India

Hello all!
I just returned from India and it was CRAZY!!

We arrived in India on a Sunday and I couldn’t have started out on a better note! I was invited to have church with the Archbishop! It was a small private ceremony with only about 9 people in attendance. I got to sit next to Desmond’s wife. She was really nice! We listened to readings from the bible including the story of the adulterous woman that Jesus protected by telling the towns people “let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. I felt too proud to speak because I was already familiar with the story and I think that a few of the other students who were there had never heard it before. We sang “Jesus I adore you, and I lay my life before you, how I love you” and got to sing it in a cannon…again I was too proud to speak because I knew that song and helped keep the cannon going! It was fun! We also had communion. The Archbishop gave us the bread first….but the bread was really big…not like our good little crackers from church….this was a large piece of a biscuit. I had a really hard time swallowing it and got kind of scared that I wouldn’t be able to finish it before it was my turn to drink the wine. I forced it down just in time and was able to have a successful communion with Des. I was (and still am) so excited that I got to have that experience…..when else am I going to get to have a private church ceremony with the archbishop?

India is extremely polluted and not very clean….there was lots of poverty and disease which made me really sad, and much of it was hard to take in. My trip was so fast paced….I never slowed down, so even though I was there for 5 days, I felt like my visit was really quick.
The weather in India is both hot and humid but the culture in India doesn’t allow women to wear anything too revealing, so our knees and shoulders always had to be covered….a very uncomfortable thing to do when it is a million degrees outside.
The currency in India is the rupee (again… I know it’s strange) and the exchange rate is 44 rupees to the dollar. India is really cheap I spent a ton of money, but got a lot of stuff. The main mode of transportation in India is rickshaw. These are little motorized cars…not like the ones that are attached to bicycles. Each rickshaw can fit 3 people and they cost about 60 rupees to get around….that is like $1.50. India is also full of dogs, monkeys, cows and rats. I saw so many of them….I am terrified of rats so I had to do my best job to be brave! I though that for the most part I did a really good job! J

On our first day in Chenai India, we climbed into a rickshaw and were amazed at how crazy people drive….there is no such thing as lanes in India, and people drive like crazies!! I saw many motorcycles carrying full families….I’m talking a grown man, grown woman and like 3 kids including an infant….this was really nuts! Also, our rickshaw drivers thought that it would be a good idea to drive down the wrong way of a one way street on a few occasions….this was really scary! The rickshaw drivers get a commission from different stores if they take all of their fares to different shops before taking them to their final destination….as a result of this, we ended up visiting about 7 different little shops before finally arriving at the outside market where we wanted to be. This was kind of annoying, but we made the best of it. Near one of the stores, we were able to see a snake charmer…a man had a cobra in a basket and he played his flute and the snake slithered out….it was really neat….I have it on video….
When we finally got to the out door market we did some shopping (I got some really cool bags, and a drum) and then headed back home. On the way we stopped at this hotel to have some dinner….we ate authentic Indian food….my most favorite is the Nan which is a type of Indian bread (I think it’s because it reminds me of homemade tortillas) and these lentils called….well we just called them lentils. How funny, I went all the way to India to eat beans and tortillas! Now that is a true Mexican!! In the evening we went to an Indian welcome ceremony where we were able to get some henna drawn on our hands and see some authentic Indian dance. We were also given some bindi’s (the little dots that are placed on the forehead). We finally got back to the ship and began packing for our trip to Agra.

Day two began at about 3 am….we woke up early because our semester at sea trip left at 4 am to catch a 6:00 air plane. We had to get searched like crazy by these women behind a screen….I think I got a little bit felt up….So I was kind of sad but I guess it’s just part of the experience….
Once on the plane, we were offered really good service by stewardesses in sari’s and were given a full breakfast meal. I ate a spinach omelet-even though we were instructed by our on ship doctor to avoid spinach because it contains lead….oops! It tasted good!
Our flight landed in Deli and then we had to hop on a 4 hour train to Agra. The train was late, so we ended up sitting at the train station for about 2 hours while we waited for our train to arrive. The train station is an interesting place full of all types of people. There are beggars everywhere and many people trying to sell various items. Also, the train station was full of monkeys….kind of fun, but also kind of scary! I also saw a litter of small puppies- they were mangy and probably full of rabies, but I wanted to play with them anyway….if our train hadn’t arrived at just about the time that I saw them, I would probably have rabies right now….they were so cute!! Initially when we were given our train seating assignments Celina, Michael and I were assigned to a different car than the rest of our group… as we made our way over to the last car on the train we found ourselves feeling very scared and uncomfortable. The train was a second-class passenger train un air-conditioned and full of locals…many of them sick and kind of sketch. Here we were three little scared and stupid Americans….luckily one of our tour guides came and found us to have us sit with the rest of the SAS kids in a different car. Although the train ride was long and uncomfortable…we were hot, and people kept passing though our car begging for money-it certainly was an experience! One boy came and swept our floor and then begged for some of our funds….I gave him a pack of fruit snacks instead….I hope he liked them….they are my favorites! When we finally got to Agra, we had just enough time to check into our hotel, grab some dinner and hit the sheets.

Day 3 we got to go to the Taj Mahal and see the sun rise. It was amazing. The Taj is huge, and it is beautiful….there were tons of people there both locals and tourists. While we were walking around taking pictures, a local woman approached me and asked if she could take a picture with me….it was so strange because here I was submerged in this whole new culture thinking about how different everyone else is and here I am the one who is really different. I got many stares and questions about where I was from….I guess that most Indians think that Americans are blond haired and blue eyed…..there probably aren’t many Mexicans in India! This scenario happened to me about 3 different times during my time in India. After seeing the sunrise at the Taj, we were able to go to a fort in Agra. I don’t really remember the story or significance of it (how sad), but it was beautiful!! The architecture was amazing and I couldn’t believe all of the detail that was added by hand. In Agra, there are many street vendors who are trying to sell their wares…many of them are children and it is both sad and annoying….a lot of times they would be really pushy and when children were trying to sell their items, I would always feel bad for not buying their little trinkets that cost practically nothing. A few times I gave in, so I have a few random little prizes like key chains that I will need to give away!
Once we left the fort we went to the hotel and had dinner. The food was surprisingly really good. Again, we had those good beans and tortillas! After dinner, we went back to the Taj to see the sun set, and this time we actually got to go inside. There was no flash photography allowed in the Taj, and we had to remove our shoes or put on these hospital booties. They were funny! The Taj has all kinds of amazing detail, and each of the floral designs throughout is composed of small semi-precious stones. I couldn’t believe how intricate the details were. Building the Taj was quite a process….20,000 people were employed for 22 years in order to get it finished. Inside of the Taj, we were able to see the tombs of Sha Jihan and his queen M_____ Jihan. This was really cool, and kind of creepy. After we left the Taj we headed back to our hotel and checked out. We then headed back to the train station to go back to Deli. This train ride was a lot more comfortable than the first. We rode in air conditioned compartments and had our own comfy seats. We were in Deli before we knew it, and proceeded to our hotel. Outside of the train station we saw many sick and diseased people. I saw a man with elephant feet….seriously they were huge. They looked like they were really painful and I felt so sad. People with crippled legs were also in abundance. I think many of them suffered from polio, and it made me sad to know that polio can be prevented with a simple vaccination. This was among the most difficult things that I saw while in India.
Our Deli hotel was really nice and we had really good rooms too! It was Michael’s birthday so we went to the club in our hotel. This was pretty fun, I bought a round of drinks for around 1800 rupees. I didn’t think anything of it until later when I realized that I had spent about $40 on long island ice teas!! I was really sad, but that was Michael’s birthday present. Needless to say I didn’t buy any more beverages that night!
We woke up the next day and headed to the Gandhiji museum. This was really cool and I was disappointed that we weren’t able to stay longer. I didn’t even get a chance to really explore the whole thing. After returning to the hotel for lunch we packed our things and checked out. At the airport I saw a man with a little St. Bernard puppy! This one wasn’t a stray….he was so cute! I just wanted to play with him! The owner was an Indian man and he said that the puppy was only 4 weeks old…his name was Ivan! I loved him!
The plane ride was kind of scary….the air must not have been working properly, and I thought I was going to die of heat stroke…..I have never been so hot and sweaty on a plane….usually I am freezing. This was strange, but we arrived safely and headed back to the ship to get some much needed sleep.
Our last day was rushed and chaotic. We headed to a place called Spencer’s Plaza (a big mall) and again took a crazy rickshaw. Our driver dropped us off on the wrong side of the street, and we spent about 20 minutes standing on a small median in the middle of traffic being scared and fearful for our lives. I was really scared….my legs were even shaking….Some locals finally had to help us to get across. the mall was cool, and I did some serious shopping. We made our way back to the ship and I got to make some last minute phone calls….they were a lot cheaper than just calling from the ship (3 min for $1).
The trip to Malaysia is a short one…we’ll actually be there tomorrow! I am really excited. I have a SAS trip planned and I am going to go and see the Cameron Highlands. I think we will be able to see jungles, waterfalls, and carnivorous plants! Can’t wait!
I love and miss you all very much! ~Val