Hello, blog, its been a while. I think I have a regular frequency of writing, it just has regularly long gaps between posts!
Well in a previous post I mentioned a boyfriend, but in the last several months that has turned into me going to India to get married to him! Yay! So handling my awesome profession, my company and its events, and a wedding halfway around the world with customs I'm still learning.. it kind of drains your time and energy... At least for blogging
I'm sitting here in Hyderabad with some incredible weather documenting my trip as best as possible. Not sure how that will go when the hectic parts of the wedding festivities come to light but lets see!
I've nearly published a wedding website and made a Facebook page. I can only imagine what future generations might think reading something like this, and how our parents and generations before them never had the opportunity to do such a thing with technology.
Ravi and I left Seattle with a connection in Dubai, then right on to Hyderabad. The plane ride was fairly uneventful but after sitting for 14 hours one might call it a pain ride. Our ears somehow survived the droning engines, inaudible Arabic announcements (Emirates flight) and screaming children. With great relief and a bit of a long wait, we made it through customs and met Ravi's mom, dad, and niece at the airport.
There's a big language barrier but I could feel all of the emotions that one might expect when parents first meet the future bride of their son. There is a hint of excitement and love and caring behind the anxiety and apprehension. His niece was shy, not very talkative despite messaging me on facebook, but seeing her smile when she saw us come out from the airport told me enough. This is a very happy family and I feel so incredible lucky and excited to become a part of it!
Upon getting into the car with Ravi and Nandini, I naturally out of habit to try to put on my seatbelt. I am struggling to find the second part that you put the latch into, when Ravi turns around from the front and tells me, "This is India, don't worry about it!" Its funny how those habits form and you don't even realize it.
The ride to Ravi's friends house which will be the official bridal house in our affairs is maybe 30 minutes from the airport. There's little traffic on the road, nor traffic lines and its about 4AM. I see lines of stalls and shops and very few people out at this hour. I can imagine how it will be once people are awake. I see lots of palm trees that remind me of my home on the island. I wonder if this in a weird way feels like home away from home.
We arrive and climb 4 flights of stairs with luggage to my new temporary home in India. It's owned by Kotesh garu, one of Ravi's school friends who has been so gracious to host me. They have set aside my own room and bathroom and his wife and sister (i need to check if I understood the relationship right) are here as well. They help me feel comfortable as they talk with Ravi and his family and catch up. I notice Ravi's dad fall asleep in the chair. I realize I should sleep too so I napped for a few hours. The excitemen to of being here kept me awake and I felt ready for adventure.
I realized I had missed the sounds and smells, honking bikes, kids, pigeons, people using their restrooms, some masjid in the far off distance, chai walla selling coffee and chai at the break of dawn, dogs barking. It's a cacophony of sensory information that can be almost overwhelming if you're unfamiliar with it. Coming from a different country it seems so different, yet it is simply the way of life here. I feel lucky I had visited India before, it has definitely prepared me for the next month ahead.
Its my first time visiting the south here, and I see differences, but they are subtle and hard to describe. For an American its like comparing New York to LA, or Seattle to Portland. Each are very different cities with very unique characteristics, but the way of life in all of them are relatively similar. I'm sure with more exposure I'll find a more tangible way to describe these.
After securing what I hope is a good supply of water (avoiding travellers tummy) and having a few winks of sleep, I'm able to dress up and be ready to go outside. Some small anxiety is there but mostly excitement. I also somehow managed to not pack my hairbrush. This is an utter disaster if you're a woman with long hair. I've managed to put enough product in it and comb my fingers through that its manageable. Need to secure another one before it gets too out of control.
It happens to be Dhanteras, a very auspicious time to purchase gold as the festival season is in full swing in preparation for Diwali.
I'm picked up by Ravi and his dad and we are taken to where his mom and sister are waiting. We start looking at gold chains to see what I like and I'm told its for the marriage day when the groom ties the mangalsutra. After seeing a few trays brought out, I short listed a few and the one I liked seemed to have had a defect. With no apology from the shop worker, we decide to move on for greener pastures.
The only way to describe this day for me in a truly American fashion is its like Black Friday sales, but just for gold. It's considered very lucky to buy gold on this day so everyone and their mother, literally, are out buying gold.
Our car driver dodges traffic like a pro and we get down at a place called Kazhana. We wait and try to elbow and push ourselves in line to see the selections and the same people who were climbing over us in the last store are there ahead of us. This time we look at the mangalsutra that the bride wears, if I recall correctly 16 days after the marriage and its basically a necklace akin to the American wedding ring. It's a more manageable design. We see one tray and I keep aside one necklace.
We ask "Raju" to see another and Ravi's mom's and my finger collide as we point at the same necklace. It seems we have the same taste a bit in jewelry. Its fantastic and I felt like this piece picked me when I saw it on my neck. Stunning. We decide to take it. First purchase in Hyderabad. Unfortunately this shop didn't take cards so we had to quickly get cash from an atm, but its managed.
The whole shopping experience took 2-3 hours, most of it just waiting in the one shop. I am not sure if I was allowed to take pictures in the shop so I was a little sneaky about it with my phone.
I was dropped back at home and Ravi's mom was excited to share our purchase with the aunties here. They all seemed to like the design and I felt very happy. A nice way to end the evening and rest up for more shopping on Day 2.
Well in a previous post I mentioned a boyfriend, but in the last several months that has turned into me going to India to get married to him! Yay! So handling my awesome profession, my company and its events, and a wedding halfway around the world with customs I'm still learning.. it kind of drains your time and energy... At least for blogging
I'm sitting here in Hyderabad with some incredible weather documenting my trip as best as possible. Not sure how that will go when the hectic parts of the wedding festivities come to light but lets see!
I've nearly published a wedding website and made a Facebook page. I can only imagine what future generations might think reading something like this, and how our parents and generations before them never had the opportunity to do such a thing with technology.
Ravi and I left Seattle with a connection in Dubai, then right on to Hyderabad. The plane ride was fairly uneventful but after sitting for 14 hours one might call it a pain ride. Our ears somehow survived the droning engines, inaudible Arabic announcements (Emirates flight) and screaming children. With great relief and a bit of a long wait, we made it through customs and met Ravi's mom, dad, and niece at the airport.
There's a big language barrier but I could feel all of the emotions that one might expect when parents first meet the future bride of their son. There is a hint of excitement and love and caring behind the anxiety and apprehension. His niece was shy, not very talkative despite messaging me on facebook, but seeing her smile when she saw us come out from the airport told me enough. This is a very happy family and I feel so incredible lucky and excited to become a part of it!
Upon getting into the car with Ravi and Nandini, I naturally out of habit to try to put on my seatbelt. I am struggling to find the second part that you put the latch into, when Ravi turns around from the front and tells me, "This is India, don't worry about it!" Its funny how those habits form and you don't even realize it.
The ride to Ravi's friends house which will be the official bridal house in our affairs is maybe 30 minutes from the airport. There's little traffic on the road, nor traffic lines and its about 4AM. I see lines of stalls and shops and very few people out at this hour. I can imagine how it will be once people are awake. I see lots of palm trees that remind me of my home on the island. I wonder if this in a weird way feels like home away from home.
We arrive and climb 4 flights of stairs with luggage to my new temporary home in India. It's owned by Kotesh garu, one of Ravi's school friends who has been so gracious to host me. They have set aside my own room and bathroom and his wife and sister (i need to check if I understood the relationship right) are here as well. They help me feel comfortable as they talk with Ravi and his family and catch up. I notice Ravi's dad fall asleep in the chair. I realize I should sleep too so I napped for a few hours. The excitemen to of being here kept me awake and I felt ready for adventure.
I realized I had missed the sounds and smells, honking bikes, kids, pigeons, people using their restrooms, some masjid in the far off distance, chai walla selling coffee and chai at the break of dawn, dogs barking. It's a cacophony of sensory information that can be almost overwhelming if you're unfamiliar with it. Coming from a different country it seems so different, yet it is simply the way of life here. I feel lucky I had visited India before, it has definitely prepared me for the next month ahead.
Its my first time visiting the south here, and I see differences, but they are subtle and hard to describe. For an American its like comparing New York to LA, or Seattle to Portland. Each are very different cities with very unique characteristics, but the way of life in all of them are relatively similar. I'm sure with more exposure I'll find a more tangible way to describe these.
After securing what I hope is a good supply of water (avoiding travellers tummy) and having a few winks of sleep, I'm able to dress up and be ready to go outside. Some small anxiety is there but mostly excitement. I also somehow managed to not pack my hairbrush. This is an utter disaster if you're a woman with long hair. I've managed to put enough product in it and comb my fingers through that its manageable. Need to secure another one before it gets too out of control.
It happens to be Dhanteras, a very auspicious time to purchase gold as the festival season is in full swing in preparation for Diwali.
I'm picked up by Ravi and his dad and we are taken to where his mom and sister are waiting. We start looking at gold chains to see what I like and I'm told its for the marriage day when the groom ties the mangalsutra. After seeing a few trays brought out, I short listed a few and the one I liked seemed to have had a defect. With no apology from the shop worker, we decide to move on for greener pastures.
The only way to describe this day for me in a truly American fashion is its like Black Friday sales, but just for gold. It's considered very lucky to buy gold on this day so everyone and their mother, literally, are out buying gold.
Our car driver dodges traffic like a pro and we get down at a place called Kazhana. We wait and try to elbow and push ourselves in line to see the selections and the same people who were climbing over us in the last store are there ahead of us. This time we look at the mangalsutra that the bride wears, if I recall correctly 16 days after the marriage and its basically a necklace akin to the American wedding ring. It's a more manageable design. We see one tray and I keep aside one necklace.
We ask "Raju" to see another and Ravi's mom's and my finger collide as we point at the same necklace. It seems we have the same taste a bit in jewelry. Its fantastic and I felt like this piece picked me when I saw it on my neck. Stunning. We decide to take it. First purchase in Hyderabad. Unfortunately this shop didn't take cards so we had to quickly get cash from an atm, but its managed.
The whole shopping experience took 2-3 hours, most of it just waiting in the one shop. I am not sure if I was allowed to take pictures in the shop so I was a little sneaky about it with my phone.
I was dropped back at home and Ravi's mom was excited to share our purchase with the aunties here. They all seemed to like the design and I felt very happy. A nice way to end the evening and rest up for more shopping on Day 2.
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