Delhi

After a 3:00 am departure from Rising Star, we arrived in Delhi and met our tour guide around 9:00 am to we started off the trip with a bang. We were first taken to Old Delhi, a trip that contained of many incredible experiences, including a bicycle rickshaw ride to the spice market, visiting a mosque, and seeing Ghandi's tomb.

At the mosque, being foreigners, we had to put on these goofy robes because of modesty regulations. Although, most of us were probably more modest than our Indian friends. The architecture was beautiful. There was a huge pile of bird food that was in the center of the grounds and birds flooded it. So, of course, I had to run through and watch them all fly up around me. I didn't even care that they were pigeons, rats of the sky. 

While we were there, all of a sudden, a huge crowd formed around the worshipping pool. So, our group ran to the edges and joined the crowd, trying to understand what was going on. A woman had jumped in the water and started wading around the middle fountain. You could clearly see that she was not all there. There was a look in her eye which was quite scary. A buff guy ripped off his clothes, jumped in and went to take her out of the pool. Of course, she was resistant, but strong, he soon got control of her. He seemed safe, but it is very scary to think of what happened to her after they took her away from the mosque. Delhi is known for having terrible mobs and a lot of violence. Curious, I followed and watched the man throw her over his shoulder and take her down the stairs.

After this, we hopped on a few bicycle rickshaws to go through the markets of Old Delhi. Being myself and overly social, I quickly made friends with our bike rider. He didn't speak any English, but he saw my enthusiasm and tried really hard. He told us about everything we were passing as best as he could. He took us to the spice market, which was SO cool. I got a bunch of Indian spices so I will be able to make traditional dishes when I get home. Along with some spices that are dear to my heart.

To end the long day, Ramish, our studly tour guide, took us to visit Mahatma Ghandi's tomb. He has an entire park dedicated in his honor with a forever burning fire. New flowers placed everyday, you can feel the respect from a mile away. I have so much respect for this man, especially after seeing the pride this country has for him and recently finishing Ghandi's autobiography. I felt so blessed to visit his memorial grave site.

We piled into the car and headed to Agra, gearing up to see the Taj Mahal. But all of us were so tired and ready to jump right into the hotel room beds. It was a 5 hour drive, and we all got a bit loopy. We danced in our "party bus" to Punjabi music and all got a little closer. The story of Agra, next.

Stranger

Have you ever walked by your own reflection and been like, "Whoa! Who is that? They look so happy. I want to be their friend."? Well, I just did. I was walking down the Pathway of Hope and saw myself in the window reflection of the Elephant House, and man, I look happy. I love this feeling. I love being this happy. I love Rising Star!

Over the next few days, there will be a load of blog entries coming. I spent the weekend in Delhi and Agra and had so many great experiences that just need sharing. Stay posted!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Honestly, I am kinda bummed about not being with my family for this wonderful and celebratory weekend. Especially missing company carrots, my favorite dish. BUT, I am super grateful right now for Kathy Bunker. Kenady's mother came out for the week and I am getting a real sense of family with her being here. My "stand in mom" for the week- but, Mom, I think about you everyday. 

Anyway, since it is Thanksgiving weekend right now, and I am feeling a bit homesick. I am missing out on all of my favorite foods! Company carrots, brown sugar yams, apple pie, asparagus with holland day sauce (I have no idea how that sauce is spelled), and especially the ever so delicious grapefruit and pineapple slush that my mom makes so well. So, I'd just like to take a minute and talk about my favorite thing, no matter where I am. FOOD! Let's just say this, about 80% of my thoughts are food related, so coming to India, where food is not one of their strongest points, was going to be interesting. But I've found dishes here, that I will miss seriously back in the states, including: 

Parahota! This is a tortilla type thing that just melts in your mouth. They have tons of dough balls stacked on each other, they smash them down, grill it up, and serve it to you on a banana leaf with a side of heaven and an omelet. The dough remains gooey and soft- it just falls apart in you mouth. You dip it in the side of heaven, which is basically just oil and spices but is a taste that I've never had before. It is SO delicious. Not to mention, each parahota costs about 10 rupees, so 22 american cents. So you eat 4, get stuffed, and only pay 1 dollar for your meal.

Chiphati! Another tortilla type thing, but this one contains protein. It is thicker and has a bigger circumference, but it is NOT made of rice, and maybe that is why I love it so much. It is a bit thicker and is served with a rich potato and carrot sauce (along with other vegetables that I've never heard of). Some people wrap it up like a burrito, or you rip and dip it in the sauce. We save all the left overs and eat them throughout the week. 

Indians are so creative. Since there isn't lettuce here, if you get a cucumber salad, it is just cucumbers. If you get a tomato salad, it is just tomatoes. This is what a mixed green salad is.

This is a super good one. Samba! It is a potato mix that is wrapped in a rice patty and then deep-fried. In India, spicey spices are put on things like we add salt to eggs. At first taste, samba burns your mouth because of the pepper, but you find that you just keep eating more and more.

When I spent the day at my friend Raja Kumari's home, she made us two amazing dishes. The appetizer was potato chips that were dipped in a red pepper paste and then fried on the "stone" grill to make this. She served it with a fruit that has to be cousins with the strawberry, which served the purpose of cooling down your mouth after each bite. I could eat these all day.

Then she made us a dish that I will for sure adapt in the States. She took okra, tomatoes, and potatoes and fried it up with sunflower oil. When they were softened and cooked through, she added in Maggie Moos (Top Ramen) and cooked the noodles through. Then, she added two eggs, and waited till they were scrambled. She finished by putting in the packaged seasoning, adding some Indian pepper and serving it to us on a banana leaf with a boiled egg. I will never eat regular ramen again.

Before my trip to Havelock Island, I was not a big fish eater. But we got to pick fresh fish, and have it fried up in a traditional Indian style right before us and it only cost about 5 dollars. He wrapped it in foil and banana leaf, filled it with spices, and cooked it through. Celina and I ate fish at each chance we got. Mainly because meat is never found here, and when it is, there are tons of bones in it. Like in the dining hall, they serve fish on Thursdays and chicken on Sundays, but it is eyeballs and all- literally. So you find more bone than meat.

And the last one I want to talk about is Kaju Flower. This is an Indian dessert that is especially cool because it is cooked with Silver on top. Desserts here are generally not very good- all sugar, no flavor. It tastes like eating a sugar cube. So, I don't particularly like eating them, but they are amazing because of their designs. They are all shaped into crazy things, look like flowers, or have beautiful designs on them. One of my favorite processes is the Silver adding, because you can totally taste and feel the texture of the silver.

So, there is a bit of the food that I've been eating in my time here. I will totally miss some of it, like soy briyani, banana leaf stem sauce, the red idly sauce, etc. In the States, one generally only finds North Indian restaurants, so my goal when I get back is to find some Southern India restaurants. One of my favorite tasks is finding a good restaurant- I am ready to take it on! So Happy Thanksgiving!

Wordless Wednesday

Proud Amma

I correct fourth standard journals about 3 times a week. They wrote an entry about what they love about dance and this is what I found.

There is nothing like finding out that what you are teaching the kids is actually getting into their brains. It is a feeling that is pretty unexplainable. 

Shri Ram Chandra

On Saturday, some of the other volunteers and I made a trip out to Chennai to visit the Shri Ram Chandra Mission Ashram. We were just going to check it out, get a tour, and learn more. It was an absolutely beautiful place.


Dan, from Holland, a prefect of the mission who has been there a total of 22 times, took us around and told us his conversion story. He said some really beautiful and inspiring things that made me really think. As I've come to believe, most religions have the same base: LOVE. And love is service, love is peace. Dan gave this example: Love is like the sun. The sun shines through the whole universe. The sun cannot choose whom to give it's light to, the sun cannot ostracize any one part- the sun just shines. As people, as we give love, we contort what love is. We assume love is a gift, that we choose who we love. But like the sun, if you truly allow yourself to have real love, it should radiate through your soul and throughout your whole body. Your whole self should shine with love and light. I loved this thought. Not only for the comparison of Christ and the sun, but because just like Christ, we should strive to radiate unconditional love, to emulate the savior. To be love, rather than to feel love.


The only thing in life that is permanent is change. We are constantly being thrown curve balls and being forced to adapt and grow. One idea of this particular ashram is to strive to develop vertically rather than developing horizontally. Now, I love the tree of life. When I teach the little kids here, I always start by warming them up with 'growing to be as big as they can be, and then getting really small' or 'reaching as far as they can up, as far as they can to each side, being bigger and bigger and bigger', just like a tree. A tree is incredibly rooted in the ground, rooted in it's beginning. From that point, the tree never stops growing up. Reaching for the sky, it gets bigger and bigger- but, it not only has one pillar. A tree is composed of many branches. Branches moving in every direction, making each tree large and expanding- as big as it can be. As a person, we should always be looking up, positive. Our goal should be moving up and forward, toward the Lord. But to truly be as big as we can be, we have to expand in all directions, be open to learning and accepting the people around us, helping them expand up, too.


One way to expand up is through listening. The idea of meditation and having a "master" is kind of a funny thing. As he talked more about meditation, it became more clear that it is simply preparing yourself to listen. Most of the time, we pray. We speak to the Lord and then go on our merry little way. It is all about talking. Rarely, do we stop and wait for an answer. To have a true, loving relationship with a person, it can't just be one-sided. You talk and then you have to listen to what the other person has to say. How often do you sit quietly and just listen to what the spirit has to say to you? Meditation is just a way to practice controlling your thoughts and preparing yourself to listen to the spirit.

In meditation, there is a sanskrit word, "Ham-sa" meaning "I am That." As for having a "master", that word is pretty heavy for me. It puts a picture into my head that I'm not sure if I am okay with, but Dan gave this example: throughout our lives, we have teachers who give us knowledge, we have parents who give us perspective, we have friends who give us individuality. As kids, these are all people that we wish we could be like. We strive to learn from them and parts of their personalities fold into our own. Well, a "master" is simply someone we strive to be like. A physical example of the gospel. He talked about how being in the presence of his "master" was like nothing else. Being LDS, the prophet is our "master". President Gordon B. Hinckley was one of the most Christ-like people in this world. I remember when Janeen Anderson took me to meet him. The spirit was overwhelmingly strong and I remember wanting to be like him so badly. He was my physical example of the gospel, my "master".

As I was talking to Diana later in the evening about the experience we had had that day, she brought up another analogy that Dan gave (Mom, you are gonna love this one. Think of 'Real Love'). He talked about how material laws are almost opposite of spiritual laws. He said, "Say I pulled out my wallet and gave each of you 10 rupees. Materialistically, I would be poorer. But, say I gave you each a little love. Then, spiritual law would mean that, together, we all became richer." This reminded me of this silly story my mom always tells us about 'Real Love'. She says, "You are sitting at a restaurant with a few dollars left on the table. Someone walks by and takes those dollars from you. If those were your last dollars in the world, you would be very angry. But, if those were just a few dollars part of a million, you wouldn't even notice. So, fill your 'love bank' up as much as you, then nothing can bring you down." This visit taught me that service is the best way to fill up my 'love bank.'


I loved having this experience. Dan was, honestly, inspiring and showed me basics of the gospel in a new light that really touched my heart. As we were going to leave, Kenady and I were talking about if we would ever actually want to stay in an Ashram. Both of us agreed that, although you find beautiful peace and are given a chance to really feel the spirit, you can have those things in all places. For example, I would rather have Arun asleep on my chest with his little fingers entwined in mine and M. Vignesh holding my big toe on the floor, just to be holding any part of me, with Nagaraj asleep on my shoulder, and realizing how freaking lucky I am to be able to feel their spirits and their happiness because they need someone to hold them every once in a while. I would rather find peace and love in service, rather than find peace and love in selfishness while attempting to 'find myself'. Nothing beats being at Rising Star Outreach. 

Leprosy Hospital

There are a few students at Rising Star who have at a point in their lives, had or have leprosy. Currently, there are two students who are taking the anti-biotics. This is Sudha. She is in UKG and is probably one of the cutest kids at this school. She is mid-way through her antibiotics and her lesions are almost gone. So, a few days ago, we had to take her to the hospital for a check up. Let me just say, she did absolutely amazing, too. So happy the whole time. I let her listen to my iPod on the way there, you know, to get her pumped up. 

There is only one hospital for lepers in all of Tamil Nadu. It is decently clean and only smelled mostly bad. The grounds are large and beautifully green, just like most of India. The medical squad of the day packed up and headed for the out-patient wing.

Being there was nothing like being in a colony. The people were much harsher and bitter. But, it was completely fascinating. I got to see cases that I've never seen before. Of course, everything was very India disorganized. 

All though I got in a little bit trouble for this photo, I snapped one of Sudha getting examined by the doctor. She is coming along very well and the patches will soon just be white skin, with no trace of the disease left in her blood. 

I felt really inspired after our visit. Sudha was incredibly brave and beautiful. Seeing her next to all of the older affected lepers made me so happy. Only 6 years old, she was strong and confident. She shone next to the ashamed and bitter. It was so beautiful to see the power of our Rising Stars and seeing the influence this school really brings to them. All of the kids here are so strong. They teach me a little something everyday. 

Wordless Wednesday

Traumatic Experience

I just have to post this. 


To begin, a little background information. I have my own small room. Before I moved in, I cleaned it super thoroughly- even wiping down each wall. I am super lucky to get my own bathroom, with a western toilet and everything. I feel incredibly blessed. But, to make one thing clear, this is not a nice bathroom. You can't even sit straight on the toilet, you have to sit sideways and the water doesn't work, so I have to walk out to the kitchen to wash my hands. And there is a big whole in the whole (like a vent) that you can see out of. Here is a picture.

So today, I finished up one of my classes and ran home to grab a snack and fill up my water bottle. This may be too personal, but the first thing I did was go to the bathroom. I shut the garbage can and out of nowhere, a snake slithered through my feet and into the corner of the shower area. I jumped up onto the seat and screamed. When it stopped moving, I escaped out the door and onto my bed. Everything happening so fast, the snake slithered out the bathroom door, around the corner of my bedroom door, and into the foyer of the Green House. I sneaked my way out the door, checking to make sure that I wouldn't step on it, and ran to get my phone to call Papa Gates to come and save me. 


I stood perfectly still guarding the entrance way into the main part of the house, to make sure the snake would stay in that one area. When Papa Gates got here, the snake was no where to be found. We checked every room, under every bed or cupboard. We looked long enough for Papa Gates to question whether I had really seen a snake or not. He said, "Are you sure it wasn't just a lizard?" But I was sure it was a snake. It was long, slithery, and yellow. Ahh! We had almost given up, when we moved away the weights and saw the snake curled up and hiding. Yikes.


Luckily, it was only a baby racer. But it was long and slithery and in my bathroom. I feel a bit traumatized by my toilet.

Goin' To The Chapel...

And we're gonna get married. Gee, I really love you and we're gonna get married. Goin' to the chapel of love...

I can now check off the "Go to a Hindu Wedding" on the list of "must do's while you are in India" list. Anbu, one of the handy-men, got married on Sunday morning to a beautiful, young terrified bride. Hindu weddings are celebrated on two different days. So, on Saturday night, all of the volunteers, decked out in Sari's and gold jewelry, packed into the van with the kids to go to the reception celebration. Venilla Mary let me borrow one of her many saris and put a beautiful necklace around my neck with a matching bracelet. We all wore flowers in our hair and put on make up (the first time in a long time, folks). 

The reception was a little different. There was a loud band playing the whole time, music that sounded the exact same over and over. I love music with all of my heart, and thanks to certain events in my life and people whom I've met, going to see concerts always excites me. So the band got to know me pretty well by the end of the night, because every time I passed by I would say "Suuuper!" and smile really big. They had me sit down in front of them and take a picture. 

The whole point of the reception was to congratulate the groom, take a few pictures, and then eat. The bride was still at the temple until we left. So, as we walked back to the van, we stopped to see what was going on. The bride looked so beautiful. She had so much bling bling on and flowers everywhere. Anbu is a lucky man and he looked so happy.

But the real fun happened Sunday morning. All the volunteers either went to church or slept in, except Melissa and I. We chose to go to the wedding ceremony. So early, early we woke to get tied in a new sari and put more flowers in our hair. Equipped with a coconut in hand, off we went to see Anbu wed. 

We made it to the... not church, reception hall, maybe? place, just in time. Being white, everyone stares at you and you are the guest of honor. It is definitely a special thing to have a white person at your wedding. So we got there and they immediately pushed us to the front for a prime view. 

It is funny, because everything looks a bit dull and mundane except for one square of the room, where the bride and groom are. There is a huge flower frame and small shrines surrounding the floor. For most of the hour and 1/2 ceremony, they sit down on a multi-colored mat with a fire in front of them. It is so stunning. And they have a camera on them the whole time. Not to mention the fact that India is about 15 years behind every other country, because the camera man had to have an extension cord and a power plug wrapped around his neck the whole time with a cord dragging behind him. It's like paparazzi.

The rest of the room is totally different. No one is paying any attention, the band doesn't stop playing the whole time, and it is just like a party. There was no announcement when they started the ceremony or anything- they just started. The guy who married them wasn't even wearing a shirt.

The rituals were incredibly cool. They did tons of mantras and the guy was talking non-stop. It was an hour and 1/2 of straight sing-talking, and I loved to listen to it. My favorite part was when Anbu and his new wife were throwing a pile of rice around their heads and into the fire. They repeated this about 50 times and on round 30, they both looked at each other and started laughing. The joy made me so happy. You hear the horror stories of Indian marriages, how they don't meet until the day of and are so unhappy and upset. But the more I've been here, the more I appreciate arranged marriages. Vadevu, the house warden, told me one time, "America, marriage goes from hot to cold. India, marriage goes from cold to hot." Of course, it is about 50/50 chance that you will get a dirt bag. But it is that same way in the states too. You love who you serve. So that is the key, right?

Another ritual they do for the marriages is a blessing to the parents. They show them their appreciation by washing their feet. Her mother was bawling from happiness.

They close with everyone throwing flower petals at the happy new couple and the music (that has been playing the whole time) gets louder. Then, out of no where, there is a mad dash for the basement to get food. Like, they don't even wait for the ceremony to fully end before everyone is dashing down stairs. It isn't like they were really paying attention, anyway. I feel really lucky to have gotten to go, and be white so I was pushed to the front and encouraged to take photos. This is a day that I got to learn so much from and I will forever remember it.

Wildlife

India is so full of life! If I had been afraid of bugs before, this experience has snapped that right out of me. From sharing my bathroom with frogs to having a rat run into the side of my foot, I think I'm getting pretty comfortable with the animals here.

We have been experiencing all types of animals here lately, escpecially since monsoon season set in. For example, the crab that we found on the Pathway of Hope. We aren't really sure where a crab came from. It isn't like there are any beaches near or large bodies of water. Right next to the Pathway of Hope is our water well and none of us know how deep it goes. So we were laughing about how the crab has been on a long journey from the shores of California and somehow ended up in our well. He just climbed out and accepted the new culture.

Butterflies, fireflies, etc. Large and small are everywhere. This is a secret, but sometimes I feel like I am in a movie when I walk out on the beautiful, green path of the green house and have like 4 butterflies fly in front of me clearing the way.

The other night, I was pretty upset because I had to watch a snake get beat to death. Granted, it was a cobra. But I should'nt have watched it! What was I supposed to do when John, the security guard, asked me to hold the flashlight for him while he beat the life out of the cobra with a stick? It was really cool though, because he hit him once and the cobra lifted up into the air, turned it's head, and flared it's hood, hissing. I am just lucky that I haven't seen a crate snake yet, they are all over the campus.

And you've all seen Charlotte, the spider outside the Greenhouse. Well, she has been out there, spinning away every night for the past 2 weeks. Rebecca and I sat and filmed her weaving her web one night for about a half hour. It was so incredibly interesting.

Frogs are everywhere! You can't walk around without a frog jumping in your way. I was running through the rain one night and a frog jumped on my foot, I kicked it off and it went flying. My roommates all said that it was on purpose because I keep joking about wanting to "punt" a frog one of these days. My favorite frogs are the little baby ones. My roommate, Rebecca, caught this one up in her hands.

And of course, the bulls. Gotta love the bulls.

LIFEdance

Okay, so I learned something about myself. Something that I always hoped and prayed I wouldn't be, but here the opportunity presented itself to me, and it is true. I am a complete stage mom. Last Friday, the Life Dance team got to have a performance for the volunteers who are currently here. We have been working really hard to get their dances clean enough to perform and have been pushing their technique like crazy- just enough to get them to point their toes. :) Well, they did absolutely amazing.

Before the performance, all the girls were in the bathroom, crowded around the mirrors, slicking their hair back and putting on lipstick. It just proves to show that girls everywhere are alike. I walked in, and all of a sudden, it was like being back home with American girls getting ready for a competition. Girls with no pants, girls laughing and singing, girls doing each others hair. We even took "mirror" pictures. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to be with my girls for that half hour. 

As I stood on the side watching my kids take the stage, I was completely stoked. That is the only word I can think to describe my feelings because I was literally on my tippy-toes with the biggest smile on my face. I sat there pointing at my cheeks, encouraging them to smile and whispering counts to every dance. I guess my whole goal was to transfer all my energy to them and make them have the best performance ever. I am so proud of my kids. They have grown so much since I've been here already and it is so amazing to see. This is their African dance, choreographed by Emmy- and they love it so much.

After seeing all of their dances, we turned on some ridiculous Tamil music and had a dance party. A tradition that always happens, the kids are twice as happy as they freestyle. I was so unbelievably proud of M. Vignesh and C. Vignesh as they partied out on the floor. They were poppin' to that beat so hard. Everyone was getting way into it as we played the music and got everyone pumped. Even Papa Gates.

All I know is that I love these kids. They have taught me lessons that I will never forget and they make me so happy. They say that you can never fully comprehend the love of a mother until you become one yourself. Well, if that is true, man, am I excited for my heart to grow even more, because if it is anything like loving these kids, it will be the best thing in the world. If that makes sense... Well. Vanakkum

Wordless Wednesday