Incredible India

Where to begin writing about a country that has flipped my life upside down? Are there even words? Probably- but these days words aren’t doing these experiences and emotions any justice. Yet that’s the challenge of a writer- to find the words we thought were impossible to describe the feelings we thought were unexplainable.

India came at the point in the voyage where I’m yearning for some family love. Where I’m desperately missing the Valentinos and my extended family that stretches from a book company in San Francisco to the land of Boulder to deep in the heart of Texas. I know they never said it would be easy to go without communication but they also never said it would feel like I was suffocating without them.

So I entered India with my heart on the rocks; gave myself the “I’m traveling the world, being independent, obtaining self confidence through my growth (i.e. read the last blog…)” speech. I got off the ship in Chennai and went on an independent trip with 80 other students; thought we would save money and experience the magical land of India on our own. You have no idea how hard it is to travel in a group of 80 and not know anyone and be in a country where you can’t read 50% of the signs and are constantly in fear of being robbed, eaten by malaria, dying from traveler’s diarrhea or simply being run over by a rickshaw taxi. But somewhere in the chaos, somewhere in making new friends and somewhere in traveling across and throughout the country India overtook me.

In 5 days, we traveled to Dehli, Agra, Jaipur and back to Chennia. From 6 hour plane rides to 7 hour bus rides we got to see the insides and outs. We toured forts, ate straight up authentic Indian cuisine, stayed in run-down probably highly dangerous hotels, fought off street vendors, bought ravishing jewelry and scarves from others, sat abroad an elephant as we climbed a mountain, rode in a rickshaw taxi for 45 minutes just to find a Pizza Hut, experienced the cities prepare for the Elephant Festival so we danced and had multi colored dust paint thrown everywhere, and of course stood in awe as we watched the sunrise in front of the Taj Mahal. Chaos is the best way to describe it all; no sleep, dangerous food, constant honking of car horns and wondering how people drive and don’t cause multiple accidents, dodging taxis, bicycles, motorcycles, cattle and busses just to cross the street and just trying to soak it all in- soak in the foreign smells, tastes and lifestyles.

Clearly the Taj deserves an explanation and praise because I honestly feel like its lacking some. I researched the Taj before going- discovered the eternal love Jahan felt for Mumtaz Mahal and seriously wished someone loved me enough to create a perfectly symmetrical, detailed, smooth painting like shrine for me. You can’t help but feel closer to eternal love as you walk through the gates that read “O Soul, thou art at rest returning to the Lord at Peace with him, and He at peace with you.” The photographs of the Taj look phenomenal but wait till you see it with your own eyes and not some Kodak lens. Every piece, every structure, every line was created carefully with Mumtaz in mind. I said the Taj deserves praise because the saddest part of the day was watching how disrespectful some visitors were. It clearly says no photography yet some people were flashing away at the tombs and marble- why do we need pictures of everything? In every mosque we visited, out of respect we took our shoes off but at the Taj we just covered them with thin linen. Something so beautiful and powerful and such a wonder and people were overlooking the historical magic that was created. It deserves a ‘7 wonder of the world’ title and I hope that when you go to see it, you embrace it like I did and respect its value and virtue.

Have you seen Slumdog Millionaire? See it. Now. And then continue reading. The movie does an amazing depiction of India. The slums are heartbreaking; the streets are covered with everything from bacteria infested feces to cattle to plastic to children begging for food and rupee. We saw children that had tumors on the backs of the heads, adults that were crawling or rolling on the ground because they didn’t have legs/arms/ anything. Babies crying out for food, mother are holding their hands for donations and everything inside me began to break. How does this world exist simultaneously as the rest of the world is bumping and booming? How are the other ‘third world countries’ (not sure what the politically correct way of saying that is these days) viewed as being hopeful and on the rise out of poverty but India seems to be staying the same? We were overwhelmed- do you give as much rupee as you can to everyone you see? Do you not eat so the woman and her baby on the street can? I still don’t have the answers.

Before arriving in India, my heart was on the verge of crashing. Showing signs of homesickness, I was fearing going off on this independent trip and being able to enjoy it all while secretly my mind was elsewhere. My heart broke all together at first- how could it not? But I just had to let myself go and let it all happen otherwise I think you would go insane. Being back on the ship and reflecting with everyone else is making a lot more sense and it’s nice to see we are not alone. Everyone is asking the same questions and feeling the same overwhelming emotions but I guess that’s what happens as you travel to unknown areas.

We are onto Singapore for refueling and Thailand on Sunday morning. I’m now going places I’ve only dreamed of and the voyage seems to be taking a new turn and I like it. I still miss you all at home and if you’re ever feeling adventurous… we can receive cards and packages (I thought it was too risky so I never gave out the info but now that everyone keeps getting mail at ports I regret spreading that information…) If you go to semesteratsea.org and under the “this voyage” tab there’s a section on keeping in touch and says where and when to send a note. Not that I’m expecting anything just thought I’d throw that information out :)