After two days in the village of Kothagudem (where Charita grew up and her grandparents still live) we have driven another 3 hours to the city of Vijayawada for the wedding on Sunday. Festivities start at 5am with the actual wedding ceremony at 8pm. I've been told that we can sleep in a little bit and don't need to arrive until 7am! The drive down to Kothagudem was about 6 hours. I had mistakenly thought it was only 3-4 hours. But it was pretty fun. Even though we left at 6am, I was too wired/excited to sleep because everything outside the window was new and fascinating. To say that travel in India is frightening is an understatement. Although I'm pretty sure I appeared calm to Charita's cousin Sunil and the driver, I was a little tense ball of stress the whole trip. BUT, it was still fun. I'm just glad that I don't actually have to drive myself.
One of the best things about staying with Charita's grandparents (who are awesome) was the food. I'm pretty sure I gained back the couple pounds I had lost my first 2 weeks here, and left nice and plump from Grandma's house. Just the way it should be! It's amazing the difference between hospital food and home cooked meals. So fresh, with buffalo milk yogurt at every meal...from the water buffalo I can see from the side patio.Cooked vegetables, picked fresh from Grandma's garden. And yes, finally, fresh fruit!! I've stayed away from fruit for the first couple of weeks for fear of altering my digestive system. But at Grandma's house, I can watch Grandpa pick the pomegranate from the tree and then cut it up for us to eat. I basically gorged myself on fresh fruits and veggies, anticipating that I won't have them again for a while. My fav is the tiny little bananas that are sweeter than any banana I've ever tasted. I think these delicious little treats have essentially ruined the bananas I buy in the US! I eat them for desert, I eat them as I snack. I would love to eat a bunch for a whole meal, but no one would let me get away with not eating my serving of rice and chutney and all the other delicious things they serve (and still complain that I don't eat enough).
But now I'm headed out to the marketplace to pick out some fun jewelry to wear with my new sari and dress for the wedding tomorrow. SHOPPING!
One of the best things about staying with Charita's grandparents (who are awesome) was the food. I'm pretty sure I gained back the couple pounds I had lost my first 2 weeks here, and left nice and plump from Grandma's house. Just the way it should be! It's amazing the difference between hospital food and home cooked meals. So fresh, with buffalo milk yogurt at every meal...from the water buffalo I can see from the side patio.Cooked vegetables, picked fresh from Grandma's garden. And yes, finally, fresh fruit!! I've stayed away from fruit for the first couple of weeks for fear of altering my digestive system. But at Grandma's house, I can watch Grandpa pick the pomegranate from the tree and then cut it up for us to eat. I basically gorged myself on fresh fruits and veggies, anticipating that I won't have them again for a while. My fav is the tiny little bananas that are sweeter than any banana I've ever tasted. I think these delicious little treats have essentially ruined the bananas I buy in the US! I eat them for desert, I eat them as I snack. I would love to eat a bunch for a whole meal, but no one would let me get away with not eating my serving of rice and chutney and all the other delicious things they serve (and still complain that I don't eat enough).
But now I'm headed out to the marketplace to pick out some fun jewelry to wear with my new sari and dress for the wedding tomorrow. SHOPPING!
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