I've been under the impression that every time it's rained I've been witnessing "the monsson." But yesterday, when I decided to walk home from school, I had to roll my pants up above my knees. Probably the most skin I've shown thus far in this country. The road in front of school and the roads leading to my house were completely washed out. I was knee-deep in water for a good portion of the walk home. It was kind of fun. Now I have a revised idea of what "monsoon" means.
I've been back to Benares twice now. I'm here to learn Urdu, but one of the most important things for me during this trip was to go back to Benares. I thought it would be weird going back. It was weird coming back to India. But it was easy going back to Benares. As soon as we exited the train station, everything seemed familiar. I recognized my bike routes to work, I recognized stores, and finally, I recognized people who recognized me. The sense of familiarity was comforting Visiting people, catching up with my old host family, teachers, and friends, was easy. Seeing my smiley students and the other kids at Guria just made me happy. Goodbyes were easy this time as well. I don't expect myself to come back soon, but it's a given that I will come back. (Added bonus, I got to see two of my best friends in Benares who have been traveling around North India, so that was great.)
Eid was celebrated last week on Tuesday. The night before, I went into the Old City and went to the house of friends in the program and watched fireworks explode around the city from their rooftop. And then we added to the display with our own fireworks. Fun fact: not too many fireworks regulations around here. The city was busier than I've ever seen it during the daytime, and this was after 11:00 pm. When I came home, I stayed up for another couple of hours, getting henna done with the girls in my host family. The next day, the day of Eid, consisted of getting dressed up, eating food, visiting people, having people visit, eating more food, and taking a lot of ictues. Everyone looked great, in my host family, and in my group. They were making food in my house starting early in the morning. By around 8:30 pm, people started coming into my house at a steady pace, to visit for Eid. And by 9:00 pm, my host family's prior claims of "we have a lot of friends that come on Eid," and the cooking that started at 7 am was justified. My house was packed. People in their new clothing were talking, eating, giving Eidi (small amounts of money to kids), taking pictures. It was great.
This last weekend we took a trip to Agra. See that group of 30 Americans moving through the train station in a slow-moving mass? Yes, that was us. The taj was beautiful, once again. I was happy to feel the same sense of appreciation for how impressive it is, that I felt the first time I saw it. We also toured the Agra fort and akbar's tomb. My least favorite thing about Agra is the harrassment. You'll try to take a group picture, and all of the sudden, in addition to your friend who's taking the picture, there is a small cluster of Indian men with their cameras, taking pictures as well. The amount if "ma'am ek photo," "photo please," "snap, snap with me" requests that I and the others in our group got was ridiculous. I said "no" to all of them, if you're curious. My only regret is not trying to charge people for pictures with me (just kidding).
We are all working in our final projects now. I am making "She,a The Man" into a Bollywood movie. Instead of soccer, she plays cricket. Instead of forced debutante participation, she is being forced into an arranged marriage. The story practically writes itself.
That's about it for now.
Lots of love,
Ada
I've been back to Benares twice now. I'm here to learn Urdu, but one of the most important things for me during this trip was to go back to Benares. I thought it would be weird going back. It was weird coming back to India. But it was easy going back to Benares. As soon as we exited the train station, everything seemed familiar. I recognized my bike routes to work, I recognized stores, and finally, I recognized people who recognized me. The sense of familiarity was comforting Visiting people, catching up with my old host family, teachers, and friends, was easy. Seeing my smiley students and the other kids at Guria just made me happy. Goodbyes were easy this time as well. I don't expect myself to come back soon, but it's a given that I will come back. (Added bonus, I got to see two of my best friends in Benares who have been traveling around North India, so that was great.)
Eid was celebrated last week on Tuesday. The night before, I went into the Old City and went to the house of friends in the program and watched fireworks explode around the city from their rooftop. And then we added to the display with our own fireworks. Fun fact: not too many fireworks regulations around here. The city was busier than I've ever seen it during the daytime, and this was after 11:00 pm. When I came home, I stayed up for another couple of hours, getting henna done with the girls in my host family. The next day, the day of Eid, consisted of getting dressed up, eating food, visiting people, having people visit, eating more food, and taking a lot of ictues. Everyone looked great, in my host family, and in my group. They were making food in my house starting early in the morning. By around 8:30 pm, people started coming into my house at a steady pace, to visit for Eid. And by 9:00 pm, my host family's prior claims of "we have a lot of friends that come on Eid," and the cooking that started at 7 am was justified. My house was packed. People in their new clothing were talking, eating, giving Eidi (small amounts of money to kids), taking pictures. It was great.
This last weekend we took a trip to Agra. See that group of 30 Americans moving through the train station in a slow-moving mass? Yes, that was us. The taj was beautiful, once again. I was happy to feel the same sense of appreciation for how impressive it is, that I felt the first time I saw it. We also toured the Agra fort and akbar's tomb. My least favorite thing about Agra is the harrassment. You'll try to take a group picture, and all of the sudden, in addition to your friend who's taking the picture, there is a small cluster of Indian men with their cameras, taking pictures as well. The amount if "ma'am ek photo," "photo please," "snap, snap with me" requests that I and the others in our group got was ridiculous. I said "no" to all of them, if you're curious. My only regret is not trying to charge people for pictures with me (just kidding).
We are all working in our final projects now. I am making "She,a The Man" into a Bollywood movie. Instead of soccer, she plays cricket. Instead of forced debutante participation, she is being forced into an arranged marriage. The story practically writes itself.
That's about it for now.
Lots of love,
Ada
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