Welcome Back Picnic & More Ganeshas

The school threw a welcome back bash for all the students' families yesterday complete with American favorites like hamburgers, hot dogs, cotton candy, Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and a great sound system with a fun party mix.

On the way over we saw a long procession of big Ganesha floats and statues on flatbed trucks all headed to the ocean, our driver told us. I must have been mistaken when I said that last weekend was the culmination of the festivities. As a friend commented, "It never ends."

The tradition is to put your Ganesha statue out to sea to gain the full benefit of his blessings. When Widi suggested that we drive out to Marina Beach to see the procession and ceremony, our driver said it was a little dangerous and that there were riot police ready because there was fighting between Muslims and Hindus the day before. And here we are in the holy month of Ramadan and still people can't get along.

At the picnic I volunteered to let students throw wet sponges at my face as part of a fund raiser for Habitat for Humanity. It wasn't so bad. We also helped serve the food and drinks. John had fun with some of the younger kids and his new 8th grade friends.

Today we went out to the beach, heading again for the Italian restaurant, “Belle Ciao.” We brought our neighbor’s biodegradable Ganesha statue to send out into the sea, and saw some other people sending theirs out. You really have to double-click on the image to see how those guys are carrying their statues out.

We found the restaurant around 5:30 and were informed that it didn't open till 6:30. We headed back home, too hungry to wait; another failed attempt. It was a busy and festive night at the beach with lots of families enjoying the holiday ritual.