India Phase 1 Complete :(

Hi From India's Capital City!

Here I sit in another crowded internet cafe...Salome and Aleeza, my SIT buddies left yesterday and now I am excitedly awaiting the arrival of Sam and Ahn this evening. It's hard to fathom just how quickly the first part of my India adventure went by and to process all the things we saw, experienced, ate, and did in just under three weeks. We nearly traveled the width of the country -- our adventures took us from the far east and Calcutta to Jaisalmer, 115 degree heat and a mere 100 km east of the Pakistan border. We saw bodies cremeated along the Ganges River in Varanasi, the Taj Mahal in Agra, rode camels in Jaisalmer, sweated profusely in Jaipur and then relaxed in Delhi. People tried to sell us leather whips, fake beards, monkeys, toy trains, illicit drugs, babies (we turned them all down). We stared poverty in the eye for so long that we became ashamed and scared by how de-sensitized we have become. We became exhausted from bargaining for everything from hotel rooms to bottled water to rickshaw rides and we from the difficulties associated with being a young woman in this country. We got a taste of what it must be like to be a celebrity as we were frequently stopped and thrust into Indian family portraits or other photos with young women or men. As we sat in front of the Taj Mahal people seemed more interested in taking photos with us, than taking photos of one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

What is next you ask? Perhaps a journey to the isolated north of India and the hidden valley of Ladakh -- "little Tibet" if you will. Who knows. All I know is that I still have a month to enjoy this place.