The Lodhi Festival was so much fun. We made a big bonfire outside of the flats and put on loud music. Everyone danced and laughed. Yes, even I danced! The staff had made all kinds of treats, popcorn, and peanuts for the celebration. After eating the peanuts we threw all of the shells into the fire for the harvest. There was a definite feeling of friendship, which I found quite special considering we're really all strangers from different backgrounds, beliefs, lifestyles, and countries. The whole night had a very good energy, and I feel so blessed to be experiencing this trip.
Last night I went with Ambar to the mall in Delhi, where I was priveleged enough to witness Ada, Ambar's mom, haggle. She's really turned the whole thing into an art form. After negotiating prices with the man, she was still not satisfied with the price, so she walked off with determination. The whole scene looked like it was straight out of a movie. The man ran after her, and she ended up getting the scarf. It was really all a chase and catch type game. It was hard to keep a serious face. I just wanted to laugh so hard.
I am officially well! And just in time. Tonight we had tandori chicken and potatoes and cauliflower for dinner with naans. Seriously the best thing I've ever tasted in my life. The chicken was salty and spicy, so much flavor. I'm sorry. I know I always talk about the food, but you would too if you were eating this deliciousness. While we're here we can learn to make anything of the Indian recipes that the cooks have. So, I will definitely be learning how to make tonight's dinner. That's right family... You will soon be eating this food also :) Get excited.
I went to the Gandhi museum today. It wasn't at all what I expected. The bottom level of the house was pretty standard. It had all the interesting facts, dates, and pictures from Gandhi's life. The top level, however, was very interactive. There were all kinds of electronics to use as learning helpers. One thing that I thought was very interesting was a unity pole. Two people stood on opposite sides of this pole and touched their hand to a metal circle on the floor. Once the two people touched hands the pole would light up. There was also a timeline that had a computer that you moved as you walked. Every date marker brought up facts about Gandhi's life in that year. After walking through all of the rooms, I then went outside to walk Gandhi's last steps. All in all, the museum was very interesting and I really enjoyed it.
After the museum I went with Jake and Tonni to Dalli Haat again (I love that place). I got a couple presents for the familia :) I hope they like them. There were all new merchants in the market today, so a lot of the stuff was different from the last time I was there. I think I'm going to have to go back at least once a week, don't want to miss anything.
We rushed back in a rickshaw from the market back to the home base. We were scheduled to watch some Indian dancing, and posssibly learn some ourselves. There were two men: one playing a keyboard looking thing, and the other man playing a drum. Then there were two dancers, beautifully decorated with jewelry and bright colors. They each wore a head peice that had a row of big flowers, followed by a row of smaller buds around a bun. In the middle of the bun there was a silver jewelry peice. Each finger wore a ring, and then ends of the fingers were painted red, feet matching. One of the girls had on bright yellow, and the other orange. They both moved beautifully to the music. They used their hand to intricately present the words from the songs (which were sung in Hindi). Every body movement was very precise and controlled. They both appeared to be the complete essense of femininity. I found myself totally hypnotized by the beauty of the artistic dance.
After their performance they tried to teach us some of the hand movements. It was very difficult to move my fingers the way they did, and I found that my fingers tired after just a few minutes. I would make a pathetic dancer here haha. This performance was definitely my favorite activity that CCS has organized. I would really like to go see another performance if I can. I recorded a video of part of the dance, because I feel my words don't give it justice.
Tomorrow I'm back at Vidya. Haven't made my lesson plan yet, though, so I better get going. I'm thinking some sort of coloring exercise. These kids need some fun, and who doesn't like coloring.
I'm going to be watching my first Bollywood movie-should be exciting.
Love you friends and family :)