Amritsar

We have moved on from Delhi to Amritsar and we're loving it. We're staying at the Guru Nannak Dev University in the guest house. The rooms are huge!! Everything has been going great. I'm even adjusting to the food. The campus is huge like a park. I walked from the on-campus internet cafe to the guest house (about 5 minutes) by myself and had no problems. The people everywhere here seem generally nicer. A few of us girls went to some convenience stores and didn't get pestered or swarmed or filmed. We had some free time in the evening after the 8 hour train ride. It gave me just a little too much time to think so I got quite homesick. I can't believe how fast the time is flying by. We have a ton of school work done in the next few days so I'd better get back to work.

Taj Mahal!

Sunday was a very long day. We left the YMCA at 6 in the morning and had a 5 hour bus ride to Agra. We started the day at some old Mogul ruins. It was a terrifying experience. There were big tourist groups of young Indian men and they had nothing better to do but follow us around. We were constantly filmed and had pictures taken. If we stood in one place for more than a minute we were surrounded by at least 30 people and they just stood and stared. It was terrible. I don't even remember the name of the ruins because we were so stressed about not getting seperated and individualy swarmed.
We then went to the Taj Mahal! It was soo exciting! We got to go inside. The inside was really beautiful but alot smaller than I imagined. The outside was huge. All the marble has precious stones inlayed to make the patterns on the walls. It was great but we had the same problem again; everywhere we went there were men taking videos and just staring. We all got a little more aggresive by the end.Dealing with the vendors outside the gates was another problem. We were swarmed. If you make eye contact they just latch on and follow you down the street. It was really an unenjoyable experience. We were so tired by the time we got home. It was almost 2 am. We had the next morning off to sleep in. On monday afternoon we were at the Canadian Embassy! It was really neat. We met with Rick Westhead, a reporter from the Toronto Star who has been living in India for 2 years. It was really cool. We all wished we could of talked to him all evening because he had so many stories and has been places that I couldn't dream of going. We also had a presentation from the Canadian High Commissioner. They are making a facebook page and will be adding our group blog to it! In the evening we went to some shrines and a private Qawwal concert. Here is a link to the group we saw. http://www.merajnizami.com/ It was really magical to be in India, in a shrine, having a private concert from one of the most famous singers of Qawwal music. Then we went for beer and a pizza and that was amazing. I am really craving some american food.
This morning we caught an early train to Amritsar. We are staying at Guru Nannak Dev University. The rooms are huge and clean. It's great. We'll have alot more free time here to recover from our busy stay in Delhi.

Into the Jungle Book

This morning we went on a tour of some old Mogul ruins. There were tombs and mosques from the 12th century. Walking in was exactly like stepping into the Jungle Book. I half expected a bunch of monkeys to jump out and start singing. The stone carvings were amazing. At one of them, the emperor tore down Hindu and Jain temples and used the pillars to build his Mosque. The Hindu pillars are very plain looking while the Jain ones have so much detail carved in. It was so nice to be away from the hussle and bussel of Delhi. We were still in the city but could pretend that we were not. There were huge palm trees all over the grounds and parrots and thousands of dragon flies. It was nice to have a day to just be tourists. It gave my mind a bit of a break.

Old Delhi Adventure

On the first full day that we were in Delhi we relaxed and took time to settle in at the YMCA. It's really clean and nice with breakfast and dinner included. That night we took the subway to old Delhi to walk around. It was an unforgettable experience. We experienced the subway at rush hour. About 9 of us made it on the first train and 3 on the next. I have never been so squished in my life. I had all the breath squished out of me. We linked arms and my arms fell asleep. My feet were not even touching the ground at some points because there were so many people. Getting out of the subway was a miracle in itself.

Walking up the subway stairs to old Delhi at night was surreal. There was so much smog and so many people. People attach wire to power pole to steal electricity. I saw power poles that were literally bending over from the weight of hundreds of live wires. There were dogs and people all over the streets. There is no lanes for driving or "right-of-way." Crossing the street anywhere is an art. People are crazy drivers and always have their hand on the horn but there is no road rage. It's actually pretty neat. I have not seen a car accident yet either. We went to a famous restaurant that served the Mogul emperors since the 12th century and stayed in the family ever since. The food was great.

I must say i'm already sick of having indian food every day, every meal. It's really taking a toll on my body on top of the stress. For the first couple days I was really sick and throwing up because of the Malaria pills we have to take. Thankfully I've figured out a schedule that does not make me sick. Though I have not experienced bad jet-lag, my digestive system is defiantly out-of-wack. Hopefully once we get out of Delhi everything will settle and be less stressful. We've been soooo busy everyday. Up to this point we have visited an ancient mosque (which I forget the name of), the place where Gandhi was assassinated, a HUGE and new Hindu temple, gone to a few lectures at Delhi University, gone to a Jain temple and a a really cool interfaith ashram. I don't have time to explain my experiences at all these amazing places so you'll have to ask me after the trip :) Now i'm off to do some yoga and head to bed. Good night!

First Time Yoga

This morning we had our first yoga class while staying at the YMCA. It was my first time doing yoga. It was an amazing experience. I feel so relaxed. I did not realize how stressed and tense I was until I was told to relax certain areas of my body. I felt like I was letting go of so much and soaking in so much energy at the same time. When we closed our eyes to relax and focus on breathing, I could feel my eyes and cheekbones going crazy. It was like the stress I was holding in was shooting out those areas. It really reminding me of horseback riding. In riding the goal is to use the energy of the horse and rider together to create balance. I have to be relaxed and strong, guiding but not pushing. When everything balances together it is like a meditative state and my horse can feel every movement and change in my energy. I got the same feeling doing yoga. I can not wait to continue the sessions.

I'm here!

I've arrived in Delhi safe and sound. it's been intesting. I have very little time on the internet today so I will provide a full account of the adventure thus far ASAP
I already miss everyone so bad.
I'm finally here!

Almost Gone

I am finally leaving for India tomorrow. All the last minute packing is coming together and i'm not too stressed. I had a minor breakdown when I thought I forgot my wall charger for the ipod, but I found it under my piles of toiletries. It seems like I have more facewash and medication than clothes. Having a week in Ontario was a good chance to finalize packing, collect my thoughts and enjoy American food. Though it has been difficult to be away from home, I know it will be differnt in India. I will be so busy and overwhelmed that the time will fly by.
I bought a pair of cute shoes the other day. It feels wierd that I will not be able to wear them for 3 months.