Kendra
Jan. 26, 2007

Today was Republic Day, so all of our host families had the day off to spend with us before we leave.

Every person had his/her own personal experience today, so I am limited to sharing Brook’s and my experience.  This morning, we had Bombay toast for breakfast and were taught by our host mother how to tie a sari.  It’s not that complex, but it looks very beautiful!  After loading the car with our luggage, we drove out to a Chinese beauty parlor where Brook got her nose pierced and I watched, amazed, at the technique Indian women use to pluck their eyebrows, which is a very painful-looking experience using a twisted piece of thread.  Our host mother needed to have her shoe repaired, so we had our first experience with a shoe repairman, who had his entire operation running out of a shack on the side of the road no bigger than my bedroom closet! 

We got terribly lost trying to find the restaurant where our lunch was to be held.  We were an hour late; our host father told us this was typical.  “Tell an Indian you want him to be there at 11 sharp, and he’ll show up right on time…at 12!” he said.  We finally arrived at the restaurant, called Kafflok, where we found that we weren’t the only ones who’d shown up late.  Paul gave a short thank-you speech to the families and gave them all boxes of traditional Indian sweets, and we each presented our families with the gifts we had brought to show our appreciation.  We all said our final goodbyes, took our last few pictures, and loaded the bus to leave.

We drove through High-Tech City on the way to Shilparamam Market, where we spent our last few hundred rupees on handicrafts.  The children begging outside the market nearly knocked Alison down in an attempt to get the chocolate she brought out to share!

We had dinner at the home of Paul’s sister, Becky, where we enjoyed pizza and breadsticks.  Becky had a woman come over to do henna (temporary tattoos) on some of the girls’ hands and feet.  We even had a few mini-dance parties and watched the sunset from the rooftop.  Paul and Jill gave out “Personality Awards” that highlighted each person’s most memorable quality from the trip.  I got the award for journaling the most.  Becky gave us all jeweled pens, elephant keychains and cashew candy.

When everyone was ready, we headed off to the airport, where we stood in line forever, trying to push our way in.  Once through security, we found that our plane was delayed, so we all lay around on the ground.  Now that we’re on our way out, I’m remembering what Boyd told us before he left: “You can leave India, but India will never leave you.”