Day 3: Festival of Holi!!

After a quick and delicious breakfast washed down by chai (of course), the festivities began. We were all clad in old house uniforms that the Exchanged Captains had kindly prepared for us. The chaos first began on the basketball courts where the first plumes of colored corn starch erupted into the air. The sea of girls wearing their colorful house uniforms became splattered with even more colors. Pinks, greens, blues, and yellows were soaring through the air and landing on faces, hair, ears, and backs. As the girls attacked each other, smearing color on every person they passed, they were dancing to the music that was playing over the blaring speakers. (The girls went wild when Sam Smith’s “Unholy” came on). They grabbed our hands and pulled us into the crowd, teaching us dance moves as they gently spread powder on our faces. We quickly caught on with the festivities, learning to greet each other with a “Happy Holi!” before sharing color. The Principal also joined in the festivities, offering her face for the girls to color with rainbow powder.

To play Holi is to learn to let go. We learned to embrace our newfound friendships with the girls and our new environment, to really immerse ourselves into the vibrant culture of India.