Birthday Parties

First off, I want to thank everyone for the birthday well-wishes. I did have a fun weekend.

While the party the evening of my actual birthday wasn't exactly my kind of party there was lots of good food and singing. Because I had to teach that day, I chose to wear my nicest salwar kameez suit as a private celebration.

Didi's party the next day, however, was a blast. It ran from 11:30 a.m. until at least 5:30 that night. In a corner of Didipur, they had set up a large tent filled with tables and chairs. In the end, there were more people there than chairs. I would believe that she had almost the estimated 100 people there. The highlights of the day were the food and performances. There was a large buffet filled with all of Didi's favorite dishes. I have to say, Didi has good taste in food. I think my favorite there was a paneer (Indian cottage cheese) and peas dish that puffed lotus seeds in it. I've never had lotus seeds before, and apparently they're reserved for special occasions only.

Even more spectacular was the double-tiered chocolate cake so large that it had to be carried in on its own table. It was decorated with chocolate flowers and sculptures of ducks and geese. It was really the most amazing cake I have ever seen and one of the best I have ever eaten. Along with the cake, was vanilla and butterscotch ice cream, which was a very nice treat. Since most people don't even have refrigerators, you don't get ice cream very awesome. When I heard this cake and ice cream was coming, I started to wonder just how it could be served to 100 people in an environmentally friendly way. The answer was leaf bowls. Like the leaf plates I ate on at the village feast, these were made of large fresh leaves stitched together with what looked like tiny toothpicks. I really think the rest of the world could take a lesson from leaf dishes. It's much more sustainable than paper plates or Styrofoam ones.

As to entertainment, a couple of songs were sung for Didi. One of the other guests was a Tibetan woman from McLeod Ganj who was a very talented singer. Just before she started to sing, Anya asked me if I could sing something for Didi as well, so I had just a few minutes to pull something together, which I was glad to do. If it was ever a secret to begin with, the fact that I am a decent Western classical singer is very public knowledge now. And here I was worried about having opportunities to sing here. I need to practice a bit more though so I don't keep singing the same two songs every time anyone asks me.

After the singing, there was a short clown show. Dr. Barbara has some friends from Germany in an avocational clown troupe that she invited to come and do a tour of performances in the area. As it happened, their tour just began, so they were invited to come perform at Didi's party as well. It really made for an exciting event.

The party was also a great place to meet interesting people. I got to talk to Sister Celia about what it's like being a Catholic missionary in a heavily Hindu area and what brought her here. I met a few clients of Didi's who just moved back from living in Bloomington, Minnesota (where my dad grew up). They had been electrical engineers trained at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa (where my mom grew up). We had a great time exchanging nostalgia for Minnesota. Right now, Didi is building a house for them and they invited me to come visit them once their house is done. It's funny how one can find a little piece of home no matter where you go in the world.