October 9, 2010

Saturday October 9, we had a busy but fun day. We visited 6 places today. First we went to a Catholic Church, which was really interesting seeing one in India. There were prayers outside of the church. Our tour guide was the owner of the Orchid Nursery where we were staying. After the church we went to a cactus nursery. The cactus were being grown to be sold in Australia and New Zealand. After seeing many different cacti went went to a Buddhist monastery. It was the first historical sect. We learned more about Buddhism from our tour guide. We even saw Buddhist monks playing soccer.

After the monastery we went to a paper making factory. We saw how paper was being made which they used a local bush/shrub. The woman who gave us a tour said her maternal uncle saw a documentary how the Japanese made paper and he tried some ways and came up with his own way of making paper. It became a family business. After the tour we bought a lot of things from their store. I bought a lamp shade, a journal, post cards, and gift bags. After the paper making factory we went to another Buddhist monastery. This monastery belonged to the same sect as the present Dali Lama. Our tour guide's wife's great uncle was the mentor of the previous Dali Lama. Finally, we went to a school for Anglo Indians that prepares them to live abroad. After all of that we went back to have a late lunch and went shopping since we had to leave early the next morning.

October 7 & 8, 2010

Thursday October 7, we had a busy day today. We left Yamsung Farms at 9am to go some monasteries and some other places. We first went to a cheese factory, however there wasn't much to see since the factory wasn't making anything but some people still bought cheese. After that we went to one of the highest bridge in Asia. After taking some pictures we went to a beautiful waterfall. Finally we went to a Buddhist monastery. It was beautiful and peaceful. We even heard the monks chanting. After about two hours at the monastery, we were going to go to another monastery however since it was already 2:30 and the monastery was too far away. It took us two hours to get back the Yamsung Farms so we just went back there.

Friday October 8, we got up early and spent four hours in the car to go to West Bengal where our hotel was. It was called the Holumba Orchid Farm. There were a lot of chickens, dogs, and beautiful flowers. The owner took over when his parents were not able to work anymore. His wife and sister help out on the farm. After lunch we went shopping. The market is a long street with other streets branching off full of shops. I got a lot of gifts and had some Darjeeling Tea at a coffee shop. The town in called Kalimpong, however there are many signs for Gorkhaland. The name is given to the area around Darjeeling and the Duars in north West Bengal and for Nepali/Gorkhali-speaking Gorkha ethnic group in Darjeeling and its surrounding areas. There has been a demand for Gorkhaland since 1907.

October 6, 2010

Wednesday October 6, we woke up at 4:45am to see the sunrise on the Himalayas. The walk was about 10mins however it was slippery because it poured the night before. There was also an earthquake the night before but I was asleep. We stayed there until 7:15am and went back for breakfast. After breakfast I went back to sleep for two hours because I was tired from waking up at 4:45am. Around 10am I worked on my pictures and rested. I was going to go to a monastery but I was tired from the 5 hour hike we had yesterday and I wanted to rest for the next day since we were going to visit other monasteries. After lunch, me, Cate (director) and Patrick walked to the nearby village and bought some gifts. We walked 2KM back to Yamsung Farms.

The farm is so beautiful, and the cooking is really good. The man in charge took over for his parents and he and his wife and three young children work on the farm. They also have other workers such as Kishin our guide from the day before. He is studying to be a teacher. They have a dog, Rocky and a kitten Mick-Mick. The dog is old however he went on the 8km walk with us yesterday. The two get along very well. Rocky went another 4km hike today with some people who wanted to go to the monastery.

October 4 & 5, 2010

Monday October 4, we took a two hour flight to West Bengal. Then we took a 5 hour taxi ride to Sikkim. We had to stop at the border and get permits which took about two hours. We arrived around 8pm at the Yamsung Farm. After eating a delicious dinner we went to bed because we were exhausted.

Tuesday October 5, We got up at 7:30am to eat breakfast. We had an awesome view of the Himalayas from our room since we were on the second floor. Around 9:30 we went on a 5 hour hike to a Buddhist monastery. It was gorgeous seeing the Himalayas and Sikkimise houses, schools and people. However, our group got leeches. I only got one and it was only on my sock so it didn't bite me yet. Around 2pm we got back to the farm and then me, Brigette, Harold, Andrew, Karissa, Lauren and our guide Kishin took us to his village. However we got sidetracked and ending up sitting on rocks and near a pavilion and looking at the Himalayas. We agreed to come back at sunrise to take pictures and enjoy the beautiful site. We also talked to some children who got out of a nearby school.

October 1, 2010

We went on another Cities of Delhi field trip, this time to the Mehrauli Archaeological Park. Balban's tomb, belonging to Balban, Slave dynasty ruler of Delhi Sultanate was constructed here in the 13th century can still be seen though in a dilapidated condition. Architecturally important structure as it is the first true arch in Indo-Islamic architecture. Another tomb, that of Balban's son, Khan Shahid, who died before he could be crowned, is also located near by in Mehrauli Archeological Park. A baoli or stepwell known as Rajon ki Bain was constructed in 1506 during Sikandar Lodhi's reign. Sikandar Lodhi was the last ruler of India before the Mughals took over. It was used to store water though it is now completely dried and is now known as Sukhi Baoli (dry well). The Jamali Kamali mosque was built in 1528, in honour of the Sufi saint Shaikh Hamid bin Fazlullah, also known as Dervish Shaikh Jamali Kamboh Dihlawi or Jalal Khan. The saint's tomb built in 1536 upon his death is adjacent to the mosque. The Adham Khan's Tomb was constructed by Emperor Akhabr in memory of his foster brother & general Adham Khan in 1566. The tomb, also known as Bhulbhulaiyan, as one could get lost in the labyrinth of its passages, it was later used by the British as a residence, rest house and even as a police station. Close to Adham Khan's tomb, lies that of another Mughal General, Muhammad Quli Khan, later it served as the residence of Sir Thomas Metcalfe, Governor-General’s Agent at the Mughal court. You can see the Qutab Minar in the distance of the Park.

September 24 & 25, 2010

We went to Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh to visit the group of temples. There are three groups, the Western, Eastern, and Southern group of temples. On Friday September 24, after a four hour train ride we got to Jhansi and took a four hour taxi ride to Khajuraho. We went to the Western Group, which it the biggest of the three groups and the most famous. However, we had to get a copy of our passport to pay the student discount and since we had less than an hour to see it we decided to try tomorrow morning. So we decided to go to the Eastern Group of Temples. There were three sets of temples in the Eastern Group. We spent about an hour there seeing the beautiful temples and relaxing. Many of the temples were there for more than 1000 years yet some looked as if they were built just yesterday. We ate dinner at our hotel.

September 25, we got up at sunrise because we wanted to be at the Western Group early. We spent two hours there, by the time we were leaving more groups were coming which is why we decided to go there early to avoid the crowd. We saw many temples and even monkeys hanging around the temples and even climbing the temples. After that we went to eat breakfast and relaxed at our hotel a little bit. We then went to the Southern Group, there was only one temple there but it was still beautiful. After spending about an hour there we left and went back to our hotel and waited for the taxi to take us back to Jhansi to catch the train to Delhi.

September 17, 2010

Friday September 17, our group went on another Cities of Delhi field trip. This time it was to Shajahanabad, Old Delhi. This was my fourth time, and even though I have been here four times I love Old Delhi. I love the business of the city and the fact that there are religious sites for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Jains and probably other religions. Me, Everly, Harold, and Karissa took the Metro while the rest of the group took taxis. I love taking the metro because I have been on subways and metros in D.C. and New York so taking the metro wasn't new for me. We walked around for a little bit and then we met our group. We walked around and had really good food. The aloo puri was so good but nothing beat the jalebi which was amazing. I love jalebi and having it for breakfast made it all the better. The street where we ate has many of the dhaba which are fast food stands. There are all over India and I like eating at them more than restaurants because you can usually get real spicy food for a good price.

After eating breakfast we went to a Jain temple. It was small but really pretty and peaceful. I've been to a Jain temple in Rajasthan but that was much bigger and not in the middle of a city. After the Jain temple we went to a man's house who lives in a haveli that goes back 200 years. An haveli would have a big courtyard surrounded on four sides by spacious rooms and often another walled courtyard around the exterior as well. The man was nice of us to show us his haveli. Our teacher has taken past students to his house. We tried flying one of our kites however there wasn't much wind. Many houses in Old Delhi are so close together that you can jump from one rooftop to the next. Many children play cricket on the rooftops and fly kites. We had tea at his house and he talked about the house and his family.

After that we looked around and some people got parathas, which are unleavened flat-breads made by pan frying whole-weat flour. They are usually stuffed with some kind of vegetables like potatoes or onions. They are good and usually served for breakfast. After that we went to the spice market. We went on the roof overlooking the Fatehpuri Masjid so we could see the Spice Market better as well as other parts of Old Delhi. We could see Chandni Chowk which is the main bazaar in Old Delhi. After spending some time on the roof we went home. I think I am going to do my Cities of Delhi final assignment on Old Delhi because I really like the area.

September 11, 2010

Saturday, we decided that we would wear our saris and the men would wear Sherwani, which is what Indian men wear during weddings for special occasions when we visited the Taj Mahal. So we got up really early yo get dressed. We were going to the Taj from 6-8am since at 8am admission is free and there are also prayers at the mosque. Since admission is free from 8-10am everyone starts showing up so we decided to go earlier and avoid the huge crowds. It was so nice going when it wasn't crowded. It was nice to be there again because no matter how many times you see it, it is still beautiful. Also, this time I didn't take as many pictures and I was able to enjoy it more. After the Taj we went back to the hotel to eat breakfast. After breakfast four of us went shopping since we had two & 1/2 hours of relaxing. I got 8 sets of bangles for friends. The guy wanted 200 Rupees for a set of 12 bangles & I bargained with him and only paid 40 Rupees for each set. After that we came back & I took a nap for an hour and then packed up my stuff.

We left the hotel around 12:30 and we went to the Agra Fort. This was another place I visited before. The Agra Fort was built by Akbar between 1565 and 1573. Akbar's son Jehangir built a building also in the Fort, and Shah Jahan (had the Taj built for his wife) also had his own building in the Fort. Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in the fort. However the building he stayed in was made out of marble, so it wasn't much of a prison. It is rumored that he died in Muasamman Burj, a tower with a marble balcony with an excellent view of the Taj. All around the Fort you can see the Taj across the Yumana River.

After the Agra Fort we went to eat lunch at a nice South Indian Restaurant. Then we went to Itmad-ud-Daula's Tomb. The tomb was commissioned by Nur Jahan, the wife of Jahangir, for her father Mirza Ghiyas Beg. The Tomb is made of marble and it is sometimes called the "Baby Taj" since both are made out of marble. The Tomb it beautiful and behind it is the Yumana River. After the Tomb we went to the Mehtab Bagh or Moonlight Garden. The garden is north of the Taj across from the Yumana River. You can see great shots of the back of the Taj and the Yumana River. It is also peaceful, however when we were there, there were a lot of locals because it was Id. After that we went to the train station and our train left around 8:30 and we got to Delhi around 10:40pm. It was a tiring but great weekend.

September 10, 2010

Friday, After getting up at 5am we went to the New Delhi Train Station to catch a 6:15 train to Agra. After two hours on the train we reached Agra and went on a bus that would drive us around. The first place we went to was Fatephihur Sikri which is city built by Mughal emperor Akbar beginning in 1570 and served as the empire's capital from 1571-1585. It was abandoned after 1585 and there are many rumors as to why it was abandoned. We went to the sufi mosque that Akbar built, even though he was Muslim. The mosque was really beautiful. In the courtyard on the way to the mosque there were many people getting ready for Id, since it was the day before Id. Id marks the end of Ramadan. I have been here three years ago but it was still nice to see it again. I enjoyed it because it is a very peaceful place.

After Fatephihur Sikri, we drove 40 minutes to Sikandra which is the tomb of Akbar. It was a very beautiful and peaceful place. After spending some time there we went back to Agra, Fatephihur Sikri & Sikandra are in neighboring towns of Agra. On the way to Sikandra there was a lot of traffic, which is common in India. However, there was a certain reason for this traffic, there was a protest against Terry Jones. Terry Jones is the idiot who wanted to burn Qurans on September 11. We had to pull the blinds on the bus since the Muslims protesting saw the bus and they pointed to us, luckily they did not come near the bus.

When we got to Agra we went to our nice hotel and some of us decided to go on this nature walk. The nature walk is new and you can see the Taj along the walk. Even though it was raining I am glad I went because we saw really pretty views of the Taj and it was a nice walk. After the walk we met up with the rest of the group to eat dinner and then went back to the hotel and went to bed.

September 3, 4, & 5, 2010

Friday, September 3

I was supposed to meet Andrew, his family, and some of the other students to go to Chandhi Chowk (in Old Delhi) to go shopping but I wasn't feeling well so I went to the doctors. I got medicine and rested. I also did a lot of my homework and caught up on my reading.

Saturday, September 4

Since I was feeling better Karissa and I went to Haus Kauz Market to look for Kurtas. Melody (another student) bought really nice and cheap Kurtas at a store in Haus Kauz. Well, there is a Haus Kauz Market and a Haus Kauz Village which has shops as well as ruins left by rulers before the Mughals came to India. We thought they were in the Market so after looking around and asking people we asked Melody and she told us the shop was in the Village. We were able to walk to the Village from the Market. However, after walking around we didn't find it and since I was still sick I was getting tired so we headed back. The rest of the say I did more reading and relaxed.

Sunday, September 5

Everly, Karissa, and I went to Sirogni Nagar (Nagar means city or town) to pick up our saris since we had to get the blouses tailored. We went early to look around and we were going to meet Andrew and his family since they have been going to the sari shop for over 30 years and knew the people there. I bought another sari. It's silk, black and has a dark red lining. I got it for my mom's memorial service. Some other students came and they bought some saris since they were not with us last week when we picked ours. After trying on the blouses they need to be let loose a little and hopefully we get them before we go to the Taj this weekend, because on Saturday we want to get our pictures taken wearing our saris in front of the Taj. The rest of the day, I relaxed and studied my Hindi.

September 2, 2010

Thursday, I had my classes and then the home stay students went to Cate's (director) house for a dinner to talk about our host families. Some of us decided to take the bus because it was cheaper and we didn't have to be at Cate's until 6:00 and we wanted to hang out at the residence (where we stayed the first week). The bus ride wasn't as bad as I thought. I have heard stories of busses taking 2 & 1/2 hours instead of 40 minutes. On the way to Neeti Bagh (where the residence is and where Cate lives) we saw a camel which was really cool. After hanging out at the residence for about an hour we walked to Cate's house. Cate asked us what we wanted for our dinner and people had a mexican food craving so we had nachos, salsa, and bean burritos. Unfortunately, I was sick so I could only taste the salsa. There is a store in one of the markets that has American foods, but it's the same price as they would be in the states. After that we met the rest of the group at my home stay and my home stay's driver took us to two temples because Thursday was Krishna Janmashtami which is the celebration of the birth of Krishna. It was really cool seeing dancing and singing at the temples. At midnight temples are crowded with people who come in to do the puja (prayer), because Hindus believe Krishna was born at midnight. We did not stay for that because the temples are so crowded it is hard to move. After we visited the two temples we came back and everyone went home.

August 28, 2010, & August 29, 2010

Saturday August 28- Yesterday was Karissa's birthday and earlier in the week was the birthday of Andrew's host dad (another IES student), so we went to Vasant Kunj (where Andrew lives) to celebrate the birthdays. It was a lot of fun and as usual Andrew's host mom made us excellent Indian food. She also gave each of the girls a set bangles! Some of stayed later, while others left. Those of us that stayed later, Andrew's mom showed us her huge collection of bangles, she has two drawers full of bangles. She gave us more bangles and I got two sets. One is red while the other is green, orange, & white.

After that, Everly, Anisha, Paramita, & I went to a club near our house. Anisha and Paramita are two Indian girls (both working) staying with us. The club was a bit expensive, really crowded, and they played ok music, we didn't stay long but had a fun time.

Sunday August 30- Everly, Me, Karissa met Andrew, his host parents and his brother, Abhisek, at a market to look for saris and bangles. I bought two classy saris. One is red and black, while the other one is blue and a tinted brown. We had to get the blouses tailored so we will not get them for a week. I am really excited about them, because I got a good price on them and they are not too flashy or heavy!

August 27, 2010

Friday August 27: I went on two field trips today. The first one was to Teen Murti Bhavan for my India since Independence class. It housed the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, now it is a museum about Nehru and the fight for India's independence. There is also a nice library and planetarium. I really liked reading information about Nehru's life, as well as his daughter's life (Indira Gandhi- she was also prime minister of India at one time). There was also information about the creation of India once it became independent as well as information about other people in the fight for independence such as Gandhiji and Bhagat Singh. We also saw his office, the room that he died in and Indira Gandhi's bedroom.

After eating lunch at the cafeteria, which was really good food, as always, we went to Tughlaqabad Fort for my Cities of Delhi class. Tughlaqabad is a ruined fort in Delhi, stretching across 6.5 km, built by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, the founder of Tughlaq dynasty, of the Delhi Sultanate of India in 1321, which was later abandoned in 1327. Ghias-ud-din was so passionate about his dream fort that he issued a dictate that all labourers in Delhi must work on his fort. Saint Nizamuddin Auliya, a Sufi mystic, got incensed as the work on his well was stopped. The saint uttered a curse which was to resonate throughout history right until today: may it [the fort] remain unoccupied/infertile, or else the herdsmen may live here). This is why there a lot of cows and hardly any people at the Fort and surrounding area. Ghias-ud-din's tomb is also near the Fort. There was a pathway that connected the tomb and the fort but it was broken apart because there is a major highway that one has to cross to get to the Tomb from the Fort.

August 22, 2010

Sunday August 22, 2010: After catching up on my sleep, me, Everly (another IES student who is living at my home stay now since her first home stay experience did not go well) and Anisha (another Indian living with us. She works at some government office) we went shopping at GK-1 M Block and N Block Market. I got a really cute skirt and a Kurta (a traditional indian shirt that is good with Indian pants or jeans). After shopping we came back and relaxed and then Everly and I went with Karissa (another IES student who lives down the street from us) to Old Delhi for a food walk. One of our teachers Hemanshu has a food blog and he and his friends go around Delhi and eat at different restaurants and write about it. There was about 30 of us so we had to split up since we were going to Jama Masjid (biggest mosque in India) to break the fast for Ramadan. There were about 15 of us that went into the mosque and we sat 1000s of Muslims preparing food to break the fast once the sun set. When a guy came on the loud speaker everyone started to eat. Even though out group was not keeping the fast we eat some of the food we got and it was really cool to be there while people were praying and eating. However, we heard firecrackers but they were so loud that some people (including me) thought they were bombs but Hemanshu said they were just fire crackers.

Then it started raining! So those of us that were not praying (our group) & other Muslims left while Muslims praying were entering the Mosque that was a bit hectic getting out of the mosque as people were trying to come in. Our group walked to a restaurant to eat dinner. Since the area is mostly Muslims there was meat served. Most of the group ate meat except for five of us (including me) so we were able to eat some veg dishes. The food was ok, not the greatest. After that we went to a place that served Kulfi (Indian ice cream). We had the guy open the shop since he closed it early. It was really good. After that, me, Everly, and karissa went back home since we had to get up early for school.

August 6, 2010 & August 7, 2010

Friday, August 6- Four of us went to Shristhi which is an NGO that helps children learn English, Math, and other subjects. Most of the children are from the slums. The NGO has branches all over India. The one we went to in Delhi is near JNU. This one had three schools. The first one, which is the biggest had children from the ages of 6 and 12, the second one had children from the ages of four and six. The last one was in the actually slums. We got to see all three. The one in the slums was hardest for us to see but it was also nice to see the NGO reaching out to kids to teach them. The kids in the last school were very good at math, most of them were from West Bengal which means they did not know Hindi and had to learn Hindi as well as English and other subjects. After having lunch with German girl who worked at the NGO a previous year we left. I think I would like to work for the NGO. Three of us and another student, who was finishing her registration at JNU, went to Khan Market. We ate at a cafe and looked at a bookstore. We also looked at a dvd store and other stores.

Saturday August 7,

Eight of us went to Old Delhi. We were supposed to meet at the Metro Station however we did not know there were different gates for the Station we were meeting at, so we decided to meet at Chandni Chowk. After we all got together we went to the Red Fort or Lal Qila in Hindi. The Red Fort is in Shahjahanbad, which the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan named after himself. Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal built. Now, It is called Old Delhi since the part that the British built is called New Delhi. There was a lot of people at the Red Fort but it was really nice to see it. For Independence Day, August 15, they do a celebration at the Red Fort. After the Red Fort, we went to the Jama Masjid which is the biggest mosque in India. After the Jama Masjid we walked around the bazaar but since there were a lot of people and it was very hot we didn't stay long and decided to go back home.

August 3, 2010 & August 4, 2010

August 3- I did not have class until 11:30am so I was able to sleep in which was nice. However, the auto ride was an experience. The autowallah needed to stop and fill up which was fine since I left early to go the center (where most of my classes are). However, the gas station where he stopped at, was crowded because early that morning there was a murder so there was a lot of police officers and they had a lane blocked off. So instead of taking me about 35mins to get to the center it took me almost an hour. I think my India Since Independence class will be very interesting. We have three field trips, the first is to Nehru's house which is now a museum. Nehru was the first prime minster of India. The second field trip is to Indira Gandhi's house which is also a museum. Indira Gandhi was Nehru's daughter and a prime minister of India. I don't like her as much as I like Nehru. I like to call her the "Margaret Thatcher of India". The third trip is to the president's house. After India since Independence I went to a cafe near the center which had good food. After the cafe I went to my Cities of Delhi class which is about the history of Delhi. Almost every friday we go to different places of Dehli as well as one weekend we visit the Taj Mahal.

August 4- Today I did not have any classes so I was able to sleep in. I went to JNU to finish my registration, which took longer than I expected thanks to Indian bureaucracy. When I finally got back to my house I took a nap and then studied. Karissa and I went to the market and then we studied together. Tomorrow I have three classes. Friday some of us are going to an NGO. Then on Saturday a group of us are going to Chandni Chowk which is one of the biggest and busiest markets in Old Delhi. We are also going to visit Jama Masjid- which is the largest mosque in India and other places in Old Delhi.

August 1, 2010 & August 2, 2010

August 1- we had about three hours before our cars came. So five of us went to a Kali Temple and then to a Sikh Temple. I really liked going to the Sikh Temple because it was my first time and even though I didn't understand what they were saying it was nice to visit and the people were very nice. After the two temples we decided to go back to the hotel and rest before we had to leave. Most of us had a good South Indian meal, while some people went somewhere else to eat. Finally we got in the cars which would take us to the train which was three hours away. However, since it rained so much there was a mudslide which caused traffic. We were stuck in traffic for an hour, luckily we did not miss our train because we left almost 5 hours before our train left. We left so early because it takes three hours to get to Kalka where the train was. On the train most of us studied our Hindi and did our Hindi homework. I did most of my Hindi homework Thursday because i didn't want to do it on the train because i knew I would be too tired, so I helped other people. We got in the station around 10:15pm and I got back to my homestay around 11pm.

Monday August 2- In the morning we had two hours of Hindi. After Hindi me and Melody went to JNU to get our registration taking care of. We had a good, cheap lunch on the campus. However, because Indian bureaucracy is slow, we didn't finish, so we have to return. The good news is that it won't take long to finish and I know what class I am going to take. It's a politics class about modern India. The teacher is very renown and the time works well with my other classes at IES. I am also thinking of working for an NGO called Sshrishti. Each of the IES students get to pick an NGO that we want to work with, we get a credit and we can pick our hours. Sometime this week or next week me and two other students are going to visit Sshrishti to see if we like it and to work out hours that work with our schedules. After JNU, I came back to my homestay and studied until dinner.

July 31, 2010

Today we decided to walk to the IIAS which is the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies. It's a research institute in Shimla. The walk took us about an hour but it was beautiful and it wasn't raining so we enjoyed the walk. The IIAS is home to many historic decisions regarding India's history. The Shimla Conference was held at the IIAS in 1945. The Simla Conference was about how India would rule after independence and how there would be equal representation for the Muslims and other minorities since India is mostly Hindu. Also, the decision to carve out Pakistan and East Pakistan from India was also decided at the IIAS in 1947. It was very moving for me to be in the same building that shaped India and to be in the same room as Gandhiji and Nehru (India's first prime minister). We had a very good lunch in the dinning hall of the IIAS. The IIAS is now the home of scholars who want to continue their work. One of our IES professor's wrote three books while she studied at IIAS and her son, another professor eventually wants to attend there as well when he is done getting his PHd in Economics.

After IIAS, some people went to the Hanuman Temple which was about a 40 minute walk in the mountains. They had to be careful because like all Hanuman Temples it's surrounded by monkeys, since Hanuman is the monkey god. I wanted to go but I heard stories of the monkeys attacking people, however the groups that went said it wasn't too bad. So, I think if I go to Shimla again, which I want to, I will go to the Hanuman Temple. I looked around with some people who didn't go to the Temple and I got a bag which I really like. After shopping we decided to relax and enjoy the view from our hotel. We ate dinner and relaxed in the hotel since it was raining.

July 30, 2010

We had to wake up early on Friday to catch the 7:00am train. It was a four hour train ride. It was not that packed so luckily the guy who was going to sit next to me was moved to an open seat so I was able to stretch out. I wanted to sleep but instead I made flash cards and studied my Hindi. When the train reached Kalka, we got off and went on two busses (there were 14 of us). The bus ride was three hours to Shimla. We stopped about an hour after we left Kalka to eat lunch. We ate a hotel which was used by the British. The food was great, as usual, and we had a pretty view of the Himalayas. We rested at the hotel for about an hour because we were enjoying the coolness. After another two hours, which most of slept through, we reached Shimla. It is beautiful. The town has hundreds of shops, as well as hotels, temples, restaurants. Then of course you have the Himalayas. Which are gorgeous, especially when there is no fog. We took two elevators and after the two elevators we walked a good distance to our hotel, which was very far up so we had a great view of the shops below. After we got settled in it was about 5pm, we went in groups to look around. My group wanted to look at the shops and then we ate dinner. When we were eating it was pouring rain so we waited for the rain to die down. All night it rained heavily.

July 29, 2010

Yesterday July 28, we had more Hindi, finished the 52 letters, finally :). After Hindi we had a very good Indian dinner, sort of like take out but so much better than American food. After that we did our newspaper assingment in which we had to pick an article and talk about it. I talked about Sri Lanka's cricketer who got 800 wickets. I also talked about another that stated that young Indians are doing more than just going to dinner parties, such as going to cricket matches, going to spas, and other fun stuff. After everyone presented we talked about classes and then the 6 people who did not have working cell phones went to get new ones while the other 6 of us went back to our homes. When I got home I studied my Hindi for about three hours and then my friends Karissa (who's host mom is the daughter of my host mom) and Harold came to visit me. The three of us went to the market which is walking distance from where Karissa and I live (Karissa lives down the street from me). The market wasn't that good. They had too many banks and restaurants and no Indian stores to buy Indian clothes and other stuff. It was all westernized. After that we came back and Harold and Karissa ate at my house.

Today, July 29- we had our last Hindi class during orientation (the actual class starts Monday). After Hindi we had lunch and then we had four NGO's talk to us. We can get 1 credit for working for an NGO. One that's really interesting is about helping kids learn English and other languages such as math, music, theater. The other one is helping kids in slums learn English and get them off the street. These two sounded the most interesting to me. After that Me, Harold, and Karissa went to the market near Harold's house. The market was huge and we didn't have a lot of time to look at everything so we will be going back there. I got three Kurtas (long shirts) for a really good price.

Tomorrow I will be leaving at 6:15am to go to Shimla for the weekend. We will be returning late Sunday night like at 10pm. I will not put and posts up because I'm not bringing my laptop. While in Shimla we will be visiting the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS). You can click on the site to find out more about it. http://www.iias.org/

Friday, July 30

6:30 AM leave from your home stay or the Residence at C-43 Neeti Bagh for the New Delhi train station

7:40 AM Shatabdi train leaves for Kalka - this is an AC chair car train with reserved seats.

11:45 AM arrive in Kalka

12:00 PM board taxis for Shimla - about a 3 hour ride up into the Himalaya.

4:00 PM, approximately, we arrive in Shimla - check into the YMCA.

Saturday, July 31

11:30 AM Tour IIAS (leave YMCA at 11 by taxi or earlier for those who want to walk)

1:00 PM lunch at IIAS

Afternoon free to explore Shimla

Dinner on your own

Sunday, August 1

Check out of Y by noon

Morning and lunch on your own

1:00 PM board taxis to return to Kalka

5:45 PM Shatabdi leaves Kalka - dinner is served on the train

9:50 PM Arrive in New Delhi station - taxis will be there to take people back to home stay or residence

July 27, 2010

Today, we had more Hindi. We know 44 of the 52 letters. We had dictation which is when our teacher says a word or a couple of words and we have to write it in the Hindi script. I know how to write my full name in Hindi :). After that we had lunch on the way to Ramjas which is part of Delhi University. We had subway for lunch, the Indian version of subway is Indian food wrapped in a sub, such as chicken tikka sub. We had to eat our lunch on the way there because Ramjas is about 45 mins from the center where our IES classes are. When we got to Ramjas, which is very far north in Delhi. We met with the heads of the Political Science Department, History Department, English Department, and Science Department. At Ramjas they have a bigger and more interesting selection of poli sci classes than at JNU. However I talked to Cate (in charge of Delhi IES) and she said JNU would work better for my schedule and the professors are better. So, who knows. After Ramjas we were supposed to take the metro back, however a metro car wasn't working so the whole metro was shut down. So we had to wait an hour for the cars to pick us up to take us home. When I got home I studied my Hindi and watched Hindi soap operas (serials as they call them) and they are just as crazy as American soap operas, maybe even crazier. Tomorrow is more Hindi and then after lunch I think we are done so me and a fellow student, Karissa, who lives near by will go to a market close by to get some stuff. This weekend we are going to Shimla :)

July 26, 2010

Sunday, July 25 we studied for most of the day. Three people who are taking advanced Hindi did not have to study so they went out or just relaxed. Around 6pm seven of us went to our home stays.

Monday July 26, I went to Hindi class and we talked to our professors at IES about the classes we want to take there. I am planning to take Beginning Hindi, Cities of Delhi which is about getting to know the city. Every friday we go to different places around the city. We also take some weekend trips such as the one in September to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is. I think I will take India since Independence because the class sounds very interesting. If it works in my schedule than I will take it. Me and Melody went to JNU. I think I will really enjoy JNU because it's a liberal arts school. Each major has it's own building. The main school group is the political science group which everyone knows about. The person who took us around said that students at JNU talk about politics while students at Delhi University talk about fashion and movies, so I think I picked the right school. I don't know my classes for JNU because the times were not listed but four classes seemed interesting to me.

My host family is so nice. Indu Chopra has four married daughters. One of her daughters visits a lot because she lives down the street. The daughter is the home stay mom of another IES student. The Chopra's have a huge house. There is another girl staying with the Chopra's. She's works about 10 hrs a day doing something with finance.

Tomorrow we have more Hindi and we are going to Ramjas which is part of Delhi University. Ramjas is where the rest of the group is going, except for me, Melody, Lauren, and Patrick. Lauren and Patrick are going to Kamla Nehru University which is focused on journalism. Ramjas is the farthest away and the students will have to take the metro (lucky them). Melody and I will take an auto rickshaw to go to JNU.

I think I'm getting good at Hindi. I can say some stuff like how to ask someone their name, how they are doing. I can also tell the auto rickshaw where to go. I can ask how much something is. Reading and writing it is taking a little more time, but I try to read signs and anything I see in Hindi script. Having class three hours a day helps, but once classes start next week, we will only have Hindi 2 hrs a day for 2 days, instead of three hours a day each day.

July 23, 2010

Today, was a relaxing day. Some people went to the Baha'i Temple a.k.a. the Lotus Temple and went to a market to attend the Pineapple Festival, but sadly there was no festival going on. The rest of us went to Lodi garden which is a huge garden where people have picnics, sit and relax, mediate, do yoga. There are also beautiful ruins there. After being there for about an hour or so some of us went to GK-1 N Block Market because a girl who came 4 days later wanted to get some indian clothes and some us wanted to return to FabIndia and get other stuff went. GK-1 has the biggest Fab India in Delhi. The others at the Lodi Garden stayed there longer and then went to a market. Everyone returned in time to go to Cate's House. Cate is the director in charge of the IES program in India. She lives in walking distance of the Residence, so she invited us to have tea with her, her husband, her there friends. After that we wen to see a Bharatanatyam performance. The performance was amazing and we really enjoyed it. Seeing it made me miss it and I would love to take classes here. After that we went to a South Indian restaurant which is different food from North Indian. It was good, but most of us were full from eating a late lunch. After dinner we came back the residence. Tomorrow is studying and packing since we move into our host family's homes Sunday evening!

July 23, 2010

Friday, was a chill day. We had Hindi class, ate lunch, did our city as texts report, which was about what we saw when we went on our group tours of an important landmark in Delhi. After that we relaxed until dinner. After dinner we decided to have a Bollywood night, which we watched Bunty aur Babli. Only three of us saw it, so we decided to pick a movie that wouldn't be too extreme for the rest, who most haven't seen a Bollywood movie.

July 22, 2010

Thursday we had more Hindi classes. I'm starting to read signs as well as have small conversations with people. I can also tell where to go when I'm taking a autorickshaw. We didn't really do much we had a diversity workshop and group building exercise which was ok. Most of us were tired so we didn't enjoy it much. After that we went out. Some people just walked around Delhi and went to a nearby mall called Ansal Plaza. Some went to a ruins place and hung around there. Me, and three other girls, Francesca, Melody, and Lauren went to a near by market to look around. After dinner, it was two hours of studying.

July 21, 2010

Yesterday we had more Hindi, which is a little hard but I'm getting used to it. After that we had lunch and then we went to get cell phones, since it's required for us to have phones in case there in an emergency. Where we had lunch was the same place I ate before the last time I was in Delhi which was nice because the food is really good there. Getting the phones took a lot of time which was a bit frustrating. After that most of us went shopping to FabIndia which is a nice store. They have very nice shirts, skits, saris, salwars for men and women. FabIndia has stores all over India, they have three in Delhi. After that we went back to the residence. The residence is like a dorm. There is a common room where we eat and a basement where we can watch tv and they also have computers since some people didn't bring their laptops. We do not live with our host families until sunday evening. All, but four people are doing a home stay. After dinner we studied some more and went to bed. It also rained which was nice because it wasn't so hot though it did rain heavily. Also, the electricity went out about 5X during out Hindi class and twice when we were in the residence. Today, everyone went to the FRRO to get registered so the Indian government knows they are here. They get a card about the size of a passport with their picture and information. Since I don't need one because I have an OCI card (Overseas Citizen of India). So, they get to wait in like for about 4 hours to get the card, they might even have to wait longer. As of now, I did my laundry and about to study my Hindi. Today, we are just doing Hindi and I think tomorrow we register for classes, I hope!

July 19, 2010

My Hindi class began today! It went well. I think speaking it will be easy but writing it and reading it is going to take a little longer. Our teacher is very nice and patient. After three hours of Hindi starting at 8:30 am, we had lunch at the IES Center which is about 15-20mins on auto rickshaw. After lunch we had about 2 hrs of more orientation. We had some guy from the embassy talk about safety in India. The things he was saying were making me mad because he made it seem like Delhi is so dangerous and a bad place to be in, which it not true. Hamunchu (teacher and the person who lives in the IES residence with his wife) and I were talking about what the guy said about Delhi. After that we had a doctor come and talk to us about being safe. Then around 3:30 we went back to the IES residence to relax before our next activity. On the way to the residence I talked to the taxi driver in Hindi which made me happy. Around 4:30 we got into groups of 2 and Hamunchu had is find two things that we had to bring back. We walked around the city and for my group we were supposed to find a food stand menu and sit in restaurant menu. When we got back to the residence we showed the other groups where we got the menus and we marked it on the map. We also marked a gym, markets, pharmacy, shops, tailor and other places around the residence. For dinner there was lentils, some meat thing (I didn't eat it because I'm trying to not eat meat), rice, naan, and some vegetable thing that tasted like potatoes. After dinner some people went to bed, some went to see Inception with Hamunchu and his wife, and the rest of us studied Hindi together. Tomorrow, more Hindi, getting cell phones, and other stuff.

July 18, 2010 Orientation Day 1

We started orientation around 9:30 which included getting to know the fellow students, the people in charge, some of our professors. After about 2 hrs of that we go into groups of 2, there are 11 of us here so far, and each group had a tour guide. For each tour we went to a historical monument and then to a bazaar to shop and get lunch. On my tour me and Herald went to Gandhi Smriti, where Gandhiji spent the last 144 days of his life and where he was assassinated. It was a home which they turned it into a museum about Gandhji and India's independence. I enjoyed it a lot and as an Indian it was moving to be where he was. After that me, Herald and our tour guide took us to a bazaar, but to get there we took the metro! Which is only three years old, and for a Sunday it wasn't busy, but our tour guide said it gets busy on the week day. At the bazaar we looked around and ate delicious food. Finally, we went to the India Gate which is a memorial for the 90,000 Indian soldiers during World War I and the Afghan Wars. After dinner we relaxed because our Hindi classes start at 8:15am for three hours!

Delhi July 17,2010 arrival in Delhi Day 1

Hey everyone! After making it safely to Dehli, me and two other girls met our IES person and we went to the IES residence. This was around 10pm, our plane landed around 8:30 and it took us about 30-45 mins to get from the airport to the residence. Our residence is in a gated community and we have a park across the street where other communities share. A student who arrived a day early said he went for a walk in the park in the morning and saw people doing yoga. When we were settled in around 11pm on the day we arrived we decided to take a walk around the area since those of us that just arrived we were not tired. So we took a short walk and then went to bed.

1st Post

Hey everyone!

So I found out about my home family. They are the Chopras (probably Hindu) and they have four daughters who are all married! I am so looking forward to going to India. I leave here July 16 and arrive in India July 17! I have two weeks of orientation in which I will learn Hindi (if I want to take Hindi class I can once classes start on August). I decided to take these course: cities of Delhi, India since independence, Beginning Hindi and two classes at JNU which I won't know until I get there. JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) is in the top 5 Indian Universities I will be in the School of Social Sciences and in the Centre for Political Studies. I will be taking the first three courses at the IES center (the program in charge of the study abroad). During the two weeks of orientation the group will go the Himalayas to get away from the heat in Delhi.

From October 3-17, Delhi will be hosting the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi. Which is like the Olympics but the countries that the British Empire once ruled will be participating. Classes are cancelled for us during this time and IES has planned another trip to the Himalayas during this time. Hopefully they can get us tickets for the opening games.

That's it for now I probably won't write until Im in India!