Keeping My End of the Bargain

I realized after the last post, that I haven't posted about getting my nosed pierced. Sorry for the not great picture, but it is the only one I have... this is my grandmother (Patti- Tamil for Grandma) and me ,at the airport before we left India, with our matching nose piercings.

The story of my nose right goes back to when Drew and I got married, over 4 years ago. We made a deal a few days after we got married that he would not get any more tattoos if I got one. Well, I kept putting it off and putting it off, and about 2 years ago he changed and said that I could get my nose pierced or get a tattoo. Neither really sounded like a great option, so I kept putting it off. :) Then when we went to India, EVERY woman has her nose pierced, and it seemed so normal, and I loved that part of my heritage. So the last day we were there I was out with Micah and my great aunt doing a few last minute shopping errands and I decided just to do it and surprise everyone. So, a friend had told me about a good place to go, so we went to the Tiffany's of India. It was a HUGE 3 story building, filled with glass cased and jewelry. (Indian's wear their wealth, so jewelry is huge, my grandma used to wear a stud with 9 diamonds in her nose, and you can see if you look closely she has ruby bracelets on.) Well, the fact that I wanted white gold narrowed my options considerably (they had 9000 nose studs in gold, and 4 in white gold. :) I picked the smallest one paid my 32 dollars and an additional 75 cents for the piercing and then got directions to the place where they pierce it.

They directed me to this tiny little room under the stairs...

Yes, that is as big as the room was, and that is when I began to chicken out. I almost asked my great aunt to ask him if it was sanitary, but then decided that it was as good as it was going to get, and my entire month in India I had seen literally a million women with their noses pierced, and all of them looked just fine. So I sat down and waited for him to use a hammer and the wood you see to sharpen the tiny little piece of metal he was going to use to pierce my nose. After what seemed like forever he finished and then used the back of the earing (Indian nose rings are more like screws, the back is as long as the post, and the top screws into the hollow back.) So he stuck the sharpened metal into the back and pushed it through my nose, then removed it, pushed the diamond through and then proceeded to screw the bottom in, which was the worst part. But, thankfully my nose was numb and it hurt less than getting my ear pierced.

So, as you can see from the picture, I pierced the right side of my nose, because in southern India where my dad is from and where my grandmother lives, they pierced the right side of their nose and wear their saris over their left shoulder, and in the north they do the opposite.

Having a nose ring has been interesting, people definately notice and treat you differently. I am sure the vast majority of the population things I am horrible, and rebellious but I view it as part of my heritage and I love telling people that I got mine to match my grandma's. :) Yet, in Asheville - city of the wierdos - it seems to earn me instant respect.

I don't know if it is a forever thing, but I like it and love that I did it while I was in India and Andrew LOVES it and my grandma thinks it is cute, so I plan to keep it for the time being. :) So there you go, now you know the whole story... I hope you have enjoyed it. :)

L