Friday, October 24, 2008

Before Perth

I know it's been a while since I wrote, sorry. :) So, Ambika (one of my housemates) was on a 9 day fast in honor of the goddess Turga (I think it's actually a really beautiful thing and they do these fasts and things honoring good behavioral practices and beliefs, so I like it). I was thinking of fasting with her mainly because I thought it would be neat to do something from another culture, and plus I've never fasted before. Alas, it fell at a bad time, it was during the week that I had swimming and I didn't want to zap my energy, plus these meals were incorporated into what we paid for, so I wanted to get my money's worth. :) Her fast was that she could only eat potatoes (but can add spices), the principle is that you have to eat simple foods and you don't have to do much in the way of preparation. No grains or wheats. She could also only have one meal a day, at the end of the 9 days she would make a meal for everyone in the house in order to break her fast. She had to serve a girl first and picked me because (and this might seem a bit intimate, but oh well) I was the only girl in the house that had not started her monthly cycle yet. I helped her to prepare some of the food, I had to be the first to be served and Ambika couldn't eat until I did. She also presented me with an apple (for good health) and a dollar coin (for offering) and she had to touch my feet (don't remember why). She had on an Indian suit, she also went and prayed after preparing the meal. I was a really interesting and fun experience, and the meal was very delicious!! After that, on the 16th of October I set out to Perth!

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