Wedding Time!

I'm standing in my saree blouse and skirt waiting for my Amma to wrap me in what seems like miles and miles of beautiful fabric. I'm wearing makeup for the first time since my arrival in India, and I have tons of bangles on. According to Amma you can never have enough bangles. She wraps me in the saree and pins everything into place (the pros don't need pins). I look at myself in the mirror and can't even believe it. White girl in a dark green saree, quite the sight to see. We drive to the reception hall and I can barely step out of the car because I haven't mastered the art of moving around in a saree yet. Before I even had time to breathe we were thrown into a cluster of people, colors, craziness! A camera was already snapping pictures of us and people were definitely staring. My Amma is quite the social butterfly and introduced me to all of her friends.

A little while later fireworks were blasting away as the bride and groom walked into the hall and the Carnatic music was blaring from the instruments. The bride was wearing an intricate saree and was adorned in jewelry. She looked beautiful. I asked my Amma when they had met and if they knew each other from before. She told me this was the second time they had ever met and they hadn't spoken to each other yet. My first instinct was shock. Isn't she scared???? I couldn't help but wonder what she was feeling in that moment. As much as arranged marriages are the tradition of India, it's still scary to have your whole life turned around in just a matter of days! I was nervous for her.

Next we moved inside the hall where we were given a variety of fresh juices and we took pictures with the bride and groom. Next came the food. This was the most intense food experience I've had in India so far. SO MUCH FOOD and it was all absolutely delicious. I didn't eat fast enough for their standards and the food just kept coming. The guests sitting around me were mesmerized by the sight of me mixing all my food and eating with my hands like a pro! And of course, it wouldn't be a proper wedding without dessert.

As the night came to a close, we took some final pictures with the family of the groom and with Amma's friends. I was exhausted. I can't believe they have two more days of this! The wedding traditions are absolutely beautiful and I am so happy I was able to experience my first and hopefully not last Indian wedding. I thought maybe with that massive crowd I would be able to blend in slightly. Nope. There were the starers, the people who stared but pretended they weren't, the gigglers, people who asked questions, and tons of confused guests. I was told I have a very nice nose, and that God blessed me with such light and beautiful skin. I told all the women that they're skin was just as beautiful and God had blessed them as well. It's interesting and sometimes sad to see what is viewed as "beautiful" in different parts of the world. Beauty is in the dark skin of these south Indian women dressed in colorful silk sarees who work hard all day long to make their family happy.
Unreal, overwhelming, beautiful experience.

xo
E

Bride and groom

Amma (2nd from right) and her friends

LOVE

Happy Valentine's Day!

The past week has been full of so much love for me. I don't know if it was the Valentine's Day spirit or just this beautiful country that makes me feel nothing but love for the people, places, things around me.

Surprisingly, this Valentine's Day was one of the most celebrated I have ever experienced. We each had a secret Valentine, we all got flowers, ate cake, and tons of chocolate! It was nice to have a piece of home here in India. On the morning of Valentine's Day our POD activity was to write a list of things that we love or make us happy. My list consisted of:
- INDIA
- the way my amma smiles when I ask for more food
- yoga
- Camp Nubar
- puppies
- cuddling
- lipstick
- s'mores
- watching Manchester United games with my dad
- when my mom laughs at her own jokes
- IHP
- Boston
- NYC
- the world

This activity brought up emotions that I didn't even know I had! I have been so happy and caught up in the crazy whirlwind that is India that I didn't realize how much I miss some of the little things from home. The amazing thing is that there is love everywhere, and I have found it here in India. I found it in my homestay, in the food, in the people, the smells, the colors, the hot sun, the noisy streets. It's everywhere.

My relationship with my Amma and Appa has been growing and I cannot believe that I only have one week left with this wonderful family. My Amma is the best cook in all of Chennai. She loves to see me eat, and her least favorite word in the Tamil dictionary is "podum" which means "enough". Today Appa told me about the story of his arranged marriage, and how Amma was the first perspective bride he met and he instantly said yes. There is something so beautiful about the custom of arranged marriages that I had never opened my eyes to before. He showed me pictures from his and his daughter's wedding, and I showed him pictures from my cousin's recent wedding. We both had so many questions about the other culture's traditions, it was amazing. Amma surprised me with an invitation to a wedding of one of her colleague's next week and I am so excited to be a part of such a beautiful custom.

Amma in her kitchen being a superstar. 

NOTHING BUT LOVE AND GRATITUDE.

Namaste

E

"It is very good for health!"

It has officially been a week since my move into the home of Usha and Ramesh, my amma and appa. Upon arrival I was greeted with smiling faces and with an unexpected Paati (grandma!). They made sure I was comfortable in every way possible and I have felt completely at home with them since.

Paati doesn't speak english very well, but I automatically felt attached to her. She is a professional mosquito zapper and loves to crochet. They day we arrived she was reading a Tamil to English dictionary to prepare for us! It was the cutest thing. Usha, my amma, is an economics teacher and is studying to get her PhD right now. She is a phenomenal cook and makes everything organic! (a dream come true) She has the most beautiful collection of sarees, and is going to help me find the perfect one! Ramesh loves to talk about his daughter who recently moved to Boston. They have a beautiful home that is slightly removed from the chaos of the rest of Chennai. It almost feels like a suburb. They have spent years tending to their beautiful garden that has a mango tree, coconut tree, lemon tree, flowers, and SO many herbs. Every meal we have had so far has consisted of something from their garden, and everything is "very good for health!"

I have learned so much from this family already. Ramesh and I had the most wonderful talk on the roof of their home for an hour about the differences in our lifestyles, and the perceptions of privilege. His face lights up whenever he talks about his daughter and it makes me so happy to see how proud he is of her. Usha is such a smart woman. Just today we talked about the difference between growth and development. Everyday when I come home from class her students are sitting on the patio for after school tutoring. She wakes up everyday at 4:30am and starts cooking and preparing for the day, goes to her school at 8:30 then comes home at 3:30pm. She then works with her students until 8pm. I have never seen someone work so hard and keep a smile on her face the whole time. She loves this stuff.

India. This past week has been such an emotional rollercoaster for me. There was a point when I felt lost and all over the place. My mind was trying to process so much that it just shut down. Being here has taught me to compartmentalize my emotions. I love India. I love me in India. The world is so different here but somehow I feel strangely connected with this place, the people, their practices, religion, souls, yoga.

This past week my schedule has been waking up at 6:30am, yoga on the roof, breakfast, off to school which starts at 8:30am, classes, guest lectures, spending some time with friends, exploring the city, coming back home around 6:30pm, spending time with my family, dinner!

Yesterday during a community building session we all said what we are thankful for. I said I was thankful for our little IHP family. We work as one body and feel everything together. Everyone is so accepting and open, I have never felt so at home in such a foreign place. I can be in the weirdest mood, and its okay. The support we have for each other is incredible.

Hope Nemo is treating everyone well! Sending love from sunny Chennai.

E

Paati and I

Namaste from Chennai

VANAKKAM from India!

I made it! The two full days of travel was quite exhausting but it was all worth it when we arrived into the hustle and bustle of Chennai. It was 3am and the crowds outside the airport were shocking.Our country coordinator Ram met us and helped us all get to the hotel where we were greeted by his wife Latha and others. We were each handed a rose and Latha went around and placed some rosewater on the base of our necks and gave us each a bindi. We were all so tired, but our eyes were wide open. The hotel is almost too nice for what I was expecting, and I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty.

After only a few hours of rest we were out and about in Chennai. There is SO much going on all the time here. All you can hear around you is honking horns. There are so many different smells, from the exhaust of all the rickshaws, motorbikes, etc, to the flowers sold at the street vendors. There are so many people everywhere. After lunch (which I ate with my hands) we went around the city to multiple tourist sites including Marina Beach and a beautiful Hindi temple.

I am on sensory overload right now. One question that I had running through my mind all day was what are all of these people doing? Where are they going? Everyone is just walking on the streets. Its such a strange and foreign site to me. Do they have homes? Why aren't the kids in school?

As I walked barefoot through the Hindi Temple, I felt so connected with the Earth and the people around me even though we were so different. Believing in something so strong is amazing. To be honest I was jealous. I feel so lucky to be among these people. IT WAS MAGICAL.

On Friday I think it all hit me. We were walking down the streets and everyone was just so out of their comfort zone. We were all on edge and felt so out of place. It's crazy how clear the cultural differences are. To them I am just a white girl in India. Thats it. What does that make me? What do they think when they see me? Will there ever be a way to break these boundaries? There was a point when I couldn't tell if I was angry, confused, sad, or culture shocked. The great thing is having people in my group that are feeling the exact same things.

Today we took our first trip on a rickshaw into the markets of T nagar. Holly, Steph, and I sat down in this rickshaw, somehow managed to explain where we wanted to go and that was it. We were zooming down the tiny streets of Chennai. "We're doing it. We're doing it." I felt so alive. I've never seen anything like this city before. We walked around the market and browsed through the different stands with colorful kurtas, bangles, beads, shoes, everything. People say hi and take pictures of our group like they've never seen people like us before, its unreal.

Tonight we move in with our homestay families and I am nervous but so excited. I can't wait to see how our relationship will build and transform and help me get comfortable in this city for the next 4 weeks.

I can't do justice to what I am feeling/seeing around me all the time over here. But I hope my blogs and pictures will help.

Namaste,
E