Sports Week!

This past weekend was "Sports Week" for the college here. We had a blast participating in some of the events, and just hanging out with the students. They had a really wide range of events set up from football (soccer) to essay writing. Below you can see a picture of Tim throwing a javelin. He also had a lot of fun playing soccer, badminton, backwards running...  I was recruited to be in a couple really fun events, group pictionary, essay writing, and a couple events that involved acting out stories. They also had some really fun little races like the lime on a spoon race. You have to hold a spoon in your mouth and run to the finish line while balancing a small lime on the spoon. We both won that race for our teams, so they were joking that we've had 10 years experience in the USA. lol Ya, we run around with limes on spoons all the time. :)

 Above: Saturday night for the final program they had a big feast for everybody kinda like we had on independence day. This time we ate outside, and they brought the food out in these giant pots hauled over on the tractor. It was really yummy, and yes, I ate with my fingers. :)

Above: This is one of my violin students, Chris, all decked out in his traditional outfit for a skit.

Independence Day Feast

Ok, so I'm sure if you saw my post with all the pictures of pig butchering you're wondering how it tasted right? Well let me just say, yum, yum, yum! They cooked it in some kind of spicy curry sauce. Also on the menu was chicken curry, white rice, rice with tomato something, and curd. The chicken curry was slightly different than the pork curry, but if I had eaten them on separate days I probably would have said they were the same. I think I would have to be here for awhile before I could detect the subtle differences in spices, but it's all very good. Curd is like runny yogurt with onions and tomatoes in it. Really good mixed with rice and curry.

Anyways, the whole meal was a really fun experience. They handed us each a big metal plate on the way in. Then they dumped a big pile of rice on it, and on top of the rice they put the curry and curd. Then, my favorite part :), you mix it all around with your fingers and scoop it into your mouth. This was actually a dream come true for me because, ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to go to India so I could eat with my fingers. There really is a technique to it. You kinda scoop it up with your fingers and shove it into your mouth with your thumb. I believe it really is a superior method for eating. Think about it, a fork in an American restaurant has been in how many people's mouths? euwww! My fingers, only in my mouth. The Indian couple we were sitting across from said it used to be even better because they ate off banana leaves, no plates to wash! Eating with your fingers also keeps you from chomping down on the little bits of bones that get chopped up and cooked with the meat. AND...it's way more fun!

(You might notice in the following pictures a fork and spoon on my plate. I did not use them! They were given to us by our hosts because we are Americans, and everyone knows that Americans eat with forks. lol Not this one. :)

Independence Day Evening Program

Wednesday evening the students put on a program in honor of Independence Day. There are students here from all over India, as well as Myanmar(Burma). Each group of students chose a guy and girl to represent their state and wear their full traditional costume. Then all the students from the state sang a song in their language. We also played some corny games, heard a speech, and sang the national anthem.

All of the groups did a really great job. It was a really neat cultural experience for us, and they all seemed to really enjoy themselves. All in all it was a fun evening for everyone.

map of India showing states and provinces

group from Kerala (southern India)

group from Nagaland (northwest India)

group from Assam

group from Mizoram

group from Myanmar (Burma)

Independence Day!

August 15, 1947...the day India gained her independence. Today was a holiday off from school in celebration of independence day. This morning started with a parade and flag raising ceremony. All the students from the matriculation school as well as the college marched around the soccer field in uniform. They also sang the national anthem, pledged to the flag, sang another song about India, and the president of the college gave a short speech.

This was only the beginning of a day of celebration. Tomorrow I'll share more about the rest of the day.

When the flag was raised, it released a cloud of glitter

Standing at attention

March, march, march...

...march, march, march...

...march, march, march...

to the beat of the drum

matriculation school teachers lined up in their uniform sarees

singing the national anthem