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.
NOTHING BUT LOVE AND GRATITUDE.
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. |
Namaste
E
Happy Valentine's day to you too my beautiful, intelligent and emotional daughter. It's wonderful to hear how happy you are and how well appa and amma are treating you. Love you and miss you.
ReplyDeleteNamaste
Great stuff! Enjoy. I was there in 2000. In the South. Wonderful experience, memories, Ayurveda, yoga, temples, elephants, trains rides, fishermen on the beach at 6:00 am, food, people, love...
ReplyDeleteIndia is exquisite!