Happy Birthday Propti

This weekend we attended our first Indian social engagement – a first birthday party for our little neighbor girl Prapti. We were told we must attend, which was no small feat for us, since the party started at 7:00 (which is really 7:30 in Indian time), and Simon goes to bed at 7. But, we were also informed that the babies must attend, and we really have been making an effort to get to know our neighbors, so we decided to make it work.

So, we kept up our tired, cranky babies, and then I complicated things further by deciding to wear a saree, even though I haven’t ever actually wrapped one by myself, and when I’m wearing a saree, I can’t really do anything except for stand there and wear a saree. (There are thousands of women in this country who do construction work in sarees, but I can barely walk up stairs.)

So, with Steph lending some extra hands, I pleated and stuffed and pinned myself together and then we set off to walk to the party, which was almost a mile away on very roughly paved roads. I was sure the whole thing was going to fall off, so I walked so straight and tense that my legs were sore for two days following!

But, we made it. Simon ate cake and we all learned more about Hindu customs and had a chance to get to know our neighbors a little better. Hopefully, now they’ll join us for a Christmas tea. Maybe in the next few weeks I can practice my saree-wrapping skills, which need a lot of improvement!