India Day 11

Day 11, January 18, 2009

Today was our last day in India and might I ad the best day, well maybe the best day.  We had a free day to do whatever we wanted, which was great.  We started off with watching a snake charmer perform in the hotel for us, which was pretty interesting.  Nakia, Marissa, Adriane, and myself snuck off with professor Dunn to hit the Bizarre early.  Though some of the shops didn’t open up until 12 we got a chance to map out what we needed where we wanted to go and all of that good stuff.  We ate KFC which I have to add was really good, because normally I would never eat anything from KFC but they had an array of foods that I would eat like the veggie snack wrap which we don’t have in America.  After a full day of shopping and when I say full I mean like 11am-5:00pm of shopping Adrianne and I left to head back to the hotel while Nakia and Marissa finished up the rupees they had left.  I was so exhausted from shopping, but excited that I think I had gotten everything I had wanted to get, even the powdered Amla, which seemed so hard to find.  After shopping we packed up the best we could said our goodbyes and headed to the airport where we would soon encounter some setbacks.  We had to somehow get a print out of the names of the people on the flight and come back to the door to finally receive entry into the airport.  This was the worst, but I was ecstatic to get to the gate and board that plane.  India was a truly interesting learning experience.  I got to see how another culture functions on many levels, both the rich and the poor.  Though it wasn’t a full spectrum of everything that goes on in the society we were able to see enough to draw our own assumptions and conclusions and somehow educate others and even ourselves on the lifestyle, culture, and people of “Incredible India.”

India Day 9

Day 9, January 16,20009

Today was one of the most interesting days by far.  We were scheduled to leave for the Taj Mahal at around 6:00 am we get on our new nice bus still with no heat but nicer than our previous bus and we get to a gas station where it breaks down and we have to wait for another bus for about an hour.  We finally get on our new bus and head for the Taj Mahal where we are running extremely late at this point and The Professor doesn’t want us to really stop for lunch but takes a massive order instead.  We end up stopping for bathroom breaks as well as some select few that just wanted to order what they wanted.  Still running hours behind we manage to finish up bathroom breaks and ordering of food in about 45 minutes.  Ready to head straight to the Taj Mahal, the bus driver decides that he is going to stop for lunch, which put us behind about another hour.  When we finally arrived at the Taj Mahal it had to be about 3 pm and we were scheduled to get there about 10 or 11 am.  Through the professor was fuming about the bus driver delaying us even further we eventually made our way to the Taj Mahal and proceeded to enjoy the remainder of the day.  We started off with camel rides, which was fun.  I had my roommate take pictures of me and then we proceeded towards the Taj Mahal.  The streets were filled with merchants ready to sell me trinkets of all kinds to fill my bags with.  By the time we had reached the Taj Mahal I was upset to find that when Professor Gupta said no food, he really meant absolutely positively no food.  I though he might of meant like sandwiches or other meals.  The took all of my snacks, including but not limited to kit kats, pretzels, sunflower seeds, gum, and any other knick knack they could find to snatch from me and throw away.  I was so upset this was the absolute lowest point of my day, I was actually fuming, but I figured it’s whatever I leave in two days so I got over it. The Taj Mahal was beautiful when we finally got to it.  The day was beautiful and pretty warm might I ad.  We proceeded to take group pictures, and personal pictures, and then to the Taj Mahal for a tour in which we learned a lot about the history and interesting facts.  We ended the day by going to some stores, which tried to gyp us.  Some of us bought trinkets from the merchants on the way out, and we all were chased or followed by the merchants back to the bus where we anxiously couldn’t wait to leave.  On the way back we stopped for a quick dinner and made our way back to the hotel.

India Day 7

Day 7 January 14, 2009

Between leaving Jalandhar, and coming back to Delhi a lot of our experiences were pretty similar, we went to a lot of businesses, took notes, listened to how they functioned and learned how business was conducted in India for the most part.  Today was special because we went to see a light and sound show at the Red fort, where we had to take the subway to get there.  I was against sitting in the cold once more to do an activity. I wanted to shop being that I still had so much on my list of things to buy.  By the time we had hiked our way from the subway through the bizarre I had worked up a little sweat and it mistakenly felt warm outside for a little while.  The show ended up being very good and I was glad that I stayed to watch it in the end.  After the show we headed over to McDonalds in which I was glad to go, because my stomach could not handle any more spices and other blends of food that my stomach would be sensitive to.  At least at McDonald’s I could eat and feel full.  The ironic part about me eating McDonald’s in India is that I do not eat it at home in New York.  I feel like there are too many preservatives and other things that are not good or you in it.  What I did like though about McDonald’s in India is that everything tasted more natural like it could possibly be ok for you minus the fried foods, but some entrees like the paneer salsa wrap was pretty good, and I actually wish we had it on the menu here in the U.S. I might actually have it on an occasion or two.  Finally we headed back to the hotel to rest and prepare for the next day.

India Day 4

India Day 4 January 11, 2009

Today was our first day at LPU.  The day was very cold and the day was very full.  We started off with breakfast followed by a quick tour of the campus and then we had a morning full of speeches from our Professor, the Vice Chancellor, and other speakers.  To be honest it was a little dragged out some of the speeches.  It was so cold I could not think half of the time, and then some of the speakers were hard to understand.  Later in the day after lunch on the campus   we went to a temple where I refused to come inside convinced that I was bound to become sick and be even more miserable than I already was.  I hid out on the bus until my E-Buddy came and found me and practically dragged me away form my conversation with the guards who came with us from the university to keep us safe.  I was very nervous, but never the less about an hour later and feet that were cold as ice, I completed my visit at the Temple with a stomach full of little candies that were gifts for praying.  My E-buddy was so tolerant of me he is the best, I was being mean at some points, and even leaving him to go from one temple to the next as quickly as I could trying to bear the cold, but he was a good sport.  After the temple we proceeded to go to Lovely Autos and Lovely Sweets, where we learned about the Lovely family and how they built their empire to become what it is today.  During our visit to Lovely Autos it was so cold that I could only think about the bon fire that we would have when we got back to campus.  I felt like my body was shutting down again from the cold and could not get any worse.  After Lovely Autos we proceeded to go to Lovely Sweets, which was heaven in every sense of the word.  Between the array of sweets and candies that were placed out for us to try and the heat that appeared to be pumping from the time you hit the front door, my entire demeanor changed.  I felt good for maybe the second time on the trip; I was a little tired, but that heat was one of the best things I ever felt in my life in that moment.  Finally after eating enough sweets to make your teeth rot, we headed to the restaurant Havelli’s while having a 30-minute debate on weather or not we would have McDonald’s and if so who was going to get it! At the restaurant was we watched different performances, got our fortunes read and observed displays portraying life in India at earlier points in history.  After dinner we headed back to the campus for yet again another bonfire, which was always my highlight of the day for both days actually.  We drank more coffee, and actually played a game of musical chairs on this night, in which I was the champion of the game.  I had so much fun, and I was warm which was the most important part! After musical chairs, and dancing of a few songs I was ready to call it a night. It had been such a long day filled with so much activity that again I could not wait to just put on my pajamas and fall into my bed once again.

India Day 3

India Day 3 January 10^th, 2009

Today was a chill day, those of us who didn’t go on the bike tour got to chill out a little bit, sleep in a little later, and pack for our little trip to Jalandhar where LPU is located and prepare for the long 5 hour ride.  We got our snacks from the supermarket by the hotel and proceeded to pick up the bicycle riding students and head to Jalandhar.  After about 2 hours on the road we stopped for lunch, which took a little long, but the food was pretty good.  I had a veggie burger with French fries and a pineapple milkshake. Because we took so long on our lunch stop, which was supposed to be 15 minutes, we did not reach Jalandhar until the evening.  Though we got to sleep on the bus the ride was freezing and no heat made me feel like I was dying on the bus, but we eventually made it.  When we got there, our E-buddies eagerly awaited for us to get off the bus and greet them.  We went inside and began to drink what had to be the best coffee I ever had in my life, being that I hate warm coffee.  We ate dinner and then headed outside for a bonfire, which felt great.  That was the first real heat I had felt in almost 4 days.  The warmth of the fire and the warm coffee made the ending of the day great.  After some dancing and laughing and good times we went to the dorms or hostiles as they call them and went to sleep.

India Day 2

India Day Two Saturday January 9^th 2009

Today we experienced our first Auto Expo in India, where there seemed to be a lot of interest among the Indian people.  We had also gone to the Indian Gate where we saw the military preparing for the parade.  The parade takes place at the end of January significant for the signing of the India Constitution.  We saw many young students watching on the sides of the road as the military band practiced their marching and music playing.  The best part was watching one of our classmates Melissa dance with the little schoolgirls on the side of the road.  On our way back to the bus we caught a glimpse of a cricket game in action and then proceeded to the Auto Expo soon after.  We split up into our groups when we got to the Expo and proceeded to explore the different car makes and models that would soon be available to the public in up coming years.  We were lucky enough to pass by the information desk and get a few booklets with all the information on where to go by the color-coded buildings which was a lifesaver.  It had also begun to warm up! The fog went away and the sun had popped into the sky, unfortunately by the time we reached our second pavilion with the Japanese cars my camera had gone dead, and I realized my phone was missing, this made my day turn upside down and even more than that miserable once more.  I thought I had been pick-pocketed, and then I had no pictures of the exotic cars that were so interesting.  My day had gone down hill.  After getting over the fact that my phone might be lost forever, my group proceeded to find lunch, we had had enough Indian food and were ready to have something with a little less spice.  It had taken us over an hour to finally find the pizza hut that we wanted to eat from which we had seen in passing and couldn’t find to save our lives by lunchtime.  After lunch we could not wait for 1:30 pm to arrive so we could leave, we had had enough auto expo and wanted to shop or just do something that we wanted to do.  Professor Gupta was clearly against letting us wander off on our own, and it was frustrating.  I was just mainly concerned with getting back to the hotel to see if my phone was there.  If not I would be devastated! Before heading back to the hotel we went to the Lotus Temple first where we had to take off our shoes before entering.  I thought they had lost their minds to be honest.  The sun was going down and I thought it was too cold to take my shoes off at least in the winter I thought it was absurd.   We proceeded to take our shoes off when we approached the temple and I just knew I was going to catch pneumonia but I kept my socks on once we walked into the temple, because the floor appeared clean and I didn’t want my socks to get dirty from the ground outside leading up to the temple.  Once inside a sense of serenity took over me.  It was quiet and still and simple.  It was something that I experienced for the first time since being in India.  I was able to think about all of the things that were important to me in that moment and pray about them and thank God for them, and just be still, in whatever way that may seem logical.  For the first moment I was able to stop complaining about all the things that weren’t going right on the trip and just be grateful for all the things that were right!  After the temple we went back to the hotel where a small group of us went to the bazaar closest to the hotel for a little while and then out for dinner with the larger group, where I proceeded to eat Gujarati food which tends to be more sweeter than Rajasthan food.  After dinner we proceeded to go back to the hotel and finally get some SLEEP!

India Day 1

India Day One Friday January 8th 2009

Today was an interesting day! Our first day in India was a little chilly and I hoped it would warm up, but that was not my luck by far.  Everything was just interesting to some degree from the bathroom stalls to the light switch, but not completely foreign.  Being in Ghana only a few months ago has to some degree prepared me for some of the obstacles my classmates are facing.  Like bringing flip-flops, my own towel and a huge duffle bag of snacks and water to last the entire trip, I slept so much on the plane ride that I was barely able to sleep the night before and so I was just really pumped and ready for my first adventure in India.  After taking a my first luke warm shower I was unpleasantly surprised by the freezing cold weather and tourist events that would soon take place.  A little disheartened by the silverware that our breakfast was being served on I skipped breakfast in hopes of finding a familiar restaurant that I was sure would be sanitary.  One of our first stops included some monuments.  I was ecstatic when I reached the American Center; they had a Costa Coffee shop.  I had never heard of this coffee shop but the tea along with the pastries looked better than Starbucks in America at this point.  After drinking a large cup of tea I felt great and I was ready for sleep, but we had to stay awake and listen to the two representatives that were giving us information about the relationship between India and America and how to go about obtaining positions like theirs overseas along with some requirements for the positions.  After the American Center we went to the Parliament Museum where we learned about the history and India, including a large amount of information on the Independence, and some of the steps that were taken to achieve independence.  After our first day of activities we went to lunch and ate our first real Indian meal.  It was great, different, interesting and most of all enjoyable being that it was our first real Indian meal.  After lunch we stopped at McDonald’s where I ordered a strawberry shake and a veggie burger meal. Being that we were in a rush to get to the bus we had to take our food to go.  Halfway running down the block and only having three french-fries and a few sips of my shake a young boy who eagerly saw my McDonalds looked like he would appreciate it more than myself so I gave it to him and promised myself that I would simply try again another time to have McDonald’s in India, but I would soon realize that there would be a lot more where that came from.  By the end of the day I was so exhausted I thought I would not be able to keep my eyes open for one more second and dreaded making my way to the evening reception that was planned for us.  After maybe a 35 minute nap I made my way to the lobby for the reception, where I was greeted by all my classmates, a floral wreath which would soon be placed around my neck and a red paste in which the hotel staff proceeded to place a red dot on my forehead.  We ate hor d’ oeuvres that were really tasty and ate cake for my line sisters birthday, followed by waiting for dinner where I unfortunately fell asleep and had pictures taken of me. After two bites of dinner, and being fully exhausted, I excused myself and crashed head first to the pillow where I remained for the rest of the night until the morning where another adventure filled day would be waiting for me.