Happy Indian Independence Day! Hey everyone! I have officially been in India for 2 weeks and I’m still absolutely loving it here! I’ve had many adventures in the last week. The first of which is when we went up to this gorgeous valley in the mountains. We rode a 3 hour train to get there, sitting up in the luggage racks. It was such an experience and I loved every uncomfortable, painful minute of it. It was great fun. Then we spent the day exploring caves, trying to not get attacked by the hissing monkeys, off roading in jeeps, and hiking to a waterfall with way too many men in speedos. Who all wanted to take pictures with us. Not cool.

Anyways, the train that was supposed to come at 4:30 just decided to not come so we decided to take the bus. So, we sat waiting in this rural village for about 2 hours until a bus finally came. However, it was stuffed to the brim with human beings. Now keep in mind, this is a 3 hour ride. I was in no hurry to squish myself in between many sweaty men for hours on end. So we let that bus pass. We also let the next 4 buses pass. By this time it was dark out, and the village’s power had gone out so it was pitch black. There was supposedly another train coming at 10pm but we weren’t too trusting of the trains at this point. Not to mention the train station was a 5 mile walk through twisting jungle paths and dark roads. I was praying quite fervently at this point that we wouldn’t get stranded in this rural village for the night. Right when we were sure we would be having the craziest adventure of our life, this SUV cab pulls up and offers to drive us home for 100 rupees a head (a little more than $2 each). And he said he could get us there in 2 hours. We were obviously ecstatic. So in true Indian custom, we fit 5 people in the back seat, 4 people in the middle, and 4 people in the front and proceeded to make our way home. But wait, it gets even better. When he started the car, the most wonderful noise started blasting from the speakers: Indian techno music. You can all be sure that an amazing car dance party followed for the whole 2 hours. It was a great thing.

Then, the next day, our professor informed us that we had been in Maoist rebel territory and that they carry machine guns and routinely raid the villages at night…and they had found a bomb in the road while we were there that didn’t go off…ignorance really is bliss my friends.

The next few days we experienced an intense monsoon that shook our house and almost blew out our eardrums every time lightning struck and thunder clapped. It was thrilling. Then, the next night, we stayed up unusually late and when we finally got into bed, it was around 1:30am. We kept talking and were slowly falling asleep when all of a sudden, our beds started shaking…I had the thought that it was probably the washer and dryer downstairs, because our washer and dryer used to shake my bedroom in our old house. Then I remembered that I was in India and there aren’t any washer and dryers. Then, my bed started shaking more violently and hitting the wall. Then, it was over.

Then, someone started pounding on our door very violently and calling out in Telugu. Obviously, I was somewhat disoriented at this point. I had almost been asleep, realized we were having an earthquake and then violent pounding on the door. I admit I was somewhat scared for my life at this point. So I called out to them and they told us we needed to come out of the building in case of an aftershock. I realized they were our neighbors and just watching out for us so that was nice. So we proceeded to stand outside for about an hour and then went back to bed. Definitely an eventful night. Not to mention the tsunami warnings we had the next day seeing as how we are a mere 10 minute walk to the beach. Or less.

Really, it’s been such a wonderful time and I’m loving every minute and every adventure! My dear friend Lauva, who cooks for us, loves the flowers on my toenails so I painted her nails last night and she did henna on my hands and feet. It was a good time. Anyways, that’s more than enough for now.

So I got my clothes back from the tailor! They're so comfortable and I'm way excited about them!

The Adventures Continue..

So I'm convinced I will never be bored in India. Not even for a minute. So yesterday a few of us had the opportunity to go to Andhra University and meet with the Anthropology Department. We met with the head of the Department and many teachers and were able to share our projects with them. Then they took us to their collection of artifacts and let us take them out and hold them and told us the stories behind some of the more interesting things. I really enjoyed it and they asked us if we would be willing to speak to some of their students on Saturdays starting in September. So we'll see how that goes. Then after that, we went to the church for a bit to study in an air conditioned building. I have never appreciated the cold so much in my life.

Today, we had Telugu class again and that is still difficult but I can count to 20 now and say the days of the week and yes and no and beach and fish...so we're making progress. After that, another girl in our group and I took two of our translators to the Shanti Ashram and found out that they have yoga there in the mornings and in the evenings and that I'd be welcome to practice with them. This was great news for the advancement of my project. Then, on our way back, my favorite translator, Vani, bought us all guavas and I tried mine with chili pepper on it. It's extremely good but very spicy. My mouth was on fire for a good hour afterwards. But so worth it. Vani is so great, she invited me to her cousin's wedding in two weeks so I'm going to see if it would be possible for me to attend.

And before we left, I had braided my hair this morning in two braids in an attempt to contain it in this great humidity. And when I walked in to see our translators, they complimented my hair and then proceeded to redo it...I have to admit it looked a hundred times better when they did it :)

After returning from the ashram, a few of us went to a mosque in the city and were shown around the community center. One of the boys in our group is studying the Muslims in a predominantly Hindu area so we had the privilege of seeing the mosque and all of the grounds. It's a very interesting society because they allow Muslim women to worship in the mosques, which is not allowed in pretty much all other Muslim societies. That place was absolutely beautiful. Also, the ground looked like it was moving with the amount of ants on the ground. They were huge and biting and everywhere. But it was all part of the experience. Everyone was very friendly and they invited us to dine with them this coming Sunday. It was a great experience.

We continued on to drive up the hill overlooking the city and saw these beautiful, huge, white statues of the Hindu god Shiva and his wife on the top of the hill. Then we sat on the hilltop and had some cold maaza, which is a mango drink that I'm obsessed with. So, basically, life is absolutely wonderful. We came home and celebrated our friends birthday with some Indian sweets and cake which were all very interesting. And now, I am fully exhausted and happy and heading to bed. Namaste.

Sights and Smells and Cops

So I know I already posted something today but I have a little extra time and this afternoon was full of adventures. After lunch we met with our professor to discuss our research so that was productive. Then we decided to go to the fabric store to pick out the cloth for our Indian clothing. There were 9 of us and we decided to take a rickshaw. Usually we take 2 or 3 if we have that many people but we decided that it would be fun to try and squeeze all 9 of us into one...I don't know if you've ever seen a rickshaw but it's built to fit about 3 people comfortably...maybe even 2. Anyways, I ended up laying on top of the 6 people's laps that we managed to squish in the back and we had 2 people sitting in front with the driver. We had an extremely entertaining ride with many Indian people giving us looks of great surprise. We were also a great source of amusement to all of the children that we passed by. It was wonderful :)

Then we got to the clothing store and I was overwhelmed with the incredible amount of absolutely gorgeous fabric there. I picked out 3 fabrics for some simple clothing and am planning on returning in the near future to get a sari...but one thing at a time. Then, we were headed home and took 2 rickshaws back this time, and ours got pulled over! I didn't even know there were cops here...but after much talking and debating, we only had to pay an 100 rupee fine...apparently they can't have anyone in the front seat..I guess there are rules here after all :)

Arrival In India

Well, I have officially been in India for over 48 hours now and I'm already loving everything about this place. After a long 28 hour journey and some lost baggage that still has yet to be found, I'm finally in this beautiful country. I don't really even know where to begin, there is much too much to say. I guess I'll start with my house. We live upstairs from our Telugu teacher in a two bedroom apartment. I sleep under a mosquito net (which by a certain turn of events I luckily had as a carry on instead of in my checked baggage) and shower with a bucket and cold water. This is actually incredibly refreshing as it is extremely hot and humid here. The people are so friendly and very willing to help with anything and everything. They are quick to make friends and are a very happy people. I attended my first yoga class at 6am this morning on the beach. It was wonderful and rejuvenating. Then I attended my first Telugu class which was fun but my brain is a little full at the moment. Learning a whole new alphabet and new sounds could prove to be somewhat difficult. But I'll try my best. I'm determined to learn all that I can while I am here because I know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The food is delicious and very spicy. It's definitely very different than what I'm used to but I'm sure I'll get used to it in time. The bananas are spectacular. Seriously, I eat them whenever I can find one. They're very small and much better than what we have in America. I'm hoping to get my bags tomorrow but you never know. We're going to go pick out fabric for our traditional Indian clothes today after lunch and I'm very much looking forward to that. I've been wearing the same clothes since last Thursday so it'll be nice to get out of them. I am so excited to be in this amazing place and I'll post more about my adventures soon!