So many wonderful things!

           Today was absolutely wonderful.  Finally, I slept through the night so right there was an excellent start to my day. I woke up to the sun shining, which was a nice change for the rain and dark weather we've had the past few days.  Then came my wonderfully hot shower.  This sounds like not such a big deal, but when you're in a country in which you need to turn on a switch and wait for the water to heat, it's slightly more complicated then it seems.  I also woke up to find out that a family friend of ours has friends in not only Bangalore, but they live on my street!! It also doesn't hurt that they are Jewish and perhaps a nice Shabbat meal is in my future. Speaking of Judaism, I've started somewhat of the spiritual journey of my trip and have been enjoying experimenting with personal prayer, which varies from day to day.  The first day it was shema al hamita (shema before bed), Wednesday I davened Minhah, and yesterday was Maariv.  Its an interesting feeling praying alone, but I think I like it and will continue to work on it.  Sorry for the side note, but it was important. 

When I arrived at school, I went to standard 3 because I had not spent much time in there yesterday and it was fascinating!  Plus it doesn't hurt that the students in that particular classroom have taken an interest as well as a liking to me =). First I learned about why we celebrate Diwali. I know I should have done my own research, but it was cool to hear about it from a practicing Hindu.  The teacher read the story about Ram, which explains that Ram, one of the Hindu gods (I think the god of all gods) left and when he returned to the forest, everyone celebrated and was happy so they light firecrackers.  Therefore, everyone makes diyas, which are photographed below, which are made out of clay, decorated with paint and glitter, and then they place a small bit of cotton to be lit, which are then displayed in the homes as decoration.  Children also light these huge firecrackers, which reminds me of the 4th of July.  Apparently it's like Christmas though with all the presents, sweets, and celebration.  Should be a neat experience!  After learning about Diwali, one of the language teachers came in and taught the students a passage in Hindi, which was incredible to see written out on the board and listen to the students repeat.  One student even sung the passage for the class!  I tried to attempt to write out the Hindi, but it was an epic fail, maybe I'll get some lessons.

During our tea/coffee break at 10 I tried a sweet that they make for Diwali called mysorepaka, which is made with butter and chickpea flour- it was delicious! When I saw Rekha, she handed me a container of pasta and sauce that she made for me which was so amazing because she knows that I've been iffy about the food.  Since many of you have asked about what I've been doing in terms of food, I've been trying to stick with easy things and relatively bland for the time being and it's been working out well. There are also things like hard boiled eggs that I've been eating for breakfast, and japatees, (I have no idea how to spell this but it's a good guess) which are a thinner version of naan, and of course I brought my peanut butter even though I found out you can buy it here.  Also, there are cooked veggies and rice that I've been enjoying, so the eating thing hasn't been too bad and in terms of water, I've just buying bottled by the liter.  Can you believe 5 liters of water cost me 67 rupees! That's less than $2! It's crazy how cheap the majority of things are here!

After being incredibly excited over my pasta, I began wandering over to standard 2 and but got sidetracked with talking to Mythree (because Indians have trouble with the "th" it sounds more like Mytree, but I'm getting used to it) and Anupa.  Anupa got up to do her job after a few minutes, but Mythree and I stayed to talk for quite some time.  She's very interesting and has a wonderful sense of humor, which I greatly appreciate!  What I am quickly learning about the society here is that even though 70% still have arranged marriages, there are many exceptions and variations.  Arranged marriages are still common, but there is slightly more of a choice.  Mythree has a very interesting story that is far too long to explain, but it was nice spending time with her and finding out more about Indian culture.  At school, Mythree teaches drama and has asked that I stay back once a week to help her with the 8th grade play, which will be fun to help out with and I look forward to spending more time with Mythree.  I was also invited to Anupa and Mythree's weekly coffee trip after stay back on Wednesdays when teachers stay to plan when the students leave.  Looks like I'm making friends even if they are a few years older!  Though I was truly enjoying my time with Mythree, I decided it was time to be responsible and go to standard 1 to see what they were doing.  It was good that I went to because Rekha was there and they were learning about the history of Bangalore.  They were making this food that goes along with a sweet called sugyhalva. The first bite was good, but then my face started to tingle and I felt slightly woozy so I decided a couple of bites were enough.  During lunch, Allison from Wisconsin joined me and we got to talking, which was nice.  Turns out she went to the University of Wisconsin and has some friends that she wants to introduce me to so I look forward to that happening!  In the afternoon, I planned math with the standard 4 teachers and it was nice to be in a planning meeting again and working on lesson plans.  When I got home,  I found my clothes washed and placed neatly on my bed.  Did I mention how much I love Shema- she cleans my clothes, makes my bed, cleans my bathroom, and makes my food- what could be better! Gina came home and handed me my plane tickets for Delhi and Goa! I've already booked a couple of trips so far and cannot wait to start seeing more of this country!  Now I'm just excited not to have school tomorrow and spend some time watching movies and being lazy before the next couple of days when I'll be up and doing and going!   

Diyas

Eating sugyhalva

My desk at school!