I typically spend my Saturday Nights singing Havdallah with my local BBYO community. However, last weekend I tried something completely out of my comfort zone! My friend invited me to a Garba party and explained to me that this was an Indian circle dance. Eager to experience something new, I immediately jumped at this opportunity to go.

When my friends and I arrived at the party, we were completely mesmerized at the party decorations and atmosphere of the event. Once we were fully inside, we got to pick and try on an array of long skirts, tops, and blouses called a chaniya choli. Garba was held in a recreational building close by; we walked into the large room together and took off our shoes. Music was already playing and skirts were flowing gracefully as girls and boys danced, going around in a circle. We felt a combination of intimidated and amazed. 

A group of boys invited us to dance with colorful, wooden sticks known as dandiyas. It took me some time to catch on, but when I did it was a blast!  After a lot of spinning and tapping, my stomach was growling so I walked over to where there was food for sale. I had some trouble ordering because I did not know what I wanted, but the nice ladies made me a samosa. Let me just tell you, the samosa was so good that I ate every bite of this savory fried pastry down to the last crumb. 

After I engulfed that delicious treat, my friends and I went back to the outskirts of the dancing circle and started to befriend a lot of other teens at the party. A group of girls tried to teach us some of the Garba moves, and my dancer friend was catching on, but I just could not keep up! I also could not resist going back for my second samosa.

As it started to get late, we had to pull our friend who was in sync with the other dancers out of the circle because it was time to go. I was beyond glad I was able to try new foods, experience a new culture, and meet new people in such a welcoming environment. Though I very much enjoyed the experience, next week I will be returning to my regularly scheduled adventures with BBYO.