A Dramatic Interlude

Ok, picture this scenario on a busy Surat street, approximately 3:30 pm:
The street goes quiet. Conversations cease and entire groups of men fall silent. Rickshaw wallahs and men on motorbikes or bicycles slow down for a closer look, turning their heads as they pass. Mouths fall open. Men point, then whisper to their friends, who turn and stare. Activity ceases at numerous roadside food stalls. What, you may ask, is this mysterious force that can bring the entire male population of Surat to a standstill? Why, it's, it's...it's Colleen walking home from the bus stop in her school uniform.
The best part of this is that women and children are almost completely oblivious to my passing. The men, however, are somehow entitled to stare as long and hard as their hearts desire. The thing for a good Indian woman to do is look down at the road, and never, ever make eye contact. I swear, though, one of these days I'm going to stick my thumbs in my ears and wiggle my fingers, or stick out my tongue at them. Maybe I'll just randomly run screaming at them, flailing my arms. I think this would get a good reaction.
Anyway, I thought I'd post my address on here. This is where I'll be living for the next 2 1/2 months:
Colleen Moran
c/o Shailesh Lakhwala
17 Neelam Society
(nr. Shardayatan School)
Piplod, Surat 395003 India

So there you go, you can send me mail, beef jerky, toilet paper, modest t-shirts (apparently I dress quite the skank compared to Indian girls), love letters...whatever.
There's a dance competition at school tomorrow. The school's divided into four houses: white, blue, red and green. I'm in blue house's dance. I don't do much of anything until the end. While everyone's holding a pose, I come out, strew flowers on people, come up to the front and say "Salaam India" while saluting. They want me to wear a sari (the "most brightly colored one you have", the house teacher advised me), despite the fact that nobody else is wearing a costume. The walk down the aisle of the bus tomorrow morning promises to be quite interesting.