Monday, September 25 No Hotels, Party Stories, Garba
I managed to, inadvertantly, avoid staying in hotels the entire past weekend. Two nights were sleeper trains, one was in a bus station, and one on an overnight bus. No one else besides me would actually do this. I was just dirtier than a used condom. What do you expect with five days in India living from a suitcase with no change of clothes, shower, facewash or teethbrushing. I wasn’t really angry about it, or tired. Actually, I was stoked because I saved money. 
Ok, it’s official: Tyler Rapp needs help. I am the dirtiest and cheapest person I know. I have now sunk to the point where I’m too cheap to pay even $2 a night for a hotel room. When I awoke on the train and rode a rickshaw to the Metro station, I was actually cold. In Delhi. I didn’t know that was possible. But, that was because it was seven in the morning; eventually it got to 90 today. But Delhi is now cooling off each day, which is amazing. I came back and noticed my bedsheets were gone. Oh no, someone either puked or had sex in my bed at Ro and Puran’s birthday party. Apparently the party on Saturday was (an understatement) was out of control. Apparently they made a glorious jungle juice mixture (which I would pay for the recipe). So glorious it was that red vomit covered the entire second floor. Since only one bathroom was functioning (and it was covered in puke) the whole second floor acted as the streets of India; a receptacle for every bodily fluid. Since no one is really friends on EAP, everyone felt the need to get tanked, and did. And, because no one is getting any action, it inevitably turned into a massive orgy. Alix awoke to Kim puking on her feet and a used condom on her computer. No one went home; they just passed out all over the puke-covered floor,
instead. Rahul had a great time, which is awesome because it’s keeping the whole situation under wraps with the Jains. Yes, the same Jains that told us not a week ago not to put our hands on the walls because they oil would come off our hands. One incident has prompted Mariel, Kim, and Alix to look for new apartments across the street. Basically, I’m never going to see them again. It seems everyone had their own crazy story. Although it would have been disgusting and everyone said it was hell, it sounded like a blast. I would have loved to be at this intense EAP version of a frat party with a bunch of first-time drinkers. I spent today fasting, trying to get over my sickness quickly. I went to Hindi class, and Vijay heard about the party incident. Then, he massaged his forehead and shook his head, muttering, “It doesn’t happen often, but when I get upset, I get very angry”. Apparently, Ro was walking down the street, and saw a person crash on a motorcyle, cracking his head open on the sidewalk. As brains oozed out of his head, everyone around ran off in every direction. Ro and another bystander helped him and called the police. Mama Jain told him he should have just run away next time something like that happens, instead of dealing with authorities. Great community we live in. Apparently, some girl in Hyderabad got kicked out of the EAP program, her Visa revoked. Considering the hippy program directors Bob and Sally encouraged me to visit Ladakh, in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, it has got to be pretty tough to get kicked out. Today is Puran’s birthday, so we all went to TGIF in Connaught Place. It was expensive, but good. I had chicken fajitas, the first Mexican food in three months. After that, we went to a nearby Gujarati school, which was filled with Hindus. In the big auditorium, they had set up an altar to Durga, with stuffed animal lions, candles, statues of
the goddess, and a tiger-print sheet. People were beating drums, and tons of people old and young, male and female, were dancing around in a circle. They made circular patterns and then all went around the altar. Although it was uncoordinated and people were out of sync with each other, it was a nice-looking, upbeat dance. Next came the Garba dances. People brought their wooden sticks (you can also rent them), and hit them together and twirled them. You are supposed to get in a group, and rotate partners, hitting sticks together, and then your own, to the beat of the drum. It’s a basic framework, and then the rest is up to you. Every dancer is allowed to dance in their own unique way. Like salsa dancing, taiko drumming, and walking down a fashion runway, the fundamental dance is a piece of cake, but doing it in style is what makes it come alive. It went long into the night, and we were all beating sticks with the locals, doing twirls and grooving to the beats, as they got faster and faster. When the dancing was done, everyone gathered around the Durga altar and sang Hindu holy songs, while the priest circled candles over the statues.
Ok, it’s official: Tyler Rapp needs help. I am the dirtiest and cheapest person I know. I have now sunk to the point where I’m too cheap to pay even $2 a night for a hotel room. When I awoke on the train and rode a rickshaw to the Metro station, I was actually cold. In 
instead. Rahul had a great time, which is awesome because it’s keeping the whole situation under wraps with the Jains. Yes, the same Jains that told us not a week ago not to put our hands on the walls because they oil would come off our hands. One incident has prompted Mariel, Kim, and Alix to look for new apartments across the street. Basically, I’m never going to see them again. It seems everyone had their own crazy story. Although it would have been disgusting and everyone said it was hell, it sounded like a blast. I would have loved to be at this intense EAP version of a frat party with a bunch of first-time drinkers. I spent today fasting, trying to get over my sickness quickly. I went to Hindi class, and Vijay heard about the party incident. Then, he massaged his forehead and shook his head, muttering, “It doesn’t happen often, but when I get upset, I get very angry”. Apparently, Ro was walking down the street, and saw a person crash on a motorcyle, cracking his head open on the sidewalk. As brains oozed out of his head, everyone around ran off in every direction. Ro and another bystander helped him and called the police. Mama Jain told him he should have just run away next time something like that happens, instead of dealing with authorities. Great community we live in. Apparently, some girl in Hyderabad
the goddess, and a tiger-print sheet. People were beating drums, and tons of people old and young, male and female, were dancing around in a circle. They made circular patterns and then all went around the altar. Although it was uncoordinated and people were out of sync with each other, it was a nice-looking, upbeat dance. Next came the Garba dances. People brought their wooden sticks (you can also rent them), and hit them together and twirled them. You are supposed to get in a group, and rotate partners, hitting sticks together, and then your own, to the beat of the drum. It’s a basic framework, and then the rest is up to you. Every dancer is allowed to dance in their own unique way. Like salsa dancing, taiko drumming, and walking down a fashion runway, the fundamental dance is a piece of cake, but doing it in style is what makes it come alive. It went long into the night, and we were all beating sticks with the locals, doing twirls and grooving to the beats, as they got faster and faster. When the dancing was done, everyone gathered around the Durga altar and sang Hindu holy songs, while the priest circled candles over the statues.
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