I started off my Sunday morning with an important lesson to be learned: kurtas are not color safe. After having hand washed the brightly colored suits last weekend, I figured that it would be safe (and less work) to toss them all in the small family washing machine. I knew something was amiss when I heard my host mother laughing in the bathroom. Peering into the washing machine I saw a pool of dark blue water.. great. I will now be a vision in baby blue (and weird green tones where yellow used to be) every day of the week. I also have a flashy new pair of, now, blue tie-dye leggings. My host mom and I spent the next ten minutes cracking up in the bathroom over my rookie mistake which I don't think I would trade for the normal color of my clothes. That seems to be a pattern here; whenever I feel I'm at a low point (i.e. getting puked on, dying my clothes blue, or growing frustrated at being lost in translation), something always happens in the next few minutes that make up for it. However corny it may sound, I think that will be an important sentiment to keep in mind as I face the challenges that are sure to come.
I spent the day enjoying the AC at Cafe Coffee Day (aka the Starbucks of India) and picking up a newly tailored suit (a kurta with matching pants and scarf) from the market that I will be sporting tomorrow. At night, I went on an FSD picnic Kailana Lake for a picnic with a few host families and children from an FSD-affiliated children's home. After whizzing down the curvy roads in the back of an open back truck, we arrived at the picnic spot overlooking the beautiful lake and surrounding hills. During the rare moments of silence between the shrieks or songs of the kids, sounds of prayer could be heard from a temple across the water. Heaps of samosas, mirchi bara (fried chili peppers), and golab (10 lbs of sugar and butter squeezed into a little ball) covered the picnic table. As the sun set, swarms of dragon flies flew overhead. With the gradual darkness, the heat of the day settled into a perfect warmth for sitting, thinking, and quietly preparing for the week to come.
I spent the day enjoying the AC at Cafe Coffee Day (aka the Starbucks of India) and picking up a newly tailored suit (a kurta with matching pants and scarf) from the market that I will be sporting tomorrow. At night, I went on an FSD picnic Kailana Lake for a picnic with a few host families and children from an FSD-affiliated children's home. After whizzing down the curvy roads in the back of an open back truck, we arrived at the picnic spot overlooking the beautiful lake and surrounding hills. During the rare moments of silence between the shrieks or songs of the kids, sounds of prayer could be heard from a temple across the water. Heaps of samosas, mirchi bara (fried chili peppers), and golab (10 lbs of sugar and butter squeezed into a little ball) covered the picnic table. As the sun set, swarms of dragon flies flew overhead. With the gradual darkness, the heat of the day settled into a perfect warmth for sitting, thinking, and quietly preparing for the week to come.
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