Today marked the final day of Pongal, a four day Hindu Harvest Festival, during which time schools and businesses are closed, and EVERYBODY is out and about celebrating. The Valluris took this opportunity to take us around to some of the touristy places in the area to experience this part of the culture, but first, lunch with beloved family members!
The crazy part of it all was that everywhere we went, the local people were obsessed with us. Coming from a country where currently there is so much tension between cultures and different races, it felt odd to have people treating us like celebrities simply because the color of our skin. Having young and old alike approach you because they want their picture taken with you, or to shake your hand became overwhelming very quickly. It got to the point where Novahu joked and said if we start charging for "photo ops" we could raise money for Joyful Journeys! 😉📸 For those of you who know me, and know how passionate I am for what we are doing, the thought did have some initial appeal! 😎
But instead, we tried to carry on as best we could, smiling at everyone to show our appreciation for their welcomeness to us. Here are several photos from the places we stopped...
One of the activities include a ride in an old fishing boat, not OSHA approved I might add, but nevertheless a fun experience! 😁
Of course, a day out and about needs to include pictures from on the road...
And after a full day of being out and about, why not add some shopping in!
Talk about overwhelming, although Karishma kept reminding us "this is fun"! 😬
We wrapped it all up with a little taste of home...pizza at Domino's!
And this concludes today's festivities! I'm pooped and tomorrow is church...
Giving thanks for our India family and the friendliness of locals!
Good night. 💖
