12/30/15
The day started off exactly as expected, I went to breakfast with all my Indian, Chinese and American peers, we all ate Indian style eggs and noodles on plain bread and drank sweet chai and coffee. After filling our stomachs with the Indian fare we made our way to the classroom not to far from the scholar house dormitory. The class started with introductions and a syllabus with a run down of the material that we would be studying during our time at the KLE Technological School. About 2 hours passes by and we are told that we are required to take a chai break (which I believe is something that should be instated in the US), so we leave the classroom and go outside to enjoy the sweet chai that is made with chai leaves and goat or buffalo milk. We all socialize with our peers and make connections about family, friends, sports, music and businesses that some of us have started. The tea break ends and we return to our seats in class to get back into the arduous lecture that is scheduled to adjourn at 5pm. Two more hours pass by and we learn that we all have been invited to eat lunch at a traditional Indian wedding that is being hosted by one of our classmates for his sister (the bride), we all look around and murmur excitement about the incredible invitation. Eventually we all pile onto the busses and make our way through Hubli to the wedding venue. The town was bustling, the roads were busy as ever and everyone was flying through the street on motorbikes, scooters, auto-rickshaws, and busses.
When we arrived to the wedding venue the grounds were overflowing with people wearing colorful shirts and dresses. We ascended the steps of the venue and slowly made our way inside the building. As we continued into the wedding ceremony we were ushered down the isle in between hundreds of people with men on the left and women on the right (I was told that this wasn’t a tradition but somehow just happened to separate like a middle school dance). We were instructed to grab a handful of yellow flowers that were to be thrown onto the heads of the bride and groom as a way to congratulate them and wish them a happy life together. We made our way to the stage and took pictures with the newlyweds and shook their hands to wish them well. After the amazing ceremony we carried on downstairs to where lunch was being served. One thing that my Indian friends keep warning me about is the spice of certain foods. I personally love spice and am not afraid to try the spiciest of foods. I also come from Caribbean and South America descent where spicy foods are similarly abundant to India. Keeping this in mind, I try everything that the wedding has to offer and finish every last piece (as is expected by Indian tradition). With a warm heart and a full stomach we hang around talking and taking “selfies” until the busses return to take us back to the college.
