New Family

I wrote this on Sunday!


Yesterday, Saturday I had no school but it was a very long day anyways. In the morning all of the exchange students went to the home. studio of a local artist. He does sculpting, portrait sketching, and painting. He also runs an after-school and summer rpgram where he teached both English and art. He is a Rotarian and had asked if we would come over sothat he could sketch us. The press was also there, a reporter to interview us and take photos.
We were greeted in the traditional style with flower garlands and such.

Traditional Greeting

Hannah, Jordan, and Nikolas with their flower garlands.

Hannah being sketched.

The three little kids of the house and me.

The little boy and his daddi (father's mother).

Sebastian took this and emailed it to me.
Me with my sketch, I'm curious to see how it looks finished.

The little kid loved having their pictures taken.

Again...

After spending the morning having BILLIONS of photos taken, posing for individual drawings, and playing with the little kids who lived there, we had to go to a RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) meeting. It wasn't something we really wanted to do but Ritu wanted us to go, so we did. So from noon to 5:30 we sat in a hot, stuff room and listened to talks on how to be a good leader and successful. Leadership is a very popular topic here. At times, it seems like India is striving and struggling to be the leader in every aspect it can. The most interesting part of the program was the cultural preformances at the end of the day. During a break during the meeting Sebastian said something that I'll try to remember at all times becuase I think it's SO true. He said that when every he's in a boring meeting or he'd rather be somewhere else, he thinks to himslef, "wait a minute, I'm in India, just think about THAT!"
After getting back to Ritu's we relaxed and rank tea until it was time to leave for a dinner party. The party started at 9 and was held in a hotel. Lots of Ritu's friends and a few kids were there, we played version of bingo (Hannah and I wond 200 rupees) and other games. Dinner wasn't served until midnight though so Hannah and I ate very lightly. Mostly the two of us hung out and talked.
I'm writing this now, here, in the second day of the RYLA program. Today, we came prepared with things to subtley do. Today is even harder to sit through because most of the speaking is in Hindi which is tiring to listen to but also faun to try to figure out.
Yesterday (Sat.) there was no school because it was the start of a the Hindu festival for the elephant god, Genesha. In the past few days little stall have sprung up all along the streets selling idols. The idols come in all sizes, from plam sized to toddler sized. The most popular color is neon orange but you can buy them in many colors. Orange headbands, and fake swords are also sold. People come to buy their idols with carts, trucks bicycles, wagons, on foot, motorcycles, etc. Many people bring their god home or to their work in a preocession of drumming and marching, they are celebrating the fact that a god is coming to visit their home.
For the next week or so, the people will wash and adorn their gods daily. On the final day, they will throw their idol into the river, thus sending him back home.


TODAY

Last night, after the RYLA my new host family picked me up. It's a family of three (mom, dad, daughter). The daughter, Shruti, is in 8th grade at my school. They seem VERY excited to have me here. I have my own room.
Before coming home last night, we stopped at a grocery store. At the grocery stores here you have to ask the people behind the counter for thing which they then pile on the counter. After you have everything you want piled (and it took a while becuase there were so many people the workers got distracted) they bag it for you and ring you up. The bags are then all carried to the car for you.
Today was a very relaxing/boring day at school. It's the mid-term exams, which I'm mostly not taking. I spent the day in the library with Nikolas, and a girl who was here for her first day at school (she just moved back from Dubai).
I had only two clases, Biology and Hindi. Tomorrow I'm going to attempt the English Language exam.
The exams here are taken very seriously. Shruti got up mat 4:45 this morning to study, and she didn't even have an exam today.

My new host mother.

The temple in the house in the entry way. We have to keep our shoes either outside or in another room so they aren't in near the temple.