We went to Mahabaleshwar this weekend. It was described to us as a mountain resort that we could relax at for four days while we presented our independent studies. It was supposed to be a good weekend together with everyone before we went off on our two week trips and didn't see everyone for half a month.

And, to be honest, it was. However, it was also really cold. Sometimes, the electricity went out. We didn't have hot water. Sometimes, we didn't have any water. We didn't have toilet paper. Our toilet clogged. We didn't have towels. And my Aai's cooking is tons better.

So basically, we all spent four days without showering. We all re-wore our clothes in layers to keep us warm. We had greasy hair and smelled funny. And we'd have to go to the next room to use the toilet. Hygiene... ah, how I miss it.

I officially wore out my first pair of shoes this weekend. I thought if I brought enough pairs and cycled through them, that wouldn't happen. But the sole of a pair of sandals just fell off on Friday. And they were the only shoes I packed, so I replaced them with a pair of hot pink striped slip-on shoes. They were $3, and they're kind of awesome.

I also knocked out quite a few presents for people back home... Shopping in Mahabaleshwar was pretty good. I got a couple of gifts for people for whom I was unsure what to get. It feels good to get Christmas shopping and such out of the way a month or two in advance.

Back to the actual happenings of the weekend!

We left early Friday morning for Mahabaleshwa. We spent three or so hours on a bus, minus a tea break where my shoe broke. We got to our hotel. We ate lunch there.

We had about an hour or so to rest before we started presentations... presentations were alphabetical by first name. Surprisingly, I was fourth. Aisha, Alayna, Alex, Anne...... Lots of A's in this bunch.

My presentation involved talking for fifteen or so minutes and then playing my violin for a while. It was kind of fun, actually. I quite enjoy playing for people who don't know how the music is supposed to sound. Also, it's definitely nice to get some positive feedback. My guru doesn't do that.

One person presented after me, and then it was time for dinner and bed. Presentations took about 20-40 minutes each... and there are 24 of us. It was a long weekend. 5 people presented at a time. We got done Sunday morning. We spent the rest of the day Sunday shopping! I like shopping here. Everything's cheap.

In the beginning of the program, I was really worried that I was going to spend tons of money because everything's so cheap that I'd buy tons of things. And then about a month or so in, I was thinking “I'm not doing that at all! I'm hardly buying anything at all! I'm doing really well at not overspending .” It's funny how things add up when that happens (also, it's funny how that happens when you buy 8 pairs of pants in one go). But then I remind myself that I'm shopping for the rest of my life, and things will never be this cheap again. And I'm going to wear everything I buy (even some of the things I'm buying for other people, to be honest...). So I'm kind of okay with the spending.

There were monkeys this weekend. One barred his teeth at us. Others threw sticks at us. They perched above our door so any time we came out, we got a barrage of sticks... among other things.