Vanakkam! Alright, this blog post is going to be short and sweet. Today our rotation was construction but once again, it's all about attitude. Though it was sweltering hot, the bugs were eating me alive and we were moving sand which is very heavy and tiring, it was still a lot of fun. And once again, very rewarding. We listened to music, played some games, sang some songs, took some pictures. AND we had Chief, the Rising Star puppy they're training to be a guard dog, keep us company the whole time.
I spy...
At lunch I sat by little Mary, my little friend I've mentioned many times before. She gave me 2 notes. One was a drawing of us with another really cute note like the one from yesterday and the other was another drawing and a bunch of tiny felt bindies. She said he mom gave her a bunch so she wanted to give some to me. Then at play time she gave me ANOTHER note and it had a bracelet she made for me that I am currently wearing and probably will forever be wearing unless I cut it off because it is really tight. She also have me a pair of her earrings. I told her thank you of course and that I love getting letters and pictures but that she doesn't need to give me her stuff. It's so cute that she is so willing and happy to give. It's also a great example. Tomorrow is an Indian holiday so we are going somewhere awesome and it's going to be a great experience. Oh the suspense. You'll have to find out later. Tune in tomorrow!
Hello! Today we served again in the colonies. We went to a different colony this time and it was more of what I initially expected. It was out in the boonies and it was a middle sized colony. This time I actually had a job! No, correction. I had three. I cut the bandages off the wounds, cleaned out the water and did eye drops. I loved to be busy though so it was awesome. Once you get past the fact that there's an open wound under there, it's just an awesome experience. Like a spiritual experience. Communicating with them is pretty hard because there's a huge language barrier but what I've realized is that we don't even need to talk to communicate. We can still laugh and smile together without completely understanding each other. One lady was in a lot of pain so I gave her my hand and she put my hand in between her two little stubby hands and the kissed my hand. Tender.
It's completely sanitary because we wear gloves and face masks and take necessary precautions. One thing that I have actually been misinforming everyone about it that leprosy is actually contractible. The thing is no one really knows how. A lot of it does have to do with hygiene but a lot of is also genetics I learned. Interesting. That's where there are these colonies in these certain areas. It's like a breakout. I only changed one bandage which kinda put us out of one job but it's a wonderful thing because it means that these people are healing so they don't need bandages anymore! After the colony, we explored an ancient temple!! Rumor has it that it's 2000 years old.
After we got back we had play time and then prayer time. At prayer time our theme was Gratitude. So we talked about what being grateful means and then I told the kids a story about gratitude. I told them that like they have sponsors who help them go to school and live at Rising Star, I have sponsors that are the reason I'm in India. Without them I really would not be here. And I am so so so grateful for their love and support. After stories we wrote letters/drew pictures to give to someone we were grateful for. My little friend that I've mentioned before, named Mary, gave me a letter and it is the cutest thing I've ever gotten. I've worked at a couple daycare's so I've received many letters and drawings but this one is my most cherished. It says: "I love you so much. I like you so much. You are so much kind. You are so so cute. You are good friends. My birthday is September 13, 2002. Soon I will be 11th years old. I am thankful for God. Love, Your Baby, C.Sagayamary." So. Cute.
There she is.
Now here's an interesting thing about Rising Star. They're trying to integrate kids from the nearby village into the school. 80% of the kids have parents who have leprosy, but 20% of them come from normal Indian families. Interesting. One girl I talked to only gets to see her parents every summer because they live in Delhi. Kids come from near and far to attend school here and they, and their parents, sacrifice so much. If anyone reading this ever wants to sponsor a child attending Rising Star to help pay for their schooling it's only $360 a year (or you can do $30/month) and there are so many kids here who would be wonderful to sponsor.
As you can tell, I'm a little behind. It has been an awesome few days though. So I'll give you the low down: On Friday, we went to the colonies!! Folks, I was so excited because is basically the reason why we are even here in India. But unfortunately I wasn't feeling tip top so I was just the photographer for the day. Tomorrow (Monday, July 29) I'll hopefully actually be working with the people with leprosy. We go to many different colonies and the one we went to on Friday was small. Every volunteer in the group had a different job. Some do the washing, some do the wrapping, some do the cutting, some do blood pressure, some to eye drops. We're not trying to heal leprosy, that can't really be done. We're trying to stop the spread of it, bring them hope and provide opportunities for their children. There was one man who had a bad wound so they were really working on it and he starting crying. Just silent tears coming down his face. It ripped my heart out. Ripped it right out. Something that I realized is how normal these people are. Because of the social stigma they are banished but they are exactly like every other Indian I've met during my time here. They're normal Indians who happen to have some wounds. They were so normal. I expected them to look super sick and sad, and maybe they will in other colonies, but in this one, they were just like everyone else. It was actually really eye opening. I'm excited to get more involved in the colonies.
When we got back we had play time and play time just keeps getting better and better as we get to know the kids more. Isaac, this little punk who always punches people in the kidneys, was pushed over by another child and he started crying. It was so sad but so cute because normal he is this crazy little kid so...he has a heart, he does!! Then there's Praveenkumar. This kid. He just gets me. He's so cute and so quiet. He reminds me of one of my kids from the daycare that I absolutely loved.
That night us volunteers jammed into one room and watched Despicable Me. Bonding.
On Saturday, we had a free day so we went to Mamallapuram. It's like a beach town. We did some shopping, ate some food (WE ATE BEEF), walked around the beach, got our picture taken with half naked men, and made a gypsy friend. Let me explain. Of course, we have had our picture taken with many many Indian men because they have approached us. And naturally, it happened again at the beach. But it was so uncomfortable because I won't go into detail, but they were barely wearing clothes. So awkward, but so funny. Another adventure from India. When we were walking, this little girl named Nandini was trying to sell us necklaces. We didn't want to buy them but she said she needed 10 rupees to buy some rice. So we gave her fruitsnacks. Then she followed us the rest of the time and she was so nice and cute. She was 10 years old. She followed us to the beach, we asked to wade with us in the water so she did, then she taught us how to blow through seashells and make whistling sounds. Guys, it was so cool. I was genuinely interested. Then she just hung around with us and we took some pictures, she sang some songs, we laughed and we made a little friend. She never once asked to buy her necklaces again, she just hung out with us. It was just an awesome experience. Maybe one of the most awesome ones I've had thus far. And I was amazed at her English. It was so good and she was a gypsy so I just didn't really expect that (Not that I actually know anything about gypsy's).
Nandini teaching me how to shell whistle.
Our little friend, Nandini.
When we got back to the Elephant House we stargazed on top of the roof and talked about our bucket lists. Bonding. On Sunday, we went to church 2 hours away. LDS church and I was really excited because I've never been to like an international branch before. Well folks, the church is true. It really is the same everywhere you go. This one lady who spoke was a powerhouse. And here's one of the best parts...we wore sarees. Well, it was good for like 15 minutes and then I wanted to rip it off. I don't know how women in India work and walk around daily in those things!!! It is a task and a workout! All part of the experience though.
We also took a rickshaw and had an awesome, CRAZY rickshaw driver named Boba. It was a new rickshaw and had this giant speakers in the back so he was playing this crazy Indian music and he drives crazy on purpose. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. And he screams and yells and laughs crazily and when he was joking he would talk like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. He was SO funny. By far the funnest, oddest rickshaw ride yet. He asked if we were coming next week, we told him yes, and he said he would pick us up at the Mormon church at 12:15 and he'd drive us next week. Then Chris was being an awesome missionary and took advantage of this situation and told him to come at 11 and go inside to church with us, and then give us a ride. He said he went to another church with his family but he said he might come in. It was a cool experience but he better be our driver next week! Also, the church building is immaculate. It looks like a temple. Gorgeous. And in the crazy city it really sticks out because it's clean!! That evening we danced in the rain, played Mafia and had a joyous time.
I probably forgot stuff but I'm behind so that's all for now! Over and out.
Happy Thursday!! Today was awesome. Probably the best day I've had thus far. We had a field trip where we went to a theme park that's connected to a beach. The theme park was like a ghetto Disney World/Universal Studios. It was called "Universal Kingdom" and there was like some ghetto knock off Disney stuff. But it was safe (I think...) and the kids had a lot of fun so that's all that mattered. We took a bus 2.5 hours each way and that was the low point of the day. I was of course wearing my hair in a bun and so the kids behind me would keep saying "Auntie, please move!" Because my bun was blocking their view of the movie (a very weird Bollywood movie). So being the nice auntie that I am, would scoot down resulting in some uncomfortable positions. We got there and my group consisted of 5 girls. I mostly sorta kinda know their names. But it was an awesome bonding experience because the groups were big groups, split up even smaller and divided with all the adults in the group. So we got to hang out with the teachers at Rising Star too and I'm so glad we did. They are all soooo nice. And it was awesome to see them having so much fun! I don't know if the teachers were more excited or if the kids were. One thing that I keep realizing over and over is how similar this culture is to Americas. Of course that are plenty of differences, but the people are so similar! Though the culture has a ton of respect the people are all so fun and their humor is the same!!
I was so impressed with the kids because they were so well behaved at the park. I was expecting crazy insane-ness from my experiences at the daycare but the kids were great. Lots of fun. And I'm slowly getting connections with some of the kids which has taken me longer than some of the other volunteers, but I don't care as long as I make a good connection with at least one kid. Today I definitely got to know the girls in my group better but there was also this girl named Jianthya, and her English amazed me. She was eight years old and we were having some awesome conversations! More than I've ever had with any American eight year old. So we rode some rides, took tons of pictures, drank some mango juice, ate rice with our hands (guys, it's hard), and had a lot of fun. Also the beach part was SO PRETTY. Maybe the prettiest beach I've seen. I don't know...it was really plain. Maybe it was the kids that made it beautiful (cheesy, I know). One funny thing that happened is that after lunch my hands were nasty so I went to wash them and this little girl said "come, come" and took me by the hand to the washing place and like cleaned my hands for me... Maybe it sounds weird but it was so cute. It seemed a little bit like paying it forward because that's what we'll be doing to her parents who have leprosy...Kind of cool. Another cool thing that Kirsten brought up to me is that the fact that these kids were even able to go to a theme park is a big deal. If they weren't at Rising Star and we weren't there, they would never get the chance to even go to a theme park or the beach. Something that is pretty simple, and something that most American kids do pretty often, but it brought them so much joy!
Happy Wednesday!! Today our rotation was education. We started at 8am. Once again, super tired so here are just some awesome things that happened: -We had to wear chuddidars with scarfs today. Legit. -We had one on one time with the kids and there is this little kid named Gopi that once again, stole my heart. We were reading a story and instead of reading he just said all the letters one at a time. Maybe you had to be there but it was so cute. And so funny. And they say like all their English letters with "Ya" in front of it. Like here's how they say the beginning of the ABC's: "Yay, B, C, D, Ye, Yef, G..." -At playtime we took a ton of pictures. The kids LOVE photos. You think they want to be your friend...but really they just want their picture taken. So we took a lot of awesome jumping pictures. -Prayer time was kind of a fail today because they girls were so chatty and one of them may or may not have had an accident during it... Despite being super tired and sore from construction, today was a good day. Maybe this post is super lame and doesn't sound like it but each day is so good. There are definitely so many things that happen every day that are amazing. Sometimes it's physically exhausting but folks, it is worth it. One thing I've realized is that here in India, things that would've bugged me in the past don't matter anymore. When I go back to America I'm sure I'll revert back to some of my ways but everyone here doesn't care about themselves at all so things that normally matter to us, don't matter anymore. Just small things. And it's a good thing. For example, if I fly lands on my food in American, I throw it away. Here it's like, whatever YOLO. Doesn't matter. We don't care if we look gross. We don't care what people think. We just do what we came here to do an love every minute of it. People's attitudes here are contagious. Anyway that's all for now. Tomorrow we are going on a field trip with the kids and it's going to be crazy. They haven't been on a field trip since 2009 and we're going to a theme park and the beach. So if I survive tomorrow, I will make sure to blog cause I'm sure we'll have some interesting experiences.
The group (minus some of them) after play time with the kids.
P.S. I now have like 50 mosquito bites. Hello Malaria (just kidding mom, I'm taking my malaria medicine)!
I think I may need to find another time to blog because it's evening for us right now and I'm always so exhausted at this time.
BUT today (Tuesday) has been a great day. Yesterday I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and the main problem I had was that I saw a lot of the volunteers making connections with a lot of kids. And I was having a hard time because I just couldn't. Like I felt like the kids didn't like me and I didn't really know what to do with myself. It was just a lot to take in and every new environment takes a bit of adjustment. I think I am finally getting adjusted.
Today we woke up early, had morning conclave (it's just a meeting...weird name, I know), then we went to our assigned place. We switch between medical (where we go to the leper colonies), education and construction. Today we did construction with Nery. We thought construction was going to be this terrible thing because everyone would always talk super sarcastically about it. But folks, I am happy to report that construction really was awesome. We don't have anything to compare it to thus far, but it was very rewarding. We were helping build a sick bay. A place for the kids to go when they're sick so they don't get everyone else sick. I think so many things we have done and will do are all about attitude. You will have plenty of reasons to be negative, but if you try to be positive, it gives everyone a ton of positive energy. So we all were cheering each other on. The whole time we moved bricks from one spot, to inside the sick bay. But we had music going, and we were working by the Indian workers and we had some good conversation, and it was really rewarding. We. were. so. dirty. We thought we were tan so we got really excited...but no, it was all dirt. My face has never been this red and sweaty.
Our construction group (this is just a few of the volunteers).
Some funny things that happened:
We took a break and ate lunch with the kids and when we were there we were wearing shorts because we were doing construction (scandalous) and one of the little girls kept rubbing my leg and asked, "You shave?" Hahahahahaha. Because it felt smooth guys. Not because it was like a hairy gorilla.
Then while we were taking a mandatory snack break a huge bug landed on one of the girl volunteers and the other ones booked it the other direction. Maybe you had to be there but it was so funny. Basically, if you ever want help getting a bug off of you, we are not your gals.
Also there's a lizard living in our bedroom.
And when we were done with construction we got together with all the workers and took a picture and then...us volunteers...we danced. The banana dance. And filmed it. So get pumped for the video at the end of this week.
Later in the evening we went to play time and last time I hung around Kirsten but this time I went off by myself cause all the Indian children love her cause she's an Indian prodigy. :) The kids took my little point and shoot camera and took a bunch of pictures:
The girl that I mentioned in my previous post named Mary was so cute today. She kept hugging me and she's just my little friend. There is also this little boy named (Priveesh...or something like that) and he's so cute. He just stole my heart.
Play time was so fun today and I made a lot of little friends. The trick is learning how to pronounce their names. Then we had prayer time and it went a lot smoother today. One of the little girls said the closing prayer and she said it in broken English and it went something like this: "Thank you for teachers. Obey house mother. Obey teachers. Thank you. Beach. It's night. Amen." Literally, it was exactly like that. So funny and so sweet.
Now we're all gathered around the best internet connection spot bonding while everyone makes fun of my tummy troubles and problems with people popping my bubble.
Hello Hello Hello from Rising Star!! I'm super tired for some reason so I'm going to make this short. I am so very glad to be here. I woke up this morning so excited. There was one point when we were getting a tour of campus that it just hit me that after all this waiting, I was finally here! I almost started crying, folks. So once again I would like to thank all of those who have helped me get here. We all crammed on the Rising Star bus and went on a two hour drive to reach Rising Star! It is out in the boonies and the Indians here are a lot more conservative so we have to wear the traditional clothes all the time. When I say we, I mean all the volunteers. There are 16 of us. I was really excited to meet everyone because we're going to be sharing in this awesome experience together. And these fellow volunteers are awesome. Blessed to be with such an awesome group. Today we met the kids! There are like 200 of them and they are so cute. They are also insane. It kinda reminds me of working at the daycare. They all ran up to us and kept asking "What's your name?", "When's your birthday?". I met so many kids today and I only remember like two names. One little girls name is Mary (well...something like that, but people call her Mary) so naturally, we bonded. After play time on the playground we had prayer time which we'll have every night. Kirsten and I are in a group and we go around to a different hostel every evening and say a prayer, sing a song, have a lesson, maybe play a game, sing more songs, and then have a closing prayer. It's a pretty cool experience because the kids are Hindu, Christian, Muslim, and they know we're Mormon. But all the religions are kinda mixed together so they LOVE Bible stories and Book of Mormon stories. And they pray in whatever language and religion they want. Cool.
Mary and Mary.
At the end of the day we eat dinner and say a high point and a low point of the day. Today's high point was having that mini heart attack about actually coming to Rising Star and the low point was feeling sooooo tired. P.S. It's kinda funny because they call all the female volunteers "auntie". OK this post is kinda lame but that's all I got right now. I'll try to post every night from here on out. P.S. We're having a blog race competition and I beat you Nery and Kirsten. SUCKAS!
Hello from New Delhi! Interesting fact: There is
Delhi and New Delhi. New Delhi is the new part of the city. There are zero cows
and it is probably the cleanest place we've been in India. Delhi is the capital
of the country so there are a ton of government buildings and the government
building here are so beautiful. There are also a ton of nice stores and hotels
and I have to tell you, I felt a little bit at home. Old Delhi is what our
driver decided to drive through to get us to our hotel. We stopped a few times
to go to the bathroom but folks, I would not get out of the car. We drove
through so much dirt and trash and poverty. Lucky Kirsten was sleeping the
whole time but alas, I could not fall asleep. Instead, I sat there and stared,
and made a plan of attack in case someone tried to kidnap the white girl. Ok,
ok. I wasn't THAT bad. But it was just the most poverty we've seen since we've been in India. Therefore, my bladder almost exploded.
While in Delhi it rained, rained, rained. It was
normal for us because it’s been raining basically every day since we've been
here but apparently it never rains here. The streets were kinda flooded and we
got 5 inches of rain in 2 hours!! All we wanted to do was go play in the rain
like the little children we are but alas, we decided against it because we didn't want to attract more attention to ourselves.
We saw the Lotus Temple which, would you believe
it, is shaped like a lotus flower. When leaving the temple grounds, some school
girls walked passed and starting starring at me. Let’s be honest, I’m used to
this. But then they started whispering and pointing and saying “Lal”. It means
red. Like my face was red. IT’S NOT MY FAULT THAT IT WAS 50 BAJILLION DEGREES
OUTSIDE AND THAT YOU COULD COOK AN EGG ON MY FACE. It was pretty funny though. That
night we got SUBWAY. I have never been so excited for Subway in my entire life.
It tasted so American and we were so grateful because We. Are. Tired. Of.
Indian. Food. And our stomachs are also (Hello, Delhi Belly). And here’s the
best part—They deliver here! Dream come true.
The Lotus Temple
On Saturday we had a bunch of fun plans with
Rimpi but they didn’t work out because of da rains. We ended up going shopping
with them and eating dinner with them later though. The restaurant we went to:
Were we even in India?! It was awesome, normal food and it was glorious. Earlier in the day we tried to go sightseeing
with our new driver (Our old driver, Kundun, had to go home sick and we were
sincerely sad about this because we loved him). We went to the India Gate which
I don’t really know the significance of it, but it’s basically a big brick gate
thing that says India on it. In order to get over to it we had to cross the
road. So I would like to tell you a joke. Why did the three Americans try to
cross the roads? To get to the other side, of course. But while crossing over
to the other side they found themselves engulfed in traffic. One of the
Americans lost their shoe in the rain, stepped back to get it and was bumped by
a motorcyclist. Luckily, the American was ok but the motorcyclist fell off his
motorcycle and skid across the road. Some nice Indian pedestrians ran to the
scene to get the guy up so the crazy traffic wouldn’t run him over. The
Americans, realizing traffic was still coming right at them when they stopped
in the middle of the road to see what happened, fled for their lives. Once
making it safely to the sidewalk, the Americans see a news cast. Great. Well we
just gave you a lovely background action for your video. You’re welcome. One of
the Americans also made the mistake of wearing white pants that rainy, rainy
day. And then the news photographer started taking our picture as we were
getting drenched in the rain. The epitome of stupid Americans. By far the most
stupid American thing we’ve done yet. We could’ve been hero’s!!! But folks, the
traffic got the best of us.
Now we are in the airport headed to Chennai for
Rising Star!! We are very excited about this because after all, it is the main
reason we are even here in India. But let me just vent a little. PEOPLE ARE
RACIST AGAINST ME CAUSE I’M WHITE. This has never happened to me before, so
it’s probably a good thing to experience at some point. Without fail, every
airport we’ve been in (Folks, we’ve been in a lot), I always get stopped. Or double
checked. Or they have to check my bags more thoroughly. Or the security guards
always stare me down. Or the Indian ladies in the bathroom get dead silent when
I walk in the bathroom and they just stare at me. It’s because I’m the
minority, I know, I know.
Now I would like to just list some things that I
have noticed about India and Indian people. I’ve been making a list:
-1. I’ve never heard of Indian people
being hospitable but I have never met a culture so respectful, so kind and so
welcoming.
2. At restaurants the waiters serve
you. On your plate. You like can’t do anything for yourself.
-3. Indians are my kind of people! They
call themselves lazy. They take however long they want to eat. They have maids
and cooks. And it is glorious.
-4. When they say someone died they say
the “expired”.
-5. Two words: Head Bobble. I love it!
They bobble their head side to side when saying yes. I may or may not have
already started doing this without thinking about it…
-6. Almost all the cars are manual and
they are all like brand spanking new! Where are all the old cars?!
-7. Toilet paper medal stoppers and butt
sprayers.
-8. Making it impossible to find the
flusher cause it looks different on every toilet.
-9. Hotel room keys turn the lights on.
Confuses us every time cause we “can’t find” the room key.
-10. Shared wifi. Wifi is so difficult
here! If you even can get it, you can only connect one device to it. Of course,
us Americans, have like 50 devices!! #firstworldproblems
-11. Bed sheets. Don’t exist. Just a
comforter.
-12. The car horns are hilarious. Some of
them sound like ice cream trucks.
-13. Milkshakes are literally milk and
flavor. No ice cream.
-14. Where are the females? There are SO
MANY young men who walk around in herds, flocks, stampedes. They are like
American girls. But there are so many guys, where are all the girls??
-15. Indian American food is so much
better than actual American food. Pizza Hut is THE BOMB here. I could eat it
every day.
Now here is WEEK
TWO VIDEO:
Alright that’s all
for now folks. Tomorrow (Monday) we will be in Chennai starting RISING STAR!
And we are so excited because after all, that’s the reason we’re here!
Hello from Agra! Agra is like Mumbai, but
smaller and more people. It is also hotter and more humid. So it’s safe to say
that the past couple days we have spent swimming. Swimming in a pool, swimming
in the rain, swimming in our sweat and swimming in a sea of people.
Our hotel is amazing. Once again, impeccable
service and they greeted us with more drinks and bindies just like the other
hotel. I feel so special here. Look forward to the video at the end of this week
because it includes footage of our adventures around the hotel.
On the way to Agra we made a pit stop at
Fatehbur Sikri. I still can’t really figure out why it was so special besides
the fact that it was old and big because our crazy tour guide had a strong
accent. And he was in love with us. So he kept taking pictures of us on our
cameras and telling us to do these weird poses that didn’t even look cool. And
we weren’t prepared for this particular sightseeing adventure so our clothes
were…quite interesting. I was in my black salvars and the beloved wolf shirt
and Kirsten was in her Jasmine pants. These articles of clothing seem to make
me look like a giant and Kirsten look like a hobbit. Therefore, this awkward
picture was born:
Then we went to the higher part of this structure
where there was a creepy temple with people and flies everywhere. There were
many kids trying to sell us stuff and basically we were in a Bollywood version
of Oliver. Our guide and driver
continually told us to be careful because that place was filled with scams and
pickpockets. It made me sad for the kids because they were so cute and when we
asked them questions about their life they were so nice but they like had to
sell things to us and when we told them no they looked so sad. It’s like they
had to report back to someone or something. But we got a cute picture with a
couple of the kids:
While we were there I also acquired another
stalker, of course. It happens everywhere we go. This was another young Indian
man who wore a green shirt that said “Happy” on it and he asked me if that was
a German Sheppard on my shirt. Wolf. It’s a wolf.
I’m not going to complain because I AM IN INDIA
for goodness sake, but I will say this: This particular sightseeing adventure
was pretty terrible. Just so many things about it were sad, gross, boring,
weird, and hot. Agra…not impressed.
When we got back to the hotel we went swimming
where we were stalked once again by some Indian men (Yes, you can always expect
us to take a picture of our stalkers). And just to bring you a little bit of
comfort Mom, they don’t actually stalk us. They just stare at us. Lots.
The next day (Thursday) we saw one of the Seven
Wonders of the World (NBD)…THE TAJ MAHAL!!!! Bright and early at 6am. Folks, it
was so cool. But our guide was weird again. At one point we were inside the Taj
Mahal when he wanted to show us the echo so he started singing. He started
singing. In the Taj. Oh buddy. One wonderful thing about sightseeing…THERE ARE
SO MANY WHITE PEOPLE. By so many I mean like maybe we’ll see 10. It’s a little
bit of home (even though most of them are from Europe)! We had to wear these
shoe cover things which I secretly loved and want to take home.
When we got back we went swimming IN THE RAIN!
Like in the pool…but it was raining. And it was super cool! And it was just
Kirsten and I in the gigantic pool. Therefore this picture was born:
Then we went to our home away from home:
McDonalds. More kids surrounded us begging so we gave them candy once again and
man oh man, it works every time. Kids love their candy. Then we went to Agra
Fort which is HUGE and it’s like a military base and only 25% is open to the
public. Once again, we had some stalkers.
Then afterwards we went to dinner at this
restaurant in Agra. All the restaurants we go to are pretty nice because we
want to make sure we’re eating clean food and stuff but I have to tell you. I
never want to eat Indian food again. No more carbs and bready things and spicy
sauces! No more! Just give me a hamburger!!!!! So when we find an American
restaurant (like McDonalds), it’s a delicacy. Anyway so at this restaurant we
were sitting there like little innocent Americans waiting for our food when I
see something scurry across the floor. I looked at Kristen. She looked at me.
And we both were like “…What was that..?” We weren’t really sure but then I saw
it again nice and clear. IT WAS A MOUSE. A MOUSE! In a restaurant!! Boom. Our
appetite was demolished. For some reason I wasn’t too surprised though…I’ve
been like expecting something like that to happen eventually. Anyway we still
ate there and prayed really hard that our food was ok. And I decided I’m going
to name the mouse Mo Mo and bring him home.
Now we just arrived in Delhi and I’ll update
soon!
Read the blog post previous to this for all the updates on Jaipur and what we've been doing lately.
But first if you haven't watched our week one video...you're missing out. Ok, ok not really. It's very amateur but this next weeks is gunna be good! So mark your calenders, plan a party, take off work. Here's the video but if for some reason that doesn't work, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5jJePrLw2A
I now I would like to refer you to Kirsten's blog post that we created about why we are stupid Americans. Every day we do something quite embarassing but they make for funny stories. So take a look at how we've created first world problems in third world countries thus far: http://thelovelylifeoflittlek.blogspot.in/2013/07/sometimes-we-do-really-dumb-things.html
Hello from Jaipur, also known as Pink City (Well
actually if you wanna get technical, we’re in Agra now…I’m a little behind).
Jaipur is split up into old city and new city and we have spent the last 2 days
exploring and touring all around. When we got off the plane I immediately fell
in love with this city. It is definitely crowded like Mumbai but not nearly as
bad and it is beautiful. There is so much more greenery. But it is also hot hot
hot here. The first thing we noticed is that there are a ton of cows here!
Probably cause there is more room for them to wander but seriously, they are
everywhere.
We stayed at a nice hotel that’s under intense
security. A few years ago India had some terrorist activity that involved
hotels so they enhanced the security. Every time we drive in the guard checks
for bombs or whatever and once we walk in the doors we have to go through one
of those security scanner walkways. When you walk in the hotel they have this
awesome greeter dude with a sweet mustache and everyone does “Namaste” to you.
Everyone. All the time. So we’ve grown
accustomed to doing it back. I love it. We sat down to check in and they put
little red dots on our forehead as a “welcome” and gave us a damp towel to help
us cool off. The service here is impeccable. Everywhere we go in India from the
greeter, to the driver, to the waiters…they are so respectful and so on the
ball. Amazing service. I don’t know if it’s because we’re American or what.
Because we’re traveling with an Indian elder (Kirsten’s grandpa, Shyam), and
Kirsten who looks pretty Indian, I’m kinda like the ugly duckling so they
normally serve me last, speak to me last, etc. Which is totally fine, it’s just
interesting.
Lets talk about our driver. His name is Kundan
and WE LOVE HIM. Best driver we’ve had yet. He is so smiley and nice and
respectful and his peppy little personality makes my day. He’ll be our driver
for the rest of the time until we go to Chennai. He is like a driver tour
guide. He took us to a Hindu temple that was absolutely beautiful. It was
pouring rain and out of respect we had to take our shoes off and the temple was
made of marble so it was some slippery business. It was so fun though. Normally
I think sightseeing is kinda boring but so far, especially in Jaipur, it’s been
really cool and interesting.
Kundan, our awesome driver.
We walked around the temple and took a ton of
pictures and while we were taking pictures we saw these Indian guys who kept
starring at us. This happens all the time though so we’re used to it and it’s
actually pretty funny cause they never do anything, they just have no shame in
starring. We would go to take a picture by the stairs, they would too. We would
go take a picture on the side of the temple and they just happened to be there
taking one too. Then we went inside the temple to watch people worship when…who
sits like 5 feet away? You guessed it. Our future husbands. They kept glancing
at us so naturally we knew they were creeping on us but we couldn’t understand
their Hindi. When we left to go outside and take more pictures they were
floating around once again and next thing we know, Kirsten’s grandpa called to
us and told us to come over to him…and he was with our stalkers. Oh buddy. Long
story short, out of respect they asked the elder if they could take pictures
with us. We swore we saw them pay grandpa but he says they didn’t… So here’s a
picture of Kirsten getting her picture taken with one of them:
We did some other sightseeing at a cool building
with a lot of pigeons and at a sundial place but lets talk about what you’ve
all been waiting for…WE RODE AN ELEPHANT!! We rode it up to this place called
Amber Fort which is an old palace with a cool hall of mirrors. It was enjoyable
and great that we can cross that off our bucket list of life but the whole time
we were bugged by these guys that were trying to sell us their pens, elephants,
handmade blankets, umbrellas, etc. No matter how many times you tell people no
here, especially if you’re an American, they don’t leave you alone. They
brought out the worst in us. So because of that the elephant ride wasn’t too
memorable, but hey, the fact that we did it was very cool. Then we toured the
fort with our also awesome tour guide.
And WE SAW A SNAKE CHARMER. I felt like
I was in Aladdin. He had us touch his
snake and asked us to put it around our necks which we were way too afraid to
do. His snakes name was Carlos. CARLOS. So we pet Carlos and it was scary.
On our way back we were going to ride a camel
but found out it was illegal so we just took a picture on a camel. Guys. CAMELS
ARE SCARY. Like not stable at all. We were clinging on for dear life when the
camel lifted itself up once we got on. You know those moments when you prepare
for death and you see your life flash before your eyes? Yeah. That was one of
those moments.
We also took a tour of a textile factory (it was
like one room) where everything is dyed by hand and the dyes are made from
vegetables. We also saw rug makers and learned that it takes 6 months to make
one rug. Then we went in their shop. Oh boy. We didn’t leave for like 3 hours.
We’ve been saving up though because everyone said the place to buy saree’s,
salwar’s, scarfs, etc. is in Jaipur. So this was our time. The workers at the
store were extremely hospitable and they took pictures and put them on their
wall of all the people who come in from different countries. While Kirsten was
fulfilling her life dream and getting fitted for a saree, I was bonding with my
homeboy, Shyam the saree shop worker. He was a nice young Indian man who
clearly wanted me to mother his children. We bonded for like an hour while he
asked me about America and helped me pick out some awesome textiles. If I bring
him back to American mom and dad, make sure you welcome him with open arms.
Hahahaha kidding, kidding.
Our future Indian hubby Shyam is on the far left. He's small sized, it's fine.
Now let me rant for just one line: I AM SO TIRED
OF PEOPLE TRYING TO GET MONEY FROM ME. That is all.
Now I must end my blog and extend love and
dedication to one of my most favorite things I have come across while
journeying in India: Smiley Potatoes. They are literally smiling potatoes.
Potatoes shaped like smiley faces. I will eat them all day every day.
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