Tuesday, October 17, 2006

use your education and take an educated guess...

There is something about feeling like a foreigner in one’s own clothes that is both alarming and invigorating. I am wearing a sari today rather than my usual Shalwar Kameez. It is so much fun and beautiful, but ever so much more complicated. Alana helped me get dressed and it still took a crazy amount of time. I think that when I try to dress myself in one of these, I will have to plan an hour ahead of time at least. All the folding and wrapping and tucking is incredibly intricate and has to be done just right, or you may end up exposing yourself in a very inappropriate way on the street. It is a crazy thing to be wearing this much fabric though. I believe Alana said it is 6 or 8 yards of fabric! “yards of fabric and I still feel naked” (for those of you who don’t like to play my movie line game, that is from EverAfter)
The longer I have been in the city the more crazy it has become with that festive mood of Eid (Muslim ‘christmas’)…this means that there are more beggars accosting you at every street corner, rickshaw/CNG/taxi drivers all refuse the proper fare and require an Eid bonus of sorts along with all cooks and maids and guards etc. And though it is a very fun and exciting time and the place seems to be exploding with movement and life, I am very excited to escape the city tomorrow and leave for my boat trip into the Sundarban region. I leave at 6 am tomorrow - while most of you who read this are eating supper – and go for 4-days along the western Sundarban region floating through the jungle. If you google Sundarban area, you will see just how incredible this place is and I’m sure I’ll be back next week bursting with stories about it all. I’m going with Bengal Tours Ltd. (www.bengaltours.com) for those of you concerned about my personal safety…I’m sure I will be fine because they are very professional and we have armed guards – wait, maybe that fact won’t put your mind at ease! And though it is not the season to spot tigers, and perhaps it is best to stay away from them, I cannot help but hope for some exciting wildlife to shake up the trip a bit. On that note, Happy Eid and eat some cake for me this week to celebrate!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Saweet, I can comment on here now! Bri, a) I did indeed know the origin of your movie line, b) I think you should post somepics of you in your sari, and c) Trixie crawled on the roof of the tower and hung aninsanely huge make poverty history banner. Thought I should tell ya that, haha. Happy Eid, later!

bri said...

haha, can you take a picture of that banner on King's? I wold love to see that one!

Sarah said...

Me too!

Anonymous said...

Ask Trixie! She took pictures! We painted the banner outside and while it was drying left for an hour. When we came back, someone had thrown it in the dumpster!! So much for support.

bri said...

haha, facilities! so supportive of student activities...glad to see somethings stay the same while I'm gone