NEPAL.

Where to begin?

I was so lucky to be able to go to Kathmandu, Nepal three weeks ago.  The huge Kathmandu Valley is breathtakingly beautiful, and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Somewhat like New Delhi, it was crammed full of dilapidated buildings and bustling with amazing people.

The main reason for our visit was to meet with CHOICE Humanitarian.  CHOICE is working to eradicate extreme poverty in five different countries, Nepal included.  Their methodology, leadership, and progress are remarkable.  Doing an internship with CHOICE would be life changing.

While we were there, we were fortunate enough to have Mary, a CHOICE intern, show us around.  The first site we visited was the Buddhist stupa, Swayambhu.  It is also called the Monkey Temple, and rightfully so because there were SO MANY MONKEYS.  At one point, it seemed that every monkey in Kathmandu was walking towards us.

Does it get any cuter than hugging monkeys?

Ignore the awkward squat…they were growling at me.

We also went to Durbar Square, which was awesome.  The whole square was filled with old monuments and buildings.  So much history in one place.  Also in Durbar Square, is the residence of the Kumari, a young girl who is worshipped and treated as a god and must stay until she reaches puberty, at which point it is believed that she becomes human again.

So many pigeons…

Kumari’s House

Later, we visited Boudha Stupa, which was similar to Swayambhu, but still incredible.  These stupas contain Buddhist relics and are holy places for Buddhists.

Our last tourist sight to see was Pashupatinath, one of the most significant Hindu Temples of Lord Shiva in the world.  And it was quite significant.  The grounds of Pashupatinath are expansive (which we learned the hard way), and there is an abundance of beautiful buildings.  Most significant, however, were the cremation docks on the river that wound through Pashupatinath.  I felt rude just by being there, observing the families saying their last goodbyes to their dead.  One tour guide told us that the building right next to the actual temple was where the elderly went to await death so that they could be cremated there.

Cremation docks

The Hindu Temple of Lord Shiva

Besides seeing the amazing historical sites, we had a blast wandering through the never-ending Kathmandu streets, hanging out with new friends, and meeting a wide assortment of people.  Like most of our other adventures this summer, our original plans did not always work out.  One day, instead of the music festival that we were trying to find, we randomly happened upon this company that does outdoor programs, and were invited to attend a climbing competition.  After, we went with them to hear some live, authentic Nepali music, which was amazing.

Time to join a climbing gym when I get home…

However, the coolest part came in the final hours of our time in Nepal.  After THREE mornings of going to the small, urine-smelling Kathmandu airport at 6 in the morning, the weather finally cleared up enough to go up above the clouds.  What an incredible, indescribable sight; it was an entirely different world with the lonely peaks of some of the tallest mountains in the world.  Mt. Everest was spectacular.

Is this real life?

Count On Me: My Pledge to End Violence Against Women

Maitri has launched a campaign to increase awareness of violence against women.  When you sign the pledge, you are agreeing to never commit, allow or encourage physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse and to respect all women. Please take 30 seconds to click the picture, sign the pledge, and then share the link with your family and friends.

Link: http://www.change.org/petitions/count-on-me-my-pledge-to-end-violence-against-women

It’s Real

All of it is real. It isn’t just something I read about anymore; there are real problems in this world. It’s my friends.  It’s my co-workers. It’s the children I tutor.  It’s my housekeeper.  It’s my neighbors.

Women come into Maitri daily to seek help for abuse they’ve suffered; the children I tutor are way too skinny; the families I walk past on the way to work are living underneath highway overpasses; the children that stop my auto rickshaw to beg for money dig through the garbage piles for food.  The “real” world is pressing down on me everywhere I turn.  My smallness and inability to do anything significant is pressing down even harder.

It was a nice bubble that I lived in.  Hearing and reading about the problems of the world, but still getting to retreat into my secluded, safe space.  Yes, it’s comfortable to be ignorant and unaffected, but is that really a good way to live?  While people were suffering around the world, I was reading their stories from the comfort of my large, clean home or researching their problems in a university classroom (and I didn’t have to walk miles to it or fear for my life while at school).

I can choose who I want to marry. What I want to do.  Where I want to live.  How I want to be treated.  Where I want to go.  These choices used to be classified as “rights” in my mind; however, I am now realizing that they are privileges that so many women in the world do not enjoy.  I am not going to waste these privileges that I have been given—if I am lucky enough to have options, I am going to make the best decisions possible.  I do not have to fight for myself, but I will fight for others because it is wrong that so many girls throughout the world do not even know that there are other options.  It is wrong that a girl was shot in the head for trying to go to school.  It is wrong that 67 million children do not go to school, and more than half of them are girls.  It is wrong that 7 in 10 women around the world are victims of physical and/or sexual violence during their lifetimes.  It is wrong that 14 million girls are married before age 18 each year. It is wrong that medical complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death in women age 15-19.  It is wrong that around 3 million girls each year are victims of genital mutilation or cutting.

If any of these facts make your blood boil, like they do mine, then we must take action.  Knowledge brings responsibility.  We cannot sit idly by while, around the world, these very real problems are affecting very real people.

A Different Kind of People

3:00 am.  My waterbottle had bounced out from its holder and hit my leg hard, thus causing me to wake from my less-than-peaceful sleep.  As I looked out the large front window of the huge Volvo charter bus, the only thought going through my mind was, “this can’t be right.”  I couldn’t see out the window because the howling winds had whipped up so much dust and dirt.  Lightning was illuminating the sky.  Our bus was hitting bumps and potholes like a boss.  I had to hold on as we narrowly missed straw dogs and cows.  I was most alarmed by the fact that we clearly were not on a main road or highway and we were driving through a town that looked post-Apocalyptic.  The roads would randomly turn into dirt and gravel, and of course we were driving at an outrageous speed, often directly into incoming traffic.  I looked over at the old Asian woman (whom we had quietly criticized at the beginning of the journey for filming literally the entire drive) and mentally told her, yes, you can film this.

Dharamshala.  The seat of the exiled Tibetan government and the home of His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama.  Up in the Himalayas, covered with bright green trees and filled with colorful buildings and narrow roads.  The temperature was heavenly (especially compared to deathly hot Delhi), and we ate every meal on a rooftop.  Pictures can’t do it justice.

I had the best hot chocolate ever…while looking at the best view ever

At Bhagsu Waterfall

At Dal Lake

Can’t wait to see this on their yearly family Christmas card

We stayed in the Pink House hotel, and it was indeed pink.  Our room, too, had two pink walls, one red wall, one wall with red and white drapes, and a purple ceiling.  Oh and large spiders that bit us in the night.

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The people in Dharamshala were by far the highlight:

1. While sitting at the sketchy “bus stop” (aka the side of the highway) waiting for our late bus, we met four people from Israel and one girl from Spain who invited us to play cards with them.
2. At a rooftop restaurant, our server sat down and talked to us for a while about our work in Delhi, Dharamshala, the Dalai Lama, and his family who was still in Tibet.
3. In a store, we met a girl from Israel (a lot of Israeli’s in Dharamshala) who is traveling around Asia for eight months by herself! How would you feel about that, Mom? J I asked her what has been her favorite place or experience thus far and she said, “Meeting new people has been the best.  I’ve sat down and talked to people and I would never usually do that—I usually just focus on hitting all the sights and doing all the top things.  But the most meaningful part of going new places has been to meet new people and putting myself in their shoes.”
4. As we were looking at photographs, the man selling them struck up a conversation with us and we quickly became friends with him.  He told us stories about how he had to flee Kashmir when he was small.  We call him Love—because a) we can’t remember his real name and b) he told us of his beautiful love story.  His happiness and passion for his girlfriend and the love they share was refreshing.
5. An old Tibetan man that offered us each a small piece of cardboard to sit on.
6. At the temple complex, we asked a man what time we could enter the next day.  He talked with us and told us that he had moved here from Tibet.  When we told him enthusiastically that we support Tibet, he was so grateful and excited.  If only I could do more about the situation besides offer my support.

The main reason for our visit to Dharamshala was to listen to the two-day teaching of the Dalai Lama.  After much confusion (and frustration), we entered the Temple Complex on Monday morning and found a place to sit cross-legged on the ground.  We were not prepared—we didn’t bring a radio to hear the translation or a cushion to sit on.  But it didn’t matter.  Surrounded by thousands of people and watching the Dalai Lama speak, you could feel nothing but peace.   How can one man bring such light, hope, and happiness?  The Dalai Lama, who recently turned 78 years old, calls himself a “professional laugher” and does nothing but bring goodness to this earth.

Where the Dalai Lama teaches from (no, that is not the Dalai Lama–we could not take pictures during the teaching. These photos are from when we came back after the teaching.)

In front of the Teaching Hall

At the Tibetan Buddhist Temple Complex. I wish I could have taken a picture when this place was filled with people sitting cross legged on the ground, listening.

After a couple of hours sitting on the ground, we decided to take our chances and venture upstairs to see the actual teaching venue and temple.  The Dalai Lama sits on an ornate chair in a simple room, surrounded by monks.  As we were slowly walking past, we briefly paused about 50 feet away from the Dalai Lama.  We made eye contact with the Dalai Lama, and, with palms pressed together, he raised his hands to his forehead and bowed his head.  I’m still in shock about what happened.  We were acknowledged by the Dalai Lama.  How humbling.

On the second day of the teaching, my love for the Tibetan people intensified.  All of them are so humble and full of love—the pure embodiment of the Dalai Lama’s teachings.  I had to fight to hold back tears as an old Tibetan man offered me a space on his cushion, and then later gave up his bowl so that I could have some of the tea/soup that the monks provided to everyone.  In addition, on my other side was a group of five old Tibetan women who were clearly BFF’s and shared their candy and smiles with me.  How people become so loving and compassionate when faced with such fierce opposition is baffling.

Free Tibet!

Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of my new friends.  But I don’t need it—they taught me more about kindness than I’ve ever learned before and the image of their worn, smiling faces will stay with me forever.

Halfway Done?

We are halfway through our time here!!! It is crazy to think how quickly time has passed, but even crazier to think about how much we have learned and changed.  To celebrate, we went to Kingdom of Dreams.  This was definitely in the top 5 of things we have done here.  After some craziness with getting a rickshaw/taxi (of course), we pulled up to a glittering, lit-up theater. 

We saw the show “Zangoora.”  It was a Bollywood version of Broadway, and we loved every second of it.  While I wish I could write about the amazing plot, it was all in Hindi so we had no clue what was going on.  But this made it even more fun because all of a sudden they would be singing and dancing and then people would be flying over our heads on top of a bald eagle and then we were underwater and then they were singing and dancing again and then they were fighting and then everyone was happy.  It was incredible and highly recommended.

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 I thought I would include a list of things that we have learned and come to accept since being here (expect a fuller and more serious list at the end of our time here).  We do have stories to back all of these up…

• Eat anything and do everything—it’s fine as long as we don’t get sick.  Even if we do get sick, our motto is sick=skinny J
• We are ALWAYS hot and sweaty
• Pedestrians do not have the right of way
• According to many Indian men we pass by, we are blind and stupid
• We rarely can understand what people are saying
• There are lizards on our walls and loud birds outside our windows
• You can answer your phone anywhere at anytime—during a movie, during a meeting, while you are teaching someone yoga
• If we don’t almost die every time we take an auto, something is wrong
• Our beds are hard
• If there is something on the menu, don’t count on them actually having that
• We usually don’t know what we are eating (and often don’t want to know.  Again, sick=skinny)
• Rickshaw drivers hate us
• If you see a small fire on the side of the road, do not be alarmed—it’s just garbage
• There are intermissions during movies
• Our buddy at the snack shack next to Maitri doesn’t give us coins as change, he gives us candy (and we love it)
• Traffic laws? What traffic laws?
• We are laughed at a lot, especially when we try to say things in Hindi

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Some things I have not yet written about:

Visiting the Maitri Health Camp

Two weeks ago, we were invited to attend a health camp that Maitri hosted.  We pulled up to a slum where many rickshaw pullers and their families live.  We entered a small building where Maitri had arranged for doctors and other healthcare professionals to provide free medications, treatments, and HIV/AIDS tests to those who live in the slum.  It is truly incredible what Maitri does and the numerous projects Maitri works on.

The most interesting part of visiting the health camp was getting to watch the magician and street performers.  They were not here purely for entertainment (although they were very entertaining, despite the language barrier), but to teach about HIV/AIDS.  It was the most innovative and fascinating thing I’ve ever seen!  Of course, the ever-growing crowd was laughing and enjoying themselves, but they were also learning about HIV/AIDS, why they should be tested, and that those who have the disease should not be ostracized or treated differently.

Before we left, we were taken on a tour of the slum.  You can’t even imagine the hospitality of these people.  The children were especially eager to guide us when they saw our cameras.  Those who live here have very little—tarps as roofs, dirt as floors, but they were happy.  They found joy in the little things, like showing three white girls their homes.  Humbling does not even begin to describe our experience.

 

Little Stars of Maitri

The children’s hard work finally paid off!!  Last week, they performed in “Little Stars of Maitri.”  They had been working hard to put this together and came in multiple times a day to practice.  Some recited poems and some performed dances.  Their bright, smiling faces were entertainment enough.

Past weekends

Jama Masjid

Jama Masjid is the largest mosque in all of India and can hold 25,000 people.  It is extremely beautiful, but we did (as usual) have some problems.

Don’t ask what I’m wearing.

Before we went, we researched and knew exactly what we should wear and how much it would cost.  However, when we got to the entrance, “guards” stopped us and demanded that we put these hideous dress-type things on and pay 300 rupees.  We were very upset, especially because these guys were so rude to us and because we were the only ones stopped.  We angrily sat down on the burning hot steps and watched as another group of white people tried to enter.  They, too, received the same treatment as us and walked away.  We consulted with them and decided to try another entrance.  At this second entrance, the same thing happened.  Defeated, we put on the ugly dresses and paid the money and entered, even though there were so many other (Indian) people walking in for free and showing more skin than us.

The best part was walking up small stairs into one of the minarets and seeing views of our new home.

Humayun’s Tomb

One of our most favorite places in Delhi is Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It is so incredible!! Despite the pouring rain, we loved it.  In the midst of beautiful, spacious grounds are ancient monuments and tombs.

So much rain!

I love World Heritage Sites!!

You think it couldn’t get much better.  But then, all of a sudden, we were standing in front of Humayun’s Tomb—like a mini, red Taj Mahal.  The pictures speak for themselves.

Gandhi Smriti

After a delicious lunch at an Italian restaurant, we visited the Gandhi Smriti Museum.  This museum is in the home where Gandhiji spent his final 144 days and was then assassinated outside.  I could write page after page about the incredible life Gandhiji led, but I will limit myself to what stands out most:

• Gandhiji made time for absolutely everyone and never turned anyone away, whether it was the Prime Minister or the poorest of people
• An information board outside his room says: “Mahatma Gandhi lived in this room in flesh and blood for 144 days from September 9, 1947 to January 30, 1948.  But in spirit, in his life’s message, in the ideals he sought to instill in every human heart he continues to live here.  thousands of people, from all walks of life, from different parts of India and beyond her shores, who visit this place, everyday bear testimony to the fact that he never left us.  He is the victorious one in death as in life—he is the Eternal Gandhi.”  You could truly feel Gandhiji’s peace in that room.
• Gandhiji said: “Death for me would be a glorious deliverance rather than that I should be a helpless witness of the destruction of India, Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam.”

Gandhi’s personal belongings.

Gandhi’s room

The spot where Gandhiji was assassinated.

 

Gandhiji’s final footsteps.

 

Ganga River

Two weekends ago, we took our first weekend trip to Rishikesh–up in the Himalayas and on the banks of the holy Ganga (pronounced gun-guh) River.  As you can imagine, it was absolutely beautiful.

Laxshman Jhula–an incredible suspension bridge in Rishikesh over the Ganga

A temple in Rishikesh.

We saw so many beautiful monkeys!

Until they turned vicious.

We were lucky enough to be invited by our good friend and co-worker, Anita, who was going to Rishikesh with her brothers and friends.  It was such a fun group!!

The bus ride was only supposed to last 6-7 hours, but the main highway was closed and there was a ton of traffic so we pulled up about 14 hours later.  Luckily our bus was blasting Bollywood music the whole time.  It was also a big adventure trying to take our huge 12 seater van off-roading down the mountain to get to our campsite.  But, as per the Indian usual, it all worked out.  Once we finally arrived at the campsite, Lisa, Katrina, Anita, her sister-in-law Jaspreet, and I bathed in the Ganga.  At first I was hesitant because I’ve read a lot about the pollution of the Ganga (one of the five most polluted rivers in the world; more than 2.9 billion liters of human waste discharged into the Ganga each day; about 66% of those who interact with the Ganga contract an illness), but I finally decided to join in the fun.  Even though we did get sick this past week, it was so worth it.  It was an amazing experience to be in the holy waters of the Ganga by moonlight with four amazing women.

Later, we were taught some Bollywood dance moves and enjoyed the outdoors before going to bed in our sweet tents.

The next morning, we were up bright and early and were convinced to go in the Ganga again.  Also, my trip-long dream of learning how to play cricket was finally realized!

While walking across the campground, my left leg suddenly became trapped in the ground.  Apparently, there was a hole that someone had barely covered, which made it look like the normal ground.  Luckily the men were able to rescue my shoe!

On Sunday afternoon we went white water rafting on the Ganga.  One of the basic commands our rafting guide told us to follow was to jump out of the raft.  Which I loved doing, despite the freezing water, but it got even better when he told us to stay in the water as we went through some rapids.  That is definitely something we could not have done in the US. In addition, we got to “cliff jump”–ya, that meant a large boulder that was no taller than the high dive.

Reppin the U in the middle of the Ganga.

We stopped on the side of the Ganga halfway through rafting for some Maggi noodles (which were delicious until we saw the old woman who made it for us “wash” our dishes in the Ganga. And then we saw a man pee into the Ganga. So that’s cool).

Of course, it was so fun and there were some great rapids, but it was incredible to be on the Ganga, looking at the Himalayas, and seeing the awesome town of Rishikesh.  We loved our first trip in India!

Go Utes!

Beautiful Chaos

Beautiful chaos.  That’s all I can say to describe my time here thus far.

Teaching in the Children’s Tutorial Centre is the best example.  This morning we split the kids into groups to play Math Bingo on our laptops (which of course they loved).  These children are the most beautiful children I have ever met–so excited about learning and life in general.  It is a beautiful sight to see so many young children actively learning and engaging with us as we try to teach them something new.  But on the other hand, it is nothing but chaotic.  The children swarmed around us and pressed closer and closer, trying to get a look at the computer screen.  They are constantly shouting and rapidly talking in words I can’t understand.  Every time a group got a Bingo, the room erupted in exuberant cheers.  They are full of energy that cannot–and should not–be stopped.

Fascinated.

This past weekend was also filled with beauty and chaos everywhere we went.  On Friday afternoon, we accompanied Anita to a meeting at the special unit for women and children at the Delhi Police Department.  At these monthly meetings, organizations like Maitri gather to discuss observations of and solutions to violence against women with the leadership of the Delhi Police.  Although most of the meeting was in Hindi, I could understand one woman, a victim of domestic violence, say, “There are many women willing to help…but don’t know how.”  The police chief responded, “Everyone is welcome; we would certainly welcome your help.”  So this is my call to you: help!  There are so many great organizations working to combat violence against women all over the world, you just need to get involved.  Men and women should equally be involved in this conversation.

Friday evening was nothing but beautiful.  We discovered my new favorite spot in New Delhi: Lodi Garden.  Dating back to the 1400’s, this massive park is dotted with ancient buildings and tombs from the Lodi period.  Families played on the green grass and wanderers like us explored the ruins.  Like I found at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, there are no regulations to where you can walk and climb–which is probably bad for preservation, but awesome for us 🙂 We finished the night at Lodi the Garden Restaurant, the most beautiful restaurant ever.

Saturday started off with yoga with our private yoga master, Vijay.  Then we ventured to Khan Market, shopped around, and ate at Big Chill Cafe.  It is decorated with old Hollywood movie posters, and had delicious desserts.  After spending a few hours at Khan Market, we decided to go to Delhi Haat, a bazaar with Indian clothing and handicrafts <<here comes the chaos>> The rickshaw driver told us that Delhi Haat was closed on Saturday afternoons, but that there was a second side to Delhi Haat that he could take us to.  I know what you’re thinking–these girls are stupid for going along with it.  But he made it sound totally feasible that there would be another side.  So after about 25 minutes in this rickshaw, we pulled up to a sketchy looking building that did say Delhi Haat on it, but was not at all what we wanted.  We refused to get out of the rickshaw, and finally he pulled away.  After having a rather large transvestite try to get us to come with him, the rickshaw suddenly ran out of gas and puttered to a stop.  Luckily there was another rickshaw to take us home.

On Saturday evening, one of our new friends from work came over for a movie and a pizza party! It was so fun.  Despite her cruel past, our friend is so kind and nice–she amazes me with her perseverance and happy outlook on life.

Church was again chaotic, as I cannot understand most of what they are saying.  However, the meaning is the same no matter where I am in the world, and I was just happy to be able to go.  F0r lunch we stopped at the All-American Diner, which is decorated like its name implies.  Besides the false advertising of “Burgers,” it was fun to have breakfast for lunch.  We then ventured to the Bahá’i House of Worship, better known as the Lotus Temple. The Lotus Temple was beautiful, while the experience was chaotic.  Besides being the seemingly only white people in the over-crowded area, we couldn’t help but marvel at the incredible architecture of this lotus flower building.  The Bahá’i faith is also incredible–centered on unity and harmony.  This is one of my new favorite quotes, said by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’i faith:

“The fundamental principle enunciated by Bahá’ulláh… is that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is a continuous and progressive process, that all the great religions of the world are divine in origin, that their basic principles are in complete harmony, that their aims and purposes are one and the same, that their teachings are but facets of one truth, that their functions are complementary, that they differ only in the nonessential aspects of their doctrines and that their missions represent successive stages in the spiritual evolution of human society.”

Beautiful chaos surrounds us, and as frustrating as it can be, I am learning to love it.  Living here can be very challenging, but as we come to see the beauty everywhere we go, India is a magnificent place to be.

Aashirwad and a Birthday Party

Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit Aashirwad, an old age home that Maitri helps support.  The home itself is wonderful–it houses up to 12 senior citizens and provides meals, cleaning, and care.  But even more wonderful are those who live there.  Getting to interact with them and hear their stories was amazing.  One man, a former professor, explained to me the need to educate children about all religions with no distinction as to which is right or wrong in the context of his life in Kashmir.  In 1989, he had to flee his home and everything he owned because of the violence over religion and the lack of religious freedom.  He will never be able to return to his home.

We also had the privilege of visiting with a very frail and feeble woman in her room.  She was genuinely interested in our well-being and success–we had to bite back tears as she blessed us with success and prayed that God would watch over us and help us achieve everything we wanted.  We have come to realize that all Indians (except for the mean rickshaw drivers who for some reason don’t like us) are that way–so hospitable, kind, and completely concerned with making sure their guests are happy.

The whole point of us being at Aashirwad was for a birthday celebration for the General–there was a cake, presents, and a big lunch.  Unfortunately, at the last minute he couldn’t make it to his own party!  So we–the Maitri staff and the residents of Aashirwad–sang Happy Birthday and blew out the candles without him.  We were not going to let a cause for celebration go to waste!

The Maitri staff and the manager of Aashirwad.

Out and About

We had an interesting and fun first weekend here in New Delhi!

On Saturday, we ventured out of our apartment complex and took the metro to Chandni Chowk.  Do not be worried–the metro here is so nice.  It was clean and air conditioned, there were guards at the entrance where everyone had to go through a security checkpoint, and-the best part-there was an enforced Women Only section!

The sign at the metro station

As soon as we got out of the metro station, we were bombarded in every sense of the word.  Of course, it was hot, loud, crowded, and smelly.  But what we saw there–from the moment we stepped out of the station–was enough to make you want to sit down and cry.  The waterbottle in my hand was being crushed as I tightly gripped it and kept my eyes down.  However, I could not avoid glimpsing the many children and adults–some who had lost a limb, some who were blind, some holding a small child in their arms, some with burns or other skin conditions–who lined the streets and walkways, begging for money.  The sadness and their searching eyes are inescapable and unforgettable.

   

Getting to the Red Fort (by a crazy bicycle rickshaw ride) brought much needed relief.  It is huge!  I loved reading all the signs to learn about the history behind it. The red sandstone and white marble are beautiful and the detail on the buildings and even the ground is incredible.  It provided an interesting contrast with the intense poverty we had just walked by in the streets.

This is part of the ground!

Outside the entrance

   

I think we stand out just a little bit in India.  Everywhere we go, people seem to stare or stop us to take a picture or shake our hands.  I wonder what gives us away? 🙂 At one point in the Red Fort, dozens of children ran up to us to shake our hands and say, “Hello how are you?”  Then of course they wanted a picture with us, even if it was on our camera and not theirs.  I have no problem stopping for a picture with the children, but I do have a problem when the men ask us to take a picture (and especially when they think they are being sneaky and nonchalantly walk past us with their cameras or phones held out).

We ate at a place called Karim’s and had the most delicious naan ever (or maybe it was just because we had been in the hot sun all day). On the way there, however, we drove on a road full of goat heads and chickens crammed into small cages with flies and who knows what else all over.  So we were happy being vegetarians.

While Saturday was full of painful glimpses into poverty, Sunday was full of familiar things that provided a much-needed break from reality. First, we went to church.  I loved being able to go even though I am away from home! The best part was Sunday school–the lesson was on the Plan of Salvation, and half of the lesson was in Hindi, half in English.  All of a sudden, everyone started speaking only in Hindi and it seemed as though an epic debate was taking place.  Who knew the Plan of Salvation could be so disputed?? That Sunday school lesson was the most interesting lesson I’ve had in a while (wondering what the Plan of Salvation is? Visit mormon.org or lds.org).

After church, we went to Connaught Place, which turned out to be Heaven on Earth.  First we stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts, where I had the most delicious donuts ever.

Then, after much anticipation by Katrina and Lisa, we went to Starbucks.  It was hands-down the coolest Starbucks I have ever been to!  And my coffee-free frappuccino definitely hit the spot.

Next we wandered around Connaught Place and did some great shopping–I bought a sweet Indian outfit–when I wear it back home in the States, be prepared to be super jealous.

After our shopping, we ate at my new favorite restaurant…

RODEO.

I don’t even want to talk about it because it is so incredible, and you just wouldn’t understand it and appreciate it unless you go.

As you walk in, you feel like you are in the Wild Wild West.  Saddles instead of stools, swinging saloon doors, and-wait for it-all the (Indian) servers dressed in cowboy outfits.  Blue jeans, cowboy hats and boots, vests, and holsters.  And the food was actually good!! Nachos and a chicken enchilada=delicious.  Needless to say, we can’t wait to go back.

  

Pictures…

Here are some pictures from our first few days at Maitri and with the adorable kids that I haven’t put up yet:

 

It was picture-drawing day and they all wanted me to take a picture of them and their artwork!

    

Yes, we like to match in pioneer clothes.