last thursday i turned 21.
thursday night, all of the international students hosted a cultural night for the whole campus to attend. there was tabla playing, sitar playing, guitar playing, skits, kuchipudi dance (a traditional indian dance), hindi songs. none of us thought it would come together in time, and it's not like i was particularly happy to be doing this on my birthday, but it was actually really fun. i played the sitar with the group of us who took sitar lessons, sang ape man (by the kinks) with matthew on guitar/vocals, ethan on tabla, and tong on guitar; and played and sang a song on the guitar that i wrote for my mom. after we finished up the performance, we all had to make it back up to our dorms, and most waited for the shuttle bus. but i got to ride on kalyan's (one of our program director) motorcycle! birthday girl motorcycle treat. then when we got back to the dorm, the kitchen staff had organized an outdoor buffet and there were tons of people and eating and happiness. then a group of us went out to this bar/club for my birthday. when we got inside, we all got a free drink and then matthew convinced us to go outside because he had a surprise for me. he ordered a birthday cake for me and he snuck it into the car all the way to the bar! what a sweet guy he is. that night i went to bed full of coconut cake and alcohol--the perfect combination and ending to a wonderful day.
friday night, ciee took us all out for dinner at some resort thing. i saw it as an extension of my birthday because the girls all got dressed up in sarees and we got a free meal. we also played sitar again and the tabla students played with us.
this past week, we've all been busy with finishing up classes and starting final exams. by this time next week, i'll be completely done with this semester! crazy crazy crazy. i cannot believe i've been here for four months already.
oh, and did i mention that my mom is coming to visit in may? i'm the luckiest.
love,
lauren
thursday night, all of the international students hosted a cultural night for the whole campus to attend. there was tabla playing, sitar playing, guitar playing, skits, kuchipudi dance (a traditional indian dance), hindi songs. none of us thought it would come together in time, and it's not like i was particularly happy to be doing this on my birthday, but it was actually really fun. i played the sitar with the group of us who took sitar lessons, sang ape man (by the kinks) with matthew on guitar/vocals, ethan on tabla, and tong on guitar; and played and sang a song on the guitar that i wrote for my mom. after we finished up the performance, we all had to make it back up to our dorms, and most waited for the shuttle bus. but i got to ride on kalyan's (one of our program director) motorcycle! birthday girl motorcycle treat. then when we got back to the dorm, the kitchen staff had organized an outdoor buffet and there were tons of people and eating and happiness. then a group of us went out to this bar/club for my birthday. when we got inside, we all got a free drink and then matthew convinced us to go outside because he had a surprise for me. he ordered a birthday cake for me and he snuck it into the car all the way to the bar! what a sweet guy he is. that night i went to bed full of coconut cake and alcohol--the perfect combination and ending to a wonderful day.
friday night, ciee took us all out for dinner at some resort thing. i saw it as an extension of my birthday because the girls all got dressed up in sarees and we got a free meal. we also played sitar again and the tabla students played with us.
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| me and my pretty saree |
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| playing sitar |
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| our sitar guru |
this past week, we've all been busy with finishing up classes and starting final exams. by this time next week, i'll be completely done with this semester! crazy crazy crazy. i cannot believe i've been here for four months already.
oh, and did i mention that my mom is coming to visit in may? i'm the luckiest.
love,
lauren
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