Blipity blop

Last Sunday was the Hindu Thaipusam festival, so my roommate Emilia and I went down to Little India to check it out. The festivities revolve around the deity Murugan, "the God of War and patron deity of the Tamil land."

The main reason we went was to see spike kadavis. In general, a kadavi is just some sort of burden that a follower has to bear as a sign of devotion. A lot of people just carried a pot of milk along the pilgrimage walk, but the bigger display is the piercing of flesh.

Most of the kadavis were pretty elaborate, and they each have a million little hooks hanging on chains. This picture isn't the best, but you can see preparations (click on the photos for the larger image). The man in the white shirt was piercing a spear through the guy's mouth, and the man in the blue shirt is attaching some of the tiny hooks right onto the guy's side. It hurt to watch because you could hear him gasping with each hook inserted.

You can see the hooks stuck straight into his chest. He's got a spear through his mouth too.

Fun cultural lessons abroad!

Other than that, I haven't done much this week. Although today, I wore my new dress that I bought at Bugis Street Village for USD 7. It's like a flea market with a million stalls but in an elaborate maze. You can't try anything on, and there are no returns. Most things are "free size" (one size fits all). You have to be really patient and have a sharp eye or you'll miss some real gems. I found 2 cute accessories for my little sisters along with another dress.


That's right, orange, red, green, and black lightning bolts (the bottom half of the dress is black).

I know. You're jealous. It basically kept me in a good mood for the whole day. Even when I slipped on the stairs and landed on my butt on the bus coming home today. I didn't look up so I couldn't make eye contact with everyone who was staring at me.



Moving along. On Thursday, me and 2 of my roommates are going to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, for the weekend. I don't think there is much to do but lay on the beach. It'll be good because I have a midterm next Saturday -- then it's RECESS WEEK!! I'm going to Thailand, and I'll probably have to pack an empty bag just carry back all the spoils of Bangkok's cheap shopping. Hopefully the riots won't start up while we're there... (crossing fingers, knocking on wood)

One final note, I have a huge girl crush on Ellen Page.
I want that outfit and that bike. When I first noticed the oxford-heels trend, I wasn't impressed, but I'm starting to come around. Although I don't know if they would match anything in my current wardrobe...