Happy Holi!

The adjective "colorful" is often used to describe India and Holi is probably the best festival which captures this idea.  It is, actually, "The Festival of Colors."

I don't know much about Holi.  It seems to incorporate many portents for celebration.  It has a Hindu flair (little holi, the night before, celebrates an old story by the lighting of bonfires) and a more druidic or natural piece as it falls on the last full moon day of the winter season.  I believe it is more of a xmas type festival where it's merged mutliple historical contexts into a large party day.  It is a national holiday (most festivals tend to be regional, this is one of the few that is celebrated throughout) and it's ALL about color.  Mostly throwing color powder or water.  On people.

For those of you who happen to be "amazing race" fans you might recall the espisode where contestants had to run through a crowd of people throwing colors at them.  I've also seen TV commericials in india with people holding someting similiar to a water gun which shoots out the stuff.  It's pretty damn impressive.

I have been warned and told not to leave my house tomorrow as I will most likely "get colored" and some of it will not wash off with ease.  I am going to try to make it to the apartment complex festival and hopefully will be able to take some pics of the fun from the gates.  I'd like to experience it somewhat!

Happy Holi! 

Hookas are fun!

I need to get me one when I get back.

So far my fav type of flavor = Nirvana (strawberry/mint).

Games Galore

Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS Version) is my new obsession.  The game was released in 2007 and I'm just getting around to checking it out.  Playing it gives me severe anxiety and shakes, like a crack addict on withdrawal (not that I would know anything about that…).

Why? You might ask. It reminds me how far behind I am and how every month I stumble way back.  Here is my to do list when I get home:

1. Dragon Age (need to finish it)
2. Arkham Asylum
3. Borderlands
4. Army of Two 2
5. Left4Dead 2
6. Bioshock 1
7. Bioshock 2
8. Mass Effect 2
9. Assassins Creed 2

Seriously, I’m not even joking. Wouldn’t this give you a massive case of how the hell am I going to keep up jitters? OH AND THEN ON TOP OF IT, in the next 3 months (which let’s be clear, if I took those 3 months, didn’t work and stayed home every weekend strapped to my couch and did nothing else at all besides pee and close my eyes for a few hours a day and snort massive amounts of amphetamines, I wouldn’t get through the mess above) I have the upcoming titles that I will be way behind on:

1.  Final Fantasy 13 (SS -->)
2. Alan Wake
3. Risen
4. I am Alive
5. Dante’s Inferno
6. Fable 3

Oh and just to prove how unhealthy a problem I have, there are a few ps3 exclusive games that I am very much interested in trying out and on principle I’ve withheld getting them b/c it’s monopolizing – at the very least they can put it out on PC. But I’m starting to fold just on the sheer pressure of not getting to see this technology feat as it’s happening

1. Heavy Rain
2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
3. Kingdom Hearts
4. Ok, I’ll just throw it in: Persona

 So I guess what I'm saying is that I'm glad I caught up on my reading while I was here.

lunch talks

Monday

Vishal: So what is the religion in the US, Christianity?

Me: um…well, no. I guess maybe it’s built on Christian principles but we aren’t a ‘Christian’ Country.

Vishal: What kind of country are you?

Me: We aren’t meant to be a ‘religious’ country per se.

Vishal: What’s the majority?

Me: I guess Christianity. Although I’d estimate we have equal parts jews/non-believers so all together that makes up the majority.

Vishal: What are you?

Me: Me? I’m nothing.

Vishal: You are a nonbeliever????”

Me: Yes.

[silence]

Varsha: You don’t pray…at all?

Me: No.

Varsha: Wow, I spend so much time praying.

VishalG: Well then what do you do when you need to do really well on a test? Who do you thank if you get a promotion?

Me: I study. And I guess I thank my luck.

[laughter]

Vishal: I guess there is something in that, You are completely responsible for yourself.



Wednesday

Vishal: Are you going to have your cook learn Indian food when you go back to the states?

Me: [snort] Yeah, I’ll make sure to teach myself.

Vishal: You cook?

Me: Yes, I do everything.

Vishal: Your laundry? [nod] Your dishes? [nod] Your ironing? [nod] Your driving, your car washing?

Rupal: It’s cleaner there, they don’t need to wash their cars.

Vishal: How much does it cost to clean your car?

Me: 10 bucks for the outside.

Vishal: The OUTSIDE? I pay 4 dollars a month and I get it cleaned every day. How much is baby care?

Me: Women I know don’t go back to work because they’d lose money paying for daycare even with their jobs.

Vishal: I don’t understand, don’t you have any luxuries? I thought you had Mexicans?

Me: See? We don’t have time to pray.

Vishal: I feel better now, I like being Indian.

I do!

 India has given me a completely different perspective on a very specific thing: marriage. I certainly don’t consider relationships the same way anymore.


Here there is a very distinctive difference between arranged and the opposite – what Indians call “love” marriages. It’s pretty common for everyone to know about other people’s marriage situation and sometimes it pops up in conversations unexpectedly (ex: at lunch someone has a dessert and the comments fly, “oooh of course you got that thanks to your love marriage….”).

But the love marriages themselves are seen as practical and it’s insightful and dare I say – a more mature process – than what we have in the US. Even people wildly in love are not necessarily considered perfect matches and it seems this concept is more obvious and less of a learning experience than in the states. One friend at work was telling me she and her now husband were crazy about each other but never considered actually marrying because they were so different. Finally after a few years, they got together and asked each other the questions that most couples ask before hitching up: “How many kids do you want? What are your life ambitions? What are you working for and towards? Would you stay late at work instead of going to a child’s bday party?” At the end of this they realized they were finally on the same page. The question that lynched it? She asked him, “If your mother and I got into a fight, whose side would you choose?” His answer: It would depend on what the argument was about but I would talk to both of you privately to resolve it.

Conversely, but equally interesting: people that I've spoken to without love in their marriage treat this as just what was the luck of the draw. But it doesn’t detract from the concept of having a rewarding and successful partnership.  There are of course exceptions to every rule but I find what I've expressed above is more of a majority than not.

I believe the thing that differs between our two cultures is people’s expectations. Without these notions of the other person ALWAYS having to agree with you or ALWAYS being there for you or ALWAYS being passionate with you or ALWAYS just knowing what you want and how to satisfy you – it definitely lends to a more practical partnership in life. The concept overall really balances with my ideas of why marriage exists and it's benefits .

Woe of the time: 'shockingly' complicated

This is not a picture of my place, but I can empathize.

One international travel frustration that is usually overlooked is electronic paraphernalia and electrical issues.


I was frustrated and confused about my xbox not working here but it seems that I’ve grown accustomed to jimmy rigging all my other electronics to somehow work decently. When I was home for 2 weeks I had to constantly remind myself I could directly plug something into the wall and charge it.

Currently my electronic boutique consists of my india phone, US phone, kindle, computer, hair straight thingy, Nintendo DS, and 2 cameras. I think that’s it. While I have 8 major devices I have over 30 cords for them (between electrical cords, usb cables, battery chargers, etc) Beyond the straight up plug modifier you need to worry about amps in each of the devices, whether or not you need a converter, as well as potentially needing a stabilizer. My kindle is a world adapter cord with built in USB and wins the best design ever award. From me. Even though I have india adapter cords w/ reduced amps  for my phone and comp they seem to really dislike the voltage and though they charge up full they die inordinately fast.

Additionally, my plugs that convert two to three prong (or vice versa) have been royally fudged which means my cords no longer stay in them, they slide right out. This sucks because I have to plug a converter into the actual device plug and then attach the India plug adapter to the converter but the converter falls out, making charging anything impossible. On top of that they aren’t actually labeled well so am I using the European version? The Australian? The African? I have no idea. Does it seem to fit into the wall? Yep, sure okay. I now charge most of my electronics through my computer and usb port, which is another exercise in jimmy rigging and how not to electrocute yourself as some of my devices don’t come with a usb plug. I have one remaining prong converter which doesn’t let my converter/plugs slide out which I use very sparingly as it’s what I use for my hair straight-ner and if that goes I’ll be a total ugly mess.