12/12/2016 – 12/13/2016 (figured the dates would be useful)
12/12 – Today we slept in a little had breakfast, then sat around watching TV and napping to recover from all the late nights and full days. Watched the ending of Top Gun and a Liam Neeson movie called Nonstop (about a plane hijacking, so maybe not the best idea). Chetan and Harshik stopped by while we were having a late lunch and joined us. Was a good move on Chetan and Harshik’s part to come by since they got a free lunch. They said it was a little warm to go out to the fort that afternoon, so they left and my dad and I went back to the room to relax. After a while we started feeling bold so we went for a short walk outside. By short walk, I literally mean about two blocks either way on the same street from the hotel. BUT that was our first street crossing by ourselves, so we were proud. That night we went to dinner with Chetan, Puji, and their aunt at Taksh, where we actually ordered “American Chop Suey”. We just couldn’t resist the name. tasty food, good ice cream for dessert, and then called it a night.
12/13 – The day after (today as I’m typing this) is the night before the wedding. Puji went through the Mehndi ritual where her hands, forearms, and feet were covered in intricate henna tattoos, and had a small photo shoot in her parents’ apartment, which I found out about once I arrived and was then instructed to take part. I’ll get those pictures up sometime, soon, but now it is time for bed. All the travel, all the shopping, and all the waiting and it’s almost finally here. I have my clothes laid out for an early start (there is a ritual for which I have to go to her relative’s house at 6am), but get to rest before heading to the wedding hall. I’ll try to post more pictures sometime soon after the wedding!
An American in India 