Around the World in 26 Days

I can’t believe that we’re in our last country already! This month has been unreal. It’s flown by really fast, yet each day seems really long. I don’t want it to end, although I am starting to miss some American things, such as clean restrooms and clean tap water :)

As for India – it’s honestly the most unreal place I have ever been to. It’s the first time it really hit me that I was in a foreign country. Every other city we’ve been to has been urban, clean, and pretty western, even in Beijing. India on the other hand, is totally poverty-stricken. There are areas that are cleaner and have skyscrapers, but even in the middle of the city, trash is everywhere, you see people living in shantys, and beggars are rampant. It really is like I’m right in the middle of Slumdog Millionaire. 

The thing is, even though there is so much poverty everywhere, everyone seems pretty happy. Children living in the slums will run around playing and laughing. It’s been really eye-opening and put things into perspective. I have so much and still complain, and these people have so little yet are still so humble and find a way to be happy with their life. 

For instance, we started out the day by going to church, where the talks were pretty amazing, as the Indian members were just so humble and thankful for all that they had. Most of the members of the branch are converts, so hearing about their experiences was really neat. It was one of the best church meetings I’ve been to in a long time. After the meeting they all came up and introduced themselves and gave us advice about what to see and do in New Delhi. They were just the sweetest people ever. 

After church, we took a tour of New Delhi in our air-conditioned charter bus led by our tour guides Raj and Sweetey. They’re pretty awesome and hilarious. A sad thing about the bus, however, is that our driver and helper have to stay in a separate compartment in the front that doesn’t have air conditioning because they are in a lower caste and aren’t allowed that “luxury.” The whole caste system just makes me so mad sometimes. I’m not sure how they all put up with it, but I guess if that’s the only lifestyle you’ve known you get used to it. Still makes me sad.

Driving through town almost felt like going through a zoo, as the outside landscape is just so different and there we were, sitting in a completely different environment. Here are some more pics of just the extreme destitution:

We first stopped at the Stone Tower, which stands right next to the first Muslim mosque built in Delhi, around 1199 AD. It hasn’t been renovated at all and just looks ancient and really cool. It used to be a bit of a small city, as well.

We then rode around and saw other various landmarks, but didn’t get out to look at them because of all the crowds and beggars. Like you see in Slumdog Millionaire, there are beggar children everywhere that are hired by masters to pickpocket and beg and then give the money straight back to them. It’s horrible, but it’s the reality here. I just want to take these children home with me : ( Anyway, we saw the Lotus Temple, the Red Fort, and the buildings of Parliament and the Capitol building. It was pretty neat. Look at the sweet architecture:

Lotus Temple

beggar children

so weird to see skyscrapers here

guy had a shirt that said "Searching New Girlfriend"

Parliament

We then stopped for lunch at this absolutely delicious restaurant where we were served naan bread, chicken curry, lentils, rice, potatoes, and spinach. I was full after the first round, but we all ate about three more rounds because it was so delicious! I particularly liked the rice with lentils and the naan with this green sauce, even though I was scared of getting curry fury (the Indian version of Chinarrhea) afterwards. But fortunately I felt fine.

After lunch we continued our tour of New Delhi by going to the more business-y side of the city and visiting a rug and sari shop. They served us herbal tea and gave us a demonstration on how they make their carpets, which was really neat. Some people tried on saris as well, which looked really cool. Everything was pretty expensive, though, so I only bought a bar of jasmine soap for about $2. It smells really good : )

We also went to a park in the center of New Delhi, which was cool but really crowded and full of super aggressive street vendors. One lady even pricked my arm trying to get me to buy a henna tattoo. We just made sure to have a guy with us the whole time, as the Indian men are also known for this thing known as evetapping, or copping a feel, of the white women when they’re alone. Pretty sketchy. We took a group pic in front of the monument and literally 40 Indian men swarmed around us and took pictures. They’re worse than the Chinese.

WWI monument.

little boys playing in the fountain

hordes of Indian men

Next we went to dinner at a more Northern Indian cuisine restaurant. I was still really full from lunch and the food wasn’t as good this time around, so I didn’t eat as much. The yogurt soup with breaded chicken wasn’t really my favorite. Southern cuisine definitely wins.

gross

After dinner we finished with my favorite part of the night, a fireside at the branch president’s house. President Clegg is an ex-pat working for the FBI in India, but he’s also lived all over the world, particularly in South America. He gave some really good advice on how to build strong international relationships and find common ground. The fireside was combined with the youth and young adults of the branch as well, and it was just so fun to introduce ourselves and get to know the natives better. The church has only been around in India for about 30 years, but the members here are just so strong and humble and kind. One new friend that particularly stood out was Margareet, who is trying to apply to BYU but is nervous about leaving India. I gave her some good advice and hopefully assuaged her fears! I told her BYU is a pretty great place ;)

they schooled us in ping pong

I think I just really loved spending time with the members because it reminded me of how much the church can make you feel like you’re home, even if you’re thousands of miles away from it. It also showed that even though the Indian culture is so different in so many ways, we are all just the same people with big dreams and real emotions and other similarities. The girls even raved about how they loved Justin Beiber, haha. 

I love India so far, even though it is so different from anything I’ve ever experienced. I definitely want to come back and do some sort of service in the future, I think. It’s just been so inspiring, yet sad. Tomorrow we travel to Agra and the Taj Mahal. I’m so excited!