The One With Lots of Colors! (And some water gun wars...)

"Before Picture"

The second day I was in my homestay Vedika said to me, "so you're here for 6 weeks, does that mean you will be here for Holi?!".  I told her yes and she responded with an adorable dance of happiness around the kitchen. As she has told me a few  million times since, "Holi is the best holiday", and "we will play with colors on the roof and dance", both which are usually accompanied by an imaginary demonstration of her shooting a water gun at me. Anyways the countdown for Holi began right after I got back from my retreat. Lillian, Annie, and Nikki ended up coming over (at 6am to avoid the scary people on the street) and we all played together on the roof. Since I am the only American with Hindi music my ipod was attached to the set of speakers and we blasted a mix of Bollywood and American top-40s music (thank you Nikita and Esther for that...). Thankfully I bought some extra colors (which are sold every 10 feet along the street in the week prior to Holi) and two huge water guns. The colors look like colored flour and you mix them with water in buckets and then it's full out war from there. We all had so much fun squirting each other and the neighbors on adjacent roofs. After our colors ran out we filled the buckets with water and would plan surprise attacks with Vedika on unsuspecting dancers. There was also a large precession of men down the street who were covered in colors and some were riding colored horses and water buffalo.

After we played for a while we showered and had a delicious lunch. The best part about having the cooking teacher as your host mother is that you definitely get the best food. After lunch we just rested and then got ready for the evening. I was excited at the opportunity to wear my new "fancy" outfit for going around to different houses with the family and hosting guests at ours. The only common denominator between different foods for Holi is that they are all fried. Nithya-ji spent a few days making potato chips on our roof and cooking fried pastries for those who would stop by our house. When you go to visit, the tradition is that you put some color on the host and hostess' foreheads (and sometimes cheeks etc) and then they put theirs on your forehead. I enjoyed being 'part of the family' and having the opportunity to see how they celebrate Holi.

"After"

Overall I am really happy and excited to make the most of my last three weeks in India. Yesterday we visited a Fort and museum and today we watched a Bollywood movie in theaters (Kahaani for those who are interested).  I've been getting a lot closer to my homestay family and appreciating that I have shifted roles from a guest to more of a family member. I am now allowed to clear my own plate and clean off the table etc.  I have also been really enjoying my Hindi lessons and have been getting lots of practice at home. The grandmother loves when I try to talk with her and she always is trying to teach me new words. Also for those who have read this far- if anyone wants a postcard please email me your address and I will send one before I come home!

Dressed up for the evening