A few side notes:
- My whole body feels like the back of a sticky note. I sweat all day everyday. But I drink a lot of water.
- Every time I see my left hand I think of the time I was henna-assaulted in Agra. The evidence is still here.
- Monks like soccer.
- Tibetans are as stylish as the Japanese.
- The best food I have had since being here are the 6 boiled eggs I've had.
I'm going to be honest with you all- I skipped meditation this morning. I'm fool of such small capacity... :-(. But it's okay. I have spent too much time out of my days trying to contact people in America. I don't wanna do that anymore.
This morning the monks completed the 2nd part of a motor memory test. They started the test yesterday during the last class (at which time I was in town with Tibetans). Yesterday the monks practiced typing "42132" in a word document over and over as fast as possible. They took note of how many time they got the sequence of numbers right. Then, they all left class and slept through the night. This morning, the same task was repeated. The scores improved, of course. This task was meant to show them that repetition UH OH GOTTA GO OMG!!!!! THEY NEED ME!!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Heart Rate Monitor Experiment!
List of Leigh Anna's top 3 fears:
-Wasps in ears
-Wasps
-Idk, heights or something
Wasps in India are different than wasps in America. They are exotic, but in the bad way. In other words, I'm dealing with an alien species of my worst fear on a daily basis.
Today we woke up and meditated because that's the way things are around here. Soon after I ran to the lecture rooms to make sure everything was set up and the air conditioners were on.
Today was fun :-D. We split one class of monks into groups of 4 and then gave them 2 heart monitors. We were running around the room making sure they were all set up right! They kept mashing buttons! lol. But anyway, we got them all fixed up. The teacher's plan is to show the monks that the heart rate is controlled by the brain, not only during physical activity, but also in times of stress, anger, and other emotions. We are just trying to draw a connection between mind and body for them. We had the monks relax and take their heart rate. Then we made them stand up and take it. THEN we performed what is called the Trier Social Stress Test. For this test, Dad randomly picked a monk from the class to come up in front of everyone to answer questions. While in front of the class- I sat next to the monk and pretended to record everything he/she was saying! We took the monk's heart rate before and after the questions were asked. This test showed the monks how their heart rate was controlled by their mind without exercise! Isn't that cute!!!?!? Gah, it was so fun.
These monks are so nice (duh). Many have come up to talk to me. They call me Anna. One monk told me about the experiment his group is planning on performing. It was good!
During the next class, both groups had a debate. This was RIDICULOUS! Two monks would sit on the ground, while the challenging monk would stand up and yell and clap their hands LOUD after each point they made! THIS WAS WILD! I was laughing. We got good pictures, but I will have to upload them later cuz my laptop is about to diiieee. Story of my life (soml). :-) :-D miss yall. kinda.
-Wasps in ears
-Wasps
-Idk, heights or something
Wasps in India are different than wasps in America. They are exotic, but in the bad way. In other words, I'm dealing with an alien species of my worst fear on a daily basis.
Today we woke up and meditated because that's the way things are around here. Soon after I ran to the lecture rooms to make sure everything was set up and the air conditioners were on.
Today was fun :-D. We split one class of monks into groups of 4 and then gave them 2 heart monitors. We were running around the room making sure they were all set up right! They kept mashing buttons! lol. But anyway, we got them all fixed up. The teacher's plan is to show the monks that the heart rate is controlled by the brain, not only during physical activity, but also in times of stress, anger, and other emotions. We are just trying to draw a connection between mind and body for them. We had the monks relax and take their heart rate. Then we made them stand up and take it. THEN we performed what is called the Trier Social Stress Test. For this test, Dad randomly picked a monk from the class to come up in front of everyone to answer questions. While in front of the class- I sat next to the monk and pretended to record everything he/she was saying! We took the monk's heart rate before and after the questions were asked. This test showed the monks how their heart rate was controlled by their mind without exercise! Isn't that cute!!!?!? Gah, it was so fun.
These monks are so nice (duh). Many have come up to talk to me. They call me Anna. One monk told me about the experiment his group is planning on performing. It was good!
During the next class, both groups had a debate. This was RIDICULOUS! Two monks would sit on the ground, while the challenging monk would stand up and yell and clap their hands LOUD after each point they made! THIS WAS WILD! I was laughing. We got good pictures, but I will have to upload them later cuz my laptop is about to diiieee. Story of my life (soml). :-) :-D miss yall. kinda.
Indian Men
So I have been meaning to write down my feelings and observations of India men since I first landed. I don't know why I have forgotten to do this for so long, but maybe it will spice up this blog a little bit.
Hopefully. Beware of sarcasm in this post, please.
As we all know- I am very beautiful. So, I'm used to people starring at me for long periods of time. However, I have never experienced the sort of stares that I have been receiving in India. I have been starred at more here than I have ever been in all of my days combined. When I say 'stare', this is what I mean- Long, continuous face stares. Right into my face. Right down through the windows to my soul. And right through the back of my head. That's the kind of stare I get from about 85% of men who see me in the towns. They are not rude about it. They don't make 'kissy lips' or whistle or winks or anything like that. They legit just STARE THROUGH MY FACE. It is for this reason that I am not offended. But it's still a thing to get used to. Some younger men (like my age) would see me driving past and holler something to get my attention. But those hollers weren't creepy in any way, I don't think. They just wanted my attention. I actually read about all this before I came... but the blogs I read saw these stares in a more negative light. It's just because I'm a foreigner with blue eyes and blonde hairs, I guess. At least, that's why I assume women and children stare at me. The blogs I read before traveling revealed that looking a man in his eyes is a sign of availability or something? Like an invitation. I don't really care about that. I freakin' stare at their faces too. But mostly I have my sunglasses on, so they can't see my eyes (I use this tactic in the States too ;-P ). Stare Stare Stare. It's innocent, as far as I can tell. Who cares?
However, if someone touches me I WILL be relocated to an Indian prison following my retaliation. xoxo
Hopefully. Beware of sarcasm in this post, please.
As we all know- I am very beautiful. So, I'm used to people starring at me for long periods of time. However, I have never experienced the sort of stares that I have been receiving in India. I have been starred at more here than I have ever been in all of my days combined. When I say 'stare', this is what I mean- Long, continuous face stares. Right into my face. Right down through the windows to my soul. And right through the back of my head. That's the kind of stare I get from about 85% of men who see me in the towns. They are not rude about it. They don't make 'kissy lips' or whistle or winks or anything like that. They legit just STARE THROUGH MY FACE. It is for this reason that I am not offended. But it's still a thing to get used to. Some younger men (like my age) would see me driving past and holler something to get my attention. But those hollers weren't creepy in any way, I don't think. They just wanted my attention. I actually read about all this before I came... but the blogs I read saw these stares in a more negative light. It's just because I'm a foreigner with blue eyes and blonde hairs, I guess. At least, that's why I assume women and children stare at me. The blogs I read before traveling revealed that looking a man in his eyes is a sign of availability or something? Like an invitation. I don't really care about that. I freakin' stare at their faces too. But mostly I have my sunglasses on, so they can't see my eyes (I use this tactic in the States too ;-P ). Stare Stare Stare. It's innocent, as far as I can tell. Who cares?
However, if someone touches me I WILL be relocated to an Indian prison following my retaliation. xoxo
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
First Day on the Job
First lemme say this because I'm freaking out. I'm on a roof type area at the place where I'm staying. There is a monkey running in the tree next to me. When I look at the monkey, but shift my eyes a little to the left- I can see a snow-capped Himalayan mountain.
So that's what it happening in my life right now. What did I do in a past life to get me here?
To introduce this new section of blogging I need to lay down a few basic things. There are four main character groups that I need to define for you.
The teachers: This is the group I am involved in. This is devised of 5 teachers from Emory who have been invited to teach the monks here.
The Monks: These are Buddhist monks from all over the world, as far as I know. They are varied in age. Some are very old! They are here to learn about science! As I said before- China and Tibet have serious conflicts right now. Buddhism is not allowed under strict Chinese law, so some monks have escaped Tibet, but some have come from Nepal and other random places.
Study abroad students: These are students from mainly Emory who are here taking classes and doing other various activities. They are all my age and nice.
Tibetan Students: These are Tibetan students who are in college at this university. Sarah University. They are just like us :-). And extremely cute. This one guy shook my hand as we introduced each other and winked. SO charming!! These students and their families are living without a homeland. Their culture is being flushed out by the Chinese. Tibetans today are trying their best to preserve their heritage. It's really a sad situation... and I can feel myself becoming obsessed.
Ok, so we woke up this morning. I woke up 2 hours early on accident. But I waited, and at 6:30 (or something) we went to the main temple on the campus (the campus is VERY small). In the temple we all sat down on mats. The study abroad students in the middle of the room, the Tibetan students and monks all around us. In front of us, leading the situation, were 3 head monks. After we were all seated and ready the monks started chanting. A lot. Chant, chant, chant. Just like in the documentaries. We all began to meditate (or try). I was much more worried that I wasn't doing something right. Shut up! It was an intense situation! Then, the monks beed ('to be' in the past tense) quiet. Then we meditated some more. For only like, 15 minutes. We are beginners.
After this meditation we had a staff meeting. I shoulda read more about all the plans and stuff before arriving. Nonetheless, I worked today! I worked just fine and I feel like I was super helpful.
We began work with an introduction class period. In this class all of us were introduced to the monks. The monks sat on the floor smiling at us the whole time. I felt under-qualified, but I smiled right back; I couldn't stop! I stood up and introduced myself. The translator translated. And we were on our way. Next, I began assisting teachers. I spent the majority of my time with a lesbian, Korean?, GA Tech professor, smart, powerful, woman- AKA, my freakin' IDOL. We were setting up and testing heart rate monitors. This was embarrassing, I think... because when we were testing out the machines my resting heart rate was very high as I sat in front of her... and much lower when she left the room.
We worked on those, then did a lot of other stuff, crap, and junk. Then we did another class with the older students. These students are going to be conducting their own experiments this year! For the next two weeks they will be listening to lectures, but also working out their projects outside of class. The teachers explained the project, then it was over.
Next, we had tea. After tea I was invited to listen in to the study abroad's class lecture. The people in the class are nice, like I had said. Their class was about Buddhism, which I thought I had a good understanding of. lol. So many things were happening. :-) I'm looking forward to learning more.
Miss ya'll. I'm having a blast. I forgot to be funny.
So that's what it happening in my life right now. What did I do in a past life to get me here?
To introduce this new section of blogging I need to lay down a few basic things. There are four main character groups that I need to define for you.
The teachers: This is the group I am involved in. This is devised of 5 teachers from Emory who have been invited to teach the monks here.
The Monks: These are Buddhist monks from all over the world, as far as I know. They are varied in age. Some are very old! They are here to learn about science! As I said before- China and Tibet have serious conflicts right now. Buddhism is not allowed under strict Chinese law, so some monks have escaped Tibet, but some have come from Nepal and other random places.
Study abroad students: These are students from mainly Emory who are here taking classes and doing other various activities. They are all my age and nice.
Tibetan Students: These are Tibetan students who are in college at this university. Sarah University. They are just like us :-). And extremely cute. This one guy shook my hand as we introduced each other and winked. SO charming!! These students and their families are living without a homeland. Their culture is being flushed out by the Chinese. Tibetans today are trying their best to preserve their heritage. It's really a sad situation... and I can feel myself becoming obsessed.
Ok, so we woke up this morning. I woke up 2 hours early on accident. But I waited, and at 6:30 (or something) we went to the main temple on the campus (the campus is VERY small). In the temple we all sat down on mats. The study abroad students in the middle of the room, the Tibetan students and monks all around us. In front of us, leading the situation, were 3 head monks. After we were all seated and ready the monks started chanting. A lot. Chant, chant, chant. Just like in the documentaries. We all began to meditate (or try). I was much more worried that I wasn't doing something right. Shut up! It was an intense situation! Then, the monks beed ('to be' in the past tense) quiet. Then we meditated some more. For only like, 15 minutes. We are beginners.
After this meditation we had a staff meeting. I shoulda read more about all the plans and stuff before arriving. Nonetheless, I worked today! I worked just fine and I feel like I was super helpful.
We began work with an introduction class period. In this class all of us were introduced to the monks. The monks sat on the floor smiling at us the whole time. I felt under-qualified, but I smiled right back; I couldn't stop! I stood up and introduced myself. The translator translated. And we were on our way. Next, I began assisting teachers. I spent the majority of my time with a lesbian, Korean?, GA Tech professor, smart, powerful, woman- AKA, my freakin' IDOL. We were setting up and testing heart rate monitors. This was embarrassing, I think... because when we were testing out the machines my resting heart rate was very high as I sat in front of her... and much lower when she left the room.
We worked on those, then did a lot of other stuff, crap, and junk. Then we did another class with the older students. These students are going to be conducting their own experiments this year! For the next two weeks they will be listening to lectures, but also working out their projects outside of class. The teachers explained the project, then it was over.
Next, we had tea. After tea I was invited to listen in to the study abroad's class lecture. The people in the class are nice, like I had said. Their class was about Buddhism, which I thought I had a good understanding of. lol. So many things were happening. :-) I'm looking forward to learning more.
Miss ya'll. I'm having a blast. I forgot to be funny.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Drive and Arrival in Dharamsala.
Namaste!
Today I from Delhi to Dharamsala for about 12 hours. During this trip I saw the countryside of India. I have good news and bad news. You'll get the good news first (because I'm in charge of everything). Good: Like I suspected, not all of India is covered with trash. In fact- the majority of what I have now seen of the country is clean! Boom! I was becoming very anxious about my blog portraying only negative details, and therefore skewing your perception of India... BUT I WORRY NO MORE! What I had been exposed to in the past few days has been slummy. What I saw today was very pleasant ^_^ ! Boy, I was worried I wouldn't see pleasant. I certainly did today.
Remember before I ranted when I said I had bad news? Yeah. So, Bad: All Indians drive the same. I went through mountains with no railings over cliffs of a billion feet in Costa Rica and I thought I was gonna just die. But add on to those conditions the Indian road-culture. How do you think I reacted to this equation? WRONG. I was fine. Key Word: "Desensitization". Definition: When you have almost lost your life enough times to where it just doesn't matter anymore and you hop into the front seat of the Toyota.
lol, no really, I was mostly fine today. I did a lot of thinking today in the car. When a child is exposed to a certain stimulus enough times through development, they grow accustomed and well adapted to handling that situation. In other words, every Indian has dealt with car in their faces enough times to where they are just simply WAY BETTER with awareness. That's my simple explanation.
I just realized that I am getting tore up by mosquitoes.
Today I from Delhi to Dharamsala for about 12 hours. During this trip I saw the countryside of India. I have good news and bad news. You'll get the good news first (because I'm in charge of everything). Good: Like I suspected, not all of India is covered with trash. In fact- the majority of what I have now seen of the country is clean! Boom! I was becoming very anxious about my blog portraying only negative details, and therefore skewing your perception of India... BUT I WORRY NO MORE! What I had been exposed to in the past few days has been slummy. What I saw today was very pleasant ^_^ ! Boy, I was worried I wouldn't see pleasant. I certainly did today.
Remember before I ranted when I said I had bad news? Yeah. So, Bad: All Indians drive the same. I went through mountains with no railings over cliffs of a billion feet in Costa Rica and I thought I was gonna just die. But add on to those conditions the Indian road-culture. How do you think I reacted to this equation? WRONG. I was fine. Key Word: "Desensitization". Definition: When you have almost lost your life enough times to where it just doesn't matter anymore and you hop into the front seat of the Toyota.
lol, no really, I was mostly fine today. I did a lot of thinking today in the car. When a child is exposed to a certain stimulus enough times through development, they grow accustomed and well adapted to handling that situation. In other words, every Indian has dealt with car in their faces enough times to where they are just simply WAY BETTER with awareness. That's my simple explanation.
I just realized that I am getting tore up by mosquitoes.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Culture Shock
Key concept: "Culture Shock"
Definition: When one's mind continuously relays the phrase, "omgomgomg what's going on omgomg."
I'm now going to tell you some things about India. I'm just gonna spit them out in no order because I'm trying to hurry because we have a car coming to pick us up in an hour or something. These are things I noted in the Agra-Delhi car ride.
Notes:
-Indians are very often BEAUTIFUL. In the poorest of areas one can see model-gorgeous people! Stunning eyes and pretty faces. Children are a-freakin'-dorable. I yelp every time I see a toddler.
-Billboards always display light-skinned Indians. I thought this was interesting considering that the average person I've seen is much darker. "Paint my face in your magazine. Make it look whiter than it seems." -Nelly Furtado sings that. This happens all over the world. South Korean pop stars use powder in music videos to appear whiter. hmm.
-Guys hold hands as they walk places sometimes. Men are very comfortable with touching each other while talking.
-Even if an Indian only knows 3 phrases in English, one of those phrases is "no problem". This makes me feel very secure.
** So now I will talk about the driving. This may be boring for you to read. But I want to remember my thoughts and notes. 1st, Pictures:
- I have heard this phrase thrice since I've been here: "Good horn, good brakes, good luck." This is the only law for the roads in India. (with the exception of New Delhi, which I have not been to. It supposedly has traffic laws.)
- I describe a trip on Indian roads as ' constant severe danger.'
- I would describe road-culture as 'functional anarchy'.
- A bike hit us yesterday. Insurance companies were not called.
-I have been on the roads for more than 12 hours so far since being here. I have not seen a single wreck or damaged car on the side of the road. No doubt, if I drive from Atlanta to Sylvester I will see more than 3 accidents. Hence, "functional".
- I was thinking about how I would want to start a neighborhood committee that would aim to lessen street dangers and would rally to produce a safer environment. Soon after I thought that- I unthought it because there is absolutely NO need- as no one seems to be scared or hurt. Roads appear to be dangerous while they actually produce no harm. It's like an optical illusion.
- Drivers hardly never use their rear-view mirrors, as there is too much happening in front of them to have time to peek behind! CHAOS.
-People run across the road without looking. Mothers hold babies on the back of motorcycles with one hand as the child sleeps, bounce bounce! Dangerous weaving by monstrous trucks.
-Every driver on the road is only looking out for his vehicle. Drivers try to find the shortest and fasted route to destination. This means they swerve all around the road and shoot through tiny spaces and do not wait for others or let others in front of them and no one WAITS A SECOND!!- they just GO!
- Our driver's strategy was to stay straddling the center line of a 2-lane road as to get a better view of the entire road. This way, he could weave left or right faster, depending on where other cars are. This is the same strategy I use for Temple Run. This man was using this strategy with my LIFE.
- I have detected some sort of honking language. Indians know if a honk means, "I'm right here!" "Move!" "What's up?" "I'm coming!" "I'm about to pass you" and "I'm literally about to smash all your lives together!".
- Intersections in India can be described like this: Close your eyes and imagine Spaghetti Junction. We know that Spaghetti Junction can feed cars onto I-85, 285 East, 285 West, and several other highways/roads. Imagine Spaghetti Junction, in all it's glory, without any side railings. Dangerous, huh? Now, imagine what Spaghetti Junction would look like if an over-sized elephant sat on it to squash all the bridges to one level. Without railings. Without stop lights. And with cars freely choosing which side of the road they want to travel on. This is a typical intersection in India.
- I read something that mentioned a study that showed that Indian cows prefer to be in the street because the toxic fumes from cars keeps flies away.
- No India appears scared. When we almost smash into someone while holding the horn... the pre-squashed person doesn't even look at us. They say, "Well I've never gotten hit before!"
That's all I wanna say about traffic. Now, we speak on TRASH. Obviously I have not been all over India, so I cannot speak to that degree. But here's the summary of the trash where I have been. Here are pictures.
- Trash is everywhere.
- Animals eat the trash. I have also seen humans looking for treasures in trash piles. Severe poverty.
- Boys pee wherever they darn please. And not how boys pee in Sylvester behind their truck or in bushes. But on town walls. Disclaimer: I must now point out to you that I have also done this in my adult life.
- I know people who cut Coke 6-pack plastic before disposing of them in trash cans for fear dolphins will die if they don't. India is laughing at you. These animals are fine.
- My ipod with my notes on this topic died :-/
END.
Definition: When one's mind continuously relays the phrase, "omgomgomg what's going on omgomg."
I'm now going to tell you some things about India. I'm just gonna spit them out in no order because I'm trying to hurry because we have a car coming to pick us up in an hour or something. These are things I noted in the Agra-Delhi car ride.
Notes:
-Indians are very often BEAUTIFUL. In the poorest of areas one can see model-gorgeous people! Stunning eyes and pretty faces. Children are a-freakin'-dorable. I yelp every time I see a toddler.
-Billboards always display light-skinned Indians. I thought this was interesting considering that the average person I've seen is much darker. "Paint my face in your magazine. Make it look whiter than it seems." -Nelly Furtado sings that. This happens all over the world. South Korean pop stars use powder in music videos to appear whiter. hmm.
-Guys hold hands as they walk places sometimes. Men are very comfortable with touching each other while talking.
-Even if an Indian only knows 3 phrases in English, one of those phrases is "no problem". This makes me feel very secure.
** So now I will talk about the driving. This may be boring for you to read. But I want to remember my thoughts and notes. 1st, Pictures:
- I have heard this phrase thrice since I've been here: "Good horn, good brakes, good luck." This is the only law for the roads in India. (with the exception of New Delhi, which I have not been to. It supposedly has traffic laws.)
- I describe a trip on Indian roads as ' constant severe danger.'
- I would describe road-culture as 'functional anarchy'.
- A bike hit us yesterday. Insurance companies were not called.
-I have been on the roads for more than 12 hours so far since being here. I have not seen a single wreck or damaged car on the side of the road. No doubt, if I drive from Atlanta to Sylvester I will see more than 3 accidents. Hence, "functional".
- I was thinking about how I would want to start a neighborhood committee that would aim to lessen street dangers and would rally to produce a safer environment. Soon after I thought that- I unthought it because there is absolutely NO need- as no one seems to be scared or hurt. Roads appear to be dangerous while they actually produce no harm. It's like an optical illusion.
- Drivers hardly never use their rear-view mirrors, as there is too much happening in front of them to have time to peek behind! CHAOS.
-People run across the road without looking. Mothers hold babies on the back of motorcycles with one hand as the child sleeps, bounce bounce! Dangerous weaving by monstrous trucks.
-Every driver on the road is only looking out for his vehicle. Drivers try to find the shortest and fasted route to destination. This means they swerve all around the road and shoot through tiny spaces and do not wait for others or let others in front of them and no one WAITS A SECOND!!- they just GO!
- Our driver's strategy was to stay straddling the center line of a 2-lane road as to get a better view of the entire road. This way, he could weave left or right faster, depending on where other cars are. This is the same strategy I use for Temple Run. This man was using this strategy with my LIFE.
- I have detected some sort of honking language. Indians know if a honk means, "I'm right here!" "Move!" "What's up?" "I'm coming!" "I'm about to pass you" and "I'm literally about to smash all your lives together!".
- Intersections in India can be described like this: Close your eyes and imagine Spaghetti Junction. We know that Spaghetti Junction can feed cars onto I-85, 285 East, 285 West, and several other highways/roads. Imagine Spaghetti Junction, in all it's glory, without any side railings. Dangerous, huh? Now, imagine what Spaghetti Junction would look like if an over-sized elephant sat on it to squash all the bridges to one level. Without railings. Without stop lights. And with cars freely choosing which side of the road they want to travel on. This is a typical intersection in India.
- I read something that mentioned a study that showed that Indian cows prefer to be in the street because the toxic fumes from cars keeps flies away.
- No India appears scared. When we almost smash into someone while holding the horn... the pre-squashed person doesn't even look at us. They say, "Well I've never gotten hit before!"
That's all I wanna say about traffic. Now, we speak on TRASH. Obviously I have not been all over India, so I cannot speak to that degree. But here's the summary of the trash where I have been. Here are pictures.
- Trash is everywhere.
- Animals eat the trash. I have also seen humans looking for treasures in trash piles. Severe poverty.
- Boys pee wherever they darn please. And not how boys pee in Sylvester behind their truck or in bushes. But on town walls. Disclaimer: I must now point out to you that I have also done this in my adult life.
- I know people who cut Coke 6-pack plastic before disposing of them in trash cans for fear dolphins will die if they don't. India is laughing at you. These animals are fine.
- My ipod with my notes on this topic died :-/
END.
Taj Mahal and Day 2
I have been trying to upload photos onto the facebook,,, but the internet connection must not be good enough. So just remember all the things I say for so when I DO upload them- you'll know the story behind each one.
I'm in an awkward place in my head as I prepare to write; I don't know what you wanna hear about. Like, do you want the story of my day? Or my thoughts on the culture? Imma try to do both.
This morning I woke up accidentally 15 minutes before I was supposed to. AKA, 5 o'clock AM. I ate a protein bar and then we left for the Taj Mahal(which we could already see from our hotel window)! We even had a tour guide THANK GOD. Side Note: When I have a lot of unanswered questions my tummy gets really tight and I get anxious and rude. This morning I was beyond ecstatic to find out that we had a guide because I have been MISERABLE since arriving here because of my load of unanswered questions. But now I had a tour guide who I could use as my Wikipedia app. blahgh!
So we're at the Taj Mahal at sunrise (cuz daz how ya dooo it)and there were monkeys all around and camels. Little children wanted to shake my hand and teens wanted their pictures with me. Miley Cyrus status. So, here is a picture of me+Taj Mahal:
So, the Taj was beautiful and it took almost 22 years to build and it was build 400+ years ago it was built out of love and it was majestic and hand crafted and a work of art. It's one of the 7 wonders of the world. So that's that :-D. Daddy took ~894639 photographs of the place. I cut it down to about 1/3 of that and they will be on Facebook soon enough.
After the Taj we went to "The Red Fort". This was a very large place where the kings and queen and army lived. You can google that too, but pics will be up.
Then, our tour guide took us to various shops that had OBVIOUSLY paid him to do so. We bought things like tea and books. Doing this caused me to become exhausted. PERSISTENT SALES PEOPLE. I can't BARE. They all make me sit places and look at things and drink drinks and pay attention and answer questions and LOOK AT MORE THINGS. Even after we have paid a shop owner and are walking out of the shop's doors,,, he will ask us if we want to see ONE MORE thing. I can't deal with people asking me if I want things this much. Trust me, when I want something- I GET IT :-P. I don't want earrings. (Last night I wasn't hungry at the hotel restaurant. I was just chillin' with Dad. But Dad kept asking and asking if I wanted naan or juice. Then the waiter would ask me if I wanted naan or juice. I had to leave. So many questions. Omg, I forgot, I'm sorry, no more ranting.)
shopshopshopshopshop.
So now we are done with shopping and sightseeing in Agra! :-( ahh! Time to drive home. This time on the drive I took notes of things I thought of. That will come during my next blog entry after I nap. We have had busy days (lol, I've only been here for 2 days and done so much), busy bizy days.
You're all sleeping and I'm alone. bye. :-P
One more picture for yalllll!
That was our guide.
(I'm really just worried about ya'll seeing how cute I am in my Indian pants. The real photos of the actual India will be up on Facebook later so just calm down.)
I'm in an awkward place in my head as I prepare to write; I don't know what you wanna hear about. Like, do you want the story of my day? Or my thoughts on the culture? Imma try to do both.
This morning I woke up accidentally 15 minutes before I was supposed to. AKA, 5 o'clock AM. I ate a protein bar and then we left for the Taj Mahal(which we could already see from our hotel window)! We even had a tour guide THANK GOD. Side Note: When I have a lot of unanswered questions my tummy gets really tight and I get anxious and rude. This morning I was beyond ecstatic to find out that we had a guide because I have been MISERABLE since arriving here because of my load of unanswered questions. But now I had a tour guide who I could use as my Wikipedia app. blahgh!
So we're at the Taj Mahal at sunrise (cuz daz how ya dooo it)and there were monkeys all around and camels. Little children wanted to shake my hand and teens wanted their pictures with me. Miley Cyrus status. So, here is a picture of me+Taj Mahal:
So, the Taj was beautiful and it took almost 22 years to build and it was build 400+ years ago it was built out of love and it was majestic and hand crafted and a work of art. It's one of the 7 wonders of the world. So that's that :-D. Daddy took ~894639 photographs of the place. I cut it down to about 1/3 of that and they will be on Facebook soon enough.
After the Taj we went to "The Red Fort". This was a very large place where the kings and queen and army lived. You can google that too, but pics will be up.
Then, our tour guide took us to various shops that had OBVIOUSLY paid him to do so. We bought things like tea and books. Doing this caused me to become exhausted. PERSISTENT SALES PEOPLE. I can't BARE. They all make me sit places and look at things and drink drinks and pay attention and answer questions and LOOK AT MORE THINGS. Even after we have paid a shop owner and are walking out of the shop's doors,,, he will ask us if we want to see ONE MORE thing. I can't deal with people asking me if I want things this much. Trust me, when I want something- I GET IT :-P. I don't want earrings. (Last night I wasn't hungry at the hotel restaurant. I was just chillin' with Dad. But Dad kept asking and asking if I wanted naan or juice. Then the waiter would ask me if I wanted naan or juice. I had to leave. So many questions. Omg, I forgot, I'm sorry, no more ranting.)
shopshopshopshopshop.
So now we are done with shopping and sightseeing in Agra! :-( ahh! Time to drive home. This time on the drive I took notes of things I thought of. That will come during my next blog entry after I nap. We have had busy days (lol, I've only been here for 2 days and done so much), busy bizy days.
You're all sleeping and I'm alone. bye. :-P
One more picture for yalllll!
That was our guide.
(I'm really just worried about ya'll seeing how cute I am in my Indian pants. The real photos of the actual India will be up on Facebook later so just calm down.)
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Initial Response
Hi.
This might end up being long because I need to explain some complicated situations and I will detail my severe culture shock. Also, I mean no harm- I respect India and it's people wholeheartedly.
We accidentally woke up at 7am. We ate breakfast and left with a driver of the hotel for a day of sightseeing.
.... my god, where do I start...
That is a picture from the roof of our hotel.
So first we went to a monument called, "Qutub Minar". I didn't know what this place was until the end of the 30 minute visit. So as Dad and I are walking around this place aimlessly, several girls walk up to me and ask for a photograph. This made me feel like Paris Hilton.
So anyway. The monuments we cool and everything... I just didn't understand what the heck I was looking at. Well... until this guy came up to me. 
This dude was 22 years old and very nice and wanted pictures and wants to visit New York and told me a lot about the freakin' things I had been staring at. Very nice.
Ok so next we went on over to a food market! People were selling all types of fruits and vegetables! Like this:
There were just rows and rows and rows of this stuff happening. (Main observation: It seemed like every single person was selling something, but every single person was buying NOTHING!)
After this small food market journey our driver took us to an annoying situation in a textile/jewelry/figurine shop. Huge, 2-story shop with several different sections of goods, each manned by an EXTREMELY persistent salesman. You think those people selling hair straighteners in the mall are annoying??? WHAT IN THE WORLD, these men wouldn't STOP for NOTHING/ANYTHING!!! Very nice people, but I just could not take the persistence. It was unbearable. I was unable to bare it. I bared not. One hour later- we left that shop.
Key word- "Henna Assault". Definition: When a woman at a tourist site physically grabs your arm (as your father continues to walk down the path, not noticing you're being assaulted) and begins to apply a henna tattoo without asking or saying a word,,, and then asks for too much money.
After this we went to The Lotus Temple. Google that.
After all this sight seeing we took an hour nap then got on the road to Agra.
This next section will describe some thoughts I had while on this 5 hour drive.
- This country does not have any sort of care for road rules, road safety, or road anything at ALL. Can I tell you something?- I ALMOST DIED TODAY. Several times. And actually, the dog we hit probably DID die today. Did you laugh at that!? Our driver did. Awk. Anyway, I can't even EXPLAIN this to you. No stop signs, no stop lights, no lanes (well, they HAVE lanes, they just aren't respected), no bike lane, no helmets, I mean, literally: NOTHING. You just fly down the crowded highway in any lane at any speed, just make sure you honk several hundred times an hour to alert everyone where you are. I almost lost my life, Mom. Here is a picture sequence that doesn't show the look on my face or my tense body parts.
That is a 2-lane road.
Sometimes this happens:
-Trash is just everywhere. If countries could be opposites, India and Japan would be opposites. I'm not trying to highlight the bad things about this country. Really. I'm merely highlighting the major sources of my culture shock. The roadside from Delhi to Agra is covered in trash. Just littered. Photo:
(Also, free animals) Now, I think this just comes with the severe poverty+serious population density.
- I saw some very, very poor people today. While driving, a young child ran up to the window with bunches of flowers to sell. I declined with a shake of the head... but the girl persisted (common theme), shaking her head 'yes'. She then made a movement with her hand that resembled eating. And so I was like, :-O. And the car started driving faster... and so she ran, knocking on the window, and finally the trunk as we sped up. Poor, poor people. I saw two children pooping on the ground. Just squat-pooping. Severe poverty.
-I've only seen a few police personnel.
-There are hundreds of half-built buildings lining the streets. No construction crews. Just empty half-buildings all over.
- It's hot here. But not humid like in Georgia. This means that you can wear long sleeves and not die. Most men wear long sleeves and long pants on 100+ degree weather.
-Some of you (Briana/Kelli) would cry over the skinny dogs we saw today. Oh yeah, our car hit one.
-It's midnight. Everyone is honking on the street.
-Everyone here loves cricket.
I'm tired now. Taj Mahal at 5:45 in the morning. It's midnight. Can I sleep? :-) Loves. BTW, I don't read this after I write it. So pay no mind to typos.
This might end up being long because I need to explain some complicated situations and I will detail my severe culture shock. Also, I mean no harm- I respect India and it's people wholeheartedly.
We accidentally woke up at 7am. We ate breakfast and left with a driver of the hotel for a day of sightseeing.
.... my god, where do I start...
That is a picture from the roof of our hotel.
So first we went to a monument called, "Qutub Minar". I didn't know what this place was until the end of the 30 minute visit. So as Dad and I are walking around this place aimlessly, several girls walk up to me and ask for a photograph. This made me feel like Paris Hilton.
So anyway. The monuments we cool and everything... I just didn't understand what the heck I was looking at. Well... until this guy came up to me. 
This dude was 22 years old and very nice and wanted pictures and wants to visit New York and told me a lot about the freakin' things I had been staring at. Very nice.
Ok so next we went on over to a food market! People were selling all types of fruits and vegetables! Like this:
There were just rows and rows and rows of this stuff happening. (Main observation: It seemed like every single person was selling something, but every single person was buying NOTHING!)
After this small food market journey our driver took us to an annoying situation in a textile/jewelry/figurine shop. Huge, 2-story shop with several different sections of goods, each manned by an EXTREMELY persistent salesman. You think those people selling hair straighteners in the mall are annoying??? WHAT IN THE WORLD, these men wouldn't STOP for NOTHING/ANYTHING!!! Very nice people, but I just could not take the persistence. It was unbearable. I was unable to bare it. I bared not. One hour later- we left that shop.
Key word- "Henna Assault". Definition: When a woman at a tourist site physically grabs your arm (as your father continues to walk down the path, not noticing you're being assaulted) and begins to apply a henna tattoo without asking or saying a word,,, and then asks for too much money.
After this we went to The Lotus Temple. Google that.
After all this sight seeing we took an hour nap then got on the road to Agra.
This next section will describe some thoughts I had while on this 5 hour drive.
- This country does not have any sort of care for road rules, road safety, or road anything at ALL. Can I tell you something?- I ALMOST DIED TODAY. Several times. And actually, the dog we hit probably DID die today. Did you laugh at that!? Our driver did. Awk. Anyway, I can't even EXPLAIN this to you. No stop signs, no stop lights, no lanes (well, they HAVE lanes, they just aren't respected), no bike lane, no helmets, I mean, literally: NOTHING. You just fly down the crowded highway in any lane at any speed, just make sure you honk several hundred times an hour to alert everyone where you are. I almost lost my life, Mom. Here is a picture sequence that doesn't show the look on my face or my tense body parts.
That is a 2-lane road.
Sometimes this happens:
-Trash is just everywhere. If countries could be opposites, India and Japan would be opposites. I'm not trying to highlight the bad things about this country. Really. I'm merely highlighting the major sources of my culture shock. The roadside from Delhi to Agra is covered in trash. Just littered. Photo:
(Also, free animals) Now, I think this just comes with the severe poverty+serious population density.
- I saw some very, very poor people today. While driving, a young child ran up to the window with bunches of flowers to sell. I declined with a shake of the head... but the girl persisted (common theme), shaking her head 'yes'. She then made a movement with her hand that resembled eating. And so I was like, :-O. And the car started driving faster... and so she ran, knocking on the window, and finally the trunk as we sped up. Poor, poor people. I saw two children pooping on the ground. Just squat-pooping. Severe poverty.
-I've only seen a few police personnel.
-There are hundreds of half-built buildings lining the streets. No construction crews. Just empty half-buildings all over.
- It's hot here. But not humid like in Georgia. This means that you can wear long sleeves and not die. Most men wear long sleeves and long pants on 100+ degree weather.
-Some of you (Briana/Kelli) would cry over the skinny dogs we saw today. Oh yeah, our car hit one.
-It's midnight. Everyone is honking on the street.
-Everyone here loves cricket.
I'm tired now. Taj Mahal at 5:45 in the morning. It's midnight. Can I sleep? :-) Loves. BTW, I don't read this after I write it. So pay no mind to typos.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Landing
Well, I'm absolutely exhausted, ya'll. Plus my head hurts. Plus I am sweaty. Can I tell you something? I walked out of that airport in Delhi and my sweat pores BURST OPEN like wild animals and I became sweaty.
So now, I'll talk about the flights in about 4 sentences:
We flew first class on the way to Amsterdam and I felt like a princess. When we arrived in Europe (my first time there) Dad said, "This is like a black person going to Africa for the first time." Ok, then we got on the plane to India with about 4000 Indians. I was uncomfortable the whole time but I made it and we got a taxi and drove to this little hotel and I was scared the whole way.
I'm really sorry... but I'm gonna sleep now. <3
So now, I'll talk about the flights in about 4 sentences:
We flew first class on the way to Amsterdam and I felt like a princess. When we arrived in Europe (my first time there) Dad said, "This is like a black person going to Africa for the first time." Ok, then we got on the plane to India with about 4000 Indians. I was uncomfortable the whole time but I made it and we got a taxi and drove to this little hotel and I was scared the whole way.
I'm really sorry... but I'm gonna sleep now. <3
Friday, May 25, 2012
Before the Flight
Ok, so after unrelenting pressure from my fans (Hi, Mom!) I've decided to write a blog about my travels to India. As you might remember, I was pretty funny when I wrote about my travels in Japan. Unfortunately I need to warn you that I'm 3 years older/more mature... which means I have lost much of my humor (also, I'm quite nervous that I won't live up to ya'lls literary expectations). This is where I will document the important memories so that I won't forget them when I get old and sloppy (beta.amyloid.protien?!). Anywayyyy- I hope you enjoy all this.
Here is what's (supposed to be) happening on this trip: Fly from Atlanta & land in Delhi, India. < That is the key step. From Delhi we go to Agra, India to sight-see (Taj Mahal). From Agra, back to Delhi. And from Delhi we depart on a 12-hour drive north to Dharamsala, the home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This is where we will spend the bulk of the trip. There's an illustration below for you curious people.
Oh, Delhi doesn't look like it's 12-hours away from Dharamsala, you say? Good point. I will now introduce an anticipated major theme of the trip: ROAD CONDITIONS. And then comes the work/enlightenment. Here's the website for the group I'm going with and what it's all about: http://www.tibet.emory.edu/scienceandspirituality/ETSI.html So, to sum up that website: His Holiness thinks it is important for his/all Buddhist monks to be educated in science among other topics. Therefore, he has requested that a group of Western thinkers come teach the monks. So, that's that. That's what Dad and I are doing.
At this time I will now give a brief brief brief brief history of the Dalai Lama and Tibet/China/India.
So here he is just chillin' and being thankful. Like I said, this will be brief and in some serious Layman's terms. Brief.
>>The 14th Dalai Lama is like the Pope to the Buddhist people. You know how the Pope is situated in Rome? Well, until 1959 His Holiness was situated in Tibet (which was/is between India and China). In 1959 the Chinese booted His Holiness out of Tibet for fear that he would stir up some religious trouble in their communist state. So, he and thousands of his monks traveled on foot to Dharamsala where they have lived ever since. Now, Tibetans want to be Tibetan but China says that Tibet is just part of China- so everyone is arguing. This is what has influenced several Buddhist monks to set themselves on fire in protest: ( http://caribflyer.com/carib/eighth-tibetan-sets-himself-on-fire-in-southwestern-china/ ) Big Big Conflicttt. Ok, so that's all I really wanna say about this. It's just so complicated and Dad is trying to get me to go to the Verizon Store to get our phones to work in India.
Oh, our flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam is at 5pm. We have 3 hours there, then we fly to Delhi. Dad said that's 20 hours of flying. At least I have banana chips from Whole Foods.
***Update: I will not have a phone in India; Verizon is stingy. Skype/Facebook/Blog/Tumblr/YouTube/Google+/Tweet/hLIgfihkhg me though!***
Here is what's (supposed to be) happening on this trip: Fly from Atlanta & land in Delhi, India. < That is the key step. From Delhi we go to Agra, India to sight-see (Taj Mahal). From Agra, back to Delhi. And from Delhi we depart on a 12-hour drive north to Dharamsala, the home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This is where we will spend the bulk of the trip. There's an illustration below for you curious people.
Oh, Delhi doesn't look like it's 12-hours away from Dharamsala, you say? Good point. I will now introduce an anticipated major theme of the trip: ROAD CONDITIONS. And then comes the work/enlightenment. Here's the website for the group I'm going with and what it's all about: http://www.tibet.emory.edu/scienceandspirituality/ETSI.html So, to sum up that website: His Holiness thinks it is important for his/all Buddhist monks to be educated in science among other topics. Therefore, he has requested that a group of Western thinkers come teach the monks. So, that's that. That's what Dad and I are doing. At this time I will now give a brief brief brief brief history of the Dalai Lama and Tibet/China/India.
So here he is just chillin' and being thankful. Like I said, this will be brief and in some serious Layman's terms. Brief.
>>The 14th Dalai Lama is like the Pope to the Buddhist people. You know how the Pope is situated in Rome? Well, until 1959 His Holiness was situated in Tibet (which was/is between India and China). In 1959 the Chinese booted His Holiness out of Tibet for fear that he would stir up some religious trouble in their communist state. So, he and thousands of his monks traveled on foot to Dharamsala where they have lived ever since. Now, Tibetans want to be Tibetan but China says that Tibet is just part of China- so everyone is arguing. This is what has influenced several Buddhist monks to set themselves on fire in protest: ( http://caribflyer.com/carib/eighth-tibetan-sets-himself-on-fire-in-southwestern-china/ ) Big Big Conflicttt. Ok, so that's all I really wanna say about this. It's just so complicated and Dad is trying to get me to go to the Verizon Store to get our phones to work in India.Oh, our flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam is at 5pm. We have 3 hours there, then we fly to Delhi. Dad said that's 20 hours of flying. At least I have banana chips from Whole Foods.
***Update: I will not have a phone in India; Verizon is stingy. Skype/Facebook/Blog/Tumblr/YouTube/Google+/Tweet/hLIgfihkhg me though!***
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