Blog 9 - Three Week Recap Part 2: Independence Week!
Slideshow of Pictures at the AFS Delhi Chapter Welcome Party!
A couple days before India’s Independence Day from the British, I received an email from the Department of State recommending Americans in India to “to keep a low-profile” and take precautions due to this patriotic celebration taking place on the 15th of August, but it is celebrated the whole week. I took this seriously but yet during this week I also did so much! On the Saturday before Independence Day, I went to the mall to get my host mother a birthday card, as well as go to Starbucks to study on my computer as the WiFi at home does not work.
On that Sunday, it was my host mom’s birthday and we had to go to Ghaziabad (around two-hour drive) for the AFS Welcome Party, where I’d be reunited and meet everyone’s host families. Harry and I met up once before when going to a Hindi play and cruising downtown Delhi for an Adidas hat. They wanted to show me their old house so we stopped by and also visited their neighbors. The party was great, we all introduced ourselves in Hindi, had a talent show and ate delicious cake!
Although I am learning the tabla (Indian drums), I was not good enough at it to perform, and I was definitely not going to sing a song. So for the talent show, I sang/recited Gayatri Mantra, a Hindu prayer, and spoke about the Indian freedom fighters. It seemed more of standup comedy as there was a lot of laughing at my Hindi. Leonie (from Germany) and I won the first prize of a photo frame, in which I will put a picture in it from this day!
On the way back, we stopped at an Uncle’s house and there I was given so too many Indian snacks.
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| The other exchange students hosted in Delhi-NCR. |
My Hindi intro (more like stand-up comedy).
Although I am learning the tabla (Indian drums), I was not good enough at it to perform, and I was definitely not going to sing a song. So for the talent show, I sang/recited Gayatri Mantra, a Hindu prayer, and spoke about the Indian freedom fighters. It seemed more of standup comedy as there was a lot of laughing at my Hindi. Leonie (from Germany) and I won the first prize of a photo frame, in which I will put a picture in it from this day!
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| Leonie and I with our photo frames with the Delhi chapter head, Reeta's host mom (& welcome party host), and the judges! |
On Tuesday, my counselor was in Gurgaon so we decided to meet up at Huda City Center, a mall under a metro station. I took a rickshaw and was dropped off. While walking out of the rickshaw and letting my counselor know I have arrived, I hear American English so I turn my head and see around 10 Americans packed in a car with loud music and screaming. They were talking to the bhaiya (brother in Hindi) working at a stand for the “American-style Sour Cream and Onion” chips. I look at them and they look at me. The guy then screams “Hey, another American!” and I yell back “Yeeeee”, then we all laugh as I continue on my way to the mall. There we just checked in with each other as we ate our Dominos, and then enjoyed our ice cream!
On Independence Day on the 15th of August, it was a national holiday so we did not have any school. I was invited to go to Ghaziabad to enjoy their society’s (as in an apartment complex) festivities and then visit India Gate to fly kites. Due to the metro being closed and the high-security risk, I decided to listen to my host family and the US Dept. of State’s advice on keeping a low profile. But instead, my host family and I went to their former neighbor’s house in Palam Vihar for lunch. Then I was invited by some school friends to explore CyberHub, a hub of food joints in a technology park called CyberCity. It was a fun time where I got to try Taco Bell and an Indian ice-cream chain!
Bhayva and I with our Dominos and ice-cream!
On Independence Day on the 15th of August, it was a national holiday so we did not have any school. I was invited to go to Ghaziabad to enjoy their society’s (as in an apartment complex) festivities and then visit India Gate to fly kites. Due to the metro being closed and the high-security risk, I decided to listen to my host family and the US Dept. of State’s advice on keeping a low profile. But instead, my host family and I went to their former neighbor’s house in Palam Vihar for lunch. Then I was invited by some school friends to explore CyberHub, a hub of food joints in a technology park called CyberCity. It was a fun time where I got to try Taco Bell and an Indian ice-cream chain!
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| Independence Day at CyberHub! |
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