(Day 24) Foreigner say what?!?!?--->1st visit to Haus Khaus

(Day 24) 23.02.13

I took the violet line to Central Secretariate and switch over to the Yellow Line and got off at Green Park metro station. From there, I went to Hauz Khaus Village and looked around at the shops there.  Ill give a brief evaluation of the place shop and my rickshaw experience.

I met up with some friends and we went to Boheme, a nice rooftop restaurant with a beautiful view. I was still full from a a heavy breakfast so I didn’t order much. 

My order (I didn't get a pic of the hummus)

However, I had one of the best banging cesar salads and hummas and pita bread. I was very satisfied. Portion wise, they could have made the salad a little bigger but my salad, hummus & pita, and a a nice drink that I think was mango or strawberry mocktail, plus Indian tax (12%) and tip probably equaled to about 16-18 dollars. I know right? Just that? It's not too bad. 

One of my friends orders. It was delicious

Additionally, the shops within Haus Khaus and definitely for foreigners who like a lot of vintage items and wish to spend a lot of cash. Although I did not take a picture of it; there was a stuffed elephant that looked like it might have been hand sown and the price tag total was about $30 USD. Sorry, but I wouldn’t by that. But I guess Indian’s would.

After looking at some of the shops, we explored what was near by and found some tomb like place that wasn’t famous to the point where people needed to pay to get in but young people went there to chill, explore, and take facebook photos lol.  The cheesiest fb photos smh.

Overall, my experience in Haus Khaus was a 3 out 5. I gave it a 3 mostly because of the food and the tomb place we saw. –2 because of the bad rickshaw experience in which our driver charged us double for our trip and because the shops were too expensive. I don’t blame them for trying to make money but I guess I was just disappointed that the shops just weren’t my type of place to shop.

So that was my experience. Peace be with you all.

I have so many posts to catch up on.

_______________________________________________________________________________
***CGinSL***

College Girls, Muslim Wedding & Rock Bands OH MY! (Day 19- 22)

Hello! Namaste! Salaam!

So much has happened in Aligarh. I got to see various health facilities, I visited Aligarh University and got to interact with some of the girls there, I met a group of guys who formed a student rock band and are popular on their campus, I attended a ghazzal concert and attended my first Muslim wedding reception.

So where do I start?

Health

We saw so many babies and I unfortunately
missed the chance to see a woman giving birth.  

It is pretty interesting how close non-medical students are allowed to get in hospitals. I appreciate the access.  One of our health professors has taken a lot of initiative
and in addition to starting  a school there, the
sociology department at
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) ,  

was able to set a program in which males from different backgrounds such as Social Work, Sociology etc. were supervisors for ASHA’s in various villages and help with the upkeep and reporting of health conditions and health
care throughout Aligarh. I was very proud about this initiative.

A newborn we got the chance to see up close

A delivery room (Ideally, the bucket will catch the fluids)

A poster encouraging health check ups
throughout the pregnancy.

Some mothers less than 24 hours after
delivery waiting to be discharged.***

***= Say what??!?! Yes in India, women deliver quick and go back to their daily lives as if nothing happened. As long as everything is fine with both mother and baby, the longest they in the hospital is 24 hours and home they go. This really put things into perspective for me; especially since those who've i've known deliver in the US have to stay in the hospital at least a few days to a week (minimum). Do you think we [the US] over does health care procedures such as this?***

College Girls


We also got the chance to hang out with girls from the Indira Gandhi dorms. They were so excited to see us. They asked for our facebook's and had questions about America. They also showed off their dorms and then…

An painting in response to the Delhi rape case 

The artist herself (left)

We saw some of the girls artwork! Talented artists! When I saw their artwork, I looked at it and thought that they were things that would sell for hundreds and thousands of dollars. When we asked one of the girls how much she would sell one of her paintings for, she said 500 rupees. That’s when my mind went… WHAT?!??!?!?! That is the equivalent of 10 dollars.  I really hope she gets to reach her full potential.

Other than this experience, (on another day) we got the chance to listen to some of the students sing ghazzals, a poetic form of music and a school rock band sing a few English songs.  

Both types of music where amazing!!!  They sang Need You by Lady Antebellum so they won me over. Btw, did I mention that the lead singer of the band had a voice similar to the lead singer of Creed and is an amazing artists (he sketches with so much detail).

The assembly at the dorm before we met the girls

This girl was cooking food in her room
because she wasn't feel well and wanted
to make something special.

It was cool seeing how no matter where you go, students are students. We talk about similar topics, have relationships, enjoy music and try to balance life and school work.

Lastly and most fortunately, Our professor’s nephew was getting married and we got the chance to attend the reception. It was beautiful. Although a quiet affair, the loudness and elegance showed through the clothing, food and merriment of the entire event. And I will put pictures of the bride so you can see how gorgeous she is!!!

I have a lot of pictures from the trip I hope you enjoy!

The Entrance 

Over 1,000 guests attended the reception

The bride,groom, and family

________________________________________________________________________________

***CGinSL***

Taj Mahal & Birthday party! (Day 17)

                                               Namaste!!!

So 11 of us (me and 10 classmates) set off to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. It was a beautiful sight. I could see why it is one of the seven wonders of the world. We rented a government van that could seat 12 and took 5 hours to get there. There is an express route that should take around 3 hours but I have a feeling our driver didn’t take that route. Be warned that on you way there you will see monkey’s with owners, from experience I learned that if you take a picture of the monkey the owner will probably pester you to pay him for the opportunity to take a picture. It seems ridiculous but it will happen.

We left Delhi by 7 and got to the Taj around midday. After stopping for lunch at the Indiana restaurant, we went to see the Taj. The detail put into the architecture was just gorgeous and since I had learned a little bit about the history of the building, it was interesting to see someone’s declaration/ portrayal of love displayed for the whole world to see. 

I guess I’ll quickly summarize the history of the Taj Mahal. Here goes….

Our  group is excited to see the Taj!

Resting up before we see the Taj!

Beware of monkeys!!!

So you can see why it is such a nice place to visit. I have a few pics to put here. While I was there it was raining so much that I got a cold but it was totally worth it! We got back to Delhi by 11:00 or so.

Overall, it was a 4.75 out of 5 experience at the Taj. The .25 goes into the crowdedness and aggressiveness of everyone trying to push so that they could get out of the rain as well as the time it took to get there and my monkey experience. But I guess its understandable lol Also when you see the replica of the emperors and empress’ tombs, you will be rushed in and out so do not plan on lingering for a long time.

Drenched in the rain. 

Outside of the Taj

Found refuge in a crevice of the Taj

I made it!!!

Peace be with you all! I will be in Aligarh all next week so look forward to my next post.

Oh yes! Btw, as I mentioned in previous posts, I have the pleasure of living with a family that practices Sikhism. I have pictures from a recent birthday party I attended. J

So, my host parents and I drove to the Grudhvara which is the place of worship for Sikh’s. I got there and my host mother gave me a few rupees. Then when we took off our shoes and when upstairs. There was a lady ready what I would call hymns and people reciting them as well. I put the money in a box thing and knelt before the alter and followed everything my host mother did. Well…almost until I thought she was sitting down but she was actually circling the alter. Oopz? My bad.

After that one of the guys who I guess seemed like a priest made a mixture and passed it out to the congregation.  I took it and ate it. It tasted pretty good actually. If any of you are familiar with Harina, Farina, or Cream of wheat, then you will know what I am talking about. It takes like Farina mixed with peanut butter. And it was warm so some of the oil from the peanut butter remained on your hands and you could rub it into your skin.  Now as I reflect back on it, it was kind of nice lol

After that, more things were recited and the service ended and we went down stairs for the reception.  It was a nice gathering and it was catered. Mind you…the little girl looked like she was turning 1 or 2 years old. I guess when in India, you gotta go big or go home. I enjoyed myself though.

I’ll include some pictures, hope you enjoy J

Peace be with you all and look forward to future posts.

Service before the reception

Birthday girl and her mommy

Barbie cake!!!

_________________________________________________________________________________

***CGinSL***

Time difference issues... (Day 12)

Hey everyone!

Today is another chill day and I have to say that the 10 1/2 (yes… I said 1/2) hour  time difference is so confusing L. I want to receive calls from my friends and potential job but coordinating a proper time is sort of hard.  I have sped up my Hindi learning a bit but need to find the confidence and courage to use it more often. It’s wonderful that now I am in India so I honestly have no excuse but to become fluent in the language while learning a few recipes’ lol.

                                         Well I’ll keep you posted. Peace be with you all. 

_________________________________________________________________________________
***CGinSL***

****Lotus Temple**** (Day 10)

Hello everyone!

So I went to the Lotus Temple in New Delhi. Supposedly there is one temple on each continent. It was interesting. It was also...Free Free Free if you were wondering but overall nice. I also bought another pair of earrings. The Bahai temple is so quiet and had marble everywhere. Even the seats were marble. 

Unfortunately they give you a little 'pep talk' about the temple and basically tell you to 1) turn your phone off 2)stay quiet during your time in there and 3) No picture taking :(. Believe me, one of my classmates sort of snapped a picture as we went in but the tour guide immediately told her to turn it off.  

You can sort of just sit there and meditate/think of your life and then leave. On both sides of the building there are pools that people dip there feet into.

The garden/park right next to it is sooo peaceful and beautiful. But foreigners just make sure you are used to people staring at you or asking for your picture. Its kind of flattering and for the most part you can say no.  It’s an experience so just kind of go with it. There were people trying to talk to me and my roommate in English, grab our attention and stuff but it’s cool.

 For the most part it was a good day. 

Enjoy the pictures below :) Peace be with you all. 

My roommate Katherine

Lotus Temple

Introductory tour guides 

_________________________________________________________________________________

***CGinSL***