is a good thing I don't have class. Hopefully, it will get better soon.
Tomorrow's my mid-stay orientation here in Mumbai for the YES kids. Hope it goes well :] I'll update when it's over.

ANNUAL DAY!!!

So it's been a crazy week as we prepared for annual day. I know I've already explained a bit about it but basically Annual Day happens once a year and all classes participate in this huge production. Usually classes preform skits, dances, and songs but we actually put on a play this year. Well more like a musical. Anyway, class 11, my class did both an acting/speaking part and a dancing one. I was in the dancing section and it went well. No mess-ups, we just had to be scary zombie type things at the start and then turn into awake Mumbaikars dedicated to making a change in our environment. We're at the end of the show so it goes right into the finale where all the classes come on stage and we dance and clap.
You must be wondering who the strange looking guy next to me, my friend, and the other exchange student is. Well, he's none other than the famous bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan! His kids go to our school so he came to see the annual day performance. Right after it was over, we rushed into the audience to get the photo. The lady is somebody just getting his autograph so don't mind her. :]
Then today I went to a friend's house that was in the countryside for the day just to have fun. She's actually a close friend of my host sister's who goes to my school and all of their other close friends came along as well plus parents. It turned out to be a lot of fun! We played throw ball (like volleyball except you catch then throw) and football (soccer). They also played some poker and we generally just sat and talked, which is fun in it's own way. The house was big and very pretty, rustic type architecture that you would never find in Mumbai so it did provide a nice escape. Hopefully we can go for something like it again :]
That's all for now. I'll update again soon!

A quick point

I know I just posted yesterday but since then, I have something that needs to be said for everyone. Being an exchange student is hard and at times you face miscommunication and it disrupts your life for a while. I don't want to go into too much detail but this happened to me with my host mom and she heard a few things and I even got mixed signals.

Host families adjust a lot to you being in their home and you should always recognize that. But even so, know that you have adjusted so much to their lifestyle. Speaking out is also better or as my host mom says "be free with the family". If you have any concerns let them know immediately, even if it's not your nature around those you don't know so well. I know I'm the more quiet type unless I'm around friends but still, speak your mind. And lastly, be more realistic about your situation. If you feel you haven't been getting out enough, don't automatically blame your host family. Look at what's been going on around you while yu've been there, at events, etc. and see if there's been time for those things. Sometimes there wasn't at all. Maybe you did. But in any case, if you want to go out, ask your family to take you somewhere and stick to it. My German friend and I agree, in India especially, if you want something , it is you who has to make it happen. I wanted a Hindi class in school so I went to my coordinator multiple times. I wanted to take a dance class so I looked through the internet and newspaper to find one. In the end, you're experience depends on you and your perseverance so make the most of it. I know I have changed a bit over the past 3 months and I'm glad that I have developed this sense of will and hope it continues to grow.

So everybody, don't worry, everything's fine but think about what I've said. So many things affect you while you're in your host country but never be pessimisstic that it won't change. You yourself have to work hard and deal with it by yourself. AFS is there but it ultimately depends on you. So be strong, work hard, and put your heart into it. In the end, that's all that is expected of you.