Where to begin... There are three distinct smells of Bangalore: Indian food, Incense, and occasional wafts of urine. People eat with their hands here because as my host brother said, "God made hands for work and eating." But for clarity, one should eat with only the right hand, because it is in fact true the other is used for wiping. There is not toilet paper in my bathroom, and have been avoiding the inevitable with the few tush wipes I brought... my supply is soon to run out. Traffic is crazy and chaotic. I fear for my life every time I have to cross a street or get in an auto. I saw a man next to his motorcycle in a puddle of blood on my way to school this morning. It is a tough reality to swallow. Traffic lights are a suggestion, and basically everyone is in a big game of Mario Kart. I am learning to be cautious, but also not be too scared. That's the intro, now let's get to specifics.
My family consists of two parents who are 40 and 50, neither speak english, and three english-speaking children, 23 year old boy, 20 year old girl, and 18 year old boy. The siblings serve as our cultural brokers, and we have truly been treated like gods. Aaahh there is so much to say, and so little time left on my computer. I guess I'll settle to tell the story of my day yesterday. There is a bit of political turmoil happening here in Karnataka over water rights (look it up in the news to learn more). Nothing serious has occured, but people are taking precautions. Because of fear, our class was cancelled yesterday, so my brother asked if me and the other american living with me, bridget, would like to go to a temple. Of course we said yes. We pile into a car with our aunt and uncle, their daughter, our brother (kantha), and our sister. First we go to an exposition of handicrafts, all so beautiful, and then we get back in the car to emerge 3 HOURS LATER in the midst of rocky hills and countryside. We then climb up a small small mountain to go into a cave that has been scultped as a temple to Ganesh and his parents. It was an absolutely amazing experience. I participated as best as I could in Hindu worship, but am sure I looked quite akward. I drank some holy water from Ganesh's mom, and my brother told me to ask her for a wish and she'll make it come true. SO I decided it wouldn't hurt, and I asked her to make sure I got the most out of this trip as is possible. (My family is very hindu. We have a shrine in our house. When I first came to the home my mom was going into pray and didn't say hi until she was done.) On the way back we hit a wedding of my aunt's friend. I got to go into the bridal chamber and watch as the meticulously draped her in gold so that she could go have a one minut cermony in which she and her husband exchanged flower wreaths, and then stood for four hours as every group of family and friends got their picture taken with them. Marraige is a whole different topic I dont' have the time to get into.. but I have had some interestign discussions with my host sister, rohini, about it. Ok, that is all I can do for now. So rry it is so crazy and vague. I don't have as much access as I thought I would. I love hearing from everyone and I am a bit homesick. Love with hugs.
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