haai!

Will try not to use too many exclamation marks in this post, but I had such an exciting Saturday that it's going to be difficult! Also just wanted to say "haai" after my last, slightly depressing, post. All of the chocolate bars are eaten and everyone knows how much chocolate cheers me up! I'm having some difficulty typing because I have a ridiculously painful lump on my finger, but I'll give it a go! (That's three exclamation marks already.)

 

It wasn't until gone 11pm that I went to bed on Friday night, smelling of garlic, and even then I couldn't sleep because of the music coming from the Pooja celebration at the temple. I had stayed downstairs to help prepare food for the 80 children coming with us "on tour" the next day. Even though peeling garlic cloves was the only task I was trusted with - and Venkayamma madam and Sri Devi madam found it hilarious to watch me - I felt like a real Indian girl sat cross legged on the floor in my saree wearing the new gold bangles I had bought earlier in the day. The trip to "Haailand" or "The Highlands" as I thought it was called until we arrived, had, like most exciting things here, been the main topic of conversation at school all week. Slowly I managed to work out more and more details about the "Highlands" and I eventually realised that I would be going on a planned school trip rather than a family trip to a place "with some green places" where "some children are playing".

Gopi knocked on my door at 4am. I was ready by 4.30am. But, of course, thanks to the joys of 'Indian time' we didn't leave - girls and boys on their separate buses - until gone seven. And even then we only moved a couple of metres before Ramana Sir stopped the bus to crack a coconut in front of it for good luck. At last, we were on our way, but not for long. We stopped at three more temples before we reached Ongole. Venkayamma madam and Ramana Sir took a coconut to each one and we passed around temple kumkum. By this point, I was longing for my bed, but we were crammed so tightly into the bus that sleeping wasn't an option. Instead, I listened to the girls' constant singing, booed with them as the bus full of screaming boys sped past us and cheered as we - slightly dangerously - overtook. The race continued, until we reached our destination, unfortunately in second place - I suspect that the male bus driver was on the boys team all along.

I ate my delicious tomato rice (the garlic tasted particularly good I'd say) in the bus park, full of anticipation. And, because of my painful finger and hungry tummy, that's where I'm going to leave you for now on a cliff hanger of sorts...