Weekend Explorations

The past two saturdays I was fortunate enough to take day trips and explore this country. Two weekends ago I went to Rishikesh, known for its ashrams and hippies. It was a beautiful city, with the river, suspension bridges, and unique architecture.

Me in front of the "wedding cake" shaped ashram

Street in Rishikesh

We had a fun time shopping, looking around, and observing hippies (I hadn't seen that many white people in one place since I left America!). We ate lunch at a restaurant supposedly known for its mexican food, but it just didn't compare to true tex-mex.

Cow in front of a temple

Shopping!

This past Saturday I was invited to a village by my friend's househelper. I was so excited to see village India!

My friend and her househelper, our lovely village tourguide :)

It was so fun- we got a tour of the village and had lunch cooked by our friend's son. To me it felt more like a really small town than what I had imagined a village looking like. It was very peaceful, and crossing the road was actually easy as there weren't many cars- so different than my city! The village reminded me of Brazil, with kids running around everywhere.

Some cute kids

 We took tour of the town and saw the "jungle" (some trees) and the river, where we crashed a family picnic. Then, we went to her parents' house, which was kind of a farm. They gave us some delicious chai, and were mesmerized by Levi, an American toddler who was also on the trip with us.

A stable, like where Jesus was born!

Washing vegetables

It was a great trip and I feel like I got to see a different perspective of India than I have seen before!

Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!

Ok, so more like elephants and monkeys and deer. This past week I went to Jim Corbett National Park with other people from my city. It was so much fun! On the way there, we accidentally took a detour, which turned out to be really cool (for me anyways) as we saw village India that I've not seen before. There were no other cars on the road, mostly just ox carts, so I feel like I saw a place not many foreigners get to see. Once we got there, we stayed at a beautiful resort by the river. It was incredibly peaceful- no honking or other sounds of Indian cities. We met lots of other workers living in our area of the country. I made new friends and got to hear lots of awesome stories. We had some meetings- taking time to think about things we overlook in our busy days. I was able to take a break from language learning and do things like read, lay in a hammock (I felt like I was back in Brazil), play badminton, and sit by the bonfire. The food was delicious- I think I ate more in that one week than I did the whole time I've been in India haha! We even had a Thanksgiving meal- it was so kind of the staff to cook us mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, and green beans, among other things- a little taste of home! We even had smores one night!

But the real adventure of the week was the safari (hence the animal references). I was determined to see a tiger, but unfortunatley, the tigers didn't seem to care about my wishes, and stayed hidden. We actually went on two safaris! The first was on an elephant. I'd never been that close to one before and didn't realize how high they are- it was a little scary, especially going uphill. We saw a deer and some eagles, but apparently if we had gone a few hours earlier, we would have seen tigers! But, it was really cool going through the jungle on an elephant! Then later in the week we took a jeep safari. Still no tigers, but we saw lots of deer, some monkeys (although I see those everyday), some hens, and a jeckle. And we felt like true safari people, standing in our jeep going through the jungle. During the safari, all the jeeps stop at a food stand for a chai break. There are tons of monkeys hanging around, waiting to get your food. Now, these monkeys are not sweet and cute like in America. No, they are pure evil and terrifying. As I was walking down the path back to our jeep, I was idiotic and decided to take out my bag of chips, thinking that since we were in a crowd they wouldn't do anything. I was wrong! One of them saw me and leaped at me. I've never been so scared as in that moment. It reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean when the monkey bears it's fangs. But by the grace of God he didn't attack me. I leaped behind my friends (nice of me huh?) and I have no idea what happened next, but he didn't land on any of us. I tucked my chips into my bag and dashed for the jeep, thankful I had survived the monkeys!!! Other than that one instance, it was a great retreat. It was refreshing and fun, and I am so thankful that I was able to spend my Thanksgiving at Jim Corbett Park with such wonderful people!

They may look cute but they're vicious!!!

About to go on the safari!

Made it!

Well, I've been here in South Asia a little over a month now. First I was in Delhi for two weeks and along with going through orientation, I got to see some really cool sights such as the India gate and the Lotus Temple. I hope to go back to see more of Delhi- it's huge!!

Lotus Temple in Delhi

Right now I am focusing on learning the language in my city. I can say very important things in Hindi such as "that is a potatoe" ;) I am trying to learn as quickly as possible so that I can talk with the people in my city very soon. I go to a grammar and conversation class everyday and then I study on my own and try to practice with people around me. It's hard but I'll get there! Unfortunately I have been sick most of the time here with different stomach bugs and now a sinus sickness so it has made adjusting kind of difficult. But I am slowly getting the hang of life here- shopping, cooking, etc. Some interesting cultural things about India: There really are cows everywhere. On the main road, in my neighborhood, everywhere! I could reach out and pet them but I don't really want to get bit so I don't lol. There are other animals everywhere too: goats, buffalo, stray dogs, monkeys (watch out for the monkeys!). There aren't really addresses or street names. My house is on Rajpur road. It's also the name of the main road in town. And the name of my friend's road who lives ten minutes away. It makes giving directions quite difficult haha!
One interesting experience was a few weeks ago there was a holiday called Diwali. It is the major holiday for Hindus and is called the festival of lights. We were invited over to a neighbor's house and shot off fireworks with them- it felt a little like the 4th of July! We have become friends with this neighbor, a girl about our age, and have been able to share with her several times.

Diwali Lights

A few weekends ago, a bunch of us took a trip to a nearby town, in the mountains. We saw some beautiful views and ate delicious pancakes. It was wonderful to be in nature for at least a few minutes as we walked around the top of the mountain, looking at the views.

Mountain Views

Earthquake!!!... Hurricane!!!

Last week we had not one but two natural disasters!

We were sitting in class and all of a sudden the room starts shaking. For about 3 or 4 seconds we all just looked at each other trying to figure out what was going on. Then we all figured it out- earthquake!!!! Some people dove under the table, others stood in the door frame, while others ran outside. I had no idea what to do so I decided to follow the most people and ran outside. At first it was scary but then it was just cool to know that I had successfully survived an earthquake. Plus no one here got hurt so that was a blessing. But it was felt all the way from South Carolina to New York and the epicenter was actually only 30 miles away from me!

We survived the earthquake and then four days later came the hurricane!!! It didn’t hit us too badly and we had back up generators so the power stayed on. We were so lucky! I just holed up in my quad with a bunch of friends and we watched a movie and played games. And earlier in the day I played ultimate Frisbee in the hurricane. Although it’s hard enough to catch the Frisbee when it’s dry, so in the rain it’s impossible…I just ran around. So, all in all, the hurricane was actually pretty fun!

One day we went to a laser tag place for a birthday outing. All the laser tag and ice skating you can handle for ten bucks! It was such a good deal! Unfortunately, every teenybopper in Short Pump had the same thought. But it was really fun! I eventually even let go of the wall in ice skating…I’m so adventurous ;) Running around and shooting people with lasers was such a great activity after sitting, sitting, and sitting some more for eight hours a day.

I only have 2 ½ weeks left here! It’s gone by so quickly! I’m getting excited about getting on the plane to India but also getting nervous.  In less than a month I will be in India!!!

Out in the Boonies

I just finished week four here at training. It’s been crazy but I’ve learned a lot so far. After three weeks of cramming information into our brains, some of us decided to take a breather last Saturday and headed to the beach. You know those postcards where there are rows and rows of people with umbrellas spotting the beach? Well, welcome to Virginia Beach! I literally felt like I had entered into that postcard! And while I was there I finally successfully boogy boarded! The waves were really strong so it was pretty easy. And it was so much fun! I felt like I was flying through the water. Going to the beach was such a nice refreshment before heading into week 4.

We are on a campus out in the country. It’s really beautiful here in Virginia full of farms and the countryside! But luckily, Short Pump is only a fifteen minute drive away to connect us back to Chick-fil-a and walmart.

Another random exciting thing I’ve done here- I made a purse! From scratch! I picked out the fabric, cut out the pattern, sewed it together- the whole shabang. It was my first time to touch a sewing machine. Of course, it took me 5 hours when it was supposed to take 2, and they had to help me every step of the way, but I made it!

I’ve been learning a lot about what are the core concepts behind what I will be doing as well as how to not get rabies and other wonderful diseases that are in India (lots of shots have been helpful in preventing them as well). I feel like there is so much to learn and do before I leave but I will be there soon!