piercing party!

I forgot about the biggest update of all! I finally got my nose pierced J Maha style! (on my left side like the tradition in Maharastra)
Some of you know I wanted to do it way back 4 years ago, and then again I desperately wanted to do it after 2 weeks here in India, but for one reason or another it took me until it was already half way through my time here.
The other week before our event we had a staff “piercing party” where we went out to Silver Street in the modern area of town and all got stuff done. Vivi and I got our noses pierced, Mary T got her ears re-pierced, Anna got her 2nd holes re-pierced, Christa got her tragus pierced, and CL got her tragus pierced on both ears and her belly button pierced so she can wear something elaborate and shiny on her wedding day in December! It was very exciting, and didn’t hurt nearly as much as I thought it would.
The fun part was getting reactions from all the local staff the next day. I went into to place my egg order at breakfast and Padma noticed but didn’t say anything to me. Apparently when I walked out the door she told the other ladies so when we showed off later on at breakfast it was already old news. It really truly is like a small town here – the local staff sometimes know things before I manage to hear about it, the rumor mill is in full swing here. But all in all the ladies were very impressed and even for a few days afterward people were still noticing.
Then later over chai Aruna mentioned that piercing is significant for a girl, and that we should give out sweets and get our “good names”. For those of you who don’t know, it is common for Indians to have pet names and good names. When I reserve something or formally meet someone they ask for my good name. So I told Aruna and Minakshi that I would give them sweets if they gave me a good Indian name. So over a long and hilarious chai break they came up with names for all of the staff. The other staff names are: Kavita, Venu, Aboli, Sarita, Saloni, and Monisha. And my good name is Jui (but pronounced like Zui) and it is a beautiful flower here in India. Pictures will be coming soon…