I have met many people here in Ireland, but the relationships are fleeting - they are company for an hour, a day, a week, but then I know that we will never meet again. With MJ, however, I feel like I have met a kindred spirit and made a real friendship. We are so similiar that it's starting to get a little frightening (today, we even responded to a question with the same exact answer at the same exact time....scary). After I leave Ireland, I hope that we will stay in touch (she said that she would come out to the States for a visit and I am going to hold her to that promise!).
Holi is the Indian holiday celebrating colors. There is a religious significance to many of the associated customs for the day, but I don't really know anything about it. Hinduism is such a foreign belief system for me that I find it difficult to understand.
MJ actually visited India for a month last year and worked with some nuns in a center for the sick and the dying (I told you she was an awesome person!). She was familiar with some of the dances and we enjoyed watching the intricate moves. Most of the day was filled with groups (mostly kids) performing Banghra, Classical, or other Indian dance styles. There was also a "Fancy Dress" competition where the kids dressed up in costumes and judges voted for best design.
MJ and I were staring more at the fashion of the adults though---we had to get a napkin to wipe the drool off our faces after admiring the saris. Some of the women had the most gorgeous saris that I have ever seen! The hand sewn patterns and beadwork was incredible. The colors were dazzling.
We ate dosas for lunch (a sort of Indian crepe with green mashed potato in the center and a variety of dipping sauces). Some people were gawking at us slightly (we were only two of about eight non-Indians in the whole festival), but everyone was very warm and kind to us. They were certainly very patient when they tried to explain the food (I was a bit lost when I first looked at the menu....I have heard nightmare stories about curry!).
Music....
And dancing....
and the night ended with holi....
The song Jai Ho (from Slumdog Millionaire) started playing and everyone just went crazy. It was like the theme song for the night. The powdered color was thrown into the air and everyone started "playing holi." Most people were very gentle and would just lightly touch you on the cheek. One little girl kept stalking MJ---she would hit her with color and then run away giggling. We would fake chase her which would cause her to giggle even more. She was so cute!
The rest of the night was spent throwing the powdered paint at each other and dancing to Bollywood songs.
Me
MJ
I just got hit in the face...it tasted like chalk---gross!
Unfortunately, no one told me how to take it off. I went into the bathroom and started using water. Surely, you use water. But, why won't it come off? The more I scrubbed, the more embedded it became. The water only smeared the dye and caused it to turn into paint.
MJ merely rubbed her face and she was completely clean again. Her hair still had some color but it looked cool---like Gem, the rocker Barbie. Meanwhile, I looked like I had just came out of the black lagoon! My face was dyed for the night and I went home looking like a giant blueberry. So not fair!
The train ride back to Dublin was interesting (Tallaght is about 40 minutes away on the Luas). Obviously, we were the only people who had paint all over them, so we were bound to get some strange looks. I complained to MJ, "I feel like I inhaled the powder. I think it is burning my throat!" When you look like a clown school dropout and you are talking about inhaling powder, people are bound to get the wrong idea. I realized later that I probably should have chosen my words better --- people probably thought we were on drugs!
My shower that night never felt so good.
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