Salsa in Banglore
Last weekend was tiring, amazing, full of energy, and full of dance. It also reminded me of the other side of India that I’m not always exposed to. I don’t get to see this part of India because of my social circle, but I think mainly because Pune isn’t a huge metropolitan city (although it’s slowly on its way). I went to Banglore to participate in a salsa congress. It was amazing. There were international artists from Italy, New York, Cuba, Japan, and Singapore. Salseros from all over India came to participate; from ALL over from Delhi to Chennai and everywhere in between. It’s pretty amazing, I think.
When I got to the airport in Banglore I did get a reminder that I’m not from here, that I look different. Often times amongst my friends I forget that I’m different and a foreigner. We’ve created such an atmosphere of friendship and sense of belonging that I forget that I’m different, if only on the outside. We danced from 9am until 4am every day. The mornings were full of workshops for different kinds of salsa and dance and the afternoons had a pool party with a DJ and more dancing. In the evenings shows and competitions preceded the party and after party. I made new friends, met old friends from the last congress, and danced a lot! It was exhausting in an amazing way.
I left early Monday morning, straight from the after party, and came home to make up for lost rest. It was Eid. Last year I spent some of Eid at my co-worker’s house. It is the celebration for the end of Ramadan and they have an amazing feast. Guests come over for some khir (a yummy noodly sweet dish) and some other food. I was invited yet again this week and happily broke my rest for some sweets.
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