Happy New Year!

I had intended to post this the day after NewYears but our internet was down, then it was my host mom's birthday, then I got distracted, basically there's a hundred excuses as to why I didn't finish it until today... most of them probably aren't very valid:

I spent New Years Eve with my family but in the afternoon I hung out with my friend Jordan. As soon as we returned from Nagpur, he was told that he had to move out of his current house until we returned from our North Tour in March. Instead of begin placed with another family, he is now living in a hostel type place that is actually more of a cult/commune/hostel. I guess he doesn't mind too much which is more than I could say if I were in his position, but he does get really bored there. He is also locked in (or out depending on what side of the gate he's on) at 8 every night. We hung out at a coffee place and basically wasted time until I had to go home. I felt bad for him because even on New Years Eve he had to be in by 8. I guess he ended up spending the night reading and on the phone with one of our friends who also had nothing to do. As for me, I went home, showered, and put on one of my traditional outfits. People made several jokes because I was wearing a salwar suit while my sister was wearing a western style dress. They called is a "true exchange". We had a neighborhood bonfire/potluck in the middle of the street in front of out house. Everyone brought a dish that could be reheated of cook and the ground floor of the building next to ours became a sort of communal kitchen where fresh chapattis were cooked and the food was prepared. To pass time before midnight we played group games like the Indian version of bingo and other silly group games. Someone also had brought a set of speakers so that people could dance. At midnight everyone went around shaking hands or hugging each other wishing them a happy New Year. Around 1, the women of my family, Ipshita, my mom, my aunt, my cousin Jhanvi, and I drove to the gurdwara or Sikh temple so that they could pray for the new year. I sort of watched and followed what they did. Like most temples here, you have to remove your shoes before entering a gurdwara but you also have to cover your head (like a mosque). You're also supposed to back out of the temple, instead of turning around. Sikhism is a relatively new religion that broke off of Hinduism. It's mostly practiced by Punjabi people. While almost all Sikhs are Punjabi, not all Punjabis are Sikh. The term Punjabi describes a person from the area of Punjab.
On the first, I spent the afternoon with my friend Amanda who lives in Bhopal. Her family had come to Indore for New Years and so her father could attend a funeral. We spent the day in the mall shopping with her host mom. Amanda spent that night at my house since my sister had to go to Bhopal for an exam.



Monday, I went back to school. I was only one of 5 students to show up. A similar attendance record has persisted for the rest of the week so far. Yesterday the state government announced that from today on, all classes in all schools public or private, from 8th grade and below will be suspended until the 16th due to unusual cold. In some parts of the state, the temperatures are hovering above and below freezing. There was actually snow in the capital yesterday. India's made me weak, the temperatures are in the 60's and 70's during the days, and 40's at night and I'm feeling cold. Obviously not as cold as the people here think it is but still, 70's should be nice weather for me.