India!

Day 6:

Today we went to DSCL . We learned about their firm and what they have to offer. I found it very interesting that DSCL has its own bazaars. The bazaars look like supermarkets and have set prices. I found that very interesting because at bazaars you can typically negotiate prices. But in this particular chain of bazaars you can’t. Later I spoke to one of the people of the firm and asked if there were any problems at first since people in India are use to negotiating prices.  He said that there weren’t any problems, that customers got use to it.

Afterwards, we went to the Sari place. There I learned that there about 108 ways to put on a Sari, and there are also alot of materials that Sari’s are made from.  I also had the most amazing Ginger tea!  And then we also had the opportunity to try on Sari’s. That was alot of fun because we saw first had the different ways to pleat, wrap, etc..

At night we went to Professor Gupta’s house. There we had dinner and also a bonfire. We danced and also rode on rishaws. It was a very fun night!

Day 11:

Today was our last day. So some of decided to go see some last touristy spots instead of spending the day shopping. First we went to Qutub Minar. I felt like I was in another world! It was like ancient India in the middle of New Delhi.  After that we went to an exclusive bazaar. We had to pay an entrance fee just to get inside. It was very pretty and well organized. We also had lunch there. I had Chicken chop suey. It was delicious!

After lunch we went to Humayun’s tomb. First of that place was deceiving. From the outside you can see this beautiful architecture, and you think hey that’s the tomb, but it wasn’t! It was another tomb. We went inside the tomb and actually had the opportunity to go up and around it. It was a bit hard climbing steep stairs in the dark!

After that tomb we looked around for a while and went through a gate, and then we realized that was Humayun’s tomb. It was modeled after the Taj Mahal.  After that the tomb me and Nardy did some quick shopping. Then we took the metro back during rush hour! That was the craziest thing ever! We were literally shoved into the train. I didn’t even have to worry about falling since there were so many people inside the train. I held someones hand since it was leveled with mine.

We got off our stop and started walking. Later we realized that we walked in the wrong direction. So we took a rickshaw back to the hotel. We ate dinner and packed. And now we are headed to the airport!

India!

Day 2:

Today we went to the Gates! That was the most amazing experience ever. We had the opportunity to see the Indian military practicing their march as well as hear them play. That was very fun! I also learned that I really enjoy the Indian national anthems .

After that we went to the Auto Expo. That was a interesting experience. I was amazed at seeing how many Indians wanted to see BMW’s, Jaguars, and Volkswagen’s; something that I could see in NY on any given day.  The pushing and shoving was horrible!

I also had mango-vanilla ice cream! That has been the best mango ice cream I have had!! After the Auto Expo we went to the Lotus Temple. The Lotus Temple was a very peaceful and calming experience. The architecture was just breath taking.

Day 3:

Today we left for Jalandhar. It was about an 8 hour bus ride. I spent most of my time looking out the window. We got there pretty late.  As we arrived we saw many people waiting for us. They were our e-buddies.. They were very excited to see us, on the other hand I think most of us were out of it, because we had just woken up. The University itself seems pretty big. Their food was delicious. I tried their yogurt but I didn’t really like it.

I met my e-buddy Priya. She is very nice. I have come to learn that Indians are very nice people and very willing to help. At first it felt a bit awkward because I know that I am nice, but not very very nice. After eating, we had a Bonfire party. We danced and I learned some new moves. At like 11pm I was exhausted, so some of us left to our hostel.

The hostel itself was very different from the dorms in Binghamton. There is no co-ed living allowed. They are very strict with curfews. And everytime we leave we have to sign-in and sign-out. The room itself had 3 beds, 2 chairs, 1 desk and a bathroom. Where would I put all my clothes?! Some of the girls said that they just put their clothing in chairs, but I feel like chairs would not be enough for the amount of clothes I have.

I also took a shower with the bucket. That was the best shower ever! The water was nice and hot. For me it wasn’t much of a shock before because I have showered with a bucket before. When I was little I use to bathe in the water tank where clothes were washed in Colombia.

India!

Arrival:

Finally I have arrived in India! After a 15 hour flight, I am exhausted! I saw like 5 movies because I could not fall asleep and my butt was killing me! Coming out of the plane I noticed alot of fog inside the airport which was odd. It took us a while to get our suitcases and everyone together since there are so many of us. Coming out of the airport was crazy. There were people everywhere staring and looking at us.

We finally got into the bus and arrived to the hotel a little bit later. After getting our rooms we went upstairs to check them out. First thing I noticed was the bathroom. I found it interesting that there weren’t any shower curtains. Besides that the rooms look nice and clean.

Day 1:

Me and my roommate Nardy woke up like at 7am for breakfast. Today was going to be a long day.  Everyone including me ate like it was going to be their last meal for the day. I don’t know why I was even eating like that but that is what happened.  We took the bus and later got off. We walked around Delhi. First thing I noticed was that there was alot of traffic. It was challenging crossing the street together since there were so many of us. I also noticed alot of homeless people and many stray dogs.  Later we went to the American Center where we learned about the Indian economy.

Lunch time was pretty eventful. This was our first India dish in India! We were served by male waiters (usually a woman dominated job back home).  They gave us tons of bread and different types of dips; some being very spicy or very sweet. I liked the sweet ones. Dessert was delicious. The drink although weren’t to my liking. Buttermilk does not taste too good but for some reason Indians love it.

After lunch, Professor Gupta took us to exchange money. That took forever! The funny and probably dangerous part was that we had to climb these narrow set of stairs where we could easily fall from. While waiting for everyone else to exchange money, I noticed little kids trying to sell us pencils and necklaces. The guard at Mc Donalds would get easily irritated and would chase them away. The children would run but then come back. We continued to walk around Delhi and also saw alot of shops were people everywhere were trying to sell us things.

We also went to the Parliament Museum and some of us went to the Sikh Temple.  That was an interesting experience. We had to take our shoes off and cover our hair. And before entering the temple we had to cleanse our feet and wash our hands. Inside the temple they had like a live band singing. And before leaving a man gave us some of “gods food” which tasted pretty good.

We ended our night with a Welcoming Reception at the hotel. We ate more Indian food which was good. We also celebrated Marissa’s birthday. Indian cake tastes very good!