Holi!
Last Saturday was Holi. If you want to know the Hows and Whys of the celebration, click here. Frankly I am just too lazy to explain it all. The lazy girl's version is this: Every business shuts down, everyone gets drunk (the traditional drink of the day is called Thandai , which is often made with marijuana) and throws colored powder, water and eggs at everyone else. Fun, huh? Last year we were all still wearing our "deer in the headlights" look, so we stayed home. This year we were slightly braver. We went to a Mormon Holi party. Hey! I said slightly. All of the fun, none of the liquid pot or eggs.
As we walked in the gate we were greeted with a dousing of water and some really loud drums. At this point our 5 yr old son decided he was all funned out and went inside our very understanding hosts' house to find the toys. The rest of us stayed out to play.
Welcome To The Party!
Dance To My Very Loud Drum, Dance I Say!
Is It Time To Go Home Yet?
Oddly, This Wasn't As Easy To Wash Out As I Would Have Hoped.
When our kids had had all the fun they could take, we headed home. Mr. Smith and I went out to cover every surface of the car with old sheets and towels before we let the kids get in, and were the victims of a drive by egging! Luckily the egg hit me in the...well, let's just say a well padded area, and bounced off of me, to break harmlessly on the street. Our car fared only slightly worse. It's my fault, really. I neglected to devise a way to affix an old bed sheet to the ceiling of the car and so there are a few colorful smudges to remind us of our day.
The next day (Easter Sunday) we all went to church looking a little bit like Easter eggs. The ends of my hair are still bright green. Mr. Smith says "it's hot". See why I married him? My girls say it looks like I got my hair tipped, which instantly makes me 5 to 10 points cooler in their book. At least until it finally washes out.
As I have complained about before, water only runs to the house twice a day. While it is running we fill our underground tank, then we pump it up to the rooftop tanks which supply the house with water for the rest of the day. Apparently our hosts have the same set up. By the time we left their house they were out of water. There are currently about 15 people living at their house. All weekend I was wondering how long they all had to wait for baths. Have I mentioned what wonderful, gracious, fun loving, good sports they are?
