Friday, July 14 Epic Party in Dev Dar

Thank goodness it’s Friday. Again, I had stomach problems, a fever, and headache, so I lay on the couch at Dev Dar from 1 until 9, listening to my iPod, drinking four bottles of Aquafina, eating bland food, and going to the bathroom. I hate Delhi belly, this is the second time so far I’ve gotten sick. Not fair, my immune system is basically nonexistent. I slept for hours before getting up at 11pm and heading down to Dev Dar for the party in the patio area. And let me tell you, this was a dance partaaaay! They had a disgusting amount of workers to make it possible, and it was an all-day affair in planning to get it to work. There were like six porters carrying speakers on their backs that were bigger than they were. They had a DJ with lights, and then they brought in a DDR dance floor, which lit up. You could hear the music from Oakland, well over 300 meters away. I love how they urge us to conserve power, yet they do stuff like this. Please. However, we ended up playing music on some random person’s iPod. There was a lot of bhangra and American party music going on. I was going crazy breaking it down, as usual. Everyone but me was drunk and high, it was kind of awkward but still awesome. I'm pretty sure that might just be the worst part of having Delhi Belly....I can't drink! WHAT IS THIS?!? Anyways, They changed this one song in the middle of it, and Rudy threw a tantrum like a seven-year-old, and they changed it back. It was really fun, but got weird fast. And somehow it was extremely homo-erotic…and not in a funny/joking way. For example, the Indian hotel worker men who smelled really bad tried dancing with every American girl...and guy. I and everyone else was really uncomfortable, and even though it’s their custom and I should take it was a compliment that they like dancing platonically with me, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s still extremely awkward. And then someone invited the Brown University students, who were really off and Bohemian. An example to illustrate my point: This one 35-year-old bearded white man was grinding on these other Brown U guys the entire time and they made out and danced in Eiffel Tower poses….all while carrying his infant son. The owner of Dev Dar and local business owners also came and were dancing. I’ve noticed that Indians actually like dancing and having a good time partying. They’re all smiles and want to dance inclusively, with everyone, young and old, and men and women. Alcohol and sex is not part of their party culture. Americans, on the other hand, like getting wasted, being crazy, and promiscuity. This means alcohol and drugs are indispensable at parties, and guys dance with girls (because girls like it) and the point of the party is ultimately to hook up or do something worthy of a “One time when I was trashed, I…” story. This means partying together is exclusive to one’s respective age group. This, of course, is a generalization, but such trends largely seem to be true in my experience. I ended up staying awake until 2am, the latest I’ve ever stayed up in India. Then I was awoken by incessant knocks at the door at 3am. I was pretty sketched out. Turns out to be the drunk worker man asking if Amy was there, which she wasn’t and he already knew that. Creepy, and completely and utterly unnecessary.