Home sweet (cold) Home

So, I just realized that I haven't posted since I returned home and according to my blog- I'm still in India. While that would be great and much warmer than here, it is not the case.

We arrived in Newark, New Jersey on tuesday morning at about 5-ish. Then rode an express plane back to Charlotte, NC. The day we left in India the temperature was about 32 C (about 80 ish F). In Newark and then in Charlotte it was 28 F (about -2 C). Yeah. We were freezing. But it was okay until charlotte, because everything was inside.

But now we are home, have been for almost 2 weeks, and I'm getting re-used to my regular life. The snow is not helping. Makes it not-normal. Haha. I also was sick last monday and then on wednesday my mother was sick. That didn't help either.

So, now I'm making up midterms, doing homework, driver's ed, playing in the snow, and eating american food. :)

Let's Go to Mumbai to Fly Away (on monday night)

So today we woke up at the farmhouse- I put a comfortor on top of my mattress because it was so hard- and then I went back to sleep. My father went in to the conference while my mother and I slept in a little. Then we packed (shoved all my stuff in my bag) and had breakfast.

At the district confrence we sat, waited for the bus (supposed to come at 1) took some photos and had soda. Then at about 1:45 we had lunch. And about 2:30 we were honored on stage with shawls. At about 3-ish the bus finally arrived and we left (as in moved out of the gates and on the road) at about 3:30.

More issues with indian time. Nice, na? Na.

So then we had a 4 hour indian time ride ( more like 6) to mumbai. Halfway we stopped at a little store for snacks and met the Bombay west rotary club. Then the men all went to go see some of their project while us girls ( :D ) continued on.

We hit some really bad traffic on the outside of Mumbai and especially once in the city.

But we finally arrived and checked into the hotel, then waited about an hour for the guys to arrive.

Later, Rankin & Sandra and my family (Hamp, Kathleen and Amanda) went to the Choksi's house ( a very nice rotarian and his wife) for supper. Now I'm going to post this even though the day is not quite finished because 1) he has internet and 2) we are getting ready to have supper and then we will go back to the hotel and crash.

Chalo.
(lets go, move - in hindi)

Confrence day numero dos

So- names of our current hosts: Divyangsinh and Kirti Chauhan plus their 15 month old daughter (forgive my spelling) Dejashrini.

Anyway. I woke up this morning because of my father (what else...) got dressed (so much for the shower- We're late- agghhh. *father spazzes*) and came downstairs for breakfast.

We were to be at the conference site at 9 to go on stage at 9:30 when the first session was scheduled to begin. Mind you- that's Indian time. So, we went on stage to be acknowledged at about 10:30. Where are we again, father? India. :P

So, then we were at the district conference. Nothing really to report for, um, the whole day.

At about 4-ish our hosts took us back to their house to dress up for the evening. Our hostess, Kirti asked me what I was wearing and then insisted on letting me wear something of hers. Traditional Indian (Punjabi actually) - a chaniya choli. Yayyyyy. :)

Then we had dinner at the conference and listened to Prakash speak and watched the IYE's perform (International Youth Exchange).

So, then I got that shower I postponed this morning and fell asleep.

Yesterday and the 1st day (night) of district confrence

So, yesterday I was exhausted and didn't blog. Today I'm just as tired but I guess it doesn't matter. So- I'll give you a quick summary of yesterday and then start on today.

We went to 3 schools. It took forever. I have seen so many schools. It was insane. The first school was coed- grades 1-10. They preformed an Indian skit for us. Just music and gestures, but it got the point across. While we were touring that school, most of the children asked for our autograph. We were almost ambushed. I don't think i would make a very good rock star. But I gave some of the children (later when there weren't as many and they were older - like 6-7th grade) my e-mail, so now I have some new e-pals. :)

2nd school- same as the first. A little bit cleaner and a whole lot rotary funded. The only real difference was that they have grades 1-12, and we didn't get to interact with any of the children.

3rd school and lunch: All girls school, kind of like the one in Jaipur, except different. These girls were lucky in the uniform department- polos and pants and shoes of their choice. Lunch was ok. I'm getting tired of not knowing what food is what, though. I definitely will be happy to get home.

Then we were escorted back to the president of the rotary club of Baroch (Nikki)'s house for a jewelry show. Didn't buy anything, the guy had really pretty things- but i just didn't see anything I liked that much.

Puna- our hostess's sister in law took us all shopping in the baroch market!! Yay. We got some gifts and bangles and scarfs. Fun fun! :)

Then we went back to our "home" to get changed for dinner. I was trying to get some blogging done, but I had scarcely gotten dressed and it was time to go to the rotary meeting.

The meeting was ok. The meal was good because it was Chinese, but spicy because the Indians made it. haha. But no saffron and pistachio nut ice cream this time. :(

So, we went "home" and had vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. Then sleep.

TODAY

A pretty uneventful morning- got up, dressed, breakfast (yumm), carried the luggage down, met the rest of our team, and got on the bus. Then we had about a 4 hour (i think longer) journey to Silvassa- the city of the district conference.

Once we arrived things were much more exciting. We saw lots of familiar faces, hosts and just people we met. The inauguration later got rather tiring (lots of men talking- with me so tired its hard to pay attention), but I sat with the youth exchange students (the girls anyway) and met most of them. Whoo hoo for all the past district governors and past and current presidents. Wow. I can't imagine.

Then I went with the youth exchange students back to their hotel and ended up wearing a saree with them to the dinner after the inauguration. Bangles, earrings, hair, makeup, bendi (dot on forehead) - everything. :D

Dinner was fabulous because they had stations of different food from around the world (with Indian spices usually haha). I had pizza and noodles. YUM. Then ice cream (of course).

Well, we then met our hosts who were ready to go. So,I had to quickly run back across the street and get changed back into my regular clothes (thanks to amy for the use of her saree! :D) and then ran back and slid into our new host's car. I really don't know their names yet, but our new hosts seem to be fairly young, with a 1 1/2 year old daughter. So cute. They live on a farm too. Mango farm. (what else? haha)

So, now we're here. And if no one else takes objection I'm going to sack out.

My guest bed is calling.

Joggers, books, ashes, bungalows, and table tennis

Carrot juice again this morning- :/ But also cereal and bread. And orange juice. :)

We had quite the...uh... interesting experience. My father insisted on bringing a bottle of wine that he received from our last hosts with him. Well, (like my mother said it would) the wine bottle broke and went all over most of my father's belongings. So, yeah. We spread out everything, wiped it down, and then re-packed.

Then we (and the team) traveled to Ankeleshwar. So on the 1 hour- indian time or 2 hour- regular time, I slept.

We were greeted by the rotary club of Ankeleshwar and showed into a hotel restaurant for drinks. Like, a coffee break. Haha. We were all excited for lunch at the usual american time (12), but alas. No.

Then we visited 2 of this rotary club's projects- a jogging track and a library (complete with a children's library) . Their jogging track was a dirt path with beautiful plants and flowers on either side.

The library was about the size of the Conover library but no computers. Then also a children's library. So cool. They had a Hindi section and an English section. We found harry potter in Hindi! (books 1,2,4,5,6) :)

Then we did have lunch. (finally). The appetizers were pure yum. uh... i don't know the name but they tasted like egg rolls. On a stick. haha. No jokes, guys. please. Anyway. The food was rather spicy, but I'm always good with bread.

A crematorium was our next stop. Grossly and morbidly cool. They are trying to make the cremations more eco-friendly by using natural gas. But they still have wood as an option (because of religious morals) for a fee. Sandra and I were just talking and thinking about how much more space humans would have if everyone was cremated, instead of being buried. With overpopulation, I bet we'd fill the extra space pretty quickly, but it would work for a little while. Saving the planet, 5 years at a time. (There, Ms. Lampe :P )

On the way to the next town we talked to our driver about overpopulation. I got rather confused but got some useful tips for my project. :)

Then we arrived at the next place and met our new hosts. I forget their names right now- I'll edit them in. Our hosts live in a bungalow. A HUGE bungalow. There are 9 of them living together. Plus many spare bedrooms. So- a little family tree for you guys: Grandma and Grandpa (our real hosts) then their daughter and her husband and son. And apparently cousins who are currently out of town for some reason. But it's cool. They have a bunch of servants and the house is pretty full- especially with my family now added on. Plus the son is 17! Hooray for an actual person in my same age group. Love you adults, but really, you can get a bit boring. :P

So then we had a bunch of time to just relax and rest. I worked some on my blog (3 cheers for internet access!) met Supas (the 17 yr. old) and some of his friends, played ping pong with them (haha yeah. that went...uh. well?) and then slept.

Only to be awakened for dinner. Oh well. Supper was great. They got the message that their normal food burns our mouths out, and prepared "bland" (to them) food for us. :)

Now, I'm listening to some american music with Supas (whoot for english) and getting ready to go off to bed.

Adios, my american friends. :)

Sarees and Diamonds

So, today started out ok. I woke up pretty early because my room is right beside the kitchen and bharti was up early making breakfast. I got up, dressed, and went out in the main room. I found an english tv channel and watched some of Lost. haha.

Then was breakfast. Not as elaborate as some of our other host families. Toast with butter, orange juice, and Indian bread. But good. Except for the carrot juice. I don't know what it is about carrots- but they are meant to be cut into wedges and eaten with ranch. Juice? Not so much. At least, not for me.

Off to our host's office, where we were supposed to receive internet access. My mother did, but the internet wouldn't work on my computer and my mother has problems sharing. But I guess it's ok. I'll get internet sometime.

Then we headed off to the first stop of the day: a diamond manufacturing company. This was mega cool. We got to see each step in processing and checking the diamonds. Because no two diamonds are alike, they first check them for any flaws- taking up to 20 days (sometimes more, sometimes less) to examine everything and find any imperfections. Then it goes to another person and after that another. After the diamond has passed this scrutiny, it heads to the cutting, polishing, and whatever else part of the building. Then there are even more people checking to make sure it's ok.

We ate lunch at the diamond processing plant after our tour. It was really good. I liked this better than most of the meals we've had before because the vegetables were just vegetables, not a mix of vegetables with a bunch of spices. The bread was fantastic as always, though.

Then we got back in the cars and went to a saree factory. Wow. It was like America 100 years ago. Child labor laws- hello. American Girl books anyone? The factory reminded me of Samantha’s friend Nellie. But it was cool to see how they make the designs on the saree fabric. Basically it's stencils. Lots and lots of stencils.

We were hoping for some samples ( :D ) but since we were running low on time, the guys said maybe at the district conference.

Later, we figured out that unskilled laborers make about $120 per month. The skilled hand painters make $300 a month. And the designers make $750 per month. But they work 12 hours a day and 6 days a week- so, 72 hours per week. The factory runs 24 hours a day. India definitely does not have a minimum wage.

Our crew then headed back to an apartment complex where we were to be picked up by our host families and taken shopping. Whee!

I wanted to go to a market, but we went to a mall. It was ok, but I'm still hoping for some lower prices and haggling. :)

I got some new shoes (flips) and an Indian dress with pants that I can wear with leggings at home.

Then it was time for dinner at individual host families. Except our host family and Steve and Elizabeth's host family made arrangements to eat at their apartment. So, after shopping my host mom and my parents and I headed over to Seema's house (Steve and Elizabeth's hostess).

She made Israeli food too. It was actually more american, but still intensely yummy. And such great fun. :)

Then "home". And... bed. Early morning to come.

American food- transformed

Breakfast this morning was wonderful. Boiled eggs, corn flakes, idila, fresh squeezed orange juice, grapes, apples, and buttered toast. Our hostess really outdid herself.

Then it was "on the road again." We only got to stay with this family for one night. Before completely leaving the town we visited and took a tour of the hospital (sponsered by rotary of course).

They gave us bouquets of flowers and Pepsi, water or Fanta. The tour- it's still a hostpital, so we've mostly seen it all, but this one let us in to their pediatric ward. I gave away my flowers to a cute little girl, and then my mother's flowers to a little boy.

Then we all got on a bus (this time our luggage fit inside and they had another car for some of our group with extra room for luggage) and headed to Bardoli.

It didn't take long- about 30-40 minutes. We stopped at a school (college) where the rotary district 7670 (ours) did a matching grant witth district 3060 (mumbai area) to help. Apparently, Prakash really got this started. It was neat. Because of the grants and money raised by rotarians the school now has computer labs with more than 90 computers. They also have a pharmaceutical school with many advanced technological units.

Then it was time for lunch. We were supposed to go to a sugar mill, but because the group ( the ladies) wanted to go shopping in Surat (and see the big textile market- since the men won't put it on the schedule :P) Prakash canceled that. It's a good thing, too. Even without shopping, I don't think we would have had time for everything- especially the drive to Surat.

Anyway. Lunch was... interesting. We ate a place called Red Chilis. They believed in spices too. Instead of the regular one order for the whole table, we ordered individually. And they had american food! So, I got french fries (:D) and alfredo pasta.

Well... they sort of had american food. My mother got pasta with pesto sauce. Indians love spices, and they drenched the pesto sauce with them. My mother said her taste buds are permanently scarred. My pasta wasn't spicy but they added sugar to the alredo sauce. Not a good effect. I ended up having some pizza and french fries (they got the french fries right!) and then a chocolate brownie for dessert. Haha.

Then it was off to Prakash's village. Or really, the village his parents grew up in. It took us a bit longer to travel there- around an hour (more or less).

Once we arrived, we were greeted by I think the whole village (a lot of them anyway) in their (relatively new) temple. Prakash said a bunch of things in gujarati and some in english, but I was so tired I don't remember any of it. Then we were offered ponk. Green millet, noodles made from chick pea flower and fried, candy coated fennel, and chutney (i stayed away from the chutney- super spicy). Yum, though.

Then we got to tour the village and the local school (grades 1-4). We also went through what was Prakash's parent's home. The houses reminded me of american houses, in the early to mid 1800s. Very Little House in the Big Woods. Heavy decorative doors and furniture. (like, Zorro. haha) The school was great- I don't think the children spoke any english- but smiles, waves, and laughs go a long way. I took several photos and then a video. Then I showed them the video on playback on my camera. I don't think they had ever seen themselves in a video, maybe not even seen video at all. I was their new best friend. :)

As we were getting ready to leave, I was offered a ride on a motorcycle. So, of course, not to miss out...

It was actually quite a nice ride. There are a lot of bumps on indian roads, but on a motorcycle (or a bicycle) you can go around them. Also, the driver was great. This was his "car."

Then it was back on the bus and on the road to Surat. About 2 1/2 hours later (that's 1 hour indian time :P) we arrived and met our new host family- Maganlal Talaviya and his wife (Bharati). They had to hire an auto rickshaw to carry all of our luggage. I was worried that it would fall out, but it arrived safely- before we did.

They live in an apartment-again on the top floor. But this apartment is not so tall-only the 5th floor. It's still quite a view though.

We had about an hour of rest (I worked on this dreadful blog) and then we went to a joint rotary club meeting for a bunch of clubs in the area. There was also a GSE there (group study exchange). The meeting went way over time, and then we also had dinner. I think that indian rotarians are trained to give americans as much food as they can. :P

So, now we are finally home and we just finished some wonderful ice cream- with strawberries.

Strawberries in January. :)

**word of the day: Jay Krishna (gujarati) - welcome

**more: Shala (gujarati) - school

**even more: Shiksh (gujarati)- teacher

Three Towns in ONE day

Woke up at 7. Tried to get motivated to get out of bed, with NO success. Finally got up at about 7:30 and shoved all my stuff in my bag. I also upgraded to 2 bags, if you call that upgrading.

Then breakfast- yummmmieee. Basically a repeat of yesterday. Western food makes me happy. A taste of home. :)

So... time of departure: 9:03. Went to meet the rest of the team and then to travel to Billimora. When we got there, everyone got out and met the Billimora rotary club. Then we got back in different cars and went to some of this town's rotary club's projects.

First, was the water treatment plant. Amazing. We first saw where they get the water (a river near the plant, complete with a dam) and the original filter steps. Although definitly not up to par with official US water filtration plants, it's still better than nothing. Much better than the water most of the lower class people would be drinking otherwise (whatever they can find- river, creek). As we reached the end of the water treatment process ("clean" water) they offered us some of the final product. Of course we declined. But still, cool. :)

Then another hospital. Not much to report on this, in India when you've seen one hospital, you've basically seen them all. But they gave us bottled water and ice cream. Success.

On the way back to get in the bus and leave our driver (rotarian) stopped at his house (resort) and showed us his swimming pool. He was saying how it was only half sized... he meant only half the size of an olimpic sized pool. That's big, even for the US.

Back at the home we met at we found a tour bus ready for us to ride to the next city- and lunch.

But again. Indians have no sense of time or a schedule. So, instead of lunch we first went to another hospital. Same old, same old. But a new rotary club. We were now in the town of Gandevi. They gave us flowers (traditional indian welcome) and everything.

Then, was lunch. Or so we were told.

We actually went to a school. Co-ed, so both boys and girls. But, it actually was lunch. We went back behind the school where they had set up 2 long tables and lawn chairs. Then the whole team sat down and the children (all girls) served us. And I remembered to take a picture of the food this time! BEFORE eating. :)

Also at lunch, we met doctors from home. They are from India originally but have moved to the US. Then they come back to India to help out medically and any way they can. It was nice seeing people from america though.

After lunch and a little tour of the school, we got to ride a school bus (yes. yellow bus with no AC) to the next town. Prakish met us there, along with our new host families. Then we loaded our luggage in our new host's car and went to his home.

Our host was Halmen Desai and his wife. They live in an apartment- on the top floor (9). Then once in the apartment you go up a flight of stairs to get to the bedrooms. They also have a balcony, and then you can walk out on the roof and look down ten stories. Or not.

We rested for about 15 minutes, and I worked on typing my blog (even though we had no internet) and tried to fix my hair. Then we rode with Prakish (and his hired driver) to the next stop- Dandi Smarak. The rest of the team following in their host family's cars.

Dandi Smarak is a muesuem for Ghandi. Mahatma Ghandi. The house is where he stayed for 1 night while on the "run" from the brittish who were trying to arrest him. Outside is a big statue of Ghandi picking up salt because of his belief that Indians should be able to make their own salt and not buy it back from England. (world history :D) This was after his great salt march and the spot of the statue is where he actually picked up the salt. We've met several people who's ancestors walked with Ghandi in the salt march. Prakash's uncle did too, and we are to meet him tomorrow.

Cool, huh, Mr. Dixon?

Then "home" to our host families homes for a much needed hour of rest/ "freshening up". I took a shower and then just pulled my hair back with a clip, slept for the rest of the time and then braided it for the meeting.

We were hustled off to the rotary meeting/dinner/event at a restaurant near by. They put us in the back of the building with a bunch of garden/lawn chairs for all the people. We got to sit up front (thrill, thrill) on little black stools. Kind of like that african kind we read about last year in world history with the golden stool. Haha.

But we again got leis, I mean, malas. They had silver streamers in them this time. Pretty. :)

I had to keep my eyes open while some men were speaking. I didn't want to be rude, I tried to listen. But I was so dang tired. Sleep deprivision must be common among exchange students/rotarians. At least it is within this group.

Anyway. Then was the dinner. Good, but I wasn't that hungry. I really just had bread. Naan.

Then "home" and bed. *yawn*

G'night 'yall.

**word of the day: namak (hindi)-salt {Mithu (gujarati)}

** extra: davakhanu (gujarati)- hospital

** extra exta (read all about it): suieja (gujarati) -sleep

**just for my teachers: faatak (hindi)- railroad crossing

Temples, tattoos, and time management probems

My father woke me up this morning when he got up to do his yoga- 5:30. Needless to say, I was not happy about this. I promptly went back to sleep and my mother then awakened me at 7:40 ish. Shower time. Or... time to figure out the hot water heater and the shower.

I will give you a lesson. (Montessori method- hello)

First you turn on the switch at the outlet. When you flip it on the light should glow orange. Next, wait for about 20 minutes for the water to warm up. After 20 or so minutes, you can step into the shower- or into the bathroom. Turn the water nozzle labeled "H" and wait about a minute. Check the temperature with your hand. If it is still ice cold go see your host. If it is burning your skin because it is really hot turn the wheel labeled "C" until the water feels "just right."

{ Side effects may occur. India's shower system is not for everyone. Please stop reading this and cosult your local doctor should harsh reactions come from these directions. }

Anyway. Once we figured that out - my mother had to consult our host- it was breakfast time. Toast, potatoes (kind of like hash browns) and an omelet for each of us.

Then off in the little cars we went. Very long drive (country roads - for india anyway) through lots of jungle area.

We finally arrived. Guess where? Our driver's storage manufacturing plant. My first reaction: Oh. Um. Great? But it was pretty cool. We got to see how different factories are in India compared to the US. This plant made storage units- for example cabinets and industrial shelving for businesses and homes. The main thing that made our whole team take a double take were their feet. Most all of the workers wore flip-flops. They also wore no hearing protection and no helments. "Wow..."

Then we were supposed to go to a mueseum, but since it was Saturday, it was closed. It looked nice from the outside though.

Back on the road for a while until we came to a farm. Plantation type A. They grow all sorts of vegetables and about every single variety of mango that there is. We also got to go on the roof of the house to see a grad view of the farm. Pretty neat, but I think I'm farmed out now.

Next was lunch. Inside = fans or air condition which then = heaven. The place mats there had a commercial for Thumb's Up soda (google it) with pictures of food from all over the world. So, we were all excited for some grilled cheese and french fries. When the indian rice and sauces came out it was a pretty big let down. Haha.

Our ride had to travel to another part of india to visit with his 5-day old grandson. So, we rode to Dr. Nilax's clinic with someone else.

We went to Dr. Nilax's clinic for.... Henna tattoos!! I got a band around my arm and a more elaborate design on my ankle. My mother, however, went for the whole hand-arm design. I'm surprized people aren't asking her if she's getting married. :P

Once we got home we were then transported to a PDC of Innerwheel's home. And her husband (of course.) A delightful little man who calls me "My dear" and is so very, very gracious and respectful to everyone. Oh. And by the way- we went. to have...tea. Brittish influence? Check.

His wife, was also a very wonderful and nice lady. And yes, we did in fact have tea. Tea and cookies (biscuits in england). Also some wierd rice and potato dish- don't know what else but it was fabulous. Well, we had a short visit- took lots of photos and toured their 100 year old house. I've also been invited to come stay with them for a month- them along with 4 other families. :)

We hurried home in time to meet the rest of our group and get in cars to go to the beach. Only then, we didn't go to the beach. We went to another temple. *sigh* Temples are great, really pretty, super nice. But we have seen so many temples...

Anyway. Rreally pretty and some great gardens and fountains (which they turned on for us, even though it's their winter- no rain season). Then we went to the beach, even though it was allready dark. My camera was crap at night shots, but I think Annie got some good pictures.

Tonight's dinner thing event was at our host's house. My "mom" was cooking and preparing food all day. Well...almost all day. But the nice thing was that she made things more western. So, we were more accustomed to them and we were all very, VERY grateful. I need a lot of recipes for indian-changed western food now. :)

So, then we watched Dance India Dance again tonight. Apparently it comes on every night there. I don't know. But it was still great.

Lights out, campers. G'night.

Goodbye Vapi, hello Valsad.

This morning I woke up early- like 6:30. So, really- late for a school day. But.. oh well. I got up and went out to the kitchen to see Anushka and Avineil before they left for school. Of course, everyone here wears uniforms to school. I think they are cute. I didn't like our "uniforms" at the middle school, because it was more of a dress code. Here, the girls wear oxdford t-shirts with a jumper overtop (dress). The boys wear oxford shirts and navy pants. They all have little (no hood) sweaters.

I got quickly packed after the kids left and had to sit on my suitcase to close it. At our next stop I have decided to change to 2 suitcases + my carry on. Then it was time for breakfast. Omletes and oatmeal. :)

We loaded all of our luggage into Aditi and Vikaus' cars and were driven to the college. After standing and waiting for everyone to arrive for more than 30 minutes, we left to go see the Jain's dog, Jazz. When we returned to the college, most of the people runing on Indian time had arrived. So, our luggage was much more seccure this time, riding in a truck- inside not on top!

We said some quick goodbyes to our host families and loaded into other cars. After about an hour car ride, we arrived in Valsad.

Our new host is Dr. Nilax Mufi and his family. (wife- Shailaja and daughter- Khushboo) Their house is super huge. They actually live in... a house. Surrounded by a wall and 2 stories tall with an attic. Inside it's even more beautiful. All of the floors are marble and gorgeous. When we got here, my mother and father went straight to bed, and I got online for a while. Khushboo and I watched some TV- she understood much much much more than I. Ahaha. But I tried at least.

Then before lunch we got to see Shailaja prepare some of it. Especially the rhodi, or the bread. First, it takes amazing skill to roll out the dough in a perfect circle- many, many years of practice, we assume. Then she put it on a flat- not kidding, no sides- frying pan for about 10 seconds for each side. Next Shailaja turned the heat up some, and held the bread on the actual flame, letting it puff up before putting it on the tray. Don't try this at home. :P

After lunch, our host- Dr. Nilax took us out for some ice cream. I had strawberry and my father had some apple custard or something like that. Really good though. Ice cream is definitly the same, even across oceans.

We had a nice hour (s) of rest then. Much needed too. After the nice (but not long enough) sleep we met Elizabeth and Steve outside to go to the market. The... indian veggie/fruit market.

But we also had Steve and Elizabeth's guide as well. So, he saw no problem with us all fitting in his incredibly small car. That's 6 of us in a car where even 5 makes everyone squished. And yes, we actually did fit in (magically) and we rode for about 10 minutes there and 10 minutes back.

The market itself was in short educational and amazing. This wasn't re-created or for toursts. It was the actual market that the local indians go to. Of course everyone is always staring at me anyway because of my hair and complextion, but here we got even more looks. We were probably the only white people in 50 miles. We were definitly the only white people in sight.

Also got to see many new fruits and vegetables that we hadn't heard of before- or don't get in the US and see what the difference was from our fruits/vegetables and theirs.

We then returned back to the Mufti's house to get ready for the rotary club meeting. I then discovered that I had left my black shoes back at the Jain's house. :(

The rotary meeting was allright. At least it moved quickly and didn't last as long as most of the others. But the dinner afterwards- whoo. That was some spicy food.

Now we are back, my mother and father are allready upstairs asleep, and I'm sitting here finishing this blog and watching Dance, India, Dance. Kind of an Indian version of "So you think you can dance?".

But, I keep falling asleep so I think I will "retire." :P

Tailors, mangos and sand :)

So, we kind of slept in today. I didn't even wake up when Anushka did, but I slept instead until about 9. Then we immediately had breakfast. Scrambled eggs with parsley, sweet indian porridge (halwa) with cashews and almonds, steamed rice cakes (idli) and donut shaped sweet bread (vada). Yum.

Then Aditi, my mother,father and I piled in her little stick-shift car and went to the barber. We dropped my father off so he could get a haircut. Then us girls (:D) went to a tailor to get a saree blouse made for my mother and my pants (that go with the tunic) taken in a bit.

Then we went to a different store to get petticoats. Or really slips for sarees, so people can't see through them. At 75 rupees each, my mother and I both got 2.

After picking up my father (he was very pleased with the 50 rupee price for the haircut) we all went to Aditi's preschool- Euro-kids. The kids were ages 2-5. So cute. We also took a tour (well...) of the yard and backyard, looking at all the fruit trees and plants. Mangos are not in season, but at the preschool there are pretty good sized mangos on the trees. Aditi quoted her mother saying that where children play, mangos will always grow. Guess it's true. :)

Also: coconut, bannana, aloe vera, basil, curry, white jamun (little white berry fruit with fluffy flowers) and bouganbilla (pretty bush with pink/purple flowers).

Then we went back to the college we visited yesterday to meet the other members of our group. When some of us arrived, we loaded a bus and went to a hotel where the rest of our team got on the bus. All except Rankin and Sandra who stayed with their host family for the day.

We went to go see a mango farm. Pretty neat, and interesting to see, but we stayed there sooo long, and really? how many mango trees can you see? They all looked the same to me. Still cool though.

Then we moved on to the beach. Covered with sand, no less. This was the arabian sea, apparently if you started from here and sailed in a straight line you would reach dubai in 24 hours. We saw a camel, which kind of looked rather odd on the beach. haha.

Finally when we got people motivated to move, we returned to the college, and the got picked up by Vikaus. We made a quick dash home as it was 6:30 and the rotary club meeting started at 7. :O

Aditi lended me a saree and then wrapped it for me. ZOMG. wow. I have no words. pretty cool, but I do understand why Indian girls don't wear them all the time. I think the indians thought i looked weird in their attire, though.

The meeting was cool. I met some new people, including a girl who went on an exchange trip to New York. I also got to see Nikki again. :)


When we got home, I wrote my blog for the day before, reminding myself to always finish them the night of at all times after this.

Now I'm sitting listening to the pigeons, talking to some people on facebook and skype, and downloading pictures. :D

Let's see what's in Vapi! Shopping, food, hospitals, colleges, dramatic competitions, and weddings?

So, this morning I woke up for about 3 minutes at 5:15 when Anushka (yay for names- the 9-year old girl) was awaken by her mother (Aditi). Once she got out of bed and went to the bathroom, I fell straight back to sleep. Then, at 8:30 my mother woke me up again, except this time I actually got up.

Breakfast was almost more American than Indian- but still super good. Plus, it was almost a nice chnage. I love indian food, but sometimes- it's a bit much. And since I am really sensitive to spices, I always have to worry about the spicy indian food. "Not very spicy" to an indian is steam coming out my ears. My mother and I have learned to ask for bland food. Then, it's perfect.

We then went for a tour of the local hospital that the rotary club here helps out with and the college that the local rotary club also donates too. The hospital was really interesting to see. They have much more technology wise then I had expected and it's more like a clinic back home. The sanitation level is still very low, and of course, they still have issues with patients payment. (the US does as well).

But everything is extremely low cost compared to the US. They think very highly of their program, telling of the same quality and much better price. The quality is good, but probably not quite up to par with US. But, the prices- they are beating us there. Plus, everyone is happy at their job and they don't look like robots just repeating the same actions over and over.

At the college, they had available majors in Nursing, Business, Economics, Marketing, Production, and Computer Technology. It was all graduate study, except for the nursing study (in the basement). Again the comparison of the college in India to what we have in the US was astounding. 1st- it is much smaller. More like one ward of a college. 2nd- the computers are older (even older then the ones we have at school- haha) and they require laptops for students but don't have WIFI. But again, they beat us in price. To go to the college, it is (converted to dollars from rupees) about $2,000 for 2 years. So, $1,000 for a year of college. Too bad they don't have any majors I'm interested in.

After lunch ( a buffet of indian and other cuisines at a hotel- mmm-mm good) my family plus my host family (mom and dad) actually went shopping. I know. Shock! :O

But it was fun. My father got a traditional pajama (no, they don't wear it to bed) complete with a scarf. Looked a little... strange to me, but apparently it's the usual. I got some nice blouses that I can also wear once we return home. My mother bought fabric for a saree. Which looks amazing on her, by the way. :)

Then we went to hotel green view's auditorium to watch Avineil (13 year old son) preform in a drama competition. Traditional skits- kind of almost like our duo interp and such- but with a lot more people. Plus- all in hindi. So- we didn't really understand any of it. But our host family was very good at translating. Avineil's skit was mythology- about a guy (Nachiket) that chalenged the god of death. Nachiket asked him for knowledge, assuring the god of death the he could do anything he wanted to him afterwards. When he recieved it, Nachiket went around sharing the knowledge with everyone. I met Anushka there for the first time- when neither of us were asleep. She's so cute and nice. Very into Hannah Montana and Barbie and mourning the death of Michael Jackson. Haha.

So, then we went back to the Jain's house and Anushka and I listened to some hannah montana/Miley Cirus and Michael Jackson songs on my iPod. We also took pictures and I worked some on my computer- with an attentive shadow.

I took a nice hot shower then to get ready to go to the wedding later that day. When I came back out into the main room, I found that Avineil was home. The group did not win anything. We were all sad about that because everyone preformed well. :(

But Avineil is very shy, but cool. I wish we were here for longer so I could get to know him, and everyone else better. (He played Natiket in the play- the one in orange with his hand out in the picture)

The Jain's have 2 maids and then some other servants. This is very common in India. The maid that I see around here the most is named Kanta. Sweet and helpful- not much English, but a smile is the same in every language. They pay all their servants about $30 a month for every day service. Kanta is there from very early in the morning to about 8 at night.

Niki, a daughter of Steve and Elizabeth's hosts, brought a traditional indian dress of hers for me to borrow for the wedding. I looked like a mermaid. But... everyone said it looked good, so I guess...

The wedding was phenomenal. No one really seemed to know who was actually getting married, because so many people are invited. And you don't have to be on the invite list. Just be invited by someone who is invited. Haha. It was great though. So much food. And not really that describable. It was in a huge yard behind a school, and there were just booths of food everywhere. Plus a huge stage with a line going to China (just kidding) of guests wishing to pay their good wishes. Then there was the dress and jewelry and makeup of the bride. Henna tattoos as well. All over her hands. So very, very pretty.

We also learned how to make the bread- or saw people making it. I got a video. Ignore my father, he's saying random things that really don't even apply.


After the wedding, we returned home (our home away from home) and I went straight to bed.

ZZZZZ.

**Hindi word of the day: didi (older sister)

Where's the luggage go again? And you're sure it won't fall off?

This morning- later than usual we woke up, packed (folded and clean laundry from the hotel!!) and had breakfast. I went on the internet to use up the remaining time afterwards and then passed the computer to my father (who, for the record, did not ask to use it until the last minute- don't let him tell you any different) and got my luggage out to the bus.

We said some quick goodbyes (to our hosts) and went to the airport. Then we had some problems with some of the members in our group's tickets. Apparently their tickets had been canceled, so they had to buy new ones. I am glad it was not us. Eek! But it all turned out ok. :)

The Kingfisher flight was a little rougher than the others, I think. But they served us a full meal, even though the flight was less than 2 hours.

After we arrived at the airport and found all our luggage (courtesy of Kathleen and Steve Inc. - simply the best :P) we found our welcome party outside. We received flowers and waited for the bus to arrive to take us to Vapi.

When it did- everyone was in for a shock. The bus was much smaller than we expected and our amount of luggage was much larger than they expected. So- they piled it on top of the bus and then secured it with ties. It was quite a spectacle. Later on, we stopped for a bathroom break, and they put a few more pieces of luggage on top. Everyone at the restaurant/store was watching and laughing. Needless to say, everyone was very relieved when we arrived with everything still intact- or at least not missing.

We met our host families. Ours is Dr. and Ms. Jain. Dr. Jain is the president of the Vapi rotary club. Plus their son (13) and daughter (10). Names coming soon- I can't pronounce, much less spell them yet.

Then it was time for dinner with our host families- but together with the team and their host families. Yummm. Pistachio ice cream too. :)

Now we are at the Jain's house. So very, very nice. But it is pretty late, and I'm tired. So, I'm going to go test out the bed and mosquito net in the other room and see if I'm awakened at 5 something tomorrow by an excited indian 10-year-old.

Pictures tomorrow- promise. I'm setting up a flickr. :)

**New word: Jansankhya- population
**bonus: hathi- elephant

*Lord Ganisha- elephant god.

Maybe she's blogging about another day in Jaipur?

Yep. We're in Jaipur for today as well and tomorrow we leave for Mumbai. Everyone was excited to go shopping- I really want a saree- but first (I don't think we ever will go shopping for more than 30 minutes) we went to the Amber fort.

The Amber Fort was built in the 1600s by the local king. He had 12 wives- all of whom had their own apartment in the fort. The gardens outside and on the roof were so beautiful. We also got to see the servants living quarters. Pretty simple- little rooms with a big space for sleeping and holes for using the bathroom. These people's water system was really interesting too. they would collect rainwater through holes in the roof and then using a type of gutter, would get the water to eventually flow into a holding tank. They wouldn't drink this water, but they used it for other purposes like washing clothing.

I met another new friend today! Her name is Preeti. And she is very pretty. Haha. Preeti is a student in college and a member of the roteract club there, but she also teaches at the school of the deaf and blind here in Jaipur. Hooray for new friends that have e-mail! :)

Next (instead of going shopping) we went the the Jaipur School for Girls. So so so neat. Awesome, actually. Met a lot of girls my age- except living in India, of course- and some older and/or younger. They sung for us, and the Rotary Club of Jaipur Heritage talked and had their weekly meeting there. We also sang "Make New Friends" for them, but because we sang it in a round they thought we messed up. Haha. Also, at the end of the meeting- they sang the national anthem and some of the girls danced for us.

We then had lunch with the rotary club. Very spicy food, but yummy.

We finally went shopping then- for 30 minutes. *sigh* But at least we did go. I got some wooden animals (on keychains). So cute! :)

Then we came back to the hotel to get ready for the big rotarian dinner. I took a shower, threw my hair up, finally figured out how to properly wear the tunic and pants, and ran out the door to the bus.

The program was...great. The program was basically us. Aneel prepared a slide show of how "team india" was started and the idea and how it has evolved, and then at the end he had some photos of us from the past week. My father was called up, given a mala (lei of flowers) and a turban, and asked to give a small spech. Then we all were. Except the ladies got scarfs (instead of turbans). My speech... not so great. But apparently we will get lots of practice. I don't know if I consider that a good thing.

But Apoorva and Akul were there! yayyyy. Took some amazing pictures and have now decided that I absolutely LOVE the whole Bhutani family. Preeti was there as well. h and the dinner was phenomenal. Super good. We got to see a guy making the bread- my face must have been "wow" because Apoorva was laughing at me. He picked up balls of bread dough, slaps it together (it looks like he's dancing and clapping) and then puts it in a pot over hot coals.

I'm going to miss all the new friends we have made here in Jaipur soo much- that's why they are coming to see me in North Carolina, right? RIGHT. *nods encouragingly*

I'm off to go get the WIFI card so that I can post this. Let's cheer for the internet.

Still no pictures... I really am trying, I promise! :(

**Word of the Day: Thand- cold

**extra word: Bani - water

Camels, and Elephants, and Rotarians- OH MY!

We started off at about 7 am this morning. After about 2 hours of driving we stopped at a restaurant/hotel for a bathroom and some snacks. Grilled cheese (yep- a taste of home) and pakori, which were like fritters- fried potatoes with califlower in the middle. So good. yumm.

Then, it was back on the road and into the fog. It was super foggy this morning- no pictures at all. I could barely see farther than the outside of the road. As we got closer to Jaipur, the fog cleared first a little, then a lot. (hooray!)

When we finally arrived in Jaipur, we met Aneel's family: his wife, Geeta- his daughter, Apoorva (18)- and Akul, his son (15). We also met Praveen Verma and his wife (other rotarians). Our group was given about 15 minutes to get our bags to the hotel room and then come back out for lunch.

Lunch was served outside and delicious (as always).It was amazing how much warmer it was in Jaipur compared to Agra. This morning it was very, very, very cold (well... comparitivly speaking) and (of course) the bus didn't have a heater- they usually don't need it.

Then it was off for the sightseeing of the day. First stop: Jantar Mantar Observatory of Jaipur. Sawai Jai Sigh made a bunch of structures in which he was able to tell the time. Our guide found the fime with the dial/monument and then we checked our watches. I think that within 2 minutes is pretty great for stone structures.

Next was the city palace muuesum. They had many replicas and plastic modles showing what it must have been like back x years ago.

After basically complaining and worrying the whole trip, the women finally got to go shopping. We only got about 2 hours- but yes this was/is importatn becasue we are supposed to wear formal Indian clothing for our meal tomorrow.

I got a pajama (not pajama's like pj's though) which is basically a tunic , pants and a scarf. Mine is read with sparkles. kind of undescribable. I'll post the pictures of me wearing it tomorrow night at the big dinner as soon as we 1) have the dinner and 2) have internet.

Back to the hotel then, quickly and then off to our dinner/evening destination. It was set up to look like what a real ragistani village (a recreated muslim town in Ragistan) would be. We saw indian dancers (the one girl danced with a stack of pots on her head- probably 4), drank some traditional muslim drink and rode camels and elephants.

What an experience! I must say that I liked the elephant better. You go up stairs and go to him. With the camel- they lie down for you to climb on and then you have to hold on to your life as they lurch forward-back-forward to their feet. Other than the getting on and getting off part- the camel ride was pretty great too. If anyone didn't know, both camels and elephants are REALLY tall. I think they have Kenyon and Alex P. both beat.

Then we had a traditional ragistani meal. i was still full from lunch, so I ended up just tasting small portions of everything. It was good, but most everything was spicy. Also- we weren't allowed to eat the salad (because of washing it with non-bottled water). near the end of the meal, one of our servers gave me his turban. Not permanently- so I had to give it back. But at least we got a picture. :)

So, yeah. It's 1:30ish. And I'm exhausted. Time for bed- wake up call is at 6:30. Jeez.

By the way- no pictures now because the internet is so slow- but I'll post them as soon as I can.

The marvelous Taj Mahal and her city

After a longer than the 4 1/2 hour time we were told drive, we arrived in Agra. We left the hotel in New Dehli at about 8am, but didn't get to agra until around 2 pm. Our group then quickly took our suitcases from the bus into our new hotel rooms and then came back out to the bus.

The big stop for today: The Taj Mahal. Yep. Fun stuff. :)

First, we met our new guide for the day (a local of agra) and went to eat at Restauraunt. There were a bunch of vendors in the streets before we got in the restaurant and some preformers (wanting money) after we were in the fence of the restauraunt. We ate outside, which was nice. The natives think it's very cold, but to us it's like a North Carolinian spring. Over in the corner, there was a man making pottery on a wheel. Only- not electrical. Because (duh) we are in India and outside.

Anyway, he asked me if I wanted to try. Of course, I said no at first, but Aneel told me to go ahead. So- I made a pot/glass/vase. Whatever- I made some pottery. He helped a lot, because I'm not a skilled potter (contrary to popular belief). Later we learned that the wheel he was using was his great grandfathers, and he buys the clay at the market. Also- we watched him start the wheel turning: in the wheel there is an indention and he has a big stick. He used the stick to turn the wheel around many times, very quickly so that then he can stop and the momentum keeps the wheel turning. It was... fascinating.

Aneel worked (and haggled) out the details and it was agreed that he would fire the piece I made and give it back to me before we left. So, now I have pottery to take back home with me. Success.

Then- the great Taj Mahal. I really don't have very good words to describe this, but it's wonderful and beautiful. We took a group photo and several individual photos and of course a ton of photos of the building itself. We got there right before the sun went down- so we also have some sunset pictures. The only downside was that pictures were not allowed inside- but that is because it is sacred.

For the people who don't know the story, here it is: When the emperor of Agra's (capitol of the Munghal empire) 3rd wife died, he was devastated. He promised her that he would never marry again and that he would build a temple for her as a tomb. 22 years of painstakingly perfect work and many deaths (the workers) and the Taj Mahal was complete. When the emporere died, his son burried him next to his wife, because 1) he had no money for another monument and 2) he believed that his father and mother would be happier together. Today the Taj Mahal is one of the 7 wonders of the world.

We had our first real experience with some indian monkeys today. Earlier, when we were stopped along the road some men came with pet monkeys that did tricks.(of course, wanting money). Everyone took photos and the monkeys were very energetic. Later, after we saw the Taj Mahal, we saw an old monkey with an injured foot and no tail.

Of course after this long day- yesterday- and the flight from the day before, we were (and still are) very tired. So, we then returned to the hotel for supper. Now, I'm writing this on wordpad, so as not to use up my 1-hour internet card that we bought.

I don't know when else I'll be able to get internet- of course I'm hoping for Jaipur (our next stop) but it's not certain.

So, until then, my friends.

** New word of the day: Dumni vad (thank you - Hindi)

On the very bumpy ride to Agra...

Wake-up call was pretty early this morning- 7 am downstairs for breakfast, all packed and ready. Not that yesterday (since we were allowed to sleep in a little bit) I got up any later. Breakfast was amazing, the usual delicious Indian crusine. Then we went back upstairs to our room real fast, got everything we didn't allready have together, and came down to the bus.

Now, we are on the way to Agra. I don't think I will ever stop being amazed at the traffic. Everyone is so impatient and such reckless drivers. If you drive in India, and aren't reckless, you will get in an accident. Just the way it is. So, let's hope my father never drives in India. We would all die.

A bus just passed us and I got another round of "wow" and some more amazed stares. People think my blonde hair and white (albino compared to them) skin is fantastic. Or just rare maybe. Yesterday I lost count of how many people (strangers) I took photos with. Random peeople would just come up to me with their cameras and ask if I would be in a photo with them. I started humming "I feel pretty" from West Side Story, in jest and then they asked me to sing. Oops.

This is for you, Ms. Walker: We saw a gas station, so I immediatley inquired what the price was. Aneel determined that gas is between 45-60 rupees. So, converted to american dollars that's about $1. But wait, it's 45-60 rupees per liter. If there are 4 liters in one gallon (hooray for health science last year) then gas is actually about $4 a gallon. Next time you find yourself complaining about gas prices (or your parents) just remember that it could be much worse

Any motorcycle riders? Here women wearing sari's ride...uh... side sadle. I would fall off. Us americans think we are good at texting;
try walking across the street in India and checking your phone- or talking. Yes, we just saw a guy do that. Hope he lived to tell his grandchildren. I didn't see.

The new fad? Snake charming. 5 snake charmers on this side of the road- with cobras. And yes, the snakes are real.

The sign for "give me money i need food im poor" in India is touching your hands to your lips and then oustreach them to the people you want money from. It kind of looks like they are blowing kisses.

Our most recent dialouge:
"Cow"
"Brahma"
"doggies"
"horse!'
"polution"
"lady with basket on her head"
"mud huts"
"soybeans"
"WHAT?!!"
me: yeah.

Ahaha. Well, time for some Z's.

Welcome to New Dehli!

So. Our first full day in India was just that- full. Busy, tiring, fun, educational and all that jazz. We did a bunch of sightseeing and got to experience India's traffic firsthand. Then we returned at about 7:30 (pm) for supper and then bed.

Our first stop- the ruins, tower and tomb of Qutb-Minar from the 13th century. The ruins were beautiful as well as the plants and wildlife. In India (or at least New Delhi) there are dogs everywhere. Not tamed pets, but strays.. Not that they attack or are mean or anything. Some of them were really cute. But we were told not to even let them lick us, for fear of rabies. There was also the base of an earlier explorer who started making a tower and then died. Apparently his people didn't have very much respect for him, because no one cared to finish. It looks kind of funny, just a stone structure that makes you look twice.

I got in free because I am 15- the maximum age for free admitance. While we were there both my mother and my father's camera batteries died. Also, my mother missed a step and fell. Fortunatley, I was right in front of her, so I sort of caught her/helped her not to fall as hard. Also, she fell at an angle, so while she knows she will be sore tomorrow, nothing is broken and everything should heal well.

All throughout today our group and my family has had some very interesting conversations. Most were really funny, some hillarious. Example:

Me: COW!
Mom: Oh. Gate.
me: Dog... look!
mom: bus! right there.
dad: what are you guys doing?
Mom and I: learning our 1-syllable words.

Oh yeah. Cows are considered sacred in India, so there are also random cows. We didn't see as many cows as dogs, but the cows stopped traffic. Mostly we saw the cows on the roads or on the sides of the roads.

And if you are looking to take a nice tour bus ride, with great views and a smooth ride- don't go to india. The roads aren't the safest, and the traffic is worse. The average Indian driver accelerates and honks the horn. They only brake if they really have to, and motorbikes will squeeze in between cars and trucks with only inches to spare. Kind of really scary.

Our 2nd stop was the India Gate. It's more like a fat arch with INDIA written at the top and a bunch of names on the inside as a memorial to all those who died in service to their country's independence from England. Maybe I'm messing up the details, but it is a memorial to some people who have died. This weekend they are having a festival of some kind and allready have special decorations set up. It was also packed with locals almost bombarding you with things to buy. Those people have absolutely no sense of fear whatsoever. We must have told this guy "NO" about 20 times before Aneel came and had some strong words with him in Hindi.

Near the India Gate is what is called the canopy. When Great Brittain ruled over India, there was a statue of the king underneath a stone canopy. When the Indians gained independence, the took King George's statue away leaving behind the stone canapy. Our guide said that this is because Indians are nice. Instead of chopping off his head they just shooed him away. This made me laugh.

We ate at a nice little restaraunt called Cafe Rendevous. Just like last night, we let Aneel order several dishes and it was like one big family meal. Boneless chicken in orange colord sauce, lentils and chick peas, yougurt with onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and pinnaple on the top, rice with vegetables, flat bread but with a garlic sauce (like Indian garlic bread. How's that for mixed cultures, eh? ), a mushroom-bean-spice blend, another spicy orange-colored dish (no idea, I didn't have any), numerous sauces, and of course, Indian chai tea. For dessert there was a special Indian recipe (no, I don't know the Indian name) that translated to be basically a warm donut with pistachio's in the middle. There was also candied fennel seeds (has a licorace flavor), beetle-nuts and little rock candy. Pretty dang yummy.

Next we went to Humayun's Tomb. Our guide refered to it as the 1st Taj Mahal. It was built by Humayun's wife after his death. So, a reverse from the famous Taj Mahal in Agra. Before you actually got to the building where Humayun was burried, there were several archways, statues, and fountains. All of the buildings were made of red sandstone and white marble, limestone, with some pretty elaborate details.

Got a really close up view of the poverty here. It's everywhere. Right behind our, very nice, very western hotel, there are people living in one-room shacks and cooking, hanging clothes, brushing their teeth, and eating outside. Beside the roads it's even worse. There are camps or villages of really poor living conditions, mostly one wall and a tent. If that. We also saw several people just lying in the median of the highway.

One thing that we noticed that might be an improvement, was the children on the side of the road putting on entertainment. One was double jointed and wound her ams around her whole body, and the rest were doing flips or playing the drums. My mother was talking about the one book she read where Indians would purposly hurt their children to bring in more money. Yes, these children we saw were still begging, but I'd rather see gymnastics than a blind 3-year old. Not trying to be judgemental, because it may not even be that way at all anymore- My mom's book might be out of date. But even so, it's an improvement, no matter how small.

The last stop of the day was to what is commonly called the Lotus Palace - the Baha'i House of Worship. It reminded me of the Opera House in Sydney, Australia (even though I've never been there). We got there just before they closed and it was getting quite chilly at that point. Well, as opposed to the 50s-60s it was earlier (we had a hard time stopping laughing at the natives all bundled up with scarves while we were in short sleeves- or a light jacket). Before we went in they made us take off our shoes, so then I was even colder in bare feet.

No pictures inside, because it's a house of worship. Also, everyone is to be totally silent. I liked it.

We left then to go back to the hotel. Now I'm here typing away, after my shower.

So. goodnight, world. Or...good day- people back home. I'm going to sleep.

"It's a party in..." India!! :)

We are officially in India. Hoorayy!!

First thing, when we got off the plane, we went through customs and found our luggage. Then, we walked towards the doors of the airport. There was this walkway with people on both sides of us holding papers for their passengers. I felt like we were big stars or in trouble. My mother thinks the latter, but that's just because they were coming for her... ;)

Anyway, we found our guide- Aneel, and followed him out of the airport to the side of the road to wait for our ride. Our ride turned out to be a van. Like a christian tour bus- only cut in half. Still, it was more than big enough for the 12 of us, plus Aneel and the driver up front.


Before we started driving, Aneel came in with a big plastic bag. Then he called my father up to the front (as the team leader) and gave him a leigh of flowers. We each got one. They were very beautiful. But I must admit, they are not the most comfortable things to wear- especially not for long periods of time. (There is a reason that plastic leighs were invented.)

After a kind of terrifying ride, we checked into our hotel- "Hotel Shanti Palace." We were given 15 minutes to find and go to our rooms, "freshen up" and then come back to the lobby to meet for dinner. I was originally in room 212 with my parents. But I took one look at the room and decided that I really wasn't up to sleeping in a King size bed with my parents. So, I'm now rooming with another team member- Billy (room 223). But, this room has 2 twin beds instead. Success.


Dinner was... amazing. Since none of us really had a clue what to order, Aneel ordered a bunch of things for our whole table and it was like one big family meal. So good. SOOO good. I don't remember the specific names of the dishes- but we had bread (bread dough put in a frying pan and cooked), rice with green beans, peas, carrots, and cheese, veggies with cheese sause, and a bunch more that I can't remember. Oh and there were a bunch of sauses, one that they warned was particularly spicy (so, I stayed away).

Well. It's about 2 am ish here, so I'm going to go to bed. Early morning tomorrow. Well... sort of. Breakfast at 9:30 and we leave at 10. Shopping and sightseeing!! :D

Namestay.

Newark, New Jersey Airport

Helloo New Jersey, where nothing is free and everyone is in a hurry.

Our flight to Delhi (I lied- we aren't going from NJ to Mumbai, we're going to Delhi) dosen't leave until 8-ish. Event though I probably won't get to post this for a while because the Newark airpost charges for their Wi-Fi. It is now 6:29, by the way.

So, Ms. Huertero, I did get to practice my Spanish after all. There is an international rescue group from Spain in the gate beside us going to help Hati recover from the recent earthquake. They have golden retriever rescue dogs with them. my mother and I went over and petted the dogs and I tried to talk to the rescue team in Spanish. I'm pretty sure that the guy I was speaking to was making a great effort not to laugh at my attemps, though. I eventually gave up and (surprise surprise) he knew better english than I knew Spanish.

We just finished our supper- Japanese vegetables and rice from a Saku down the hall (or whatever you call the walkway of an airport). My father had shrimp with wasabi. I refrained from the sushi, and politely declined when he offered me some.

We just met this amazing guy from India (he works for Continental airways). He speaks 7 languages. I'm not sure of the others but I know for a fact that he speaks English and Hindi. The other employees of Continental were very glad he could speak Hindi when we were boarding. There were (obviously) a bunch of people from India on our flight and some spoke english, some did not.

Well, I'm on the plane now, and they have a pretty neat movie system. So, I think I'm going to watch some movies and then get some rest.



Goodbye, USA!

Let's go to... New Jersey?

We are sitting in the lobby area of the airport right across from the bag drop for Continental/American/Delta airlines. My father insisted that we leave at 9:30 to “allow enough time,” so now we are here early and waiting on the rest of the team to arrive.

Charlotte Airport has a wireless network, but it doesn’t work well. Here, anyway. I’m hoping that once we get near our gate the connection will be better. It won’t let me pull up any web page, but it says I’m connected. The connection signal is only 1 bar. Apparently that translates into no internet.

So far there are 5 of us here, minus my father. He went off somewhere to try and fix my mother’s frequent flier miles to work right. Or something like that.

Yay. 2 more of our team members are now here. They are currently dropping off their checked bags. Well, it’s 12:00. 4 of our team members are officially late.

I think I might start keeping count of how many times the loudspeaker comes on and tells us not to carry anyone else’s bags and keep a close watch… yada yada. The airport announcer person has already repeated this message at least 5 times already since we’ve been here. Right on cue, as soon as I finished typing this, he told us again.

Now I’m sitting on the ground so the computer can be plugged into the outlet at our gate- A12- and probably will be for the next hour or so. Until they let us on the plane, that is. I’m also talking to my history teacher through Skype, and trying to ignore the airport announcements.

There is a lady beside me who is using the same outlet I am for a laptop. My mother has been having a friendly conversation with her and we have learned that she is a teacher from Oregon. I’m not really sure why or if this is in any way relevant, but I guess it doesn’t matter.

We board in about 20 minutes to go to Newark, NJ. And then from there to Mumbai. It is only 2 hours to NJ, but the flight to Mumbai is 14 hours long. :O

Oh. I was mistaken. Actually, were supposed to be boarding in about 5 minutes. So, I’m going to go ahead and post this to make sure I don’t run out of time.

Aufedersein, North Carolina :)