Wednesday, November 12, 2014

The Farm


I went to a farm last Sunday. It is Sarayu and Samara's grandparents' farm. Sarayu and Samara were there along with their friends and parents and grandfather. It was fun to play with so many friends even though the grass was very ichy. 


We watched some TV at the caretaker Bagyamma's home. She has many pets including a dog, chickens and guinea pigs. I tried to feed the guinea pigs but they did not eat the food. 





I then explored the farm with my friends. There are lots of trees in the farm. There are coconuts, teaks, chikoossitafals, chilies, beans and so many other trees growing there. Wild animals such as elephants and monkeys visit the farm. The monkeys love visiting there. At night a lepord or a jaguar comes to the farm and leaves at day. There is a snake that lives beneath the ground in the farm. 





There are lots of bugs. I saw a praying mantisladybugspidersfliesgrasshopper and worst of all Mosquitos. Luckily I had repellent on so they couldn't do a number on me.

We played a role play game. The oldest one (a girl) was the queen the other three girls were princesses and I was the knight. There were evil kingdoms and another good kingdom. I belonged to the good kingdom.


Me protecting the good kingdom with my bow and arrow
and the princesses being silly.
We started a picnic. There were noodles, sausages, pasta, potato salad and too many bugs to let us finish it. 

The girls are going to move to the farm at some point so I can visit the farm often (and use up all our mosquito repellent).

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Diwali

Every year there is a festival called Diwali. It happens at the end of October or early November. This year, it started on October 22. It's a big festival in India. It's like Christmas and 4th of July combined. People gift each other and families get together and eat big meals. People eat lots of sweets (such as laddus and burfis) on Diwali. People also burst firecrackers for 4 days - at least. We only burst firecrackers for 2 days because we were being responsible for the environment.

We were gifted by my friend Siddharth's mom, and the people that live diagonal from us gifted us. So we were gifted by everyone on the seventh floor. My grandmother also gifted me.

There was a big meal at my house on October 23 or 24. Sarayu and Samara (my cousins) came, their grandparents came, my grandmother came, her friends Daniela and Anil came, and my dad's sister Nita came the day before. 

We dressed up in traditional clothes. 
    

We decorated the house with flowers, rangolis, lamps and other diwali decorations.








Nita made rangolis made out of flowers.



Me and Sarayu and Samara helped make puris. Sarayu and Samara made balls from the dough.


My grandmother rolled them into flat circles.



I took the circles a few at a time to the kitchen to my mom and Nita



They fried them.




 The yummy puris were ready. We had a big lunch.


I ate a lot of laddus and barfis.

My cousins and I read a Chota Bheem book with Daniela. I like Chota Bheem. 


 We lit the lamps in the night.







Finally we bursted fireworks and firework rockets.