Sometimes a picture just doesn't do...

So like I said, I'm trying to take more pictures and describe...but truly, I realize that even trying to capture the constant sensory overload of sights, smells, sounds, reactions, feelings, and whirr in a single or series of lame still-frames is tough. Ok, impossible. Typical American. I do anyways.
Today, on the way to work, I had my camera out trying to fill it with photos of food options, construction, signs, people and sights. We were driving to an offsite probably 3 miles away, listening to a CD of Irish drinking songs Paul made for Wade to prepare for the upcoming St. Patrick's Day. I got a typical, enjoyable conversation with Lokesh:
L: uh. ma'am. Are these....party... songs?
A: mmmm (smile), well, these are Irish drinking songs...you know (smile), when people in Ireland go to bars, you can sing these.
L: oh, that's why mostly boys singing
A: Yep. (thinking, interesting, either he's not at all observed my bad behavior the last 13 months, or he's repressed it, or he thinks Irish women are better behaved than American women - whatever, that's cool. I better text Tracy this; she'll laugh).
So anyways, we got to listen to the whole CD becuase it took over an hour to go about 3 miles. Who knows why. I had been excited to have an offsite "closer" to home...figures. We got up to our first opportunity to turn and went through the back way to the offsite (more pictures to come). And then got stopped at a train crossing. I suggested I could just walk there faster. Lokesh laughed and said "no ma'am - much too far to walk for you"). Hmmm. Watch me this American nearly said.
Anyhow, I digress...yesterday on the commute in, Wade was with Tracy and I in the car on his way to the Overseas Women's Club meeting. We were in a bit of a hurry so Lokesh could help in driving others around for a work retail experience to save money. And on the back road, we ran into this...a float / shrine in honor of Shivatri. This is Shiva's birthday, and a holiday that some people celebrated the day before, and some yesterday. Even different schools were closed on different days, depending which day you are partial to believing is the right one on which to celebrate. So, we came upon this on day 2 of the possible celebratrion days:
And Lokesh pulls over in spite of honking uncoming traffic. "Odd" we think. Then the guy with the blessing plate comes over as Lokesh rolls down the window. We have the opportunity to do a drive through blessing, taking the smoke of the flame over our heads, and annointing our foreheads with the tumeric powder. All three of us expats partake and then Lokesh drives on.

I wonder if this guy is calling his friends to tell them "yeah, these three crazy Americans just came by and did a drive-through blessing - really strange."