Other things you should know

I've decided to take a trip to Goa for a couple days with Elysia at the end of my trip, so my time in Delhi is rapidly coming to a close. The weeks go by soooo fast here. I figured I should add any other pertinent information about India now in case I don't get another chance to post while I'm here. For one thing, you may have known this, but they don't use toilet paper in India. Instead they use water and the left hand. This is one of those things that I try not to dwell on, especially in conjunction with the thought of all the small children I encounter on a daily basis, whose washing abilities sometimes leave a bit to be desired. Also, Indians don't nod when they mean yes; instead they waggle their heads to the side. At first this is confusing, because the same gesture would indicate ambivalence in the West, but you catch onto it slowly. Also, people tug on their ears when they are saying sorry, which is a reference to the way that people are physically reprimanded by being pulled by the ear. By pulling your own ears, you are demonstrating penitence by enacting the punishment on yourself.
One of the things that really strikes me about India is that it's actually pretty close to how I would imagine it in my mental stereotype. The women really do wear saris on a daily basis, many men wear the traditional skirt-like dhoti, and there genuinely are cows and wild dogs and monkeys and elephants roaming around in the street (the elephants less so, but still). Rickshaws are a common mode of transportation, although there are a lot more motorcycles than one might think. The one thing that's different is that I don't go around eating chicken tikka masala and naan every day...that kind of stuff is more of restaurant food. Probably I can eat some in Goa. Eating meat, what's that about?
My big project for the end of my stay is the talent show that we're organizing for the girls. They've submitted so many different kinds of talents to perform; it ought to be a good time. Raphaelle, Elysia and I plan to open the show with a combination act where Raphaelle twirls juggling balls, Elysia drums on her stomach, and I play the nose flute. Yeahhhhh. I'll see if I can get in a few more workshops/activities with the girls in the mean time. Curiously, there is actually a group from Yale at the home at the moment. They are only in India for 9 days, and they are also taking trips to Jaipur and Agra, so they're only actually at our home for like 2 and a half days. We incumbent volunteers have been questioning the point of coming to volunteer for such a brief time, and it's a little annoying that the organization is bending over backwards to do special things for the Yale group while trying to make us change our plans around it. Whatever, the Yale kids themselves are very nice, so I bear no grudge. I'm just happy to spend my last week of time with the girls and get lots of good things done and then have some sweet times in Goa with Elysia, living in huts on the beach and drinking fruity things out of coconuts and whatnot. It should be some super relaxing time, although any potential relaxation will probably be canceled out by the fact that I'm flying back from Goa to Delhi, then chilling in the airport for 6 hours until my 3 am flight from Delhi to Helsinki, where I have another 6 hour layover before my flight home...33 hours straight of travel, in total. I might be a little crabby coming out of that, so be prepared. Also be forewarned that I am probably not bringing anybody presents because goodness knows I already spent too much money in China. Whatevs, it will be nice for me just to be home.