Delhi and Agra

While at Rising Star, we spent a weekend on a group trip to Delhi and Agra. It was a bit of a whirlwind adventure but so so fun. Although, for the record, I'm not sure I can handle a trip with 30 other people ever again.

We left Rising Star at about 3 in the morning (Amanda and I were supposed to wake up at 2 but somehow neither of us actually SET the alarms and we woke up in a panic about 20 mins before we were supposed to leave) and arrived in Delhi around 10am after a quick flight out of Chennai


Our first reminder of why we don't travel in groups came when someone in the group realized he had left his passport on the plane and had to go searching for it while the rest of us waited an hour. Awesome. Thank goodness he found it!

Driving through the city was pretty crazy. Vendors everywhere, every vehicle imaginable all on the roads together, people running out in the middle of traffic to ask for money. Nuts.


























As we headed into Delhi, our first order of business was a Rickshaw ride through Old Delhi. I am not exaggerating when I say it was like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride on Steroids.

The streets were so narrow, our Rickshaws barely fit through. It was definitely nerve wracking to look up above us, see the bundles of exposed wires, and then look back and see a scooter coming at you, full speed ahead.


As we swerved through the tiny streets, past shops and vendors and often straight into other vehicles, I counted at least 5 times that I thought to myself, "ok, this is it, you are about to die", and yet, here I am blogging, so clearly we survived.








We also spent time in the Spice Market and Chili Markets which were straight out of a movie. We rushed down dark alleys, the ground covered in slippery, slimy muck, while stealing glances at the mysterious men conversing in the shadows. Seriously.


We LOVED it. Often when we visit a country, I don't get a "holy crap this is authentic" vibe in the tourist areas, but I sure did in Delhi.








The spice markets were so beautiful. Stacks and stacks of nuts and spices everywhere you turned. I bought some Saffron and Indian Vanilla that I am so excited to use when we get home!















The Chili market was pungent. My nostrils literally burned from the smell of the dried pods.








And to get to it, we had to climb up a dark, steep, slimy staircase. Once we were at the top, a whole new view of Delhi unfolded before us.






We headed off to an Incredible lunch where we gorged ourselves on the best Indian food I have ever had.


(thanks for smiling, Patrick)

Butter chicken, garlic naan, basmati rice and raita. Mmmm I am drooling just thinking about it.

While waiting for our food, I ventured outside to visit the local snake charmer.


Imagine my surprise when, as I sat down next to him, he opened up his basket and pulled out a Cobra (which he proceeded to hand to me)! A rat snake is one (harmless) thing, a Cobra is another! But I think Patrick was even more terrified than I was. He kept saying, keep calm Sarah, keep calm. Haha.


We spent the rest of the day driving the 6 hours to Agra so that we could wake up to a sunrise over the Taj Mahal. (oh yes and a stop at McDonald's for ice cream cones and air hockey)



Talk about an incredible place!


It is 10000 times cooler in person than pictures. I had no idea it was so huge! And so so intricate? There is inlayed marble everywhere. And the entire compound is perfectly symmetrical - including the useless building to the right, built solely to balance out the Mosque on the Taj's left hand side.

When we first arrived, there was a heavy layer of fog (helllooo monsoon season!) but luckily it cleared up by the time we left so we got a zillion pics in it's full glory.




















Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm a novelty item in India. Lots of pics like this...


And this...



To be fair, we took lots of pics like this...


and this...



So I'm sure it evens out.

We headed back to the hotel for breakfast and naps before meeting up again to go to the Red Fort and shopping.

Somehow we missed taking a picture of the outside, but trust me when I say this thing was very huge and very red.


A totally different style than the Taj, but still soo detailed and beautiful. Amanda and I have a fabulous idea to create a vegetable garden inspired by the gardens here.














We spent the rest of the afternoon in a Rug factory





marble factory


and crappy street markets. We were all extremely disappointed by the shopping opportunities on this trip. Yet another reason it's better to travel solo. At least there were lots of commissions given to our tour guide though! :)

That night we ate at Pizza Hut. it wasn't exactly what I would have chosen, but if you insist in me eating pizza after a week of Indian food, I'm not going to put up a big fight.

We left the next morning to drive back to Delhi, in time for a very quick tour of the Baha'i temple before more crappy shopping and our flight back. It's aptly named the Lotus Temple and it was really cool. Sparse on the inside, but the outside was amazing.


And the grounds were beautiful as well. Which was refreshing since India is not exactly tidy.








Afro trees!

Oh yes! And how could I forget, a pit stop/ elephant and camel ride!!!















The outskirts of Delhi were the biggest shock for me. That's where I started to really see the abject poverty the people here live in. I can't even fathom living that way and yet there they are. Wading through the garbage, swatting swarms of flies and squatting in dirt clods outside their tent village slums. It was really hard for me to stare out the window of our bus for the 6hrs it took to get back to the city, but it was also really important for me to see and acknowledge. My life would be a whole lot easier if I'd never gone to Delhi. I selfishly wish I could just pull a curtain over that part of my brain and keep moving on because I'm overwhelmed by the amount of need in this country and the inability to do anything about it.

And yet, I'm still quick to rush back to my fancy air-conditioned hotel room. I keeping feeling like this country is in a constant state of contradiction, but then again, so am I.

Rising Star: Day 4

Today our group was Medical. We went to a special needs school and a very small leprosy colony (only 3 people! Compared to about 50 or 70 in others)

The special needs school was quite the experience. There was such a range of needs - some kids were severely handicap and others were only slightly. It was sad to me because there was no distinction between the skill levels so I doubt that the kids were getting the help they individually need. It was also so sad because they were abandoned there by their parents.














The leprosy colony was stopped at was really just a house that three leprosy-afflicted people live in. We visited with the two women and man, who make a living working as a tailor and weaving baskets/purses. It was a brief stop, but valuable nonetheless. Rising Star has an amazing operation, and it's wonderful to see that they value all of those in need, even when it's so much work to set up the stations and equipment for just three people.








Heading back to rising star, I couldn't help but get emotional. The concern with social stigmas and caste system here is so hard for me. I can't imagine just abandoning a family member because they are disabled or because they are sick.

I am so grateful for the family I was born into. Every day I am here I just can't help wondering why I am so lucky and others are subjected to this insanely hard life. It's so heartbreaking and such an eye opening place to be.

I never imagined it would be this bad. That poverty could really be this horrendous. Driving through the cities and the outskirts of towns, you are bombarded with mountains and rivers and lakes of trash, mud and sewage. There are flies everywhere, people are wading barefoot through the filth and animals are munching on garbage.

Parts of the country are pretty, but most of it is rough. I'm loving being here, but it's not easy. I'm not in love with India the way I thought I'd be. Maybe I'm a wimp, but I can't help it...

Rising Star: Day 3

Today was Construction for our group. We did construction at a leprosy colony about an hour from Rising Star. Leprosy-afflicted people are cast out once it is discovered that they have the disease and are set up in colonies together.

The colony we did construction at is a large and very advanced colony. They have an art studio, shops, carpenters, tailors, etc. Their microfinancing and farming are pretty successful.

It's very HOT here. And there is lots of construction to be done. But it's India so things are maybe not the most efficient...we spent the day toting heavy concrete roofs all over the colony. Roofs that had been dropped off the day before as the construction activity. Why they didn't just drop the roofs off at each house that day is still a mystery, but we just smiled and toted and smiled some more.

I felt awful because at one point, I was carrying a roof piece with another volunteer, and it slipped and fell to the ground, snapping in half. These are relatively expensive and we just basically threw money away. Still feeling bad about it.

As we were leaving the colony, we stopped by a snake charmer and Patrick got to hold a rat snake. Ahhh! I'm not a huge fan of snakes. Not terrified, but definitely not in love.

That night during family time, we sang hymns with some of the girls. They may not know what the words mean, but they love singing them. It was so sweet.

Rising Star: Day 2

Volunteers are grouped into three groups. Mine and Patrick's group scorpion. We then rotate the groups each day between three different volunteer activities; education, construction and medical.

Our first official day our group was assigned education. Lex is currently the education coordinator (cool!) so it was fun to see him in charge and running the show.

Education is basically tutoring. We have 6 students that rotate every 40 minutes and we either help them with writing, reading or math.

Education is HARD for me. I am not a naturally patient nor child-loving person, so I struggle with this. It's also hard because the kids are learning a completely different language and alphabet (Tamil, their native language, has got to be the craziest thing I have ever seen/heard. Impossibly different from English).

The kids I tutor are a mixed bag. Most if them are not strong students and I hate that I get frustrated with them. But it's a wonderful feeling when they do start to understand how to sound out a word or do some math. I'm telling myself it's important practice.

We spent some time with the kids after dinner tonight, during family time, but I was so exhausted that I ended up fast asleep at 9pm.

Rising Star: Day 1

We were able to arrive at Rising Star a day earlier than the rest of this session's volunteers, so Patrick and I went out on Medical Duty with our very own medical expert, Miss Amanda Cowan.


Not surprisingly, Amanda was snatched up by the medical team during her first week at Rising Star, and has since gone out with them every day of her 5 week stint.

We traveled to a relatively small colony of leprosy-afflicted people (calling them lepers is a serious insult, because they are people not a disease, so we stay away from that name) and were immediately put to work.

It is incredible to see how efficient and well-organized this small group is. They have become quite the well oiled machine under the direction of Dr. Susan, an incredible doctor who quit her glamorous career in Delhi to help serve those in need out here in rural India.
































There are five stations at the leprosy clinics -

First - blood pressure and pulse is taken and recorded, then they are assessed by Dr. Susan

Second - sent to the "pharmacist" for replacement bandages and medications

Third/Fourth - they are sent to the foot washing station (where Patrick and I spent the majority of our day) where their bandages are removed, ulcers are documented, feet/hands are washed and sores are rubbed with Neem oil (a special vegetable oil that helps soften the calluses around open wounds and also serves as an insecticide to prevent ants and rats from eating at their wounds (leprosy affects your nervous system so that you have no feeling in your extremeties, often meaning you don't notice any bites or bugs until it is too late)

Fifth - They are sent to see Navamani, the nurse, who cleans the wounds and wraps them in cotton.

It's an emotional experience, that's for sure. These people are so crippled and are in such pain, and yet they are smiling and hugging and chatting with you. They are so grateful for the help they are receiving, and it makes me want to do so much more. I wish they were able to have their sores healed completely, to have their fingers and toes grow back, so that they could regain their standing in society.

I am so grateful that I was able to be exposed to this and help. Just wish there was something more we could give.

After returning from the colony, the rest of the volunteers arrived, we had orientation, and got to meet our "families" during playtime.

A group of volunteers are assigned to a group of children (who are all living at Rising Star under the supervision of a house mother) to play with and visit with each night.

I'm totally biased but I have the cutest family ever. I'm so lucky that I get to be in the same family as Amanda and it is really fun to sound time with her and the darling girls each night. We read, play hand games, sing songs, chat and get to know the girls better.

We finish up the day with dinner (which is super hard for me since it's vegetarian Indian food, both of which I dont love) and more time our family.

The days fly by here. I can't figure out where the time goes but I am EXHAUSTED each night and excited to wake up each morning!

Arriving in Chennai

It was a long trip to India, with a two hour layover in Tokyo, Twelve in Singapore, and the flights in-between, so needless to say when we final,y arrived in Chennai on Saturday at 6pm, we were anxious to get going!

The line at customs was abnormally slow, but we finally made it to the front, only to find that because I didn't have the address of the Marriott hotel, we weren't allowed in the country. I guess I am dumb for not having my reservation printed out, but I have never in my life ever been turned away at customs for not knowing where I was staying. The guy proceeded to yell at me, telling me to call them (no I did not have a phone or phone number) and just all around stress me out. Luckily someone came to the rescue with a fake address and phone number, which worked fine until the next customs agent asked me what my hotel room number was. Excuse me? Since when does anyone know the room they are staying in before check-in!

After all this, we were definitely relieved to get out the door and make it outside. I was so happy to see Amanda and Lex's smiling faces after we collected our baggage.



After all the flying and travel we were pretty exhausted, so having experts there to take the stress off us was awesome.

We spent the night in Chennai, made sure amanda got some KFC (5 weeks of indian food is rough!)





and went to church the next morning before heading out to Rising Star. I loved being able to wear a Sari to Church, it makes you feel like a princess!






Church was a neat experience. A mix of Tamil and English in all the classes. It never ceases to amaze me that you can go anywhere in the world and an LDS church is still an LDS church. I was especially surprised at how many members there were! More than I have seen in some parts of the US!

After church, we took a 3hr bus ride past Chenalput village to the Rising Star campus.

Talk about an incredible oasis in the middle of nothing! The organization has done such a great job at building the school, volunteer hostels, keeping the grounds spotless, and all-around making it such a welcoming place to be.

The electricity isn't so stable (I'm currently writing this post during one of the frequent blackouts), which means the air conditionig and wifi are off, but hey! We are happy that there is even air conditioning and wifi some of the time!

Our first day was spent unpacking and getting accustomed to the squatting toilets, bucket showers and insane heat.

You better believe I was dead tired by 9pm!

Just FYI

A certain California (south central Los Angeles to be exact) dream of mine just came true. We're kind of freaking out and jumping up and down at the same time.

Someone sure is making us learn how to be flexible!!!

Location:Just FYI

Things I've learned so far

1. A cold shower in India is the equivalent of a hot shower in South America. Both not quite up to their description, but bearable nonetheless.

2. At Rising Star, Larsen can easily be mistaken for Carsen, a volunteer from last session. And when your brand new pack of salami is in the fridge, the other volunteers will quickly assume that Carsen left it, not that the Larsen's brought it. Good thing we brought 2.

3. Squatting is best done on your haunches.

4. Why wait in line when you can shove your way to the front?

5. Henna smells like beef jerky (which is not awesome when you are trying to fall asleep with your henna'd hand next to your face)

6. Air conditioning is god's gift to wimpy Americans