Full Moon Brings Good Fun and Excitement!

Well today was the full moon fest! Which turned into the Rotary members dragging us off to the middle of nowhere (Bungaon) and then making us look really stupid, but having fun in our own respects!

So tonight was the largest moon night, where the moon is closest to the earth. In many Asian cultures (like Indian and Chinese) this is a big celebration. For India it is when the moon is closest it is auspicious…from what I gathered. Some of the traditions include warming milk by moonlight, which when the milk is warmed by moonlight and when masala (spices) are added then it becomes very lucky and good for you to drink. (I am just telling it like it is… well how they told me, so yeah I don’t get that either). So you are to drink hot milk that has spices in it…. Yummy! (You can check out the pictures…)

We also played a bunch of games, such as Musical Chairs, and because of a lack of a sound system it turned in to the Rotary members beating on pots and pans with a spoon and yelling at us to “RUN!” and well it did get a bit violent, when the Europeans started to dominate! In Europe, they must practice for these types of party games, because they also killed in the Three-Legged Race! And then celebrated with their dominance, by getting into a water fight…? All in all we had fun, and then the Rotary came up with a very screwed up version of Hot Aloo (Hot Potato) where it was mixed with Truth or Dare, and when you ended up with the aloo you had to do truth or dare with the Rotary members asking us dumb questions… All in all it was a very silly evening, which geared us up for the FINALE of spiced milk drinking….

In a description I would give: Spiced Milk, smells Indian with a creamy whole milk tinge… then it when you drink well rather eat, you have to chew it and then you normally end up with something crunchy… It sometimes has a nutty tinge (because they will boil large nuts in with the milk and let it simmer). It is not stainable because that would be sacrilegious, and then the Indians drink it down in the gallons. For us exchange students it is like a death sentence, it is boiling hot milk, that is full of pretty much chili powder and nuts that is super chunky…. If that is not the grossest thing you have ever heard of well then look at the pictures. It was sick! And most of us would try to drink it down and it would end up coming straight back out, hopefully through the mouth and well if you are unlucky through your nose… YUCK! (And also thanks to my convinced allergy to milk, even though most people think I am nuts, well I got out of drinking it…. )

We have also been informed a bit about of upcoming trip to Bombay and to Goa. We are leaving Pune at SIX AM!!!!!!!! On Sunday morning! Then we are driving up to Bombay (which is around a two hour drive, but it will probably turn into around three hours, it is like driving from Chicago to Milwaukee, it can be the easiest drive in the world, and it can also be the worst). In Bombay we will be seeing the India Gate, and then the Hanging Gardens, among other things like the VT (which is now a train station and one of the most famous pieces of architecture that was erected by the British) We may be going on a boat ride to the Elephanta Island and Caves (but maybe not… I would really love to see them, but knowing the Rotary well this may not happen). Then we are going to spend the night at a hotel in Bombay (it is three stars; and according to our Rotary Guy- “Super Super Deluxe” haha) The next day we will be doing more sightseeing and some shopping, then at around six that evening we will be leaving for Goa. Goa is I think a ten hour drive, it is clear across the state of Mahershtra (that is spelled wrong?) and we are staying in South Goa on top of it, so it may be even further (I really don’t know). Our mode of transportation: is at least a private bus. Our favorite from our Rotary guy who was explaining the trip goes we will be taking a “Super Nice Super Deluxe Bus.” My life hero Elli took the time to ask “does it have air conditioning?” Our Rotary Guys answer: “No, but it does have push back seats!” So apparently push back seats make up for the entire lack of other amenities! We make jokes quite often about the fact we are in the dark about what we are going to be doing on the trip, by going, “But on the bus we will be having push back seats! Push Back Seats make everything amazing!” Then in Goa we will be seeing some of the sites, and I believe we will be going to some churches and a temple, and maybe taking a back water cruse of the backwaters of Goa (which could have the potential to be cool). We also have the chance to go to the beach; our “Resort” is on Colva Beach. (Or at least within “Walking Distance”) And we have a pool apparently. Colva beach is quite famous and according to my host mom one of the most famous in Goa (but then Goa is very famous for its beaches on the Arabian Sea). It is also famous for water sports like parasailingJ. This trip has a great possibility to have a very fun time! So I will tell you how it goes when I get back!

In other India news, this week has been great fun! My friend Chloe is still visiting and has been invited to come on our trip to Bombay and Goa, which as stated will hopefully be a blast! We have been going to all the places in Pune, that she has been deprived of. Our latest adventure was Indian McDonalds! Which is pretty much always an adventure. We also in a gathering of American minds realized we missed Mexican food, specifically good Mexican food. So we took a little visit to the imports grocery store to buy Doritos, and well we did find them… But they were NOT CHEAP! For rs. 210, (which is about $7.25) you can have your very own bag! We bought Taco ones, yes I know that is absolutely mad what we paid, but well we were really desperate! We also decided to go with our chips, we would attempt to make fresh homemade SALSA! We figured it could not be that hard, and well all you really need is tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime, salt and pepper, and we through in some green onion for good measure. It turned out really good as par first test and then we stuck it in the fridge to wait for it to be cold. And we also tried to explain to my host mom what salsa is. We are like it is used as like a sauce, and then sauce to them is ketchup… So we then tell her it is like a pickle (which is this Indian stuff, and sadly no it is not pickles and has nothing to do with cucumber) and she is like so it has mangos in it? And we are like no, so then we are like it is like a salad but you don’t eat it plain, and well all in all she tried it and loved it, but then decided she wanted to make her own tortilla chips, which I guess just don’t work… (we are going to try that another day). But as Lauren tried to pull out the salsa from the fridge, well it decided to become animated and throw it self at Lauren and come crashing all over the floor and all over the kitchen, and about every direction! So we only had about one bite of our attempted taste of home and that bite was worth all the hour we argued over the recipe and the 20 minutes it took us to make it.

Then I know how much you love to hear my stories, but today I went to the local salon with my friend Chloe because spa treatments are really cheap, I paid a remarkable 75 rs. (around 1.80) to get my legs waxed, and then another 15 to get my eyebrows threaded! (Threading is where they use sewing thread to pull out the hairs on your eye brows, it can not hurt at all and then on the other hand can be uber painful! Today it was not that bad surprisingly!) But Chloe and I are gearing up to go to Bombay and Goa, early Sunday morning! (As you can tell I am SOOO EXCITED FOR THIS TRIP!!!) And then we are doing laundry!!! Fun fun! Yes, just so you know I have a real washing machine, but I do have to air dry my clothes… which it is warm out and relatively not humid so it works. Tonight Chloe and I were invited to my host grandmothers house, and she had a professional Dosa maker over, and we ate our weight in yummy dosa's and uddipalmn (that is not spelled right) and so that was fun!

Well I will keep you updated about my trip!!!