I had a great weekend. And it was funny because it was completely removed from all things BU. Do you ever think that sometimes you get so wrapped up in what you are doing and where you are that you forget the world around you is going on without you? That everything continues? That the CORE project you are working on is not the most important thing in the world? Guilty. I feel like this semester I've been so wrapped up in what is going on with my academics and the stuff immediately around me at BU that I haven't even really thought about the world outside. But, like I said, this weekend I got a chance to get away. I went to Connecticut and the Rhode Island because my Uncle got married. My parents flew to Boston on Thursday, picked me up, and we drove to Connecticut together. Now, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Indian weddings, they are long. They are long and tons of fun because brown people will basically take advantage of any chance to party. Because we love dressing up, playing loud music, and being obnoxious in general. Because we can.
The thing that was the most fun about this wedding (apart from all the partying and the fact that my dad's family is so wonky that I have uncles my age so I got to do lots of going out for my 21st birthday) was that I got to see my dad's entire family. I never get to see them. I feel like every time the Patel clan decides it is time to gather they do it in either Houston or Savannah or somewhere else in the south while I am allllll by my lonesome. At school. In the North. Well, this time, the entire Patel clan came to the North. And it was great. I got to see my Dad's actual brother and his family, Akhil kaka (the one who lives in Boston), Akshay kaka (the one who got married) their sister avanee, and then sachin and samir kaka (both live in houston). So the funny thing about this, is that apart from my dad's brother, all of my uncles and aunts just listed are under 30, because way early on in our family someone decided to remarry twice to someone younger each time (my role model). So Thursday night after we got to the hotel and got dressed, we went to the house for dinner and then we all hung out talking and getting henna tattoos done on our hands (traditional part of Indian weddings-its how we start the party)
Friday morning I woke up, got dressed, and we went back to the house for the morning prayers that go before you move the groom's party to the Bride's "house" (in this case the Crowne Plaza where the wedding was to be held). The thing about Indian weddings when you are close to the family is that you basically don't eat even though the food is great and you basically don't sleep. But still, so much fun. So we went to the house and chilled while the ceremony was going on. I got to meet a couple of the groomsmen and paint Akshay kaka (in this weird paste stuff that is supposed to make your skin look awesome but really just makes a mess) and then eat. After that we all loaded up in our cars and headed to the Crowne Plaza in Rhode Island. Hello caravan. I slept the entire way. Which was probably the last good sleep I got all weekend....oops.
When we got to Providence, we checked in and then I...went to the gym. Haha. Big surprise. But I have to make sure I'm not getting fat if I have to squeeze into indian outfits. Let's get real. But after that I went to go shower, get dressed, and help set up for the garba. So I LOVE garba. It's my favorite part of any event, especially weddings. So I love that Akshay kaka made it a part of his wedding. I also did a dance for them because that is what close family does at Indian weddings and Akshay kaka had asked me to. Too bad I only took 3 days to prepare for it because of CORE midterms. Oh well. I think it went pretty well regardless. So garba: good. Dance: good. The other part of that night was going to Alfred's bar with Akhil Kaka and getting to meet all of the groomsmen....gooooood. Haha. It was actually just really funny because kaka tends to introduce me to his friends as his cousin, even though that is absolutely not true. But I have learned from experience that it is best not to correct him or risk his wrath. He likes to think he is still pretty young and I guess I'll let him. Hehehehehe. So I had drinks with them Friday night and it was an "official" celebration for my birthday because they insisted we take tequila shots to properly welcome me to 21....thankfully I had the presence of mind to refuse to actually take 21 of them... When we got back I fell into bed, passed out, and woke up a few hours later to shower, get dressed, and start setting up for the wedding.
So getting to an Indian wedding when you are part of the groom's side is one of the most fun things ever. Basically the whole groom's side takes an hour to walk from the hotel lobby to the tent where the wedding was and you have a bhangra drummer and music playing the entire time and you jam out and dance the whole way. Also, we spent the hour amidst all the dancing strategizing how we were going to avoid having Akshay kaka's shoes stolen. So another thing about Indian weddings: the groomsmen (and in our family the women in the party too because we have so few guys) protect the groom's shoes with their lives; the girls on the bride's side try to steal them. The point? If the bride's side gets ahold of the groom's shoes, they sell them back to the groom at the end of the wedding. Yah, we have weird traditions and culture, but what american wedding do you go to where you get to chase people around in the middle of the ceremony trying to tackle them to get a pair of shoes? So we hatched a plan. Two of Akshay kaka's groomsmen (the white ones...basically, pretend the shoe is a football and this is the superbowl...worked like a charm) took the shoes and hid them in their outfits. Halfway through the wedding they pretended they felt sick, went into the hotel, and put them into one of the rooms. The funniest part is the bridesmaids thought that Akshay had left his shoes out with everyone elses so they went and stole all of the groomsmen's shoes thinking one of them were probably Akshay kaka's. So they had all the guys' shoes and we had Akshay kaka's....The guys weren't so happy about that part but we eventually got all of their shoes back. After the wedding we had lunch and then "nap time" which was really only an hour so I went to the gym again...and the groomsmen were in there too but I got to the treadmill first :). Why no sleep? because I would have just kept sleeping through the reception if I went anywhere near my bed.
RECEPTION!!!!!!! After my run I got in the shower, got dressed (I wore my FAVORITE sari for the reception....it is very easy to put on compared to most because I didn't have to pleat it at all....for those of you who know anything about saris) and then I went to cocktail hour. My very first legal cocktail hour. Dad "bought" me a margarita (open bar) and we had a drink together....which was weird.........but fun :) After that Samir and Sachin kaka bought me drinks. Then avanee foi took a shot with me (she claims she is too old for them but she took it like a champ) and then Akhil kaka insisted on buying me a drink. Around the time the dancing started I was in a pretty good place and tried to avoid the bar all costs. But with my family....not so easy. After the reception we threw Akshay kaka an afterparty in the hotel....at which I did dumb stuff I don't care to recount. But oh well.
My opinion on dumb stuff: You do it and you get over it. I had a conversation with Shivkumar (one of my FTKD newbies) at our initiation party in which he drunkenly asked me if I had regrets. And I told him there is stuff in my life that I know I shouldn't have done and had I not done them I probably would have had an easier time/gotten in less trouble. But do I have any regrets? No. All life experiences are just that: experiences. You learn from everything and you take it all in stride. You know not to do it the next time. You are a better person because of it. You are who you are because of every small, tiny, miniscule decision you have made and experience you have had--these are the building blocks of YOU. Take out any one block and you are someone else.
Just my thoughts
Radhi
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