Wedding and Rishikesh

I'm still a bit groggy from a four hour nap (got to Japiur at 6am this morning), but I'll try to write a little about the last few days. Back to Thursday night- the wedding. Yes, it finally happened, and was as over the top as I expected. February 19th is seen as the most auspicious day by Hindus. So that night, there were over 1,000 weddings in Jaipur alone. It was so cool to drive to the wedding and see about two each block. There were bands, elephants, horses, and massive amounts of lights lining the street. The sari's were so great. However, we were weary of sitting down for fear of becoming unwrapped. There was literally six feet of fabric. The housemaid helped me and Carly get dressed. We found out after the wedding that the little tops we wore were on backwards. That's the only part we did ourselves. opps. Anyways, back to the wedding itself. Weddings usually last five days. We were there on the actual wedding night, but the ceremony doesn't take place until well into the night, and most people don't stay. We stayed to see the bride presented. She was gorgeous in all red and gold. She was also covered in henna. She was constantly looking down, which I found out that is normal behavior for Hindus. It's intended to make her look pure and submissive. Binew, the aunt, told us that the marriage was arranged, and they had been on a couple dates. Arranged marriages are still very much the norm, and there are always pages of ads in the paper. I'm sure they were both a little apprehensive to be sharing a life with a person they hardly know.
The food and music were probably the best thing about the wedding. Indian-Chinese food is sooo good! They had rows of food, and Niveta was directing us on what we can and can't eat (she didn't want us getting sick again). Then onto the music- it was real loud and crazy. We joined the few little kids on the dancefloor. Then slowly, some more people came to join us. It was uncomfortable for a little while when we noticed we were being videotaped by cellphones- we stuck out because of skin color and actually dancing. It was a little hard to figure out what was 'appropriate'. However, we soon got over any reservations, it just felt good to dance and be out at night.

On Friday night, seven of us took a night bus to the town of Rishikesh. It was a 10 hour ride. We left at 10:30 that night, and the trip was pretty pleasant. I had the best cup of coffee since I got here at some roadside stop. The town is the biggest center in India for yoga. There was all kinds of characters walking around. I saw this guy in a loincloth sitting under a tree outside of town that looked like he was literally part of the tree. I was so tempted to take a picture, but I felt like he had some supernatural power, and could cast some sort of spell on me So, I passed on that. We also saw lots of foreigners. A Brazilian caught a cab with us to town, and we heard German, Swedish, and Spanish being spoken at breakfast. The Beatles hung out here for two months in the late 60's, so of course, they were advertising for tours.

The highlight of the trip was the Ganga (Ganges). It really is breathtaking. Our ashram balcony was right on the water. I was surprised because the water was so blue. I pictured a brown, littered stream. It may be that way in Varanassi or other bigger cities. We went on a hike totaling about eight miles, which three were uphill in search of a waterfall. When we got to the top of the hill, we found two women pulling bamboo-like sticks out of a stream. We were so sweaty, and couldn't complain about being tired if they can climb the same path and carry sticks! It was so nice to do something outdoors and be active, without breathing in fumes from the city streets.
One night, a few of us went to see a ceremony dedicated to Lakshmi on the river. There was a huge lit up statue, and tons of people with drums chanting mantras. It gave me goosebumps watching people going up to the water and receiving blessings. Their overwhelming emotions were clearly visible. I also purchased my favorite gift: rosewood beads that I had dipped in the Ganga. They are seed beads that are said to come from the tree that is associated with Shiva's tears (later petrified by the water into seeds). Ana and Carly also surprised me with an India patch for my bag- I was so excited because I have been unable to find one.
This trip was my favorite so far. Northern India is beautiful. I could see one of the holiest rivers in the world and look at the Himalayas while having banana pancakes- can't get any better than that. I could definitely spend more time there, and might consider heading north again after the program.
I am into the last two weeks of class. There's lots of homework to be done, and I'm staying in Jaipur this weekend to finish up. Then it's Holi, then onto the internship phase.

One Month In

I feel that the last blog was a little lacking. There are a few things that were worth noting that were left out, so consider this posting a continuation.

I got my first 'real' Indian busride out of the way. We caught a local bus from Pushkar to Jaipur (a 3 hour ride). Basically there are old, rickety buses parked in a lot with guys yelling out the destination from the driver's seat. Everyone packs into the bus like sardines, then when there's no more room to stand, the bus heads out. Luckily I got a seat, but you gotta make it look like you're taking up the whole seat. Otherwise, a seat meant for one will soon be occupied by two, which can also include an extra on a lap. It seems to be perfectly normal for men to sit on laps. There's no air, just the smell of sweaty people and countryside litter. At one point, the bus literally was turned off and switched into neutral to help ease the vehicle down a steep, winding hill. I didn't look out the window because I knew there was a big drop and no guardrails. Anyways, I survived, and only paid 90 Rupees (1.80US).


I thought of another reason I really enjoyed Pushkar- no horns. Car horns, bike horns, and rickshaw horns are constant in Jaipur. They are used to signal caution because they are coming. Well, in a city of over 3 million people, it gets loud. Sometimes I just want to yell out, “I see you!” Today, some guy in a car wasn't paying attention and almost ran into me and two friends. I guess it was a natural reaction for me to point and signal my frustration because Carly called me on it without my noticing.

Onto the clothing- it's amazing! I get overstimulated walking into a shop and just seeing all the colorful fabrics. One problem: I'm not that colorful or flashy. I've had a bit of a tough time finding my staple black, gray, brown, and green. I'm trying to branch out, but want to buy things I'll wear back in the States. The standard drill is to go in, pick out the fabrics, then take them to a tailor. Instead of doing a full-on Indian suit, I just like to get enough fabric for a corta (like a tunic with slits, but I can turn it into a dress later). So far, I've had about 4 made. With the fabric and tailoring, it costs around $5.00US. This is trouble. I'm getting a skirt made tomorrow. I think the tailor thinks I'm a little odd for not getting pants made (which look like genie pants). I've been living in leggings. I guess the men here aren't used to seeing legs (bare stomachs are perfectly fine), so I try to wear longer ones.

The rest of the night is dedicated to Hindi, which will last about 15 minutes. Then I'm checking out the ridiculous amount of bhangra music I just bought.

p.s. 'hi' mom. 'hi' dad.

Lagging on the blogging already.

Sorry people. Hmm, well this past week has been a busy one. Let me start off by saying- it is really not fun being sick in India. It's not enjoyable period, but then add the India aspect in, and it becomes really interesting. Today, there were five people missing from class (out of 15 total). This includes my roommate, Carly. Poor girl- she was given a mixture of yogurt (plain and strange looking) and rice. It was mixed together, and she was being watched by four members of the family and the cook. Wish I could have been there. I was ill for two days earlier, and ended up throwing up in an Indian toilet after being shown barrels of cow urine used as pesticides on an organic farm. I think the workers got a kick out of seeing my face turn white. Hopefully from here on out, getting sick will not be in my plans.
I have a fun fact: I was in an earthquake last Sunday. Too bad I wasn't aware of it. I guess it was about a 3 on the Richter Scale, and didn't do any damage.
Our class went to a rural area called Shekaweti last week. On the way, the car I was in lost a tire. Umm, that could have been bad, as drivers constanty play 'chicken' on the road at 70mph. whew. Anyways, the town had really amazing architecture and colorful, tiled palaces. The area is known for it's organic farms- hence the cow urine bit earlier. The style is even more conservative than Jaipur, and most women were wearing full burkas.


From Shekaweti, a group of us ventured to Pushkar. It was a beautiful city, free of car horns and beggars (for the most part). However, I was surprised to see so many non-Indian people wondering the streets. I guess many Israelis come there after the army to hang out. It was comforting and disappointing at the same time. I liked having the familiarity of western food (banana pancakes!) and the liberal atmosphere, but found that I enjoy feeling a bit unsure of my surroundings. We stayed at the Pink Floyd hotel, which ruled, and got to relax before a long week ahead.

I have to have my internship preference in by the end of the week. It's looking like Udaipur will be my new location. It's about 7 hours by train from Jaipur. There are two programs there that work with empowering women (mainly single, separated, and widowed) through literacy, and other issue based training. They also work alot with lobbying against child marriages- as Rajasthan has the highest percentage of child marriages in India (49 percent of girls ages 15-19 are married). I'm looking forward to the internship starting in three weeks, and even more excited about Hindi class ending.
I'll try to post more often. The wedding is this Thursday. Me and Carly have our saris laid out with no idea how to put them on.

Playing Tourist...

is exhausting.
Taj Mahal. Yep. I can now say, “been there, done that.” Just got back from a long weekend in Bharatpur and Agra. Nine of us ended up renting a van, and had a driver- which was the way to go. I probably would have ended up in some random town in the desert if we would've had to deal with the bus system.
Let me backtrack a little...
Friday night, a group of us went out to eat at McDonalds. It's so good here! I had the veggie burger and found out they deliver. Hell yeah! Totally going to take advantage of that service while I'm here. Then we went out to this 'pub.' It closes at 11pm. Oh well, I was able to order beer- still no PBR, but had some King Fischer. The waiters were dressed up like cowboys, and the dj kept playing Linkin Park and Enrique Inglesias. So, that was weird, but we managed to unwind a little.
Saturday, our first stop was at a Fatehpur Sikri. This fortress was built in 1569 by Moghul Emperor, Akbar. It was really huge, and the architecture was amazing and there is a mosque made of white marble and mother of pearl on the inside. The downside to this place was the harassment that was everywhere. We were greeted by about 20 (not even exaggerating) merchants shoving necklaces, postcards, and other crap in our face. They were relentless, and continued to follow us into the fort. I used to smile, and say 'no thanks.' Now it's gotten to not talking at all, or if that doesn't work- speaking broken Hindi to tell them to go away. Then, if that isn't effective, I've started resorting to saying not so nice words in English. Nothing really works. I now shutter when I hear, “hello, madam.” Someday some nice person is going to say that, and I'm just going to be so jaded that I will automatically say something pissy.
Then we headed to Agra to see the mighty Taj Mahal. It was 15 rupees for Indians, and 750 (20US) for foreigners- they didn't go for the 'student discount' plea. There were separate womens and mens lines. There was only one checkpoint for the women and three for the men. This is the kind of b.s. that gets under my skin.

After we got in, it was time to see one of the world's top man-made wonders. It's really an incredible feeling to walk through the gates and see this structure appear. It's so beautiful, and the pictures in books don't even come close to showing it accurately. We spent about four hours wondering around the grounds.


People here are really curious when they see non-Indians, and especially when they find out we're American. We tried to sit down for a little bit, and I looked up to see six guys taking pictures of us. I now tell guys that it'll cost 50 rupees- might as well try to make a profit. Most of the time, we just say no. It's downright creepy. However, it's hard to turn down families when they ask. I wonder how many pictures we're in with random Indians. Overall the Taj Mahal is so surreal, and it was worth going.
That night we drove to Bhartapur, and went to a bird sanctuary on Sunday. Yeah, I know- bird sanctuary? It was supposed to be well known, and was on the way back to Jaipur. We had a guide who was cool for the most part (he tried getting a bigger tip out of us). We saw monkeys, antelope, herons, owls, king fishers, a snake, and other birds. I lost interest in the tour about thirty minutes into it.
I now have two papers to write this week, and will do noting relating to homework tonight. Me and Carly are planning our remaining four weekends until the internship. We want to get the heck out of Rajasthan and experience other (hopefully more progressive) parts of India. Going south seems to be in the plan.

American Escape

Snacks. I had some 'real' snacks tonight- french fries. Some of us girls from the program went to a hookah coffee shop called Mr. Bean. They play really bad 90's music (Michael Bolton and Richard Marx), mixed with random rap (Eminem and 50 Cent). The waiters wear strange looking sailor-like uniforms with berets. They can play and wear whatever they want- as long as I can get nachos and french fries. OK, enough about that.
This past weekend was spent exploring more of Jaipur. On Saturday, me and my housemate, Carly, went shopping with our 'mom.' She took us to the insanely busy Old City to the markets. I wasn't sure what was happening most of the time, and just did what she told me. When we entered a store with fabrics, we were instantly bombarded with men unfolding saris in front of us. The shirts all had sequins on them. They look real pretty on other people, but I can't do sparkles. It took awhile to get that fact through to the store workers. So, I got one shirt, and an amazing sari for the wedding we are attending in two weeks. I have no idea how to wear it, but my 'mom' is going to dress me. Oh, and I got promesque jewelry to go along with the sari- it was pretty much an order for me to buy it. I tried to look like I liked the pearl and rhinestone earrings, but not sure I was convincing. I'm thinking the sari will make a nice skirt or curtain when I'm back in the States.
Sunday, we were invited to the aunt, Binew's house for a religious ceremony. It was a ceremony to honor the god, Lakshmi. A Brahman was there chanting scripts in Sanskrit. There were offerings of food and incense decorating the mini altar. I got my first bindi applied (the red dot on the forehead), and I ended up smearing it right away on accident. Then we were served excellent food. Two elderly ladies sat on both sides of me and had me drink some sugar milky thing. Turns out, it also included water from the Ganges. Hmm, well, at least I didn't get sick.
I continue to explore with some girls from class, and we're having a good time doing random things. Instead of going to the desert this weekend, we're headed to a huge bird sanctuary, then to the Taj Mahal in Agra. I have to see this tourist trap while I'm here. I guess after it was built, they cut off the architect's hands so he couldn't recreate a similar structure. ouch.
The picture below was taken from the front porch. Monkeys are super freaky here, and wander everywhere. I saw the biggest one leap at some guy on the street as he was walking.
I'm not down with getting rabies.