A Little Glimpse of Life in India

Here are some videos I took (and the kids took) of playtime. :)

Hari Krishna and kids with great dancing skills

Nadiya and friend

I tried adding more but they didn't upload. I'll add em later. Enjoy these ones. :)

EMS

Etch a Sketch

I write this blog post from a sketchy hotel in Chennai. How we got here is quite the story. India has a way of things happening but working out in the end. So yesterday we flew from Varanasi to Delhi, Delhi to Chennai and got to the Chennai airport at around 10 PM. We collected our luggage and made our way to the International terminal. Upon arriving we realized there were no seats and not really anywhere to get food. We were planning on staying at the airport until our flight home left the next day at 7PM! Something had to be done so me and Griff went up to the check in desk trying to get the Radisson's number (it's close to the airport) so we could at least stay in their lobby or something. It's funny how when you ask an Indian something it passes down a line of people until you finally get the answer you want. We asked a guy for help who then asked another guy, who asked another guy, who then told another guy, until we got the number. I think. They never really gave the number to us. Instead one of those guys found a friend of his who owns a hotel here and he started talking to us to get us to stay at his hotel. At first it seemed kind of sketchy but in the end we realized we couldn't stay at the airport. We negotiated our price and set off for the hotel. It was further away from the airport than we thought it would be but it had everything the guy promised. It slept the four of us (we pushed the two twins together and slept sideways), complimentary Internet (that's how I'm able to blog right now), and complimentary breakfast (well we'll see about the complimentary part. We have yet to eat breakfast) So in the end it all worked out. We got a decent nights sleep and somewhere to chill beside the airport floor for 20 hours. My flight home leaves tonight around 7 (that's 7:30AM for all you people in Utah) and I get to Salt Lake Friday at 6:30PM. The funny thing though is I might go straight from there to join up with my family in California. Brad's all star baseball team won state so they're playing in regions. They might get out though before I get home. I've been doing a lot of traveling. In the past week I'll have taken 9-10 flights (depending on if I take one to California). But the thing is I've enjoyed all the places and people I've been able to see. And would jump at the opportunity to do more. That's why I'm okay with going straight to California. More places to see, things to do, plus I want to be there to cheer for my brother!

"Reunited and it feels so good!" This'll be playing through my head as I "reunite" with all of you at home. :)

Ems

The End..,

My time in India is coming to an end... sniff sniff. I have come to love this country in a way I never could without actually being here. Some reasons I love this country (you might think some of them are weird):

• The chaos on the streets. Traffic, animals, peoples, it's crazy!

• Spontaneity - India teaches you that what happens happens and you need to make the best from that

• Life - I appreciate life and everyone around me so much more now.

• Shops that blend into each other - Now this one needs some explanation. Back in the states all the shops are really distinct and you know where are based on location and store. Here all the shops look the same and it's easy to get lost but I love it. That's what makes it India. :) Also don't let a facade fool you. The store make look tiny and that it just sells shirts or something but you can find pretty much anything on the streets of India.

• Cows in the middle of the street - gotta love the whole sacred cow thing

• Elephants walking on the side of the road - I love elephants and seeing them somewhere besides behind a fence

• Rabid dogs - not! I wish I could pet the dogs here but I'll save all my dog love for my dogs when I get home. :)

• Blend of traffic - There's so many different vehicles. Bicycles, scooters, rickshaws, horse drawn carriages (for real, I saw one the other day), and cars. When I get home I'm gonna finally learn to ride my scooter, so I can remember the chaos of Indian traffic which reminds me of something I learned:

The 3 rules of Indian traffic

1. Good horn

2. Good brakes

3. Good luck :)

• Fashion - All the women dress beautifully. They even wear saris when doing construction! I love how colorful there clothes are. When I get home and you see me wearing orange, green, and purple or something, just know I'm thinking of India.

But one of the reasons I love India so much is the people. They are comfortable with who they are. They don't need to impress you with their fancy cars, or nice job. They are themselves and they're happy with that. I want to take that attitude with me back to the states. Material things don't matter, it's the people in your life that do.

Being on this whole after tour has made me feel like I COULD live in India. I would LOVE to live in India. I'm glad I could experience more of this beautiful country. Goodbye India but the adventure doesn't end here... I'll be back!

Varanasi

Yesterday we toured Varanasi. We've been here since Monday but Monday was a recovery day. We're so tired all the time we need a day in between each tour so we don't crash.

Tuesday we started off bright and early at 5 AM. Sadly since it had rained the night before and water levels were too high we couldn't take a boat ride. Varanasi is a sacred place to hindus. They come here to bathe in the Ganges river.

On their way to bathe in the river

Bathing in the river

I love confused tourist standing in the crowd of Indians with his flower

Beautiful shot of the waterfront and Ganges river

Cow eating trash

This is what we saw on our way to the Golden Temple. The alleys reaked and were filled with garbage and cows. I almost hurled a couple times. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of the beautiful Golden temple. No cameras were allowed so I had to entrust it to a shopkeeper. Luckily it was there when I got back. It was beautiful though. Completely covered in real gold.

After the river tour we went and saw the stoopah where Buddha gave his first sermon. A stoopah is a place where Buddhists go to worship. There also was a pretty cool museum that had a bunch of old statues from when they excavated the site. I couldn't take pictures though. :(

Stupa

After the museum and stupah we went to see the silk market. Silk weaving is a major industry here in Varanasi. Below you can see the beautiful work they do. All made by hand. I wanted to buy a few meters of fabric but I'm on a budget so I bought two scarfs. They're gorgeous!

The rest of the afternoon we did some more shopping and then relaxed at the hotel. We did have a little adventure taking a rickshaw to Fab India only to find out they didn't have one here. Our driver just said that so we'd get in the car but eventually he took us to a store that had just what we wanted (after he took us to an uber expensive touristy place). That night we were supposed to have an evening cruise on Ganges. But still no boat ride so we were just going to the ceremony part. Before we got there though we stopped to get some legit henna. I'm telling you this stuff is legit! and gorgeous. 

We were about to leave for the ceremony when it started raining. That's no good for henna or the ceremony! We ended up just going back to the hotel but it took awhile to get back to the car without wrecking the henna. I'm bummed we didn't do a lot we had planned in Varanasi but it still was amazing and I'm glad I could see it.

Finished henna. I'm gonna try to keep it as dark as this for when I get back to the states.

That's it for now. Today is our last day in India. Sniff sniff. See you all soon.

Ems

Jaipuring it up

Saturday morning we started bright and early for the airport to begin our extra tour of India. When we arrived in New Delhi it was raining cats and dogs! Our luggage got pretty wet but it's all good. We had a 5 hour drive to Jaipur once we got to New Delhi. That was eventful. Once we got to the hotel (which was really nice, Ramada Jaipur, there not this nice back in the states) we just relaxed. Sunday morning though we woke with a jolt when I checked my iPod and it said 7:45. We were heading off for touring at 8 AM. False alarm. I again forgot to set my iPod back to India time. I've kept my laptop on Utah time this whole trip so whenever I charge my iPod it sets it back to Utah time. Gees! I've got to stop that. Now we just have a wake up call, just in case. We barely had enough time to enjoy the delish complimentary breakfast buffet. Croissants, doughnuts, french toast, hash browns, etc. After breakfast we met our tour guide for Jaipur, Ajit. He was pretty cool. He spoke perfect English and knew so much about everything. Interesting facts, little tidbits that made visiting these places that more exciting. 

This is what Delhi looked like when we arrived... rainy. My luggage got wet!

Elephant caravan we passed on our 5 hour drive to Jaipur.

Entrance to the  "Pink City."

This is the first place we stopped. It's a facade palace. That's really all there is. I don't remember it's name. I'll just keep calling it the facade palace. :)  It was built for the queen to observe the people. It's not an actual palace. :)

Next we went to Amber fort. One way to get up to it is to take an elephant taxi. Here's a line-up of elephant taxis. Just Griffin and I rode one. I'd ridden an elephant in Agra too (as you should already know). This ride was much longer though (and it cost more). But it's all worth it to ride my favorite animal. :)

Riding an elephant up to Amber fort.

View from on top of the elephant

Courtyard entrance

Entrance to fort. I don't know if you can tell it's blurry from this far away but my camera was having focusing issues when the tour guide tried to take it. Speaking of which he loved taking pictures with my camera. He loved how it makes the shutter sound. :) I love it too.

Gorgeous entrance to King's private part of the fort.

After the fort (which I have hundreds more pictures of, just ask to see them when I get back) we went to see some block printing. The two main industries in Jaipur are textiles and stone cutting. We went to see how both of these were made. For textiles we saw how they did block printing. I found it uber exciting considering I love fabric and I've taken print making. :)

Picture of block printing. There's a different stamp for each color. This one was a 4 stamp process.

He starts out with plain cotton cloth

Takes the stamp and dabs it in paint.

And applies!

I helped on the next stamp. Okay all I got to do was hit the back of it hard but it was still exciting. We all helped on each stamp until it looked like this...

After that we went into his store for a little... SHOPPING! I told myself I was done shopping but I couldn't go home without a bedspread and pillows to redecorate my room with. I've been planning on redecorating it Indian style for awhile so this trip has let me buy authentic, ethnic pieces. :)

Here's my beautiful bedspread, all hand embroidered.

Next we went to stone cutting to see how they make their gorgeous jewelry. They take stones like the ones below

and turn them into pieces like these.

 I went a little crazy shopping that day. But you're only in India every so often. I'd say once in a lifetime but I want to come back. By the way mom and dad I owe you guys. I'll pay you... don't worry. :)

Finishing up the touring for the day we went to the City Palace and Observatory. It is still the current residency for the King of Jaipur. The whole city of Jaipur was founded by the king Jai Singh. He was a smart man. He laid out the whole city and gave them an observatory. A funny thing about the Kings of Jaipur is they are given the title "sawai." It means 125% king. He's a 1 1/4 king because he's a good king plus a quarter more. :)

I don't know if you can tell in this picture but there's one flag plus a quarter, representing the king. :) Just an interesting tidbit.

Another interesting thing is these doors. They have spikes on them to stop elephants from busting the doors with their heads. I find anything involving elephants fascinating. :)

That night I got so bored that I gave myself braids that ended up looking like dreads. I was pretty cool with them. :)

L-O-V-E

I wrote this in my real journal today and I liked it enough to share here. :)

I've been in India almost 3 weeks now. The time has whooshed by. I feel like just yesterday the big bus pulled onto campus for the first time. I've become such a different person since that first day. That person didn't know what it felt like to be loved by someone they hardly knew or to love them back just as much. I guess that's what I've learned on this trip... Love. Love isn't the way you say or write it. It's how you show it. Saying I love you doesn't begin to cover the many facets of love. Love can be shown by helping a child with their homework, playing with them, and honestly caring how they do at school. Love is a mother waking up at 3 AM to talk to her daughter. Love is sisters being half a world away but able to share a laugh. Love is washing the leprosy afflicted feet and putting your arms around them. They also want to feel love too. But most of all love is people crossing barriers to bridge gaps.

PS My groups theme this year was crossing barriers... Bridging gaps. That explains the last line. :)

EMS

Just a few pics of love

Leprosy Colonies

I've missed blogging on a few of the colonies we've been to. We went on a special service trip to 2 colonies in another state, Andrah Pradesh. Also when we got back a coordinator was sick and the kids had exams so we could choose between medical or construction. I picked medical because I love it and you feel such a connection to the people. Also construction is hard work!

I don't know what the colonies in Andrah Pradesh were called but getting there was not easy. It was "supposed" to be around a 4 hour bus drive but that turned into 8 what with getting stopped all the time and having to bribe. I guess there was a problem with the van we took that was RSO. In order to cross the border it had to be a commercial van, not personal, and could only have 12 seats. It had 13. After renting a van and throwing some money in peoples faces we were across the border. That's not all the bribed but that's not what was important about this trip. The importance was serving people at colonies who rarely if ever receive medical help.

Finally arriving in Andrah Pradesh (I don't even know what city) and checking into our hotel (the hotel grand... really grand) we got some much needed lunch and chilled for like 15 minutes. Then it was back on the bus that we'd already been on for 8 hours! I slept most of the way there but I guess it was like a 40 min. long bus ride to the colony. We get there and the colony is in the middle of the jungle. It was beautiful. I guess they'd been waiting there since that morning (we arrived late with the delays and everything.) The people lovingly greeted us and gave us such a warm reception. They even served us soda. I'd never had Indian soda before but it was actually pretty delish. They even had us stand on a stage while greeting us. After the reception we instantly got to work. Buckets were filled up for washing, chairs were set up, lines were formed. I was placed on photography which means I helped take pictures of the people hands and feet. Dr. Kumar had done that before when he'd come and we did again just to keep track of their progress. I helped hold up their feet. I could've acted grossed out and disgusted by the state of their feet but I tried my best to give them a smile and let them know I wasn't grossed out. I wanted to let them know they were loved and not "untouchable."

Last day of Medical... :(

Sadly today was my last day on medical. I enjoy going to the colonies so much. These people have so much love and they willingly give it. They could choose to complain and say "why me?" But they keep going and make the best of what they got. The kids especially are what get me. Even the kids at the school are the same. They come from leprosy afflicted families but they all have so much love to give. And it doesn't matter who you are, they will run up to you, grab your hand, and tell you about their day.

To start the day off it took FOREVER  to get the colony. Well that's what it felt like. Really it was like hour and a half. But I thinks that's cause we got lost on the way to picking up the nurses. When we got there it then took like 20 minutes to back up and park. First there was a motorcycle in the way, then a pole, then some other random thing. All that didn't matter though once we started unloading an serving the people. The colony we went to was called Vandelure (I think that's the spelling.) The people there were so open to our service and the medical part ran pretty smooth. I was on washing and there were only 3 people who needed their ulcers washed. That's the amazing thing about RSO visiting these colonies. Slowly they don't need as much help from us anymore. That's the goal of RSO, to have these colonies become self sufficient and remove the stigma of leprosy. Leprosy colonies are like their own community, helping them helps the whole community grow as one. Another way of removing the stigma is the kids education. They are getting one of the best here at RSO so they can then go out and change the world. Be it doctor, lawyer, a tech at dell. They will be the change so they can be viewed by what they have to offer, not as a leprosy affected child.

There were kids at the colony we went to. I love how open the kids are to giving and receiving love. It doesn't matter who you are, they love you, take your hand, and walk with you. Another thing about the Vandelure colony is I got to meet Nadiya's family. Nadiya is the girl who was in my profile pic. I'll post a picture of her here to though. I think she has 2 brothers and 2 sisters but I was confused at first because one of her brothers kept saying he was her father. We were like "nu-uh, you're 16 maybe 17." Nadiya's 8! That was cleared up when eventually he said he was her brother. That sounded much better. Walking into Nadiya's home it was just a simple 2 maybe 3 room shack. But you could tell it was home to them. Nadiya's mother showed me a framed picture on the wall and told me it was Nadiya's grandfather. I don't know if he was famous or anything but it was a really nice framed picture with money in it. That's one about them not all speaking English. Certain things are lost in translation and we miss out on great stories.

 Also at the colony they filled water up with a pump. That's right! A pump. It was fun for me to use it but that's cuz I don't have to use it everyday. When we were done with medical and just exploring the colony we noticed a woman filling up brightly colored jugs of water and carrying them off. We didn't get what she was doing with them but one of the RSO girls came up and helped her. She still didn't know what the lady was doing but we all wanted to help. Kim and I helped another lady who was also filling up jugs and walked with them to her house. It was difficult the jugs were heavy and to hold them you had to kind of wedge it into your hip. The water sloshed everywhere and our shirts were pretty drenched once we got there. We figured out that the water was for laundry. We helped an Indian woman with her laundry! After seeing how they do laundry in India, man we have it easy in the US. Put the clothes in a machine, add soap, turn it on and voila! The rest is done for you. Leaving the lady's house house there was another woman who noticed us and tried to help dry us off. She also kissed our foreheads and hands. Like I've said before these people are so grateful for the service we provide. But the thing is we are so glad to give it.

Elephant Joy Ride

This past weekend has been a whirlwind. I saw Delhi and Agra in the matter of a day and a half. The rest of the weekend was spent traveling to those cities. But it was worth it. You already heard about my time in Delhi.  Saturday we headed out at 5 AM to see the Taj Mahal. Saturday I saw the sunrise at the Taj Mahal. The scene was beautiful and I can’t imagine what makes for a better sunrise. Come on you got India, marble, and the sun. That’s a good mix. It’s funny though cause exactly 4 years ago my mom, Brad and Laura were in China on the Great Wall experiencing another amazing Pioneer Day. We’re thinking we’ll make it a family tradition of every 4 years having at least one family member experience Pioneer Day (July 24) in a different place. Somewhere besides Utah. :) And this morning Laura’s singing at the sunrise service in Salt Lake for Pioneer Day. I’ll miss being in Utah for the holiday. Here in India it’s just another day. But already it’s been superb. If we’d waited any later the place would’ve packed and the weather almost unbearable. Even as early as we went there were tourist everywhere and I was sweating up a storm. 

I got some fun pictures though. A classic pose is jumping in front of the Taj, which of course I did, and few others for proof that I was actually there,

Seeing it from far away I was still like “I can’t believe I’m here. That’s a mirage or something.” So I took a picture of my hand touching it so I have proof. The main building at the Taj is so beautiful. The stunning architecture, hand carved marble, inlaid semi precious stones are just some of the features that make it beautiful. It is a marvel to see and also a beautiful monument to love. The man who built it, Shah Jahan, built it as a sign of the love he had for his wife Mumatz Mahal. I’m sure all girls out there wish there was a man who would build something so beautiful just for them.

After the Taj it was time for the Agra fort. Let me tell you about the Agra fort. It’s what Emperor Akbar built as his “palace.” Indian rulers do things a little different. They build a kind of palace within their army fort. Sounds safe to me. J The Agra fort has amazing mughal architecture detail. And I liked learning about something in Indian history I actual knew a little about. 

There’s this Bollywood film I own called “Jodhaa Akbar.” It’s a good movie with Aishwara Rai and Hrithik Roshan. Emperor Akbar was muslim but he married a hindu princess. It’s a great movie if you have 3 hours to kill sometime. I actual watched it during finals this spring. J After that little history lesson… Next we had like 3 hours to chill at the hotel. We stayed at Jaypee palace which is one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever stayed at. Except there was no hot water. Everything else was so luxurious though and the breakfast was gourmet. Omelets made to order, hash browns, strawberry milk, and traditional Indian food. MMMMM it was good. After chilling at the hotel (Everybody went to the pool while I took a nap even though I was planning on working on my blog) we went shopping! We stopped at this rug store where we saw these beautiful handcrafted rugs being made.

 If I’d been able to call my parents right at that moment I probably would of bought one for our house. They’re amazing. A few floors up from the rug part of the store was shopping! Clothes, woodcarvings, tablecloths, you name it you could buy it there. I splurged and spent $100 on a hand carved and painted elephant. I felt a little guilty after the purchase but know that I will pass it down in my family for generations. Plus I LOVE elephants. After that shopping we then did more shopping at what was pretty much equivalent to an American mall. At first I just bought myself a pretty orange tunic top and white chududar pants. That then turned into a top for Laura, Mom, and Marion. Go Strobell girls! Authentic tops from India. :) Before I got back on the bus we stopped at McDonalds for another 25 rupee cone. Man those things come close to the 60 cent ones back home. :) Finally after seemed like days we ate dinner at…. Pizza Hut! It’s weird, here in India it’s like a gourmet restaurant. They wait to seat you and you order of a menu. I got the fiery masala magic pizza with the garlic bread platter and man was that good. Lots of carbs but it’s definitely one of the best pizzas I’ve had. Indian tasting pizza. Delish. Oh by the way Madi, Dean Capo stopped by and he rated their restaurant pretty high. :) Following dinner we stopped by a bizarre where I purchased some henna (one of the housemothers can do it the night before I leave) and slippers. The slippers are the cutest things you’ll see and I can’t wait to wear them when I get home.  All this just in one day! But it was good. Almost as good as… Riding an elephant, one of my life goals. The next morning we went elephant riding! I felt a connection to the elephant Rajesh and couldn’t believe I was actually there riding an elephant.

After the ride we were taking pictures with him and I was by his ear. I never knew it could hurt so much being hit with an elephant’s ear. It felt like I was being slapped! That’s one tough ear. Ah I’m so excited to do it again in Jaipur. And hopefully it will last for longer than two minutes. But to borrow a quote from a friend it was "two minutes of pure bliss." Seriously lot enough time for a lifetime elephant lover like me. :) That’s pretty much everything from the Delhi trip minus the minute details of the 6 hour bus ride to Agra and back. Traveling from Chennai to Agra pretty much took a day. But it was worth it. :)

Ems

Delhi!!!

Today I began my Delhi trip. It started off by me having my iPod set to Utah time so my group didn’t get up for the bus that was supposed to leave at 3:30. Instead Jennie, the head lady came to our rooms and woke us up with “Hey guys, the bus was supposed to leave 5 minutes ago. “ My roommates and I jolted out of bed, grabbed our stuff, and were out the door in like 5 minutes! After that exciting start to the day it was a 2 hour bus ride to the Chennai airport,  then a 2 hour plane ride. The plane ride pretty uneventful except for me watching my favorite movie “Whip It.” I love that movie so much and when I watch it a feel more like me and that I can go do whatever I want to do. When we got to Delhi the tour guides greeted us and took us to a bright orange bus with TOURIST printed in bold letters on the windshield. Like a big group of white people isn’t obvious enough. J We rode on the bus for what seemed like hours but finally stopped and were taken to bike rickshaws. Let me tell you, if you thought Indian traffic was crazy just wait til you experience behind a bike. Thrilling but scary.

We went to the spice market, McDonalds, the red fort, and a silk shop. McDonalds was exciting because I ordered the McVeggie meal. It was actually pretty good and the fries tasted like they do in America. The McVeggie is basically a veggie patty made of garbonzo beans and such, with mayo and lots of fat and calories. It was good! I wish it was on the menu in Utah. I might actually go to McDonalds more.

Picture for Madi of the cone I got while at McDonalds. 25 rupees roughly 50 cents. It's a fill in until I get back home for the arctic circle 60 cent cones. :)

But what really made my day was the silk shop. When we first got there a bunch of ladies were like “try a sari, try sari.” I was hesitant at first but am so glad I finally did. It was my first time wearing a sari and they are a beautiful, elegant, item of clothing. The first one they showed me was blue with hand embroidered flowers on it.

 I loved it instantly but wanted to browse a bit more before finally picking one. I actually didn’t try any others on and ended up buying it. Now all I need is a underskirt and possibly a different blouse. I bought one there but it is a bit thin. By the way Maren while I was there of course I got you one. I think you’ll love it. Do you want a pic or should I surprise you? Either way it’s fabulous and when I get back we should have a sari party or something. J The only downer about today is still feeling lonely. I really put myself out there today trying to make friends with the volunteers. But I guess they had other ideas. Either way I’m still going to make the best of my time at Rising Star, friends or no friends. This experience is going to be life changing and I want to keep it a positive one. Well tomorrow morning (5 AM) I’ll be off to see the Taj Mahal with the sunrising. I cannot wait. So many amazing experiences packed into this one weekend. The sad news though, is once I get back to Rising Star I only have 4 more days left there. Sniff, sniff. The time has come by so quick yet slow at the same time I miss home a ton but I know once I leave campus that I will absolutely miss the kids in my family just as much. That’s all for now.

Namaste,
EMS

Emily