November, na?

Ooook! I can't believe the day after tomorrow is Diwali! Here Diwali is kind of like Christmas in that colorful lights are put up everywhere, lots of people go shopping, parents are a bit stressed out, and it's pretty much the biggest holiday in the country. Diwali is a Hindu holiday that celebrates Lord Rama's return from his victory over Ravana. Upon his return, oil lamps were lit, so light is a big part of this festival; the candles and strings of lights that illuminate the darkness of Diwali, which always falls on a new moon (or whatever it is when there is no moon in the sky...), symbolize the victory of good over evil and truth over all. On the ground this means I have 4 large boxes of firecrackers in the corner of my room ready to burst in excitement like the rest of us in 2 days time. The festivities started long ago, but now the rush is in full swing. This morning my host mom woke me up at 5:30 am to go to the flower market. She said we went so early to miss the rush, which was true as far as roads are concerned, but in the darkness of dawn we could hardly find space to put our feet as we bought flowers (she said it was just the florists...I don't want to see it when it's actually crowded...) The flower market in the moonlight was pretty...pretty (aside from the man peeing on the side of road next to where we parked the car). I tried to navigate the market, which was probably about the length of a downtown block in Chicago and was packed with stalls and stalls of whole sale flower sellers, under the guise of my hoody so my host mom wouldn't have to worry about them raising prices at the sight of a foreigner =). My host mom bought a TON of flowers, so our house is smelling quite good at the moment. But I guess I should talk about Diwali after it happens...so
This weekend we went to a village called Abhepur, in the state of Haryana about 1 1/2 hours south of Delhi. This was our exposure to "village life," which was a refreshing break from the city. Our trip was organized by a NGO called Vision of India, so they showed us the weaving centers they started and introduced us to the women that run them and profit from them (we even got to try some weaving.) My favorite part was the night and early morning. Julia and I stayed with a family that lives in a mud hut and it was wonderful. We tried out our Hindi skills with the family and they let us help make rotis over a fire fueled by cow dung patties (or cakes...whichever word you prefer...and they don't smell for the record). At night we could see all the stars and the thumbnail moon from our cots. I loved it! Of course, good things never last too long and we got up at around 5 am to walk to the outskirts of the village and attempt to do yoga...let's just say our "OOM"s were accompanied by a fair big of laughter. As clean and tidy and welcoming as the mud hut and our host family were, toilets were lacking, so I added my pile of poo to the cow, goat, and who knows what else in the bushes because one can't do yoga under such conditions...
More on this later I think...I have to string lights for Diwali!!