This is a post of all of my India emails because I don't want to lose them just in case I get kicked off of my email account when I graduate. This happened in March 2008 for spring break
March 19, 2008
I am just writing a short note before breakfast about how things are going here in India. I wanted to start from the beginning of the trip Thursday morning. I was waiting for my flight and low and behold my boss was traveling with a group of undergrads to Ghana on the same flight. It was great because I had given him a copy of my research paper that I am submitting for publishing. We were able to talk about it and I ended up sitting by the students and it made me a little jealous that they were going to Ghana. This was of course before I had realized what a great place India is. I then got to New York City and had a 7 hour layover. I had a hard time deciding whether or not to brave the streets of the big apple. For some reason I am more afraid of NYC then Mexico City. I decided to go and had a good time. I finally saw central park, times square, and bunch of other places that I could find on the metro map that they gave out for free.
My Flight from NYC to Mumbai was 15 hours, but it flew by literally. I sat next to an Indian girl who was studying in Chicago and flying home to go “holiday” with her friends. You would have never guessed she was from India by the way that she talked (it was more like a California valley girl.) We ended up talking and she said that she was glad that I was sitting next to her because I seemed normal. She then proceeded to tell me how she was felt up while she slept on her last flight to India. She also then lectured me on how I should drink and party. It was pretty entertaining. We ended up watching Juno at the same time and laughing and commenting through the movie. It was pretty funny. I tried to stay awake to lessen the jet lag, but ended up sleeping through most of the flight. The 20 miles running the day before with no food and 4 hours of sleep and the stress of the week finally caught up with me. I got a lecture from the girl about sleeping, but she ended up sleeping too.
When I arrived in Mumbai Friday evening, the hotel driver that my friend booked was supposed to be waiting. After about an hour he came. I went back to the hotel and the rest of group from the US arrived an hour later. The next day, we met up with our Indian friends. We went to see the sites of Mumbai. Just a note about India, there are a whole lotta people here! It looks like Kama Sutra works! The driving is crazy also. I am shocked that they even paint the lanes because people pass onto on coming traffic and 4 or 5 cars for two lanes. We went to the gateway of India which is a monument at a port. There was a man who put a red dot on my forehead, tied a sacred ribbon on my wrist and then blessed me. They also have sacred candy that we gave us and that they give us at the temples we have seen.
We met up with a guy from New York and went with him to the elephant island where there was a temple that was carved out of the mountain. There were huge stone statues of the forms of Shiva. It was pretty incredible that they carved all of this out of a mountain. When the Portuguese came they used most of the statues as target practice and but kept the three heads of Shiva intact because it was too similar to the Trinity. Julia, one of the girls from my program, recruited a bunch of random Indian guys to jump in our picture at one of the temples. It is pretty entertaing to see the photo and how they posed. After elephant Island and the three hour boat ride to get there, we went and got some Indian food. It is heaven here for Indian cuisine lovers. I look forward to every meal. We then went to the Taj Mahal Hotel (the one that inspired the Game Hotels.) It was pretty fancy and invited our selves to a couple of gallery shows and way the rooms. It was dang fancy. We tried to get back to our hotel (which is a 1.5 hours away and our taxi driver got lost.) We then found a statue of Jesus ( which is rare in India) by the turn we were supposed to make. The next taxi ride home, I told everyone to look for Jesus and Julia screamed out “ I found Jesus!” which made us laugh as we found our way home.
My Flight from NYC to Mumbai was 15 hours, but it flew by literally. I sat next to an Indian girl who was studying in Chicago and flying home to go “holiday” with her friends. You would have never guessed she was from India by the way that she talked (it was more like a California valley girl.) We ended up talking and she said that she was glad that I was sitting next to her because I seemed normal. She then proceeded to tell me how she was felt up while she slept on her last flight to India. She also then lectured me on how I should drink and party. It was pretty entertaining. We ended up watching Juno at the same time and laughing and commenting through the movie. It was pretty funny. I tried to stay awake to lessen the jet lag, but ended up sleeping through most of the flight. The 20 miles running the day before with no food and 4 hours of sleep and the stress of the week finally caught up with me. I got a lecture from the girl about sleeping, but she ended up sleeping too.
When I arrived in Mumbai Friday evening, the hotel driver that my friend booked was supposed to be waiting. After about an hour he came. I went back to the hotel and the rest of group from the US arrived an hour later. The next day, we met up with our Indian friends. We went to see the sites of Mumbai. Just a note about India, there are a whole lotta people here! It looks like Kama Sutra works! The driving is crazy also. I am shocked that they even paint the lanes because people pass onto on coming traffic and 4 or 5 cars for two lanes. We went to the gateway of India which is a monument at a port. There was a man who put a red dot on my forehead, tied a sacred ribbon on my wrist and then blessed me. They also have sacred candy that we gave us and that they give us at the temples we have seen.
We met up with a guy from New York and went with him to the elephant island where there was a temple that was carved out of the mountain. There were huge stone statues of the forms of Shiva. It was pretty incredible that they carved all of this out of a mountain. When the Portuguese came they used most of the statues as target practice and but kept the three heads of Shiva intact because it was too similar to the Trinity. Julia, one of the girls from my program, recruited a bunch of random Indian guys to jump in our picture at one of the temples. It is pretty entertaing to see the photo and how they posed. After elephant Island and the three hour boat ride to get there, we went and got some Indian food. It is heaven here for Indian cuisine lovers. I look forward to every meal. We then went to the Taj Mahal Hotel (the one that inspired the Game Hotels.) It was pretty fancy and invited our selves to a couple of gallery shows and way the rooms. It was dang fancy. We tried to get back to our hotel (which is a 1.5 hours away and our taxi driver got lost.) We then found a statue of Jesus ( which is rare in India) by the turn we were supposed to make. The next taxi ride home, I told everyone to look for Jesus and Julia screamed out “ I found Jesus!” which made us laugh as we found our way home. March 20, 2008
Our second day in Mumbai, we went to three religious buildings and a tour of the city. We first went to a Hari Krisna temple, like the one they have in Spanish Fork. It was interesting to see demons with 10 heads and monkey gods. We then went to the beach without our swimsuits…so we didn’t go swimming. Our driver didn’t speak English because our friend that arranged the tour (who speaks Hindi) joined us later. Our driver then made us try a bunch of food from the beach. There was a man with a whip and a dancing monkey. The food was so spicy (this might have made me sick). We then went to a Hindu temple. We had to stand in a line about a half a mile long. They didn’t let us take pictures so you will just have to trust my description. We first had to pass lines where people were selling coconuts and marigolds(they are considered holy ironically in Mexico too.) they were also selling shoes (which concerned me because we had to take our shoes off and leave them outside the temple. When we finally go to the check point there was a metal detector and a line for men and women to be checked separately. There were so many people and I was the only guy. I was really afraid that I was going to lose the group. When we got into the temple there was a gate that separated most of the people from going to the shrine.
We walked out and got the holy coconut milk that they poured into my hand and I had to drink and the coconuts from the offerings.(Second thing that might have gotten me sick.) I wanted to see the shrine again, so we went in and then a guard let us into the inner court which we thought was very nice. There were probably three hundred people pushing there way to the shrine to be blessed by the priest who was shirtless and had a red V on his forehead. I couldn’t make my way up there or even out because everyone was trying to move through the huge mass of people. I finally got down there and the priest blessed me and then got out. Afterwards a man came out after us and asked us for a $5 donation because we had no idea who the man was. We said no and then found out from our Indian friends that it is customary for outsiders to give the guards $5 for special treatment. We then met up with our Indian friends and then went Haji Ali, a famous mosque in India where people pilgrimage for their wishes to come true. We had to buy hankercheifs to cover hour heads and then walked down a quarter of a mile walk way through the ocean to get to the famous mosque. There were about 50 beggers on the pathway and it is considered lucky to give to these beggers(most of them were blind, deformed or missing limbs or paralyzed, and there was a baby with hydrocephalus.) When we reached the mosque they asked us to remove our shoes. There was a stark difference between the muslim and hinu temples in that the males and females were separated where they worshipped. The males were allowed to go to the alter where a famous person died and wash their face with the shroud while the females were blessed by a feather that had touched the alter. It was also tough to get through because of the crowds of people but I was with our Indian friend and held on to shirt so that I could get through and then I finally was able to wash my face with the shroud that covered the tomb. I won’t tell you what I wished for because that is none of your business, and we will all have to wait to see if it comes true. We then met the girls out front and had some food from the venders and listened to some old men chant and play typical instruments that looked like a mix between an accordion and a piano. We made the long walk out and then we made it back to the driver, we went to an art museum. I felt so cultured and so dang tired! It was excellent because you can see a lot of the culture and perceptions through the art of the people.After the art museum, we went and got some more food. This time was a famous place for food where people eat in their cars. We ate inside a place but it was interesting to see them with a vegetarian cart on one side of the street and the meat cart on the other(because some Hidus are vegetarians and some are not so strict.) Both carts were from the same company. It was fun to see all of the people eating together out side in the dark. We then tried to go clubbing but there was no one else in the club so we went home and had that Finding Jesus moment that I mentioned in the first email and went home. I had forgotten to take my antimalarial medication which is also an antibiotic and so as you probably saw it coming…I got sick, not diarrhea or vomiting both of which would have been welcome to get all of the things I ate out of my stomach and make it feel better. I was not the only one as everyone got sick. So we slept most of the morning until we caught our flight to Goa, an old Portuguese colony full of Christian Indians and beaches. I will tell you about almost dying next time.
Scott Just to let you know we are in Hyderbad and tomorrow are going to Delhi.
March 22, 2008
I just wanted to send you a quick note and I am three days behind on the log so I am going to just hit some of the important things. After Mumbai we went to Goa which is a beach town and if you can guess we went to the beach. I got fried even with tons of sunblock because I am taking this anti malarial medication. It was the first time thta it made my sensitive to the sun. I am still feeling some of the effects. We had a great time. 
Our Indian friends rented a motorized scooter. Because I had to go to the ATM, I had to drive while Niki our Indian friend rode on the back. She was afraid to drive, which me driving probably didn't make anything better. I crashed into a sign and driving here is crazy in itself. Nobody yields or follows lanes. I about crapped my pants I was so scared. They also drive on the other side of the street. Never the less, I survived a round about and the ride back and swore never to drive again on a public road. Another note is that I went parasailing for $10, it was for about 10 minutes but it was fun and we were with a group of these Indian guys that were pretty funny. There was an especially large one that was so funny to watch go up.
We then went to Hyderbad and stayed with Niki's family. they have an exporting business of socks and are pretty well off. They were so kind and put Dwight and I up in a hotel because they didn't have enough beds. they also paid for everything while we were there. This included some fancy meals, a trip to a muslim palace, a huge marbel temple on a hill, and a Buddha statue in the middle of a lake. It was pretty great. I am probably missing things but I will add things as I remember them. I hope everything is going well back home because I haven't heard anything from the family.
Our Indian friends rented a motorized scooter. Because I had to go to the ATM, I had to drive while Niki our Indian friend rode on the back. She was afraid to drive, which me driving probably didn't make anything better. I crashed into a sign and driving here is crazy in itself. Nobody yields or follows lanes. I about crapped my pants I was so scared. They also drive on the other side of the street. Never the less, I survived a round about and the ride back and swore never to drive again on a public road. Another note is that I went parasailing for $10, it was for about 10 minutes but it was fun and we were with a group of these Indian guys that were pretty funny. There was an especially large one that was so funny to watch go up.We then went to Hyderbad and stayed with Niki's family. they have an exporting business of socks and are pretty well off. They were so kind and put Dwight and I up in a hotel because they didn't have enough beds. they also paid for everything while we were there. This included some fancy meals, a trip to a muslim palace, a huge marbel temple on a hill, and a Buddha statue in the middle of a lake. It was pretty great. I am probably missing things but I will add things as I remember them. I hope everything is going well back home because I haven't heard anything from the family.
So our next stop was Amritzer where we stayed with this awesome Sikh family that are friends with my freind and coworker who is from India. They all wear turbans because they have never cut their hair. We got there by a train that had cockroaches climbing around, but another than that was pretty nice and they kept giving us food. I got a cold and had a fever for a couple of days and was pretty miserable on the train. We got there and the families had given up the master bed rooms to accomodate us. They were so great. In the morning we went tot eh huge Sikh Temple "the Golden temple" where there is a scripture chosen for all of the 40 million sikhs every day. People were bathing in the lake surrounding the temple to rid themselves of disease. We did in some extent also. We then sat in a line to enter with aound 3-4 thousand people to get in. It was pretty intense and one lady fainted. There were many old turban clad men singing hymns.
We then went to eat, which these families paid for without letting us pay. It was great food. We went home and took a nap because of our 4 hour stent at the temple. When we woke up we went to the Pakistani border with India. Everyday they have a ceremony where people from both sides yell chants about their country. Because the people here in the north speak the same language and share more culture with the people across the border, it is ironic that there is this border. I have been reading Three cups of tea and they make refernences to the Punjabi misic and the same foods that we ate. There were about 5000 people at this event.
We then went to eat, which these families paid for without letting us pay. It was great food. We went home and took a nap because of our 4 hour stent at the temple. When we woke up we went to the Pakistani border with India. Everyday they have a ceremony where people from both sides yell chants about their country. Because the people here in the north speak the same language and share more culture with the people across the border, it is ironic that there is this border. I have been reading Three cups of tea and they make refernences to the Punjabi misic and the same foods that we ate. There were about 5000 people at this event.
We then went home and played "holi" which is a festival here in India where people through color paints, rotten eggs, and waterballoons at each other. It is a time of reconcilling and getting to know the opposite sex. We has red, blue and yellow paint and we played with this family and had a great time. It is pretty funny to be traveling around and seeing people with stained shirts and skin still!I apologize for being dramatic and saying I almost died. I didn't almost die, I was in control. I hope everyone had a great easter and am glad for the emails that I got back. I will email tomorrow and catch you up. Because we saw the Taj Mahal today and are going to see Jaipur tomorrow.
March 24, 2008
We have just reached Bombay and I fly out later today on another 25 our adventure. I am sitting in the hotel and trying to wrap up what just happened here in the last couple of days.
From where I left off, we went to Agra and stayed in a hotel with a revolving restaurant. We ate at another revolving restaurant in Dehli before we left to Amritzer which was great. This one was pretty funny as we jerked from side to side as we ate dinner. We went to the Taj Mahal which was incredible. It is rightly one of the seven wonders of the world. It is huge and it has semiprecious jewels that glow when you put a light to the and shine in the moon light. It was built by a Muslim Indian King for his wife as a memorial. She was from Iran and died in childbirth with their 14th child. She asked him to build her a memorial and to never remarry. He fulfilled his promises. He also planned to build a black Taj Majal for himself but his son took over his kingdom from him. There are two huge mosques on each side of the Taj—one is in use because it faces Mecca the other is a decoration. It was definitely an awesome experience. We then went to the palaces where the king and queen lived and then to the old capital of India. In the old capital of India, which I can’t remember the name. The most famous king of India lived. He was famous because he was Muslim and his first wife was Hindu and he allowed her to practice her relgion and even built her temples. He was famous because he brought peace and tolerance for religions and between kingdoms. He is also famous because he would listen to the complaints of the common man in a court 1 day a week, the first time in India history.
The next night we went to Jaipur. We went to a palace in the mountains that was surrounded by huge walls around the whole area. It looked like the great wall of china. We rode elephants up to the entrance because I was a pretty good climb. It was also how one should enter into this city. There was a room with thousands of mirrors that allowed the women to dance and see themselves. There was also many secret passages from the kings room to the 12 queens rooms. This way the other queens would never know where the king was and get jealous. We went to the palace and museum where the current king lives. There was a king that was 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide which is pretty huge for an Indian.
We went to Dehli the next day. We went to Ghandi’s tomb and took a bicycle rickshaw ride through Old Dehli. We also went to a huge Red mosque where I was pooped on by a pigeon (Paul this was for you.) We then went to get Indian food and had a great time. New Dehli is probably the best city in India. It is well planned and the only place where traffic was organized. I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the crowds either. We went to the government buildings and saw the “white house” of India.
March 27, 2008
From where I left off, we went to Agra and stayed in a hotel with a revolving restaurant. We ate at another revolving restaurant in Dehli before we left to Amritzer which was great. This one was pretty funny as we jerked from side to side as we ate dinner. We went to the Taj Mahal which was incredible. It is rightly one of the seven wonders of the world. It is huge and it has semiprecious jewels that glow when you put a light to the and shine in the moon light. It was built by a Muslim Indian King for his wife as a memorial. She was from Iran and died in childbirth with their 14th child. She asked him to build her a memorial and to never remarry. He fulfilled his promises. He also planned to build a black Taj Majal for himself but his son took over his kingdom from him. There are two huge mosques on each side of the Taj—one is in use because it faces Mecca the other is a decoration. It was definitely an awesome experience. We then went to the palaces where the king and queen lived and then to the old capital of India. In the old capital of India, which I can’t remember the name. The most famous king of India lived. He was famous because he was Muslim and his first wife was Hindu and he allowed her to practice her relgion and even built her temples. He was famous because he brought peace and tolerance for religions and between kingdoms. He is also famous because he would listen to the complaints of the common man in a court 1 day a week, the first time in India history.The next night we went to Jaipur. We went to a palace in the mountains that was surrounded by huge walls around the whole area. It looked like the great wall of china. We rode elephants up to the entrance because I was a pretty good climb. It was also how one should enter into this city. There was a room with thousands of mirrors that allowed the women to dance and see themselves. There was also many secret passages from the kings room to the 12 queens rooms. This way the other queens would never know where the king was and get jealous. We went to the palace and museum where the current king lives. There was a king that was 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide which is pretty huge for an Indian.We went to Dehli the next day. We went to Ghandi’s tomb and took a bicycle rickshaw ride through Old Dehli. We also went to a huge Red mosque where I was pooped on by a pigeon (Paul this was for you.) We then went to get Indian food and had a great time. New Dehli is probably the best city in India. It is well planned and the only place where traffic was organized. I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the crowds either. We went to the government buildings and saw the “white house” of India.
March 27, 2008
Last night we took an over night train from Dehli to Bombay. I sat next to a muslim man and his mother in law that were returnng from Pakistan. I finished reading Three Cups of Tea and asked him tons of questions about Islam, Pakistan, and India. He then asked me tons of questions about US politics. He also told me that he was planning on building a school for girls in Bombay. He and his mother in law then helped us through the local train chaos. You only have a couple of seconds to board and leave the train while at the same time hundreds of people are trying to go the opposite direction. It is a mad house and we were pretty intimidated.
As my time in India comes to a close, I have learned a lot about Hiduism, Islam, Sikhs, and even Bahai. I think that it is shocking that there are 100’s of millions of people practicing these religions and I know nothing about them. There are so many similarities and so many differences between what I believe and my culture. There are so many aspects of the culture here which surprises me all the time. It is like nothing I have ever experienced. The caste system is almost painful for me but it is a way of trying to organize the chaos of so many people and customs—how almost a billion people can live together in this fashion is quite amazing. I am excited to come home. Site seeing is not my ideal time to experience abroad and so it will be good to come back to madness of my life
As my time in India comes to a close, I have learned a lot about Hiduism, Islam, Sikhs, and even Bahai. I think that it is shocking that there are 100’s of millions of people practicing these religions and I know nothing about them. There are so many similarities and so many differences between what I believe and my culture. There are so many aspects of the culture here which surprises me all the time. It is like nothing I have ever experienced. The caste system is almost painful for me but it is a way of trying to organize the chaos of so many people and customs—how almost a billion people can live together in this fashion is quite amazing. I am excited to come home. Site seeing is not my ideal time to experience abroad and so it will be good to come back to madness of my life
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