PICS FROM INDIA

INDIA DAY 5

            On day 5 we woke up before sunrise and made our way towards the Ganges. As we walked through the streets in the early morning I saw streets that looked nothing like the night before. They were calm and quiet. There were tons of people curled up in blankets on the side of the road sleeping…at one point we were stopped and I looked to my left and saw a boy probably a few years younger than me wake up. He had the same groggy look I probably had on my face that morning when I heard my alarm go off…the only difference is that he had been sleeping on the cold concrete and was woken up by people like us walking by. I've seen beggars and homeless people before and I've attempted to deal with the emotions that come with these observations, but this time it was different. I couldn't stop thinking about how similar I and this boy were. I couldn't stop thinking about how my whole life I've been lucky enough to have a warm bed every night and a full stomach and why? Simply because I was lucky to be born into my home. Unfortunately for this boy, completely out of his control, he was born onto the streets where he's forced to sleep on the ground and ask for money so that he may stay alive. My tour guide gave us a serious talk on beggars as soon as we got to Delhi a few days before. He explained that while he is a professional tour guide, these people are professional beggars and they exploit our emotions with kids and sad faces. He told us that we must not encourage this type of behavior and instead should ignore them and encourage them to go out and find work. I found myself very torn by this statement when I saw things like innocent children waking up on the streets for no reason other than complete chance that was predetermined completely out of their control the moment they were conceived. Sure, they can go out and change the course of their lives…but when you put yourself in their shoes, it doesn't sound that easy, especially given the huge population and limited job market.

            We got to the Ganges and got on a boat. The Ganges river is considered to be the most holy place and like I've mentioned before, if one bathes in it they are considered pure. This is also the place that every Hindu likely wishes to be placed after death. In fact, many come to Varanassi to die so that they will be placed in the Ganges after death. One interesting thing my guide told me was that there are three types of people that do not get cremated and placed in the river. These people are monks (because they are already so pure), children under the age of 7 (because they are so young and innocent and again therefore pure), and pregnant women (they are made pure through the unborn child inside of them). On the Ganges, there are crematoriums right there by the river where the bodies are cremated and later placed in the river. So, this river is already subjected to the intense pollution that we see in all of India, and in addition to that it has the remains of millions. So, to say the least, this river is one of the most unsanitary bodies of water you can find. As we sailed down the river we saw tons and tons of people getting in and doing ritualistic bathing. We saw little kids with their mothers jumping in the water and getting cleaned.

            When we finished watching the sun-rise and seeing the morning activities of the "Holy river" we made our way back to the hotel for breakfast. After 3 days of being with a large group, and especially after my experience the night before, I knew I wanted to go off on my own again that morning. So, the group set out for some sites and myself, and two friends- Jeremy and Shelley hopped into a took-took.

            We told the drive to take us to a local area near the gaat (the gaat are the stairs that border the Ganges river). We got out of the took took and found ourselves in a small alley way lined with lots of shops. We walked through the alley towards the gaat and saw lots of small temples. When we did get to the gaat we saw a larger temple. We decided to take off our shoes and go inside. This temple was HUGE. Some temples are for one in particular god…this one lots and lots of gods. We walked around and a man even taught us how to pray. He gave us a milky liquid that we poured on statues of the gods. I later learned that this was to signify offerings to the gods. He also made us repeat after him as we said what I took to be prayers to the gods. We walked around the temple for a while and once again I saw people praying in some of the most unique forms of prayer I have ever seen.

            We exited the temple and walked along the gaat. As we did we noticed a sign in Hebrew! The sign explained that there was a Chabad house and basically that anyone who could read the sign was welcome to come to the house. Chabad is a sect of Judaism that is all over the world. This sect tends to open their home to all Jews, especially in countries where there are not a lot of Jews and there tend to be a lot of travelers. Shelley, Jeremy and I all happened to be Jewish so we decided we needed to check this out. We took a picture of the sign with the address and started asking around. One thing I learned about the Indian people is that they are extremely hospitable. We asked a group of young guys if they knew were it was and they said that they did and that they would take us there. I assumed it would be a quick walk since they offered to take us. Instead, I found myself walking through back alleys and areas that I'm pretty sure foreigners don't typically go. I was hearing my parents voices in my heads and was thankful that we had a guy with us. Eventually we got out of the alleys and were on a big busy road. I try to be trusting and to not expect the worst out of people, but I did sigh a sigh of relief once we got to this busy road. After nearly an hour of walking through the hot sun, we reached Ravindra Puri Lane 13. The sign said to walk to the end of the lane. As we turned onto the lane I looked at Shelley and Jeremy and said "guys, if there's no one or nothing there let's not be disappointed, okay?" They agreed. We said thank you to our guides that led us there…they didn't ask for money or anything, they just smiled and said, "of course!" and were on their way.

            As we walked to the end of the lane we saw a home with a Chabad sign on the front. We knocked on the gate but there was no response, so we opened it up and walked up the stairs to an open room. When we got to the top of the stairs I saw a little boy running around with his yamicka on. We made it! We knocked lightly and saw an older woman standing in the room. She hardly even looked at us and just motioned for us to come in…as if she weren't surprised at all. Aviva is from Rehovot, Israel. She didn't speak the best English so lucky for me I got to practice some Hebrew. She told me that she'd be living with her husband and kids in India for 4 years as the only Jews in Varanassi. She also told me that every Shabbat they open their home to any Jewish travelers that wish to come. It happened to be a Friday afternoon so she was busy getting ready for dinner. There was another guy in the house, a couple years older than us. His name was also Jeremy and he was originally from Cleveland, Ohio but had moved to Israel 3 years ago and was doing his "post army travel". Of course in true Jewish American fashion he and I made connections between lots of mutual friends within the first five minutes of meeting each other. We laughed, said typical, and kept talking. I asked Aviva why she had moved to India and she said something very interesting, because I think Jews should have a home all around the world. This way people like yourself have a home in India while you're here.

            Aviva told us that she was expecting about 30 people for dinner that evening, and we were so bummed to be leaving Varanasi that afternoon because I'm sure it was a great Shabbat dinner. We stayed at her home for another hour or so and helped her prepare for the Shabbat in different ways. When it came time for us to leave she looked at me, smiled, and said you have committed a mitzvah today by helping me prepare for the Shabbat.

INDIA DAY 4

After going to Agra to see the Taj Mahal on day 3, we got
back on the train and slept the night in Delhi. We woke up early that
morning to see some of the city of Delhi and then make our way to the
city of Varanassi.

So far, I had really enjoyed the places I'd seen and
learned about, although, being in such a large group definitely has
it's tradeoffs. I typically prefer to travel in smaller groups and go
at my own pace. I guess you could say I'd rather spend time with
people then seeing sights. So, that morning our guide had planned to
take us to see many sites and memorials and such. I decided to go with
them to the Ghandi memorial but then "check out" from the group for
the rest of the morning and meet back up with them by afternoon for
lunch. My guide seemed a bit offended when I asked him for details of
where to meet them for later that day. I have to say, Dee was a great
guide, but it was time to go off on my own and do my own thing.

Myself and a friend walked away from the group and made
our way to "Old Delhi". When we got there we just wandered around for
a bit and absorbed the busy surroundings and activities going on
around us. At one point we stumbled on a school so I walked right in
and asked to speak with the principal, hoping to have a similar to
Mauritius experience and get to see the way school works in India.
When we got inside we waited a few minutes and then eventually an
administrator came out to say hello. She was very friendly and was
happy to hear about our interest in seeing the school. In India there
are two types of schools- government school and private schools
(similar to the US). The difference though (from what I've heard from
Indians) is that the government schools are severely sub-par and
hardly even supply the children with a sufficient education. Because
this was a government school in the back streets of Old Delhi, the
administrator seemed very happy to see us. Unfortunately she informed
us that the students were in the middle of their "test week" and would
be arriving at the school later only to take exams. We looked around a
bit, talked to some teachers, and then left.

Afterwards we stumbled on a Jain temple. Jainism is a
religion in India that is very similar to Buddhism. I took off my
shoes and entered the temple. A man noticed me walking around
aimlessly and although he didn't speak a word of English, somehow he
led me upstairs to the prayer rooms. It's funny that even with a
language barrier I was able to understand that there were 5 idols
representing 5 main gods in the religion and that the people were
praying to each god. He then told me that he wanted to go pray and
said good-bye. I have to admit that walking into the holy place for a
completely foreign religion made me feel very uncomfortable at first.
But this man showed me something that I would learn more and more in
the next few days, that the people are very open with sharing their
religion and culture. I stood upstairs and watched people pray. The
way they prayed was unlike anything I have ever seen. I ended up
following one woman as she moved from god to god…I watched her hold a
candle and move it in circles as she sang beautifully. I watched her
throw rice at the gods. I watched her get all the way down on the
group and also reach her arms up to the sky and spin in circles. I
watched her walk around the gods in circles and say prayers.

When I moved on to another room I saw something that
caused a completely unexpected emotional reaction. There was an old
woman who had men on either side of her supporting her as she moved
from one side of the room to another. This woman was in such bad
shape, she could hardly walk and had a very clear protrusion from her
stomach that I took to be some sort of tumor. It was clear that she
was using up every bit of energy she had just to get from one side of
the room to the other….I have no idea how she made it up the stairs of
the building. In that moment it didn't matter to me if I believed in
the same things as that woman or if I believed in any type of religion
at all, what mattered was the level of dedication I saw in that woman.
Coming from someone who has struggled with their relationship with
religion and God their whole life, I was suddenly more inspired than
I've ever been just by seeing this woman. I mentioned that I had an
unexpected emotional reaction…I say this because as I stood there I
started to cry. At the time I couldn't even begin to figure out why, I
just watched her from a corner of the room and cried quietly as I
watched her. At one point I made eye contact with her. She had the
look of distress, the kind of look you'd see in a soldier that is
ready to kill their commander as they hear "give me twenty" another
time. As we made eye-contact I felt almost embarrassed, but I gave a
little smile, a smile that I thought conveyed admiration. She gave me
the slightest smile back and then went back to her reality and struggle.

After the temple we walked around for a bit and
eventually headed to meet back up with the group. That afternoon we
flew to the city of Varanassi. Varanassi Is what I like to refer to as
the "Jerusalem for Hindus". We got there and immediately made our way
into the inner-city. As we walked through I saw exactly what I had
imagined out of India all along. The were bright colors and beautiful
clothes and clothing all around. There was everything in the streets
from cars to bikes to motorcyles to mopeds to any sort of animal you
can imagine. At one point I literally had a cow in front of me, a
donkey to my right and my hand on the hood of a car as I told it to
stop so that I could walk by.

We walked through the city in order to get to the Ganges
River. Now I said that Varanassi is the Jerusalem for Hindus, well the
Ganges River is the equivalent of the western wall for Jews. It is the
most holy place for Hindus. In fact, tons of Hindus from all over the
country and surrounding countries make pilgrimages there like Muslims
do to Mecca. It is believed that if one washes themselves in this
river, they are forgiven for their sins and considered pure and clean.

When we got to the stairs leading down to the river we
stopped to watch a religious ceremony that goes on every night at 7pm.
It was a random Wednesday and the place was completely packed with
people. The thing that I find the most amazing about the Indian
society is the level of religiousness and spirituality. You would
think that in a place with such poverty and reason to be angry with
the world people would lose faith…but some-how it had the opposite
effect. It was so clear as I looked around and saw so many people that
were wearing ripped clothes, no shoes, and looked as if they hadn't
been properly cared for that had, in spite of all their problems,
shown up to pray. I left the group and decided to try and find a seat
on my own. I saw a seat next to a group of Indian woman, gestured
towards it and they smiled and waved me over. I sat down and smiled
and tried to communicate. The woman next to me didn't speak a word of
English and I don't speak a word of Hindi, so we just sat there
quietly. I watched her and followed along with the motions she was
doing (clapping her hands, waving them). She noticed this and smiled
and welcomed me in joining her. After about 10 minutes a group of
tourists…I say they were tourists because like myself there were some
of the only white people there…stood in front of our view of the
ceremony. The woman on my left tapped me and started pointing to the
group and speaking to me. I gathered that she assumed because I speak
English I could communicate with them and that she wanted me to ask
them to sit down. I stood up and walked over to the group and did as I
was instructed, I asked the group nicely to sit down. To my surprise,
the group looked at me and didn't understand…they were Swedish. So, I
motioned to them to sit down and pointed to the people behind them.
They understood and sat down. As I walked back to my seat the woman
sitting next to me smiled and I assume she said thank you.

The ceremony was full of interesting rituals…there were
incents and fire burning and lots of singing and clapping hands. About
half way through the ceremony the woman next to me tapped me again.
This time she motioned to someone behind me. I noticed that the person
behind me was throwing up and his throw-up residue was making it's way
toward us. So, she and I got up and moved to the side. I sat there and
continued watched the ceremony. Soon, a group of barefoot men and
women walked through the isle and right through the pile of throw-up.
Another 10 minutes or so later, I heard a lot of commotion from the
crowd sitting a little behind me. I turned around and saw people
running and jumping to their feet. Then I noticed why…there was an
aggressive cow walking right through the group! So far in India I'd
been exposed to a lot, but I think this evening was the first time I
ever really felt like I was in the "India" that we see in movies.

In the airport on the way to Varanassi I met an American guy that has
been traveling through India for the past 3 months. He wrote down the
name of a really good restaurant in Varanassi that apparently had
great local cuisine. When we got back to the hotel I had an experience
that really disappointed me. Myself and my frinds Jeremy, David, and
Shelley decided we didn't want to eat dinner at the hotel, but instead
wanted to go to this restaurant that we were recommended to. We asked
the people at the hotel how to get a cab and where to tell them to go
so that we may get to this restaurant and they all said things along
the lines of "you can't handle the food", "it is dangerous out right
now", "everything is closed" (it was 9pm). We went to our group leader
and he said that we should listen to the hotel people and not leave.
It was clear to me that we could have gone safely, and if we couldn't
handle the food that would have been our problem. But, we still
weren't trusted to be able to do this. I was talking with my professor
who was on the trip and complaining to her about how I felt like such
a tourist on this SAS trip and how I really disliked it. She put it a
good way...she explained that most of the large tour groups that come
through this hotel and use this tour company are the types of groups
that come to "see India" but by the end of the day they are dying to
get back to their safe-haven of a hotel. She explained how the people
at the hotel have no way of knowing we are different and want to keep
exploring, so they will treat us the same way they treat everyone
else. This was another one of the major trade-offs I felt with going
with a Semester at Sea trip.

INDIA DAY 3

Day 3…a loooong day. I was woken up at 4:30 by an overly pleasant for
that time of day voice on the phone. When we got off the bus and
walked towards the station I saw that India was much more alive at 5
am than I'd expected.

When we got on the train I was not at all surprised by
the conditions of the train. In-fact, with everything in this country,
I went in with hardly any expectations regarding the quality of trains
and such. This was a good tactic because no matter where I went I was
pleasantly surprised. Now, having time to look back and reflect, I
realize that the train we were one was definitely one of the single
most dirty forms of transport I have ever been on. I was immediately
introduced to this when I sat down in my seat, put my feet down and
felt baby formula on my feet. I quickly accepted it and got ready for
a two hour nap. Two hours later, I hadn't slept at all but instead had
been in an interesting conversation with a friend named David and a
professor on the ship that was also on our trip named Molly.

That day in Agra we went to a few different forts and
sites. They all looked so unique and interesting. I walked around each
and he thing that I found most interesting was that there were just as
many Indian tourists as there were foreign tourists. I'm not that much
of a history person and always jump at any opportunity to meet people,
so I spent much of my day hanging out with Indian tourists, and
agreeing to take pictures with them.

Indian women were complimenting my outfit left and right.
And, While hagglers and street sellers would still approach me, as
soon as I shook my head they would leave me alone. So, I think Bobby
was right and I am glad that I chose to wear my traditional Indian
outfit that day.

After a long day of seeing pretty and historical sights,
we got on the bus and headed for our final and definitely most
anticipated sight of the day- The Taj Mahal. When we got to the
entrance of the Taj there was a long line to get in filled with any
and every ethnicity you could think of. There were also lots of
Indian's from other parts of the country that had come to see it as
well. We got our tickets and waiting in line. After we got through the
line, we walked through a large entrance way, and through that
entrance, I could see the actual Taj Mahal in the distance. I have to
say, it was an overwhelming experience walking up to something that
well known and recognized throughout the world. You see these things
hundreds of times in photographs and on television, but seeing it with
my own eyes made me feel as if I'd never seen a picture or TV show
before in my life. It was a whole different experience. The pictures
you've seen mainly focus on the actual white marble building itself.
What blew me away was all of the other stuff that you don't see in the
pictures. There is so much more intricate decoration as well as other
whole buildings that surround the one. The Taj was built by Mughal
emperor Shah Jahan for one of his wives…well it's clear he loved this
one the most, and he must have loved her a LOT because this place was
like no other place I've ever seen.

We spent about 2 hours just walking around the area. I
paid close attention to the amount of Indian tourists there were
there. Sometimes, going to "touristy" places gets really annoying and
almost isn't even worth it to me. Well, just looking around and seeing
how many people there were on a random Wednesday proved to me just how
worth it this one site was. When I got up close to the building which
acts as a tomb, I looked to the left and over the marble walls I saw
fields with men working hard. Could you imagine making a living
through hard labor with such a beautiful, historical landmark to your
left? In one of my first blogs I talked about how the schools in
Dominica had the most beautiful views of the ocean and the mountains,
and how the kids there don't necessarily take the views for granted,
it just isn't important or unique to them like it is to us. I found
myself having these thoughts again as I put myself in the position of
the Indian man plowing a field right next to the Taj Mahal. We watched
the color of the Taj change with the sunset and we were on our way.

INDIA DAY 2

            Here on Semester at Sea, there are a lot of optional SAS trips. These trips of course cost extra but it means that everything is taken care of for you and you don't need to worry at all. I have preferred thus far to travel in smaller groups independently, but when preparing for SAS I was told by most how unreliable and difficult public transport in India can be…so I signed up for my one and only "SAS trip" in India.

            Tuesday morning I woke up, got a quick break-fast on the ship and met my group of nearly 50 other students for our trip up north. Immediately I was turned off by the large group, but later learned how to deal with it. We got on the bus and headed to the airport. It's strange how I've been traveling so much, yet this was my first airplane ride on the trip. We got to the airport and it seemed like a pretty typical lower scale airport. Getting through security was much less of an issue than in the US…don't get me wrong, they did do a thorough job! Once we got through security we had about an hour until the flight. There was one big room to hang out in and four "gates" that left from the room. There were two little convenient stores, a book store where I bought a book recommended by Manish the night before called City of Joy, and oddly an umbrella store…yes, a store dedicated to just umbrellas. I found this very odd. Upon getting back on the ship and going to reflection, we discussed how lighter skin is valued and considered beautiful…maybe this is why they need an entire store dedicated to umbrellas!

            When it came time to board the flight, we didn't walk through one of those temporary hallways that they use in the US. Instead, we just walked out the door of the airport and walked right up to the airplane. I got super excited as we approached the plane as it was called "Spice Jet". To my surprise, this wasn't a private Chesapeake Spice Company jet…This is the (ever so appropriate) name for the domestic airline in India. Half way through the flight we were served lunch. I have to say it was the best plane food I've ever had. The food in India really has a special quality that you don't find in the states…If you don't like spicy food you're in trouble though.

            After a three hour nap on the flight, we got off the plane in the city of Delhi. As we headed for our hotel, we met our guide for the week, Devender ("Dee"). Delhi is a large city in the north of India. It is not the largest city in the country, not even the second largest, yet it has a population of 16 million…yes, million…and I thought places like NYC and DC were crowded!!

            The first place we went to was called the India gate. The India gate is a huge, beautiful arch, and it is the national monument of India. This gate commemorates the 90,000 soldiers of the India army that died fighting for the Indian Empire in World War I. The funny thing about Delhi, is that it bears and STRIKING resemblance to Washington DC. The gate, aka the monument, stands at the end of what looks just like the national mall…at the other end is their capitol building. It was so weird standing there, feeling like I was so close to home, then imagining myself on a map and realizing how farrrr I was. As soon as we got off the bus we were swarmed by people trying to sell us everything from post-cards to snow-globes to other gimmicks that no one needs. There were also women who would attempt to do Henna on us…the would literally grab our hands and not let go. I felt odd being so forcefull, we live in a very polite society in the states, but I had to be. I quickly learned that the only way they will leave you alone is if you literally pretend they don't exist and completely ignore them. I felt so bad doing this, but as our tour guide said to us "In India, when selling things, no means yes, and no thank you means definitely…so just say NOTHING." He was so right, my friend couldn't help herself but to be polite, and she had people all around her as she walked back to the bus. I on the other hand tapped into my Israeli side and put on a front…I may have been a bit rude for American standards, but I walked back to the bus in peace. Also, for the first time, the local people took just as much interest and fascination in us as we did them. Immediately after getting of the bus Indians asked me to pose in pictures with them!

            When we got to our hotel I felt very weird. This far in my journey I have yet to stay in any type of hotel…instead I have opted for hammocks in riverboats and home-stays (things of this sort). So, when we rolled up to a 4-star hotel in the middle of India, the juxtaposition was a tad overwhelming. I checked into my room and had more space than I knew what to do with myself. I dropped my stuff and went right back downstairs to meet up with friends and go off on our own. We exited the hotel and flagged down a "Took-took" aka rikshaws. Took Tooks are 3 wheelers that you can take all around the city for much cheaper. The driver rides in front and 3 people can fit comfortable in the back…so naturally we had 5. It was getting dark out and we had to be back at the hotel for dinner in another hour, so we went to a few little bazaars, looked around and came back for dinner. Oh, by the way, the whole ride to and from the hotel after an hour of being driven around cost less than one dollar. It felt so insufficient paying so little, between 5 people and it felt even weirder that that was the norm. Call us Americans, but between the 5 of us we coughed up the equivalent of 2 dollars and gave him a little extra.

            When we got back to the hotel for dinner we were greeted with an enormous buffet of all types of India cuisine. After ship food all the time, we were all in heaven with our naan and curry. Coming to India I expected everything to be so spicy. At dinner I asked one of the guys working there if there was anything spicier. He told me I wouldn't be able to handle it. I decided I didn't like being told what I can and cannot handle and asked him nicely to bring out the "goods". He brought it out and we had a good laugh as I put it all over my food and felt holes being burnt through my throat and esophagus.

            During dinner, I complained to a few friends that the bazaars we were taken to were so touristy. They told me that they'd stumbled on a shop that wasn't at all touristy. I asked for directions and when they got to the part of  "then you turn down this alley way and walk for about 10 minutes" I got a little apprehensive. They gave me the shops card so my friend and I decided to go to the desk and call the shop owner. He was very nice and told us he's stay open and that if we showed a took took driver his card they would know exactly where it was. So, we got back into a took-took, this time only 4 people in one with 4 people in another. We got to the shop, owned by a man named Bobby. This place was definitely more local and what we were looking for. He also did wholesale to places in Europe so his supply and pricing was unbelievable. Basically, each scarf was a dollar or less and things like pants were 2-4 dollars. I ended up buying a bunch of nice Indian scarves that I will be giving out as gifts…maybe to you! J. I also ended up buying a traditional Indian outfit…not the traditional sari, but another type dress that women typically wear with jeans or colored pants. Before even considering purchasing it I asked Bobby how Indians would perceive someone with white skin like myself wearing their traditional outfits. He told me something very interesting…he explained that if an Indian sees a foreigner wearing Indian clothes, they automatically assume that the person knows a good deal about Indian culture as well as respects it. He told me that if I wear my outfit out I will be haggled less. You may be thinking, man, he is a good salesman. Well, I'll talk about whether what he said was true or not in my next blog!

            The group of 4 in the second took-took decided to take off and head back to the hotel. So, the 4 of us from my took-took said we'd stay a little longer since we weren't ready to leave yet and follow them soon. After purchasing some things, we ended up standing around talking to Bobby, his friend and employee, and his son, Sunny for another 30 minutes. We got into a conversation about Indian song and dance and before we knew it we were upstairs with loud music learning to dance from Sunny, the 11 year old son that did not speak  a word of English but danced like a professional. After over 2 hours, it was already 11:45 pm so we decided to leave. Our took-took driver, Raj, had stayed with us the whole time, so we got back in and headed for the hotel. Raj told us he'd show us a little of the city on the way back to the hotel. He took us to see the India Gate in the night time as well as a couple of Hindu temples. Then, after the sights, as we headed back for the hotel we suddenly saw a man on his elephant riding along side of us. We asked Raj to stop and we all got out and petted the elephant. Can you believe that we were stopped in the middle of a main road in one of the largest cities in India hanging out with a man and his giant elephant. This is just the beginning of the magic that is India.

            Raj was a great took-took driver and brought us back to our hotel safely. He even invited us over for dinner the following evening, telling us that his wife would cook dinner (I'm sure she appreciated that one). Unfortunately, we would be in Agra the following day so it was not possible. So, we said our good-byes and went to sleep so that we may wake up in the morning at the great hour of 5 am and catch a train by 6. 

INDIA DAY 1

India.

This place was probably the most anticipated for me. The
reason I think it was the most anticipated is because of the sheer
amount and intensity of the knowledge I've learned about this place in
the classroom and in life. I have seen it in documentaries, and modern
movies like Slumdog Millionaire. I have read about it in articles, and
books. In spite of all the knowledge I had going in, nothing prepared
me for what I did see.

Monday morning I woke up at 5:30 and headed up to the top
observation deck. I didn't realize that with the half-hour time change
that we went through upon entering the Indian time-zone, the sun
wouldn't be rising until a bit later. When I got up to the observation
deck it was still very dark and extremely windy…oh, and I was the only
one up there. I sat down and looked out at the blue ocean that I'm so
used to seeing. Within a few minutes a friend of mine, Miles arrived
and sat next to me. He told me about the summer he spent in India a
few years ago. We watched the black sky turn blue like the ocean…then,
around 7am we saw it…LAND! The night before getting to India I was
telling my friend how weird this trip is in a lot of ways. I say this
because, usually when you get ready to go on a trip to a foreign
country it takes lots of preparation, packing, and sitting on an
uncomfortable plane for a while. On a usual trip there is a unique
level of excitement that comes with the travel. Here, I roll up to
these foreign countries with my room, bed, belongings, and friends
that have become family right there next to me. So, the level of
excitement that you usually get a few days before boarding a plane
doesn't exist as much here. For me, I've found that it exists the
first time that I see land.

By around 8am we were officially docked at the port. I
was still up on the observation deck as I saw the immigrations
officials walk up the stairs to the gang-way and onto the ship. When
living in such a secluded community, it's funny to see people on the
ship that aren't usually here. We all went through immigrations and
hoped to be off the ship shortly. I made my way to Tymitz square which
is right next to the gangway around 9am, thinking that we would get
the okay to get off the ship any minute. Well, immigrations were not
on our sides this port and we ended up sitting in Tymitz square until
11:15am. When we finally got word that we could get off the ship
everyone cheered and literally ran off the ship.

My Dad, David, does business with some people in India.
When he told his friend, Manish, that I was to be arriving by boat in
his home city of Cochin, Manish insisted that he be a great host.
Manish arranged for a driver to take me around Cochin for the day and
see lots of great sites. Myself and friends Shelley, leah, Kevin and
Park hopped off the ship and found our driving host for the day,
Linus. Linus was a very sweet man that spoke limited English. We got
in the car and headed for an area called Jew-Town. Historically,
Cochin had a lot of Jews living there. When we got there I was excited
by the sign that said Jew Street and Shalom in Hebrew. I stumbled on
the home of a woman named Sarah. Sarah was very old and spoke very
broken English, but she welcomed me gladly into her home. She
explained to me that she was one of only NINE Jews left in Cochin. She
looked at me and told me that everyone else had gone to Israel. I
asked her a little about the 9 Jews there are still there and she told
me that their Rabbi had also left so they rely on tourists to show up
on Shabbat in order to pray as a community.

Then, I made my way further down the road. At the end
there was a Jewish cemetery that was closed off to the public. There
was also a synagogue. I excitedly stored my bag like I was told and
entered the synagogue. It was interesting to see the combination of
cultures. For example, before entering the synagogue I was told to
take off my shoes. I looked at my friend who was also raised Jewish
weirdly…I've been to many synagogues in my life, but I've never been
told to take my shoes off before. I took them off and walked inside.
The synagogue had clear Indian influence. The place was so intricately
decorated with lots of color. The floors were adorned with clean white
tiles and blue drawings unique to each and every tile. As I was there
a group of elementary school children came to view the synagogue. It
was funny because it was one of the first "touristy" places I've been
to on Semester at Sea thus far where locals were also "touring". This
quickly became a unique theme to India.

After exploring "Jew-Town" we met back up with Linus and
headed to lunch. We had been recommended the name of a restaurant in
town by a local shop owner called "Dal Roti". The five of us had not
eaten all day so we jumped out of the car ready for our first Indian
mean. We got into the restaurant and were shocked by the prices. A
coca cola was only 20 rupees (that's not even 50 cents). In total I
ended up paying only 3 dollars for two drinks and my meal!

At this point you're probably thinking that those cokes
were super small and that the meal sucked. Well, you're wrong! The
owner of the restaurant came over to our table and we asked him for
recommendations. I ended up ordering a chicken Kati Roll. This ended
up being chicken and vegetables in a naan type wrap. This sounds
boring…but I quickly learned that something as simple as chicken in
India means so much more. The amount of spices and flavors put into
the food is AWESOME. After a week and a half of ship food (aka
different variations of pasta and potatoes), that Kati Roll was, in my
father's words, the "best meal of my life".

We finished up lunch and made our way to another popular
site to see in Cochin- the Fishnets. In the south of India they use
these fish-nets that are very unique to the south. They are HUGE nets
attached to 3 planks of wood that are placed into the water. When it
comes time to take the net out and get some fish, you pull ropes with
big rocks on the ends that are attached to the three planks of wood.
My friends and I even got to pull one net out of the water and we
helped catch a few fish.

Right around the fish nets there were lots of stands and
shops and people hanging out. As we were walking around I saw a group
of locals sitting around playing Chess. They asked me if I wanted to
play one of them. Well, I'm not much of a chess player, but my friend
that was with me, Kevin, is an avid chess player. So, I called Kevin
over and the two started what turned out to be an epic, hour and a
half long game. By the end, there were tons of locals surrounding the
chess board cheering on their friend and also laughing at the
possibility of him losing to an American. The situation got pretty
intense and game turned out to be very close. Kevin was thrilled to
come out on top. As soon as he won, all of the Indians started
chanting "Ah-mer-ee-kah! Ah-mer-ee-kah!!". Kevin shook hands with his
openent, hugged and laughed and we said our good-byes to the group.

After a lot of exploring Cochin, I got a call from my
Dad's friend, Manish. Manish told us that he'd love to have dinner
with us. Obviously, we all jumped at the chance to have dinner with a
local and told him we'd meet him at a restaurant in a few hours. We
did some more walking around and meeting people and then made our way
to the restaurant.

The dinner with Manish was definitely the high-light of
my day. We ended up having SUCH an nice and delicious dinner with him
and his wife. I used the opportunity to ask all sorts of questions
about the culture, religions, customs, education system, health
policies…etc. The two happily answered my questions and we ended up
having such a nice conversation that the dinner went on for nearly 3
hours. After dinner, we hung around in the hotel we ate dinner in to
use the wifi for an hour or so. I got to call home and even video chat
with Greg and Jenna!

My day in Cochin was a great introduction to India. The
state that Cochin is in, Kerala, is the most "well off" state in
India. It has the highest literacy rate, and also some of the lowest
rates of problems like domestic violence and infanticide. So, I say it
was a good introduction to India because it is definitely a "milder"
version of India with less poverty. That night we got back to the ship
around 12 at night and just got ready to head up north for the next
few days.

Purim/Shabbat at Sea!

First of all, Shabbat shalom and happy Purim everyone!!

            Here on the ship, myself, and my friends Eshley and Shelley host a Shabbat dinner every Friday night that we are on the ship. The kitchen staff makes us two challahs every week and prepares grape juice! We usually lead the group and sing a couple of songs like "Shalom aliechem" and "adon olam" and then do the prayers over the candles, wine, and challah and then sit around and eat. Lots of people show up each week, we have the regular Jews that come each week and also people that have never been exposed to Judaism and just want to learn. We've even started a new tradition where each Shabbat, those who have never experienced or celebrated a Shabbat before come up and hold the Challas as we say the blessings, they then break the challah and pass it out. It's our way of making them feel welcome…maybe it scares them a little too, but hey! We're Jews…no reservations!

            This Shabbat was very special because the holiday of Purim was this week. Purim was Wednesday to Thursday night, but we couldn't celebrate on the ship Thursday night so we decided to just combine the two and have a big event last night. The turnout at this Shabbat was more people than we've ever had. We told everyone to show up in costume. We got some really funny costumes. For example, my friend, Grant, who is not Jewish but is very interested in different religions dressed up as T'fillin (a thing religious Jewish men used to pray with). If you're familiar with it, he put a huge cardboard box on his head, printed out a shin, and pasted it on the box. Then, he wrapped stuff around his arm and voila! He was t'fillin! My friend and I each printed us big pictures of quarters, pasted them to our shirts and together we were 50 cent (the rapper). Everyone was really excited to look at each other's costumes.

            We all sat down and started off with a short explanation of what Purim is. Then, I taught everyone the tradition of making noise when Haman's name is said during the story of Purim. I told everyone this, because I then told a condensed, modern version of the story of Purim. All of my Jewish friends that were there called me "such a camp counselor"…of course, I embraced this compliment. All of my non-Jewish friends that were there thanked me for telling the story (yayJ). Then, we said the prayers, and had Shabbat dinner!

            We had ordered lots of cookies before the dinner. After everyone ate, we handed out cookies and jelly and had our very own "make-shift" hamentashens. All in all, it was a GREAT night and probably the best purim/Shabbat celebration that was going on in the middle of the Indian ocean at the time…you know, because there are so many purim/Shabbat celebrations going on the middle of the Indian!         

We may have not committed the typical Purim mitzvah because we still knew the different between good and evil (you know what I'm talking about…if you don't, talk to a Jew that's once celebrated Purim "the right way"). But, we did our best, and had a great time!

Shavua Tov everyone! 

Steph

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