Monkey Menace, Taj Mahal and Tree Cats all in one week

I’m coming to see why people have described India as so incredibly different and difficult to understand. It is a combination of beauty, unimaginable amounts of poverty, different languages, cultures, religions and races. Each state is different than the next.

I’m in a country were cows and livestock roam free down the highways and on every road; next to innumerable amounts of dogs. Amidst all the cars and rickshaws, there are camels pulling carts, as well as horses, ox, buffalo and donkeys. Occasionally you’ll see an elephant too. I can hear monkeys (or tree-cats as we call them…but really they sound like cats) in the trees and see macaws flying by. The monkeys are such a problem that there was a sign in our first hostel, on the door leading out to my rooms porch that said, “Keep doors and windows locked when not in room, due to monkey menace.”  When did this become my life?

Also, the fact that yet again, I’ve become very close with another group of people that I’ve known a grand total of three weeks? These three weeks have been filled with long bus rides, Taj Mahal, upset bellies, stressful Hindi classes, shopping, bonding and general craziness that comes with living in India. While we were at the Taj Mahal (Which I will talk about next) I was walking around in awe like most people and realized how difficult it’s going to be going home. I’ve been abroad for a full school year. I’m going to have to try and shift back into normal life…  This thought absolutely overwhelmed and terrified me all at once. I’ve been thinking about it since.

Okay, so onto the busy weekend including Agra. Well, that Friday started with a party that our staff threw for us…at a palace…that they rented JUST FOR US. We then proceeded to learn how to play cricket, which was pretty awesome. They then brought in a light up dance floor, huge speakers and a DJ. And beer. Whatttttt? We then proceeded to dance the night away…until it started thundering, lightning and HAILING. HAIL. It was HUGE. We had to evacuate for the inside of the castle.  There then continued to be a lot of eating, dancing and karaoke? After this incredibly strange but fabulous evening we headed back to our homestays by about 11:30.

Fast forward to about 7:30 the next morning and me getting up and ready for AGRA! (For those of you that don’t know, Agra is where the Taj Mahal is.) We rented a bus for our journey and had a hostel all set up. The plan was: leave early Saturday morning, get to Agra in the afternoon and do the Red Fort. Then wake up super early on Sunday to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise and then come home early afternoon. So the four to five hour bus ride turned into a six to seven hour bus ride. It was pouring out and when we finally reached Agra, the outskirts of the city were flooded. Like really, heavy flooding. So after precariously making our way through the flooded streets we ended up at the hostel. The hostel was…interesting. Really, it’s funny now in hindsight. We’re all exhausted and hungry from traveling for the day. It’s dark and rainy so we’re not going to be able to see the Red Fort anyways. We break off into our rooms. The room I shared with Allison and Dana lacked a couple things: A flushing toilet, a third mattress  and blankets. Oh and the bed was about as comfortable as a marble slab. My roommates and I went to bed laughing at great stories and the ridiculousness of the situation, and then woke up at 5am laughing some more because of how ridiculous it all was. Once we were on the bus though and driving to the Taj Mahal, we all knew the craziness was worth it.

Flooding: 

Fast forward again to walking through the main gate and seeing the Taj Mahal in front of me. It didn’t seem real. At all. It’s huge and magnificent and awe-inspiring. It’s hard to believe the entire place was built as a burial site. It absolutely, without a doubt, lives up to its reputation.  It was while walking through this with people I’ve become very close with, very fast, that I realized how hard it is going to be adjusting back to home life. When did it become my life to travel Morocco and now India? It’s unreal and I’m so lucky I’ve been able to have these experiences.   There really isn’t much more you can say about the Taj, it literally is beyond words.  So I’ll just give you some pictures.

Sneak peak!

 One of the main gates:

Dana, Allison and I :)

Rickshaw buddies Max and Allison!

Following the Taj and breakfast (And several cups of coffee), a group of us set off to the Red Fort. The fort was also amazingly beautiful. From certain points you can see across town and see the Taj Mahal in the distance.   Again, pictures will do better justice then words.

Agra as a city is unattractive and dirty. Their sanitation is notoriously bad and students usually get sick after returning from Agra. It is hard to believe that this city, which houses so many tourists every year, is this poor. None of the money goes to the people, it all goes to the government and the big businesses running the hotels. This imagery sums up the contradictions I feel I see daily here: huge houses and wealth but across the street there is a slum surrounded with buffalo and cows, the Taj Mahal standing majestically surrounded by run down homes and flooded streets. India continues to blow my mind, confuse me, inspire me and challenge me every day. It’s hard to believe we’ve already been here a month. Unreal.

On a random closing note (I’ve been writing this post over the course of a couple days), the mystery of the tree-cats was solved. (The strange mystery creatures that made creepy cat like noises from the trees…) They’re peacocks. At least I was able to figure out one mystery of India.

"Good Brakes, Good Horn and Good Luck"

This phrase (thanks to Max) just about sums up the past week... It’s been a crazy whirlwind of jet-lag, New Delhi, Hindi, Jaipur, rickshaw wala’s, host families, cell phones, yoga and exploration.

Let’s start back in Delhi. We were only there for a couple of days of our orientation week. With an overwhelming amount of people and air pollution we got our first exposure to India. We had general orientation classes which basically include DON’T DRINK THE WATER OR EAT THE STREET FOOD UNLESS YOU WANT TO GET REALLY REALLY SICK.  One really cool thing we did in our short stay was go to the site where Gandhi was cremated and his memorial stands. That was pretty awesome and the memorial was beautiful.

Thus starts our seven hour bus ride to Jaipur. The ride consisted of crazy traffic (no surprise there) and cows and camels meandering along the side of the road. Cows…lots and lots of cows. Also, the occasional elephant being ridden. Once in Jaipur, we witnessed hoards of monkeys and stray dogs along the sides of the roads; nestled in with the cows and goats.  It’s also wedding season so we drove by extravagant ceremonies being performed on the side of the road. After a lot more sleeping (a ten and a half hour time difference can be a lot to handle) we finally took rickshaws to our new home/academic center.  The center is beautiful and staff is phenomenal so far. We did group bonding by having drop-off’s in the city, a scavenger hunt, a Bollywood movie (Race 2, HYSTERICAL), hiking up a fort and all sorts of other things. There seems to be a really great group dynamic already and I’m excited to see where it goes.

The fort we hiked up to during orientation week:

It's kite season...if you can't tell by all the kites stuck in the tree.

Goats!

More cows...

The walls of the fort

The view from up top!

                Then came the host families. I would like to point out that my host family speaks English. (For those of you that read my blog last semester and/or have talked to me, you know that last semester was a language challenge) I’m the first student my host mom has hosted and I have an older brother and sister, both in their mid/late 20’s. The family is really great and are helping me with my Hindi and getting me oriented. I live near two other students, Max and Allison so we rickshaw to school together and are lucky enough to get to hang out during our off time. Our neighborhoods are really upper class…which is very much the minority here in India. I’m lucky enough to have my own room and bathroom (as demanded by the program). We went to an “informal settlement” (this is similar to a slum) today and realizing exactly how drastic the difference is made me realize how sheltered the SIT program is keeping us. No doubt, this is something I will have trouble with down the road because how do I get to know India when I am consistently surrounded with the top 1% but also realizing I need to careful with my safety.

                This weekend we went to the Amber Fort in Jaipur…and took an elephant ride to the top before we walked around. The elephant behind us “loves Obama” said his driver when he realized we were American. The elephant then raised its trunk and sprayed us with a bit of water. That’s a positive thing right? The fort though was huge, and extravagant and fabulous. The view was amazing and the area is beautiful.  Beyond words.

Part of the Palace

Allison and I on our elephant ride up :)

The elephant that loves Obama

 View from the ride up

 Entrance to the Palace

This part was referred to as the glass palace :) You can see why

Next weekend we’re traveling to the Taj Mahal! I’m excited to continue seeing where this semester takes me. I’m still processing my time in Morocco, but so much is already happening here that I’m trying to process. I’m sure that in more blog posts to come, this will reflect that. Right now, there’s just so much to take in and so little time to try and figure it out. Now that I have more consistent internet, I’ll be sure to update more often.