Trip to Agra

Hello lovelies!
This past weekend the IES group took a trip to Agra in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is just east of Delhi. I'll try to recap everything that I can remember, but we saw so many amazing things (the most well-known of which is the Taj Mahal)! Our trip started EARLY on Friday morning...I was up by 4:30 to shower, as the carpool was picking me up at 5:15. They happened to be late, however, so I stood outside in the rain (luckily under an umbrella) for half an hour. After being picked up, we made our way to the train station. On our way, we saw around 10 monkeys hanging out in a median in the middle of the road!! Those have been the only monkeys I've seen in Delhi, but Agra was full of them! (Agra is a bit more rural than the capital). The train ride to Agra was quite interesting - I stayed awake for the majority of it in order to see the rural scene of India. I saw many small villages consisting of huts like the following:

damn, that picture took so long to upload so that's the only one I'm putting in this post. If you want to see more pictures of my trip they are on facebook!

So anyways, besides the huts, I found it interesting how lively the railroad tracks are! Many families make their homes in tents right beside the tracks (for reasons unknown to me...I would think they would want to be further away for safety/pollution/noise issues). Quite a few people..um...release their bowels beside the train tracks. Also, I noticed that the tracks do not discriminate between economic classes - I saw the poorest of the poor to men dressed in nice business suits walking along the tracks, going about their daily business and going where they need to go. The train itself was quite accommodating. While it wasn't necessarily "nice" compared to American standards, it was air-conditioned(we traveled in the AC chair car class) and gave out free newspapers, magazines, bottles of water, and breakfast.

Upon arrival to Agra, we took a bus to our hotel to check in and drop off our things. I took a short nap and then we headed to the Agra Fort (also known as the Red Fort - any fort made of red sandstone is called the Red Fort, so it can get confusing!). The Agra Fort is huge! It is actually more of a walled city, as various rulers of India made it their home throughout history and built various structures inside it, such as palaces and a mosque. From the top of the fort, there is a beautiful view of the Taj Mahal in the distance. This is also where the phenomenon of taking pictures with Montana started. While wandering around the fort, a group of people asked if I would take a picture with someone's little boy. I love little kids so I said sure - this was my mistake. After, everyone wanted "just one more picture" with me - I probably took pictures with 25 different men at this point. After I finally broke away, a woman comes up to me maybe 10 minutes later and asks if I'll take one last picture with her husband (not her - just her husband lol). At every single tourist site we visited, I took at least one picture with somebody. They were really into posing me with their kids - sometimes I would hold their hand, sometimes I'd put my arm around them, sometimes I'd kneel and they would stand behind me. I am kind of used to people wanting to take pictures with me because when I went to China in 10th grade, I was a HUGE hit with the locals. Also at the Agra Fort was an Archaeological Site - men were chipping away at a place in the entry pathway. I'm not sure what they were looking for, but their tools were quite rudimentary (they were using pick axes for heaven's sake to find artifacts - whatever they do find will probably be ruined). It wasn't protected or roped off at all, and the men didn't look very trained. It was definitely interesting to see an Indian archaeological site though (if that actually was a legit one).

Next we went to the tomb of Itmad-ud-daula, a Mughal emperor in India's history. It was beautiful and kind of resembled a baby Taj Mahal. There were a few kids there (of whom I took pictures haha) that kept asking for pens - at least, I think that's what they were saying. They even did the motion of writing. I never gave them one so why they wanted one is still a mystery. After the tomb, we went to Mehtab Bagh, aka Moonlight Garden. The gardens were absolutely beautiful. I am so lucky that I'm here during the monsoon season. Even though it downpours just about every day, streets become flooded up to ankle- or shin-deep water, and traffic piles up, it is so green here! The gardens were flourishing with so many different types of flowers and trees. I heard that recently, a few gardeners were digging and found seeds dating back to the time of Shah Jahan (who commissioned the Taj Mahal for his deceased wife).  The gardeners are going to try to recreate what Mehtab Bagh might have looked like in his time, which would be so awesome! Upon arriving to the viewing place of the Taj, I was taken aback. The stark contrast of the falling-down barbed-wire fence blocking off the river and the slums along the river to each side of the Taj alongside the majestic Taj Mahal was shocking. It makes me wonder how the place might have looked when the Taj was first built, before barbed wire and slums.

That night, we were free to eat dinner on our own so a few of us went to Pizza Hut. It was pretty good, except for the fact that it was a bit pricey and portion sizes were tiny. Five of us ordered the meal for 6, which came with three appetizers, three medium pizzas and 6 drinks. It sounds like a lot, but we demolished that and were still hungry, so we got some chicken wings. The medium pizzas were smaller than a personal pan back in the states - and I'm not exaggerating. Either way though, pizza was much welcomed in my stomach after three weeks of Indian! That night, we really wanted to go out and experience the party scene in Agra, but we failed. We barely found a liquor store - we had to walk pretty far just to be charged almost 20 bucks for a bottle of Red Knight whiskey (delicious, cheap Indian whiskey). Apparently, liquor and tobacco taxes are different in each state, which is why it was so much more expensive in U.P. than in Delhi. We ended up just drinking in our hotel room and chillin. After most people went to bed, four of us took a "midnight" swim (at 1 in the morning). The water felt amazing and it was quite relaxing. Finally, we went to bed because the Taj was in the morning!

After a delicious breakfast at the hotel (with eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, etc.) we journeyed to the Taj Mahal! Our bus could only drive up to a certain spot, at which point we had to change to a special bus without emissions (they are worried about pollution at the Taj). The entrance itself was gorgeous, but once I stepped inside I was in awe. The Taj is absolutely breathtaking - it's grand and majestic and has somewhat of an other-worldly vibe due to the translucent marble used to construct it. According to the professor who went with us, the Taj looks slightly different at various points of the day due to the light reflecting differently off of the marble. After I got someone to take the necessary pictures of me with the Taj, I journeyed off on my own. I really like to experience tourist places by myself (especially one as amazing as the Taj) because I don't like my experience to be determined by someone else. Going around by myself was so incredibly peaceful. I felt so connected walking barefoot on the marble and feeling it on my skin. In the mosque, I had to cover my head as it is still a "living mosque" (aka still used for worship). I also went into the museum, which had original drawings of the Taj, swords, a Koran holder, and some writings. At the back corner of the Taj, I saw some monkeys just hanging out. I took their pictures and got as close as I could until one of them noticed me. Monkeys can be dangerous creatures! Anyways, immediately upon exiting the Taj, we were bombarded with people selling souvenirs. It really gets to some people, as they can't handle the people being in their face. Honestly though, if you don't look at them or what they are selling they will leave you alone - it only takes 3 seconds of ignoring them for them to leave. Some people just really don't understand that though, so they get really flustered and angry. IES didn't give us any time to shop, but a few of us insisted on at least 10 minutes to go look at the shops (they were selling SUPER cheap things so I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity!). I got a few magnets for about 1.50 and some bracelets for 50 cents! I wish I would have had more time because I hate feeling pressured when buying something and I could have gotten a lot more had I had time to think. After the Taj we went to the Taj Nature Walk, which was basically a paved trail leading through a pretty manicured green area with various view of the Taj.

In the afternoon, we went to Akbar's tomb. Akbar the Great was the 3rd Mughal emperor of India who ruled in the 16th century. This tomb, like most other important sites, had a grand entrance. Behind the tomb were some ruins (I'm not sure what they were ruins of) that I explored. While tombs and such are gorgeous places, I love exploring ruins. I didn't get very far before a guard came to get me and told me to go back. After seeing Akbar's tomb we went to Fatehpur Sikri, the first planned city of the Mughal (it was built by Akbar in honor of the Sufi saint who foretold the birth of Akbar's son). The city was absolutely huge and took about 2 hours to walk around. It took 15 years to build but was abandoned in only 14 because the water supply was unable to sustain the growing population. The views from the city were gorgeous as well - it looks out onto the countryside of U.P. Fatehpur Sikri was the last place we went in Agra. We stopped to have some tea (or chai as Indians call it) and snacks and lost track of time. We ended up having to rush to make our train in time. I bet we were a funny sight - 15 Americans running all-out through the train station. We made it with time to spare though. The dinner on the train was absolutely horrible though, so I'm thankful we stopped for tea time! The journey back was uneventful - I slept the whole way and, after being dropped off around 11:30 pm, crashed.

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This is the best time to be in India, in my opinion. Although it is extremely hot and humid, it rains almost every day. The rain is much welcomed by most, as it provides a relief to the heat - many kids even play in the flooded roads. The rains also ensure a very green India, whereas other times of the year might not be as flourishing. Probably the best part of being here during this time is seeing all the Hindu pilgrims. The Hindu holy month of Shravan is from mid/late July - mid/late August, during which time Hindus make a pilgrimage to the Ganges River to collect gangajal, or holy water from the Ganges. Every day I see people (98% of them men) dressed in orange and carrying lavishly decorated poles from which buckets hang to collect the water. Occaisionally, I will see trucks piled with men blaring Bollywood music - I haven't quite figured out if this is connected with the pilgrims as well, as some have been dressed in orange and some haven't, or if this is just a normal thing in Delhi. Along certain roads, rest stops have been set up for these pilgrims to rest their feet and grab a bite to eat. Here's an example of one taken from google:

Also, as a side-note, mash-ups of Bollywood music and American rap do exist, and they are fantastic. My autowallah (aka auto-rickshaw driver) who was quite young (and good-looking I may add) was blaring the mash-ups in an unabashed attempt to impress me. He even had some mad dance moves. If he had known a little more English I would have given him my number lol. Sometimes my commutes are awesome, and sometimes they suck. Yesterday my driver took me all over the city in an attempt to get more money out of me, making me late for class. I yelled at him multiple times but he didn't understand English. When I finally arrived at the IES center, I handed him about half of what he was trying to charge (a little less than what it normally takes) and basically told him to go to hell. Also, they don't always know where they are going and for someone like me who is directionally challenged, this is a big problem. Various times I have gotten us lost by telling them to turn the wrong way, and we inevitably end up right around where I need to be but I can't figure it out lol. I really need to study a map or something.

It's not the heat, it's the humidity.

Okay, so it's the heat too. Delhi is really freaking hot. But the humidity is much worse....I walk outside and I start pouring sweat. My bathroom is much worse, however, because it's a small enclosed space on the top floor. Thank god for cold showers. Delhi and Mali have about the same weather, actually, which I didn't realize before coming here (they are almost the same latitude). So if you're ever wondering how hot India is during Monsoon season, it's Africa hot (lol).

Anyways, this week was the last week of IES orientation. We had the professors of different IES courses come in and talk about their respective courses, and we also visited different universities in Delhi. Unfortunately, our trip to Ramjas College of Delhi University was cancelled - nothing here is very organized and there was some sort of miscommunication. Apparently, Ramjas College is not a very rigorous college - Mia-ji (the director of IES [sidenote: the suffix -ji is added to show respect for elders]) said that Ramjas is more of a 'cultural experience' than a learning experience. I really want to take a class there because 1. I'm not really here for the academics, so I'm not really feeling putting a lot of work into a class and 2. It is on the main campus of Delhi University, which has many different colleges, and I imagine it to be much more fun than a smaller university. We did succeed in visiting JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) and Kamala Nehru College (a part of Delhi University but not on the main campus). JNU has a beautiful green campus but rigorous academics - it's an upper-level social sciences university. I'm not planning on going there haha. Kamala Nehru College is a small liberal-arts women's college. It seems pretty cool - there are many extra-curricular activities and it would be nice to be in a "safe space." I may take one class there but I definitely want a co-ed Indian university experience as well (hotties say what!).

The day our trip to Ramjas was cancelled, three of us from the program went to the Gandhi Memorial Museum and Raj Ghat, which is where Gandhi was cremated (ghats are cremation grounds). The museum was spectacular - there were hundreds of photographs spanning Gandhi's entire life and most, if not all, of his worldly possessions. Gandhi was quite the handsome fellow in his younger years haha. I learned quite a bit about his life that I was not aware of, such as details about his time spent in South Africa assisting the Indian population there. The museum had various articles, such as two of Gandhi's teeth, his spectacles, bedding that he and his wife used to use, some of his clothes, and the clothes he was wearing when he was assassinated. The bloody cloths were set apart from the rest in a glass case behind a railing - it was actually quite emotional viewing them. Why anyone would want to shoot such a remarkable man escapes me, but I suppose I shall learn that in one of my classes when we discuss Gandhi and why he evoked such hatred in some. I even got to hear a recording of Gandhi's real voice - the quality was not great but his voice is so humble and ... well ... cute. Raj Ghat was just down the road. We had to remove our shoes to enter the site of his cremation, which now has a marble memorial and an eternally burning flame. According to Lonely Planet, Raj Ghat has become sort of a place of pilgrimage for some, which was evident by the hordes of tourists pouring in from all over the world.

On a lighter note, yesterday a few of us went to a huge mall nearby, which contained in its food court A MCDONALDS. I of course had to eat there and was (thankfully!) talked into getting something not offered in the states. I ordered a McSpicy Paneer and it was absolutely delicious. For those of you who don't know, paneer is a sort of "cottage cheese" used in many Indian foods. Think the curds in American cottage cheese together in one big block without the milky juice. Anyways, the McSpicy Paneer is a vegetarian sandwhich consisting of a deep-fried paneer patty breaded in a spicy coating on a bun with lettuce and orange-ish "creamy sauce." The US could really take a few lessons from Indian McDonalds. The fries were normal and of course only Coke, Sprite, and Fanta were offered as drinks. I'm excited to see how the Subway and KFC are here (as far as I know, those three are the only chain restaurants that exist here).

Today, my host mom and I had to go back to Lajput Nagar (a shopping area) to exchange some pants I bought - they gave me tight pants instead of the loose, flowy ones worn with the salwar-kameez. They were exchanged no problem (or no hassles as my Indian mom says xD ), but as we were walking back to get an auto (the short word for autorickshaw) she saw a kurta (shirt) she liked in a different store so we had to stop there. I'm glad we did because this store was quite an experience! First, we had to take our shoes off, which was no big deal, as I've had to do that in a few other stores here. Then I see that the majority of the store's small floor is covered with sleeping pads - I'm guessing the shop keepers live there as well? Anyways, they invite us to sit down, which my mother does so I follow suit. The whole time I'm wondering what people would think if this happened in an American store, as the pads were stained with who knows what. I'm not picky so I didn't mind, but I can definitely think of a few people here who would haha. So we're sitting there and the shopkeeper is showing my mom the kurta in various colors and sizes, and all of a sudden this boy (maybe 13 or 14 years old) brings us two glasses of water on a tray. My mom picks up the water and drinks it, so I do too. I only drank about 1/4 of the water, as I wasn't sure if it was filtered or not. I hope that wasn't rude - my mom drank almost all of hers. I feel like I'm pretty good at observing the locals and doing as they do though, so I'm not too worried about it. Plus I'd rather be rude than get sick. My mom is really funny though - as she was waiting for the guy to find the right colored shirt in the right size, she says to me “I'm hoping they don't have my size so I don't have to buy it!” I really enjoy my host family - every day we hang out in my mom's air-conditioned room on her bed (it's just her, myself and my host brother who is in his last year of college) and talk for hours. My mom and brother have a very relaxed, joking relationship, which makes me feel really comfortable in the house. I already feel as if I'm getting off to a great start with them. I'm definitely trying to learn from my previous mistakes with my host families in Chile and change what I can. Granted, I couldn't communicate very well for the first few months in Chile so I already have an advantage here. I hope the rest of my stay goes as well as this first week has!

Another thing about India:
Indians are very energy-conscious! They never leave lights on if they are not in the room. Each outlet has its own switch - you must turn it on when you plug something in in order to get electricity to it, and turn the switch off when you are done using it. They don't use dryers or hot water. There is hot water, but one must turn it on and wait half an hour for it to heat up. I don't bother with it, as they bathe in cold water so I do too (and it's a much welcomed break from all the heat!). I guess when it starts getting colder we will use it. They also take bucket-baths (I do not - I like my shower but I cut it down to 5 minutes).

This weekend we are taking a trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal (!!!), Agra Fort, Itimad-ud-daulah, Mehtab Bagh, and Akbar's tomb. I'm not quite sure what all of these are yet, but I will definitely update once I am back!
xoxo

Namastae

Ahh there are so many things to write about that I don't know where to begin!

So I have finally made it to India! I have been in Delhi for almost a week now and let me tell you, it is one crazy city! It is very crowded and quite hectic. (Just to put things in perspective - the US has about 300 million people while India, roughly a third of the size of the US, has 1.21 BILLION people. That's a lot of people crammed into one country.) Anyways, aside from all the people, another thing that makes the city so hectic is the fact that people here honk. A lot. And when I say they honk, I mean a lean-on-the-horn, blaring noise coming from cars, autorickshaws, motos, etc. They honk when cars are in the way, they honk when cars aren't in the way just to let them know they're coming. They honk when they see a pedestrian on the side of the road to warn them not to cross. They give friendly honks when they see someone they know. Sometimes I think drivers honk when no one else is honking just because it seems too quite (to them, of course). On the way to the Institute today I almost got a headache because autorickshaws have one of the loudest and most annoying horns and, of course, my driver was quite fond of using it. Traffic here is also quite daunting - lanes and stoplights are purely suggestions. While it is not quite as bad as Chinese traffic, I still wouldn't want to drive here.

In case you are wondering what an autorickshaw is:

So far I have not had as hard a time adjusting as the other students here - my year in Chile REALLY helped prepare me for future travels and I feel as if I am much better equipped than most to handle culture shock, living in a homestay, and adjusting to a new way of life. There are a few things, however, which will definitely take some getting used to, namely:
Women do NOT make eye contact with men. If you happen to accidentally look into a man's eyes on the street, immediately look away. If you smile at a man, it is seen as an invitation and can earn you a crude word or a good groping. If you must talk with a man (say a shopkeeper or autorickshaw driver), it is permissible to occasionally make eye contact, but a woman must not hold his gaze for very long (again seen as an invitation). This is VERY hard to get used to, as I am used to looking everyone in the eye and giving a friendly smile when walking down the street. Hell, even going from Illinois to LA I had to reduce the level of eye contact I made, and here it is much worse. I am starting to master the practice of looking down at a 60 degree angle when walking anywhere - just enough to see where I'm going but avoid the stares of men. Also, this makes people-watching very hard. I still watch people, of course, but I have to be very careful to look away if a man catches me. I wonder how interacting with fellow Indian classmates will be...

Aside from that one little detail, I have been thoroughly enjoying myself. I arrived Wednesday morning and on the way to the hotel from the airport I saw a cow chilling in the middle of the highway. No one bothered it, of course, as cows are a noble and venerated creature in the Hindu world (over 80% of Indians are Hindus). Unfortunately, that's the only cow I've seen thus far, but I bet it won't be the last. I've already gotten Delhi Belly though. I thought I had one of the strongest stomachs in the world, as I travel often and rarely get sick, but I guess it is no match for Delhi cuisine. Apparently once I've had it though, I won't get it again. The food here is very delicious though! I never though I could eat Indian food for lunch and dinner every day and not get sick of it. That isn't to say that I won't get sick of it, but I have lasted far longer than I expected. So far I haven't encountered food that is too spicy for me (luckily) and my host brother has a low spice tolerance so my host mom doesn't cook super spicy food. On another note, the clothing here is absolutely beautiful and I've already boughten two salwar kameez outfits for myself:

Orientation thus far has been somewhat boring - we have two weeks for something that could have been done in four days. They did take us to Humayun's Tomb, which served as the inspiration for the Taj Mahal (which we will be visiting this upcoming weekend!!!!). The Tomb and surrounding gardens are beautiful:

There is a park near my house called Deer Park (it has an enclosure of spotted deer) that is rather large and quite pretty to walk around or just relax and read a book. Currently I am sitting on my balcony waiting for the airport to deliver my second bag that just arrived and watching people pass by on the street. I am anxious to get started with everything - I have a few goals in mind that I really want to accomplish. First, I want to learn how to cook delicious Indian food - I'm hoping there are some sort of cooking classes in Delhi (although I am not sure because Indian women learn how to cook from their mothers and grandmothers). I also want to volunteer somewhere, hopefully working with the rehabilitation of street kids (there is a lot of poverty and begging here and, unfortunately, Slumdog Millionaire is actually a pretty accurate depiction of what happens in India). During Orientation, we took a two hour Bollywood dancing lesson which was SUPER fun and a great workout - I think a few of us are going to try to take classes depending on the costs. At the end of this week I should finalize my class schedule and should be able to make more definite plans as to how I want to spend my time. I will try to update more often so these can be briefer (or maybe I should just get a journal....)

disclaimer: all photos from Google. I have yet to upload photos from my camera to the computer.

Oh, the joys of traveling.

Hello all! I have decided to create this blog because, as many of you know, I am very bad at keeping in touch and this will be a way that those who wish can stay updated on my adventures.

Currently, I am sitting in a café at the airport in Helsinki, Finland. This stopover is an unexpected detour in my travels - I was supposed to go from St. Louis to Chicago to Brussels to Delhi. My flights were delayed from the very beginning - I arrived at St. Louis at 9:00 am (three hours before departure time) and did not depart until close to 3 in the afternoon (flights were delayed from Chicago due to bad weather). Upon arrival in Chicago, I hurried to my connecting flight gate only to discover that that flight was delayed as well! I was rather hungry by that point, so at least I was able to grab one last American meal (complete with a Dr. Pepper!) Finally, I board my flight to Brussels, Belgium two hours late, which made me miss my connecting flight to Delhi by about 20 minutes. American Airlines rebooked me on a different flight (through Helsinki). As a program coordinator from IES abroad was scheduled to pick me up at the airport in Delhi when I arrived at 9:40 pm local Delhi time, I had to call her and let her know I would not be arriving until the following morning. I found a payphone in the airport and talked to the operator to get a rate for calling India. Although the rate was a bit pricey (at 3 euros for the first minute and just under 2 for each additional minute), I placed the call because I had to notify IES of my late arrival. I talked for just a minute or two, but I was charged $36!! DO NOT EVER USE A BBG COMMUNICATIONS PAY PHONE. After researching the company, I have discovered that they have a class-action lawsuit against them because they overcharge customers, charge them multiples times, and just generally scam customers out of their money. I will be disputing this charge. Unfortunately I did not get the operator's name, but hopefully I can get some of my money back.

Anyways, after calling IES, I had to go through passport control and security (again). After exiting, there were no screens listing departure gates nor signs indicating where the gates were, so I walked around aimlessly until I found a sign. After finally finding out which gate I needed to go to, I run (literally sprint) to the gate only to have them tell me I haven't checked in and don't have a ticket. I argue for a while (I already missed one flight and wasn't going to miss another!) and finally they allow me to board the flight. My bags, however, were not as fortunate. There was not enough time to transfer the bags, so I will most likely arrive in Delhi without luggage. It's a good thing I packed extra clothing in my carry-on - the perks of being a seasoned traveler!

So that brings me here, staring through floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a forest. It is a cloudy day here in Finland but that only adds to its beauty. Unfortunately, however, I cannot go out and explore on my own as my layover is only a few hours. Although my trip is not starting out as smoothly as I had hoped, I am already enjoying the traveling. It is exciting to hear different languages, see different styles of dress, purchase unrecognizable candy from a vending machine, and overcome little problems that won't really matter tomorrow. I am very anxious and excited to arrive in Delhi, and I will try to post again as soon as I am settled!