Hi, everybody! My name is Natalie Callahan, and I am 24 years old. I love to read, listen to music, and draw. Right now, I am living in India in a city called Varanasi. Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world. People usually come here for religious purposes. Most of the people in Varanasi are Hindu, but there are also many Muslim and Buddhist people here, too. I moved to Varanasi in September to study the weavers who work in the city. Their job is to weave saris. Saris are a type of traditional Indian clothing that women here wear. Varanasi is famous for making saris out of silk and gold.
I moved to India from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is not too far from where you are in New York City. Pennsylvania actually borders the state of New York! One of my favorite things about Pittsburgh is its three big rivers. The two smaller rivers, the Monongahela River and the Allegheny River, join together to form the big Ohio River. Varanasi also has a big river–the biggest river in India. It is called the Ganges River. The people here call the river “Ganga,” as if it were a person, too. They call the river by this name because many people who live in Varanasi think of the river as a physical form of the Hindu goddess Ganga.
I live right next to the river.
