Long Live Pop Culture

I may have spent the last 5 days in a remote village in the middle of absolutely nowhere in the state of Tamil Nadu but that doesn't mean that important news won't travel through the coconut groves and the rice paddies.

Conversations used to go like this:

"Where you from?"
"America."
"Oh! Do you know Micheal Jackson?"

Now they go like this:

"Where you from?"
"America."
"Oh! Micheal Jackson died!"

The Ganges River

Yesterday, my philosophy professor was talking about Hindus and their belief that if they had the opportunity to bathe themselves in the holy Ganges River, all their sins would be washed away. Furthermore, while the devotee is at the religious site, he/she will offer a sacrifice. Not that of a lamb or other living thing but a sacrifice of the heart and body.

His example was pizza.

He then discussed what the devotee should do when faced with the cheesy pizza after giving it up. Does he eat it or does he turn away from it? Depending on his progression, he could do either. I don't believe in reincarnation but I do believe in second chances. That's what reincarnation is really, another shot at getting it right. Whether you believe those second chances come from some higher being or fate or the cosmos, it comes nonetheless. It comes over and over until it clicks.


I have my own pizza. Everyone does. I just need to find my River Ganges.

Misconception Number 1,415

I always thought coconut milk would be sweet. It's not.

Nagarjuna Sagar

We went to this town about 3 hours south of Hyderabad. There was a huge dam in the center ofe town that just goes on and on. It reminds me of Lake Powell minus the red rock. When we'd look out of our hotel window it was beautiful with palm trees and a huge body of water. Inviting yet deceiving because of the following thought process:

"Oh, look at the water! I'm gonna go swimming."
--
"Oh wait. I can't swim in that."

Followed by:

"Oh well, I'll go for a stroll through the really neat gardens!"
--
"Oh wait. I'ts 46*C (about 106*F) and 60% humidity."

There was a Hindu temple down by the water on the other side of the dam. We went down there around dusk while the sun was setting. It was nice to be out of the city. There is something comforting in knowing you are in the middle of nowhere and all that surrounds you is nature. Well, and one of the world's largest man made dams...






(the color balance is off. I'm in India so that cannot be avoided)

Scaffolding...India Style

I've been meaning to talk about this phenomenon. ALL the scaffolding in India is made out of rope and WOOD. It's the weirdest thing to see. Especially when it's the new, modern building and it's surrounded by wooden sticks.

Hyd.er.a.b.ad.

There's the street in front of the international house

Hey, so it's monsoon season. It rains a lot now. The second day I was here, I was outside on our veranda type of deal and it started dripping from the sky a little bit. Annoyed, i went inside. Right when I got in, it just started to POUR. It was one of the craziest rainstorms I have ever seen! The roof above the stair wells is just this plastic stuff. I don't know how else to describe it but when you're in there, it sounds like thousands of hammers just pounding above you. It is insane. The leak a lot of water too. Good thing everything is made out of cement. That was genius on their part. Also, my lock on my door is a pad lock. Meet the door jammer below. When I unlock the door with the key, it makes a really cool click noise.

stairwell

Meet my travel buddies

We were quietly sitting in the Kanpur Airport waiting for our plane to head to Delhi. The Kanpur airport is probably the size of an average living room with a driveway as a runway. Katie and I were just reading when the following conversation took place:

Man: The shuttles here.

Katie and I look puzzled: What?

Man: The car to take us to the plane

Katie: Taking us where?

Man: To the Lucknow Airport to catch our flight. Our plane will be arriving too late...

Lucknow is an hour and a half away from Kanpur. He said the last sentence like it was completely normal that we were driving there. So, we did what any sane traveler would do, we followed the rest of the strange Indians to this SUV, put our baggage in the back and hopped in.

Me. Katie. Surinder. Rai. Kid from Mumbai. Driver.

Half way through the drive, kid from Mumbai says something in Hindi to the driver and 5 minutes later, we are pulled over somewhere in "rural" India between Kanpur and Lucknow. "We are going to have some tea", says Surinder. Of course we are. Again: me, Katie, Surinder, Mumbai, Rai.

Our plane was scheduled to leave in 45 minutes, and we were stopping for tea and a smoke.

When we got to Lucknow, we got in and got our tickets and everything squared away. Katie and I started walking towards the small security gate when Rai says, "We're gonna go get something to drink and hang out in the restaurant for about 15 minutes before we go in. Come on!"

We both looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders and followed them to the restaurant. We weren't about to separate ourselves just yet from the only 3 people that spoke English. It was 7:40 at this time. Our flight was scheduled for 8:10.

We shared some Pepsi and french fries, chatted for a bit longer, and then headed through the gate.

The cultural difference between Americans and Indians can be seen right here. Our plane got canceled and instead of getting upset and stressed, we just drove 1 1/2 hours to the nearest airport. Why not? And then instead of rushing through security, how about we get some tea and Pepsi. It'll be just fine.


So, a 2 hour drive, 45 minute flight, a night in the airport, and another 2 hour flight all equaled a safe trip to Hyderabad.


I think we are starting to get a hang of traveling around this place.

And it came down to this

The following would be an array of statements I heard over and over again before leaving for India:

"The food isn't like the Indian food you have eaten here."
"My *insert distant family member and/or friend here* went to India and was on the toliet the entire time."
"Don't drink the water."
"They don't eat cow but I hear they eat dog." (this may be the most ridiculous one)
"Everything is going to be too spicy"
"All you're going to want is American food after one week."

Now, it is true, you shouldn't drink the water and a lot of the food is spicy. Spice is good. Spice means it'll taste good. We have been eating Indian food for every meal since we got here and it has been so great! It's like going to Tandoori Oven in Logan everyday. mmmm.

A few nights ago, Katie and I decided to venture out and have the "specialty pizza" that was advertised in the window of the campus restaurant. "A little taste of home", was the thought behind the decision.

What came out to us was not pizza. It was spongy bread topped with peppers, onions, and cheez-whiz. Yes, cheez-whiz. Of course we ate it anyways and that's when it hit.

We didn't leave our room the entire day on Thursday.

Ironic that that meal that makes us sick was the "American cuisine"...

The quietest place in India

I have to admit that I love that I never have to drive here in India and that there is no way that I could ever get put in that position.

I would much rather be a passenger.

While we were driving back to Kanpur from Lucknow, I was barely paying attention to my surroundings. My mind was thinking about my book and my ears were consumed by my iPod. All the sudden I felt the car come to an abrupt stop. I look up and saw TONS of cars backed up as far as I could see in both directions. Traffic jam in India!


The amazing thing was that it was completely silent. Or as close to silence as we have heard since we got here. All the cars were off and incredibly, there was no honking. No honking in India? I know, we couldnt believe it either. Our driver then told us it was because a train was coming. We sat there for about ten minutes, witnessed the train pass and without a moments hesitation , the engines were turned on and the honking started instantaneously.

A picture says 1000 words...and it is not enough.

Delhi train station was a nightmare. So crowded! When we were sprinting to get to our 10 1/2 hour late train at 11:02p.m., it was still just as crowded as it was at noon! Seriously! Where do these people come from??

Just inside the station. This does no justice to how many people were in that stationg

Peter. Our Swedish friend we met in the Tourist Information Center. I think his train came on time...

Sarees everywhere. I love it.

This is towards the beginning of our wait. We had no idea what we were in store for

Shower much? I will spare you the pictures of my feet. The sleep count at point of entry into the guesthouse was about 3 hours and 45 minutes in a 48 hours period.

Delhi Delhi Delhi

Cities we have visited:

Delhi
Agra
Kanpur
Lucknow


All very different. It really does amaze me. Delhi is a one of a kind place, really. It will never cease to amaze me. I am glad we went there but I have got to admit, I am glad we are no longer there. So many ridiculous stories have come out of those 3 short days. When we first left the airport and went out to the taxi, the driver put my bag and Annettes in the trunk, closed it and then threw Katies bag into this bin on top of the car.

Katie: I feel more comfortable with that in the car...

Driver (in broken English): Dont worry about it.

Katie: Um, actually, Im a little worried about it.

Needless to say, it stayed up there on the way to the hotel.

Long day in Delhi. Counting the number of water bottles we have used would have been a good thing keep track of...or not. Too many to count...

There I am! Delhi again at these way cool tombs!

Meet the boys that tried to pickpocket us. Unfortunately for them, we arent stupid. But we had a nice chat with them, of course.

Rug Tying

We got to go to this place in Agra where they showed us how carpets were made! It was definitely government issued to try to get tourists to buy things but it was still really neat! Everything from start to finish, is done by hand which is incredible! I even got to tie a few knots. Some poor buyer will get a carpet with MY handicraft. woo! :)

I am really concentrating here.

These are all of their patterns for the year. All made and colored in by hand.

They send the quilts to the women in the villages to weave so they make visual patterns they can look at to do it.

Here is a man weaving the carpet. He went a lot faster than us!

Convenience is a thing of the past

Conversation taking place the night before a 5 hour car ride from Agra to Kanpur:

Annette: We should pick up some snacks or something for the car ride tomorrow.

Me: And exactly where do you think we are going to get snacks?

Katie: What about some sort of convenient store?

Annette: uh...there is nothing convenient about India


...So pure.


*disclaimer* I love it here and this is a one in a million experience but in all honesty, the above conversation could not be any more true.