McLeod Ganj

This beautiful town is probably most famous for being the residence of the Dalai Lama, and we have loved seeing the beautiful maroon and orange robes of monks and nuns roaming the streets. We've seen a lot more tourists here and we can see why. Not only is it beautiful, but the vibe here is much more chill than in larger Indian cities and there are lots of things to do.

Another view - you can see our pink hotel across the way

So far, we have climbed to a waterfall and played in Himalaya water, visited a Buddhist monastery and a temple, taken a tour of the Tibetan Children's Village, and I've taken a yoga class. Tomorrow is a big Buddhist holiday because it marks the anniversaries of Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and nirvana, so we'll be visiting the smaller monastery again to see what's going down. I'm also going to take an Indian cooking class, and maybe a Tibetan one too. So much to do here, and all within walking distance. It's wonderful.

Visiting the monastery was so interesting. We followed a steep side road down a hill until we came to some stairs. 301 stairs later (Kyle counted), we reached the monastery. Unsure of the protocol, we slowly made our way into their main building. I felt a sort of reverence and wanted to be respectful, but I also realized something that might seem obvious to others - the monk boys are still boys!

Apparently it was a special cleaning day (because of the holiday Friday), so we saw boys finish with drum practice and then haul around a ladder so that widows could be cleaned. Half the time they seemed to carry it just for fun, because they would always bring it back to the same spot afterwards. Another boy came in rolling a small wheel-shaped magnet attached to a string, fixing it each time it fell over. It was just so fun to see them play.

Cleaning day at the monastery

We also met an older monk when everyone came out for lunch, and we got to talk with him for a while. He's the one who told us about Friday, and he answered some other questions we had. His name was Nyima, meaning "sun" in Tibetan. We've met some other Tibetans since and we love how their names all seem to have meaning.

A few-mile walk to the Tibetan Children's Village along a tree-covered road was well worth it. The organization houses and teaches Tibetan children who are orphaned or are from destitute families within India. It was a nice campus, and the children were cute. While there, we met a Tibetan woman and her children who actually live in Austria.

After, she invited us to tea (even though we didn't drink any) and we got to talk for a good hour or two. She had attended TCV as a child, then got married to an Austrian who had been doing service there as a young man. They moved to Austria and she brought her children to attend the school to learn about Tibetan culture. But they were not having it and were in the process of returning home. It was lovely spending time talking with them and exchanging stories. Her 13 year-old daughter was full of fun facts about disgusting foods and world news. Of course, they all speak at least three languages - German, Tibetan, and English. People like this make me want to learn another language!

I'm so glad we have a few more days here!

Inside the monastery

Beautiful monastery doors

Buddhist writings

The water is so clear beneath the waterfall!

On our walk to the waterfall, we watched these two monk boys and thought it was cute how the smaller one kept his hand on the other

To the Himalaya

Delhi has a really impressive metro, which was great for saving rupees getting to the airport. Our plane to Dharamshala was small and nowhere near full and the flight was quick. The landing, however, was the shakiest either of us have ever experienced - we came in so fast and steep we really did hold our breath for a but... but it finally stabilized. Phew.

Now picture an apartment complex down a narrow one-lane dirt road in the middle of nowhere. That's where we found out the room we'd rented was. It was beautiful, but we were absolutely stranded and much further from our destination than we expected. There was no internet and we don't have a phone, and our housekeeper spoke very broken English.

Rice fields with our apartment room in the background

Eventually, we communicated well enough to get to an internet cafe and change our hotel plans. But we were really glad for the mistake, because the walk to the cafe took us through fallow rice fields, a grain mill on a stream, and the housekeeper's residence. We met his family, who lived in a family home along with his mother and brothers and their wives. They had goats and their own little shrine-temple (not sure what it is called). It was so nice out there.

He showed us his mill on the stream running next to their home

But alas, we needed to get up the mountain slopes! So we took a taxi up the winding hillside, narrowly missing oncoming traffic on roads barely barely barely wide enough for two cars (and sometimes not that wide). The drive was so steep! We were amazed that the little taxi we were in could make it, and a little scared on some of the hairpin turns.

Our steep climb up the mountain began

The hassle was all so worth it! McLeod Ganj is a breath of fresh air. It's enchanting staying here at the base of the Himalaya, and it's very different than other parts of India we've visited. There is a mix of Indian and Tibetan culture since so many refugees live here. So far, we have really loved it.

A full post on McLeod Ganj to come. For now, enjoy some phone photos of the views we have from our hotel.

From our hotel roof

These slopes are so colorful!

Favorite people in Delhi

Goodbye, Claire!

On our last morning, we visited the Tibet House with Claire. It was small but really fascinating. We got to see lots of Tibetan artifacts and learned a bit about Tibet and Buddhism. We spent a good hour in the library there, skimming Buddhist books and admiring old Tibetan writings wrapped in cloths in all shades of orange.

Then we parted with Claire (sadly), and headed to the Lodi Gardens - a free park with shrubbery, ruins, and even a running track around it. We saw several couples, and even one getting fresh (a first for us here), so apparently it's the place for dates. The best part of all: there were sprinklers running in one section, and we just happened to stay on that path for a while. It was quite refreshing.

We went to Maggie's mom's house for the evening, and Maggie cooked up an amazing chicken curry! It was wonderful to be in their home, talking and getting to know them better. Maggie and Raju, her husband, are hoping to attend BYU-Hawaii, and we are so excited for them. We felt so blessed by their kindness and generosity-they have such loving hearts. It was by far my favorite experience so far.

Maggie, her son Jeffrey, her husband Raju, and her mother and niece

Lodi Gardens

A Muslim tomb in the Lodi Gardens

Two-liter water bottles are half my size

Headed home

Another hot Delhi day

Going to church in India is always so wonderful and refreshing. Not only is it nice to have something familiar  (and AC...), but the peace and spirit inside church are just what you need after a week in of bustling streets and busy activities. The members are so faithful and pure, and we so enjoy their testimonies and lessons. It always reminds us of what matters most, and inspires us to live more fully Christ's teachings. The branch we attended actually had a handful of people from Africa, and some refugees from Burma, and there were several sets of missionaries.

We met Maggie there along with her husband and their brand new baby- Maggie served a mission in New Zealand with Kyle. It was so nice to see them! We previously hoped to spend the evening with them, but they had plans with family, so we decided to visit a few more places in Delhi. It worked out well too, because we found out that most historical attractions are closed on Mondays.

So we met up with Claire and visited Red Fort and then wandered through the bazaars of Chandi Chowk until we reached the Jama Masjid. We came just in time to enter the functioning mosque, and we ladies had to don robes so that we were covered. A bit after we left it was time for the call to prayer, which was really beautiful to listen to as we sat on the steps just outside.

In the heat we do not get very hungry, so we usually just eat one meal after breakfast - a combined lunch/dinner around 3 or 4. We decided to try paratha, a fried, stuffed Indian bread - they reminded us of papusas, but with more options for filling. I got one with mixed vegetables, Kyle got one with aloo (potatoes), and then we shared one filled with paneer (Indian cheese). And bonus - they came with a plate of sauces/curries/I'm not sure what to call them. As best we could ascertain, you dip in them and eat them plain on the side. It was so cheap, and so delicious!

I wish we could post more pictures - they just take so long to load! And I'll admit, I really don't whip out my camera that much. I like enjoying the moment without it sometimes. And other times when I really want it out I feel uncomfortable because it's just not the right setting for it. So here are our few for now :)

Red Fort's outer gate - very impressive!

Our paratha maker

The back of Jama Masjid with lots of birds (if you can see them)

Jama Masjid

Cement cart

Traveling buddy!

We gained a traveling buddy on day two – her name is Claire. She stayed at the same guesthouse we did, and we made a perfect match to go around Delhi together. A friend of hers just got married here in India, so she came to attend. Since she’s doing TFA, she has summer break and gets to stay in India a while. It’s always more fun to have people to share experiences with, and Claire was a great companion. Also, it made it very convenient to get pictures with both of us together.

Of course we visited some great tourist spots – Lotus Temple, Qutub Minar, and an almost-empty public park with tombs and ruins scattered throughout. 

Lotus temple was especially interesting to me because it was a Baha’i place of worship. I can’t remember ever studying about the Baha’i faith before, but it was really interesting. From the little I understand, they believe all faiths are different paths to one great truth, and they read from several books of scripture during the short fifteen minute service we attended. There was also some beautiful singing by an Indian woman, and the acoustics were really neat – she sounded like multiple people as her echoes cradled her voice.

We ended the day (as all days here in Delhi) very exhausted, and we fall asleep early. The 115 degree weather really sucks it out of you. But boy, do I sleep well!

Here are some pictures! I'm having a difficult time loading them, and they look super huge when I uploaded them, so I had to make them smaller. I hope they are still big enough for everyone to see (at this point, I can't tell).

Day 1: Delhi

We're just waiting for our housekeeper to make us breakfast, so I thought I'd give a little update.

Yesterday was great - we felt less jet-lagged than last time. We think it's a combo of flying business class (being able to lay down helps sleep a bit), knowing what to expect, and because so far Delhi seems quite nice. Though the skies are hazy, the pollution doesn't get to me as much as in Hyderabad, the streets are much nicer (no potholes and less buses), and there are less beggars. Maybe it's because we've only visited a few sections, but that's our impression so far.

We visited a tomb (insert name later...) that the Taj Mahal was fashioned after, Gandhi's martyrdom site, and Nehru's home-turned-museum. Kyle was loving the historical stuff. He wonders why he didn't decide to become a history professor.

I'll put a few pictures up below. I've only seen them in thumbnail form, so hopefully they're decent.

Here are some of the favorite little things so far.

Guy selling us our water: "Where you're from?"
Us: "U.S."
Guy: "Where's the 'A'? Haha"

Auto drivers are un-pleasantly surprised that we know how to barter. "It's a good price, come, come" - not!

We love riding in rickshaws again!

Two power outages so far! Including one while trying to upload pictures to this post! But they've only been a half-hour each, which is cake.

The way over

Well, we made it! Originally, on our flight from Frankfurt to Delhi our seats were not next to each other. I was bummed. When we checked they said the flight was full so we couldn't change seats. Then, during boarding our tickets wouldn't scan, and we found out it was because we'd been upgraded to business class. Best.flight.ever.

Another great thing - we were planning to buy a phone here, but when we landed t-mobile informed me that texting is free, and calls are 20 cents per minute if we really need to call. So great! oh, and it's not "texting" here - it's SMS. Remembered that today when our driver was confused by Kyle asking him if he recieved texts.

Returning

Hello everyone!

We're returning to India this Wednesday (well, we land Friday), so we may start this blog up again if there's enough room left for picture storage. If not, I'll post a link to a new blog soon.

And who knows? Maybe we'll even keep blogging when we're back in the US - imagine that.

Love you all!

Kyle and Katrina

Gabbar Singh

I know we're not in India anymore, but humor me. There's so much to say that hasn't been said.

Today while I was making dinner I was feeling especially nostalgic, so I turned on some Indian music.

The most popular pop culture thing among almost everyone while we were in Hyderabad was a the recent Tollywood hit - Gabbar Singh. (Tollywood is Telegu cinema, as opposed to Hindi in Bollywood). The music was everywhere. All the time.

At first it was so fun. We might have made a few music videos.

But then it became a little grating. Over and over and over. Luckily, just before we left another movie - Eega - was becoming the big hit.

But now I secretly miss it. Here's one of my favorite songs from Gabbar Singh. Enjoy.

(In case you just need more, here's another good one: http://youtu.be/RHulK9Tj7r4)

Today we [almost] met a woman with no clothes

This morning I woke up to the sounds of our country director Brook shuffling through some extra clothes left behind by a previous volunteer. She'd just recieved a call from our other country director on her morning walk telling us she'd just seen a woman without clothes, trying to wrap herself in plastic bags on the street.

So she invited Kyle and I to come with her to find this woman and give her a few clothes. It was kind of surreal. Maybe because I just woke up, but I think mostly because it's hard to imagine someone who doesn't even have clothes.

We walked for a while trying to find her, but we weren't having any luck. Brook asked the question, "Where would I go if I had no clothes?" It resounded in my mind - Where would I go if I had no clothes? I've never had to come close to anything like that.

It made me think of Matthew 25:36:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

At least, we tried to clothe her, but after a while of searching we decided she had hidden herself somewhere. I was so sad we were unable to find her. I keep thinking about her and wondering if she's found something to wear or found her way home to some clothes.

Tonight I'm keeping this woman in my prayers. And everyone who is naked or hungry - physically or emotionally or spiritually. I hope that I can always be ready to feed and clothe and visit strangers in need. And I hope I don't take for granted my own clothes.