it's not the end...

Things have started to move a bit faster than I'd like...they say all good things must come to an end, but I'm currently trying to put off this ending until at least December 19. I've been traveling all over the net to figure what I have to do to get to Nepal and get a tourist visa to stay in India and if this happens I will be a very happy camper...
Anyway,
Diwali was tons of fun. My friend Jessica (who I've known since 7th grade) was in Delhi for a day with her study abroad program, so she came over, which I'm still not sure was actually real. After hastily getting clad in saris with the help of Anita, the maid that lives with us, we did a pooja with my host family that consisted of my host mother saying some prayers and making offerings to the Ganesh and Rama (I think...) in the form of sweets. My host mom also gave us each some money because she said it was part of the tradition and was auspicious...I said I liked this tradition =). Then all the candles were lit. The house was glowing, but all the lights were to be kept on for the duration of the festival too so the only the candles outside on the terrace really got to shine. Food was next, and, as always, delicious. Finally came the (fire)crackers. My host mom had bought 4 or 5 boxes of them, which we took down to the park across the street and added to the supplies of all the neighbors. We spent a good 1 1/2 hours watching kids and aunties dash back and forth lighting things that shot up or just sparkled or spun around, it was absolutely crazy and entertaining. Around 11:30 pm I accompanied Jessica back to her hotel, which was across Delhi and we could hardly even see on the streets (and it was no easy task to get a ride since everyone was busy celebrating!)
Other fun events of late:
I went to a Indian cooking class last weekend which was lots of fun and very tasty...I'm hoping I can replicate some of the stuff without too much of a disaster when I get home. I'm kind of worried I won't eat back in the US because I loooove Indian food so much. I also have a lower of opinion of American food now because the only American food in India really doesn't taste right: milk shakes with no icecream, hamburgers with no beef, questionable lasagna, grilled cheese that consists of two slices of toasted bread with cold cheese in the middle...
Last Sunday we took a trip to what is kind of like a suburb to Delhi called Gurgaon. Gurgaon is interesting because, as my professor put it, it looks like a movie set. There are all these huge malls with more being constructed and slick high-rise office buildings plunked on top of Indian village life. The streets are still mostly brown dirt and host the traffic of a variety cattle drawn carts (we even saw an elephant...), people, old cars...tourist buses and sleek new cars for the people that can actually afford these malls. Gurgaon is also home to many manufacturing plants for companies like the clothing stores H&M and Gap (often made in the same plant) and other brand names we are quite familiar with in the US. Oh, and let's not forget, the call centers. Many of the calls we place in the US for technical assistance or to file complaints come in here to people who are overworked, underpaid, and stuck in between worlds. Many of them are given false names that they use with their best American accent while they listen to problems from across the world with limited bathroom breaks and food breaks. Such jobs create a lot of stress for the workers and place them in an odd dichotomy of cultures and personalities. I think there's a good documentary on this...I'll get the name of it and update this sentence =). Some of the flashy buildings there are not plastered with the company's name in an effort to be inconspicuous, but I think they already missed that boat. Just by looking at the streets one must wonder how these businesses are sustained. The ones that cater to overseas customers I can understand, but the malls that rely on local consumers I can't imagine will last long as they house stores of high line brand names that even I, someone who can afford auto rides over buses if I please, will not venture into. In fact, today my host sister Juhi asked if I understood Indian currency, meaning, did I get that something that costs 100 rupees (about $2.50) is expensive and I said yes because when I hear 100 now I do think it's a lot. But these stores have jeans easily upwards of Rs. 2,000...I'll be interested to see how it all plays out. My professor said they always look crowded in the summer, but most people go there to enjoy the free air conditioning.

I spent most of Monday at the Office of Home Affairs trying to get my student visa extended and almost crying upon the denial. Like most things here, this office is not terribly organized and was crowded and basically fend-for-yourself. After 3 hours of that I got to talk to a guy who told me "you have until December 5th, that's a long time!" and I could not explain to him I'm just not ready to leave this place...not to mention I already changed my plane tickets to December 19th. In conclusion, I'm making a trip to Nepal (I hope) December 1 because if I leave the country I can apply for an Indian tourist visa. I'm excited to visit a new country, which I hear is beautiful, but figuring out all the paper work and travel plans at the moment makes me want to marry a sketchy Indian man so I can get a visa and he can get a green card, then we'd all be happy.

Tuesday I went with my friend Kritika to her family friend's wedding. Basically there was a lot of food, colors, sparkles, and people. We were there for the bride's side so we hung out in the reception area for about an hour while the groom's side processed from somewhere else dancing and singing. The bride wasn't there however: she doesn't come until 1/2 hour after the groom arrives. Then they are picked up and put garlands on each other and take pictures, etc. until they go up to a fire for a pooja that officially marries them. I felt a bit sorry for the bride because she had such a heavy saree on and so much jewelry I wasn't sure how she could sit upright let alone walk, but she was certainly beautiful!

Wednesday my friend Bree FROM LOYOLA!! flew in with a few of her friends from Dubai where she is studying for the semester. Needless to say, I was thrilled to see her (and bummed to say goodbye today!) As I tried to plan things for them to see around Delhi I realized there is a lot I haven't done yet (which makes this visa thing even more imperative!) It was a lot of fun taking them to Old Delhi and shopping, and let's not forget to Agra to see the Taj. While in Agra we also saw the Agra Fort, which was very cool: complete with an apartment that views the Taj for Shah Jahan when he was kept in house arrest there by his son so he could look up on the grave of his beloved wife, a beautiful garden in the middle of the harem, a mote, and things that definitely resembled secret passage ways. Monuments and activities aside though, being their tour guide of sorts made me realize how comfortable I really have gotten in Delhi and with navigating from here. I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of things and my Hindi is a bit more functional and now I have to go!

Today I sent Bree and company back to the airport =( and have the wonderful tasks of final papers and tests ahead of me, some things I can't even escape in India!