Dubai- Day 2

The next day was Christmas and we spent it like we never have! In the morning, my cousins, sister, and I all went swimming in their pool. The water was kind of cold but we still swam for about 1 hour. Normally, we're use to snow and ice, but not this time! After that, my uncle dropped off my aunt, dad, and mom to the Gold Souk so that my aunt and mom could finish their shopping. He took my sister, my two cousins, and me to the beach just to get to feel the water and see if we could swim in it. The water was perfect so we made a plan that we would go swimming in it on the last day of our trip. After the beach we went to a gas station to get some snacks because one of my cousins had a tennis lesson. We quickly headed to the park and waited for an hour while he had his lesson. When the lesson was over, we all headed home because my aunt had invited one of her friends over. That night, we also got to light firecrackers, which was a lot of fun!

It may seem like we did a lot in two days, but this was the start of everything.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Anuja

Dubai-Day 1

After a month in India we headed to Dubai (a state in U.A.E.) for 5 days. My mom's cousin lives there so we thought we would stay with her family and have fun! All in all, it was great.
The first day, we arrived at Dubai at around 11 p.m. and had a good night rest. We woke up the next day, had some breakfast, and headed out to go sight-seeing. We went to Palm Jumeirah (an island that was made by a bunch of workers that is shaped like a palm tree) It was really cool to know that the island was man-made. After that, we drove around looking at beaches, amusement parks, and much more! Sight-seeing was lots of fun but made everyone super hungry so we went to a Lebonese Restaraunt. We ordered a bunch of good like hummus (a dip), kabus (similar to pita bread), salad, and a huge meat platter that had chicken, mutton, and lamb on it. The food was super delicious but we couldn't eat anymore. By then, it was time to go. We went around Dubai again, while my aunt and uncle were pointing out a few great restaraunts, museums, and other things we might want to go to during our trip. The really fun part about the drive was that my uncle's car had a sun roof that could slide open so we got to stick our heads out while he was on the highway. What my mom liked most about the day was when we went to the Gold Souk (a gold market). My mom found a really nice gold set and bought it. We also went to a store to buy swimsuits for my sister and I. After a long day of sight-seeing we went back to my uncle and aunt's house, had a nice dinner, watched TV, chatted a bit, and then finally fell asleep. What a first day! Thanks for reading my post!

My Uncle's Wedding

Hi everyone! I am so behind schedule of posting on my blog! We were all really busy and didn't have a single day to log on to the computer. The reason we came to India in the middle of the school year was because it was my uncle's wedding and who didn't want to miss that? This is how it all happened:
The first day there was a ceremony where the groom prays to god and the preist tell a story about the gods. It was about 2 hours long but I didn't sit and listen to the whole prayer. While all that was happening, upstairs on our roof, we had told a couple of people to set it up nicely and make food for the 30-some people that had come to our house. It was quite nice and the food was great!
The next day, everybody on the groom's side, packed up and headed in a bus to Haridwar (Ha-Rid-Waar, about 8 hours away) where the actually wedding was going to take place. The bus ride was so much fun because we talked and danced with all of our friends and family. Once we got to Haridwar, we were all dropped off at a hotel which was booked just for the groom's side of the family. There we had some snacks and then it was time to dance. All the ladies danced and danced for 2 hours straight while all the men were delivering the wedding program to the bride's house. We finally finished the dancing and ate dinner. Wooh, was that a fun day!
The second day of our stay at Haridwar was the day of the actual wedding. We all got dressed up in colorful and ornate dresses and walked and danced on the road all the way to the venue. That's actually an Indian tradition when the groom's side of the family dances and walks all the way to the venue while the groom is sitting on a horse or in a car. My uncle actually sat in a horse buggy because muy cousins wanted to sit with him on the horse. Once we got to the venue, we had dinner and waited for the bride to come. Once she came, they had a bunch of ceremonies and finally the wedding came to an end. It was quite long too because it started at 7 p.m. and ended at about 3 in the morning! We were all tired and went back to the hotel to sleep.
In the morning, there was another ceremony where the bride becomes a part of the groom's family and comes and lives with the groom. I had to miss it because I had gotten sick and puked in the morning. :( Thankfully, that was the last day in Haridwar and we headed back home to my grandma's house.
To give everybody a rest, there was a gap between the wedding and the wedding reception. After 3 days, we held the wedding reception to finally show that my uncle and aunt were married. It was also a chance for the people who didn't get to come to the wedding to meet the new bride. I also got to meet alot of family who I hadn't seen in a long time or hadn't even met! Everyone said that I looked a lot like my mom when she was little (which was a little dissapointing!) There was a lot of food too. From sweets to soups and a salad bar to a bunch of drinks. The varieties were endless! There was also a disco dance floor. We danced for about an 1 and a half on all of the latest songs in India. As you can see, I had a lot of fun in my uncle's wedding. I wish it would never end! That's ok, though. I had as much fun as I possibly could in those few days and I'll always remember it. ♥♥♥

Anuja

A Busy Busy Week!

Hi guys! This is Anuja here again. Sorry about not posting for more than a week! I was so busy and didn't have internet connection for a long time.
First of all, we went to a place called Dehradun (Dey-RAH-Doon; a place in North India) for my mom's cousin's wedding. Now this isn't the wedding that we came for but he's my mom's really close cousin and we thought it would be awesome to go and have fun! We went on Thursday and stayed there till Saturday (Indian weddings are quite long)! The car ride to Dehradun was a lot more different than what it's like in Iowa. First of all, there were bull-driven carts, BMW's, and Mercedes driving right by each other! Also, the roads were always crammed with people and it seemed like the whole population of Iowa was on one road! To add to the picture, there are also cows roaming on the side of the road and sometimes even in them middle of the road. It's crazy but that's what makes India India. It was lots of fun at the wedding, too. We danced and danced, ate and ate, and did a lot more! It was the first Indian wedding that I will ever remember!
After the wedding, we headed to Garhwal (Gur-Waal. A place in the total north of India) to my dad's village. It's called Pharasu (after my last name) and was tons of fun! We walked about 5 miles a day and played with the village kids. I couldn't believe It, but a few of the families had TV's! (I was surprised because there wasn't fresh water coming to the village because of landslides, but there was cable!) We also went to a temple (Like a church, but for Hindus.) The temple was cool because we got to go to the Ganges, which is said to have the purest water in the world! We brought a bottle filled with the river's water back so that I can show all of the kids in my class! My dad's family owns a huge farmhouse in the village and about 32 acres of farmland (crops). We also got to feed calves and bulls. The view was also great because you could see the Himalayas in the morning. The village is so beautiful that my uncle calls it Switzerarasu (named after Switzerland). When we were leaving from the village, we stopped at Tehri dam (Ter-Ree). It's actually they 3rd biggest dam in the world! The coolest part about the dam was that we got to go inside because of one of our relatives works at the dam. (Only people who work in the dam get to go inside!) It was a cool, once-in-a lifetime chance. Unluckily, we didn't get to take pictures because they didn't let you.
As you can probably tell, my week was totally crazy! I just got back about 2 hours ago after a 14 hour ride. Tomorrow is the beginning of my real uncle's wedding and I'll keep you guys updated! Thanks for visiting my blog. See you soon. :D

Anuja