Chai for Christmas

OMG longest day ever! We only thought we were busy yesterday. No, no. Yesterday was a breeze. Today, I was chauffeured via elephant up a mountain, called a queen (and a stingy one at that), hounded by paparazzi, pulled into traditional Indian dance, and hit by a car.

We got up this morning at about 7 am for breakfast (they had baked beans and the closet Anglophile in me was really excited about that). We’ve noticed an odd mix in the breakfast selections. The hotels seem to include a wider range of breakfast “styles” (traditional Indian, British influences…corn flakes). I know a lot of us are grateful to see something familiar in the mornings, especially when the rest of the day is mostly foreign.

.After breakfast we headed out to Amer fort. I have been looking forward to this site since I found out we were going on the trip. We were going to ride elephants to the top. ELEPHANTS! We queued up in a sweet little garden waiting our turn to ride up, and it was at this point that we realized the only two Indians on the trip (Vikas and Varun), were NOT taking the elephant ride. I think we all had a moment of “uh oh, should we not? Is there something we don’t know?” Dr. Anand reassured us, telling us that to Indians, “elephants are like cats” and there was nothing novel about riding one up a mountain….ok…

We made it up to the front fairly quickly given the length of the line when we arrived, and were seated on the back of the bumpiest piece of transportation I have ever experienced. Don’t’ get me wrong, we had a blast, but it was a work out. I had to keep my abs clenched the entire way up the mountain to feel like I wasn’t falling off (and that didn’t always help). I kept sliding into poor Kevin cause I was sitting up front (closest to the ears) and he had the tail lend. Our driver, who insisted on calling Kevin and I a “maharaja” and “maharani” (king and queen) was a typical Indian driver - aggressive and willing to sneak into any opening he saw available. We passed about five other elephants on the tiny mountain road…we felt like a part of elephant NASCAR.

Once we made it to the top, our driver, who had been kind and talkative most of the way, began asking the Maharaja for his tip - apparently Maharani don’t pay for things…this I like. He kept saying ”you are Maharaja and Maharani, I am a simple driver. Tip more” Oh no, mister elephant driver man, we know your wiley ways. Our tour guide warned us about you - 50 rupees it is. We escaped his pleas with claims of “that’s all we have (it wasn’t) and “sorry” (we weren’t). I know now that I wouldn’t wanna do that everyday - your back and butt would be sore all the time. Now I understand why the two Indians opted to take Jeeps up the mountain.

Now, when you hear the word “fort,” what do you think of? Probably the same thing as me. A big, sprawling fortress-like structure made to withstand countless enemy attacks? Yeah…this was NOT that kind of fort. This was beautiful. The archways were covered in delicate paintings and all of the stone work was intricate and elaborate. The royal family used this fort more as a home and palace than a defense mechanism. There were meeting halls and Jacuzzi tubs and bedrooms galore - not to mention the entire hall covered in teensy mirrors. We had a great time exploring the fort. It would have been easy to spend hours at that site (mostly because there was so much to see, partially cause it would have been really easy to get lost in all the tunnels and passageways). When we were done, we took jeeps down the hill - elephants down hill would have been a terrible plan.

After the fort, our next stop was a local jeweler. Our guide took us to a place where the “locals” know to shop. The store owner greeted us and explained where they get their stones and the process that goes into cutting and polishing the gems, then he let us see one of the workshops. Jaipur is the gem capital of India (and they supply something ridiculous like 80% of the world’s gems). Daddy wanted a sapphire, so I found the loose stones and spent the entire time there - so many tiny sparkly things! I found him a stone - a dark cobalt-blue sapphire, but I found myself one too (oops). In trying to determine what color I was looking for, the guy showed me several different stones. One was a gorgeous cornflower blue sapphire that was a unique hue, even for that shade. It caught my eye and I fell in love with it. As we know, I have excellent taste, so, of course, I managed to pick out one of the rarest colors of sapphire they have…making it a bit more expensive than the other. I love it, though, and they guy offered to put it in a ring for me with two little diamonds on the side. How could I say no? He said he’d put it all together and have it delivered to my hotel that evening.

As I was entirely consumed by the stones the whole time, I had know idea what was happening with anyone else. When we’d gone into the store, only Seth and I were really looking to buy something. Turns out, there were only one or two people that ended up NOT buying something - for themselves, their mothers, girlfriends, wives, etc. The salespeople. were all so nice and easy to deal with, and the shop was just beautiful - it makes sense. It was neat to shop in a place like that- it was very much a family run business, run out of their home, but supported by all of the people who lived nearby. I wonder if they live nearby because they help with the business or if they help with the business because they live nearby…?

After spoiling our selves with sparkles, we were famished, so we stopped for lunch at a traditional Rajasthan restaurant. We’re getting better at ordering (starting to recognize things we like and trust), but we’re also usually willing to branch out and try new things. Every now and then that plan backfires…that happened today. We ordered a vegetable dish that sounded good on the menu, but en execution, was just weird - pineapple and green peas and cashews and something else we weren’t sure of. Yeah, that didn’t get eaten. The rest was delicious, though.

After lunch, the most entertaining scene of the trip unfolded. Aaron felt the need to apply bug spray, so he stepped out of the bus. Well, there was an entire crowd of Indian men standing around (like they seem to be prone to do) just outside of the bus. As Aaron stood there, completely oblivious to the scene, the men stared at him with a mixture of confusion, amazement, and a bit of mocking. Then, out of nowhere, and entire herd of beggar women appeared, all toting a child or two, all with their hands out. Aaron didn’t notice them until they were right in front of him and there was not escape! When he looked up, a look of panic came across his face, and he made a beeline for the bus, herd of women tailing him all the way to the steps. Poor thing.

Up next was Jantar Mantar. This is were the day really got interesting. Jantar Mantar is an 250 year old observatory park. So, naturally, there were school groups ton field trips there. If you haven’t noticed, II’m blonde. There aren’t a lot of fair kilned, blue eyed, blonde headed people in this country. (shocker, I know). So, I became part of the field trip. We had boys in uniforms following our group around the entire time. Once we got a bit of free time, Amanda and I took a break near one of the star sign calculator statue things. Within two minutes of sitting down, we had a small group of boys come up to us and ask for pictures. They looked harmless enough, so we said okay. Thirty seconds later, a group of not-so-small boys also asked for a photo. This time we were a bit more hesitant. They were, as most people are here, aggressive, though, and one of the guys jumped in between us before we knew what was happening. Then, oh then, as his buddy was about to snap a pic, he threw his arms around both of us (VERY inappropriate in Indian culture. You do NOT touch a member of the opposite sex). At that point, Dr. Anand saw us and came over to pull us away. We headed over to where the rest of the group was sitting, and were safe for a few minutes before another group of ogglers started to form. Dr. Anand whisked us away again and we decided it was time to head out. Once back on the bus, thee boys were told to keep an eye out for us…geez. Thanks adventure curls, thanks.

Next stop: bapu bazaar. Two words. SENSORY OVERLOAD. Ohmygosh I have NEVER been that overwhelmed by a shopping experience. After that, I could kick black-Friday-ToysRUs in it’s butt. There were all sorts of noises (voices, animals, cars, random hobo children) smells (I’m not gonna describe) sights (colors everywhere!) and people. The sheer number of people - I just…ugh. Also, I think the beggar women make their children cry on cue. These babies are quiet until I ignore the pleas of their mother and then they start bawling and I feel like the worst person in the whole world, l. And they must know that American women are weak, cause they stick with you for ages. I gotta give em points for persistence.

I did make a few purchases - though I’ve discovered I suck at haggling. I feel too mean. I could have done better with my bargaining, but my overwhelmed brain couldn’t process the sensory overload and the guilt att the same time, so sensory overload won.

After the market, we had a few short minutes back at the hotel before we headed out to Chohki Dhani. The easiest way to describe this place is like the Indian version of Silver Dollar city. It’s a recreation of a typical Rajasthani village - complete with performers and an “authentic” meal (it was served on plates made of banana leaves and we weren’t sure what 9/10 of the stuff on our plates was…). We had to take our shoes off (ick…I wasn’t happy about that. If you knew what Indian streets looked like, you’d never wanna take your shoes off…EVER) and we sat on the floor. It had rained earlier, so this experience was rather undesirable. Other than that, we had a good time. We toured the place for a bit after dinner (which was entertaining since our waiters were fighting the whole time), and at one point, a girl in traditional Indian dress grabbed my hand and pulled me onto a platform with her (I wouldn’t go without Pree), and we got to participate in the dance. And by participate I mean be-really-confused-and-laugh-hysterically-while-attempting-to-mimic-what-she-was-doing. At one point I heard Pree say, “Oh, look at Kevin!” I turned around and someone had grabbed him, too…and turned him into a cow…and told him to bounce up and down. Apparently we were to then dance around him. It was one of the most ridiculous and fun things we’ve done yet.

After our dancing escapades and tour, we headed back to the hotel. On the way out, our group apparently wasn’t moving fast enough for one of the cars, and they totally HIT ME! Like ran INTO my leg. I’m not sure what Indian protocol is for that situation, but American protocol told me to give them a “go to you-know-where look,“ almost pound on their hood, and shout not very nice English phrases at the driver. He was not apologetic in the least. Whatever, driver man, may you come back as one of those beggar children that’s taught to cry on cue.

Now, I’m home, exhausted, and ready for bed. We have to be up at 3am..so I should get at least a little bit of sleep.

I woke up today at 5:15 am…without an alarm. Darn you, jetlag! Oh well, it ended up paying off. I was up early enough to get ready and pack my bags all by 6:45 (when we were scheduled to leave for the Taj Mahal). Everyone showed up on time! A repeat of yesterday’s tardiness could have cost us a great morning, so I’m glad no one let us down.

We left early enough that there was minimal traffic, and we arrived at the Taj right as the sun was rising. I kinda wish we’d left a little bit earlier, cause I would have loved more of a time cushion for pictures of the sunrise. At least we made it through security quickly - again, the girls had their own line and little curtained booths so that no one could see you get your security check…why do they do that? Is it offensive to be checked maybe? As if they’re somehow accusing you of being sketchy? Odd…

We finally made it through the main gate to the monument. The fog had lifted a bit from the night before, so the view was beautiful. Postcards don’t do this place justice. The incredible detail on everything, from the entrance gate to the gardens to the monument itself simply cannot be captured in a photo (but believe me I tried).


I took so many pictures! Every angle of the place was photo worthy, down to the water drains. They were so intricate, with little six sided stars for openings. We just loved it and I’m sure we could have wandered around taking pictures for several hours. We had several other places to be, however, so we snapped as many as we could and met back up at the gate.

So, you know how I mentioned that no one let us down this morning by being late? Well, that didn’t last. We had a group member show up nearly 45 minutes after the designated meeting time. Our schedule was so packed today that a delay that large could cost us an entire activity…like breakfast! It almost happened. They closed the buffet at 10 am, we made it back at 9:55ish. Too close for comfort in my opinion. Do you have any idea how crabby I would have been if we’d had to go the rest of the afternoon food and coffee-less? It would have been bad. Especially since we weren’t getting lunch until late that day. Ugh, I was annoyed.

No matter, we made it back, had breakfast, and headed back out for our second monument of the day - Agra Fort. That place is huge! And, since it’s built out of red sandstone, the color added to the hugeness to make it even more impressive. It was a beautiful place, quite neat to visit, but I have to admit I liked the Taj better (probably only because it’s a little more girly and romantic - I mean come on, has anyone given YOU a which marble palace lately? Didn‘t think so). Oh, almost forgot to mention, we saw MONKEYS! Itsy bitsy ones, too. They were just relaxing, munching on grain under a tree, waiting for all the crazy tourists to ooh and ahh and snap their pictures. We fell for it, hook-line-and-sinker.


We made it back to the bus, despite getting attacked by a thousand hawkers (that’s gonna take some getting used to), and headed out for our third and final monument of the day. We made a stop on the way at a roadside pharmacy and sweet shop (which we had to cross a street to get to…I’ve never been so afraid of crossing a street in my life). Dr. Anand picked up some candied pumpkin at the shop, apparently Agra is famous for it. It wasn’t my favorite (a little too sweet for my taste), but it was good.

The drive to Fatehpur Sikri was different from yesterday’s trek in that it was mostly through village land. The streets were covered in trash (apparently the waste management system here is not very functional), there are animals everywhere, and the sides of the roads are lined with collections of cow dung cakes. We saw some of the women “collecting” them - they mix cow dung and mud together into small disks, then let them dry in the sun. Once they’ve hardened, they’re used as fuel for cooking.

The idea of that being someone’s job, something that they go do everyday for hours, was really hard for me to grasp. I know I’m spoiled by where I live and how I’ve grown up, and in my world it’s a foreign concept, but it’s still gross and hard to believe. They don’t seem to mind it, though. That’s something I’ve noticed. Even the people in the grips of poverty have lives. They make due, they get along, and they seem content. It’s just their lives, plain and simple, and they’re living them for all they can. It makes me feel quite selfish for getting so annoyed at the little inconvinences in my life - like the dishwasher not getting my plates clean or Walmart being out of my brand of hairspray. Really?!? I get annoyed at those things? What on earth is wrong with me? I’m living like a queen compared to a majority of the people in this country and I don’t appreciate it at all. It’s quite pathetic really.

Okay, off that soapbox and on to Fatehpur Sikri. This last monument was a complex and palace built by Akbar (the guy with the tomb from yesterday) back during the Mughal Empire. We kinda buzzed through it because we were short on time (and if we didn’t get on the road to Jaipur at a certain time, our trip would take several hours more than planned). Buzzed through or not, we still got a good dose of history from it. We also learned that Akbar really liked his Hindu wife, liked his Christian wife okay, but wasn’t a huge fan of his Muslim wife. Okay, we may not know that for sure, but the vast differences in the sizes of their accommodations seems to hint so. The Hindu wife got an entire courtyard and tons of rooms, the Christian wife got a building with about four rooms in it, but the Muslim wife got a multi-purpose one room building. Poor thing. As for his area, the bed was pretty neat - it was elevated to prevent nighttime attacks and they were able to flood the floor in the summers to keep the room cool (nifty idea).


Once pictures had been taken and potty breaks had, we headed out for Jaipur. The first part of the drive was fairly predictable: lots of traffic, lots of honking, lots of trash, lots of run-down looking buildings (also, I miss grass. Where are they hiding their vegetation?), but the predictability did not last long. Some protesters had taken up residence on the road that we were supposed to take, so we ended up taking a detour through some teensy tiny villages. It may have been the most beautiful part of the trip yet. It’s not that the scenery was all that nice, but the experience was incredible.

Imagine with me that you have lived your entire life in a small Indian village that is totally bypassed by the interstate system. You exist, day by day, with minimal electricity, no running water, and very little contact with the rest of the world. Now, imagine that one day, a caravan of cars, trucks, and busses appears on the dirt road outside your house. How would you react? If you answered, grab your entire family and run to the edge of the road and watch everyone drive by, then you would be correct. In each village we passed, EVERYONE was poised on the edge of the road, staring at the funny little parade we’d accidentally stepped into. I should point out that unlike American charter busses, our bus did not have tinted windows - you could see straight in. So, go back to that scenario we just visited and add that the people in one of these vehicles are white, blue eyed, and blonde headed. Now how do you react? I wonder what was going through their heads when they saw us. We noticed, very quickly, that simply smiling down at them resulted in huge grins. When we paired those simple smiles with enthusiastic waving, the results would have made your heart explode. It’s amazing what a wave can do. We had children jumping up and down, waving back so hard I was afraid their arms would fall off. They ran along with the bus and shouted what was probably the only English they knew - loud, beautiful choruses of “Hi, Hi, Hello!”

We had a BLAST! We opened windows and stuck our heads out and waved until our hands hurt. I have never seen so many people get so excited by a single wave. It was incredible. Most would smile and wave at the bus as we passed, and when we returned the gesture, they’d punch their friends and point as if to say “Did you see that? They waved back!!” We made it our goal to get at least all of the children to smile. In India, smiling and laughter is reserved for times when it is really merited. In the States, we smile to be friendly, we laugh a joke to be polite, we wave at strangers. Here, that type of behavior is seen as frivolous unless the situation fits. It was hard, but we were able to get most of the villagers, even the men (the toughest crowd) to at least smile back. My heart has never been so touched - and to think, it was all because of a detour. Maybe we should take detours more often. It took us three extra hours to go the few kilometers that the protesters had blocked off, and we missed lunch but it was far more than worth it.

We did finally make it back to the highway and stopped at another of those roadside restaruants for dinner. The menu was quite similar to the first and there was a small gift shop attached…which I’m pretty sure makes those restaurants the Cracker Barrels of India. We had a yummy dinner, picked up a tag along tourist who followed our bus to the hotel in Jaipur (they were apparently super lost), and finished the drive to Jaipur (I slept the whole way). We have another full day tomorrow, so I’m off to bed. Don’t wanna miss those elephant rides!

Our first morning in India! It looks a little more like “India” in the daylight. After last night, breakfast came quite early. It was worth it, though. We had fresh fruit, chicken sausage, and a breakfast bread called pani (I think…). No coffee, but they did have tea (so I’ll take what I can get). North India is apparently more of a “tea” area, while south India prefers coffee. I’m getting the feeling I’ll get along better in south India. We’ll see.

After breakfast, several of us collected money and exchanged dollars for rupees. That was an interesting experience - he took copies of our passports and gave us receipts out of a carbon copy book. Not the most advanced method of banking…

Next up was a visit to the mall. It wasn’t at all what I expected it would be. It was big, and modern, and clean with all sorts of nice stores - very much like the malls we have at home. I think that is what surprised me. The drive there was most definitely not “home” but then, out of nowhere, there’s this building that looks like it jumped out of suburban America.


One major difference greeted us right at the entrance - security check. We couldn’t go in without having our bags checked and letting them wave a wand up and down us. The really big surprise? The man who opened the door for me motioned me forward towards what looked like a changing room behind him. A lady security guard walked out and waved me in. SHE then checked me. Apparently, the men don’t check the women and vice versa. I guess, looking back, I should have expected that, but it still felt a little odd. I mean, back home, a security check is a security check (well, unless you’re getting patted down, but this was just a wand). Different mindset, I guess.

A huge Christmas tree greeted us in the lobby. That was kinda nice - a reminder of home. Only the bottom half was fully decorated, though. The top was a bit sparse, as if they couldn’t reach up that far. Our first stop was Reliance - a clothing store. Reliance is the company that was depicted in Guru, one of the movies we watched in class. We were a bit early, but one of the workers, sensing (correctly) that we would spend money, let us in anyway. The shop was set up very similarly to those we have in the states - different sections were focused on different “genres” of clothes and there were several mannequins dotting the store displaying some of the outfits. We did notice that the women’s’ section was about 80% traditional Indian style, 20% Western while the men’s section was the opposite - mostly Western. There was also an area where you could select fabrics and have things custom made (we should have that option back home!) After browsing for a bit, I found a beautiful kurta set. It’s a rose colored fabric with a sheer overlay woven with gold thread and some really pretty embellishments across the top. It came with green pants and a scarf. I’m not sure yet where I’ll wear it, but I LOVE it. AND it was on sale!

Big Bazaar (kinda like an Indian version of Walmart) was our next stop. We needed to pick up a few provisions for the trip - toilet paper, snacks, shampoo, a hair dryer (you know, the important stuff). We walked into the men’s clothing section, and at first glance, it looked a LOT like a Walmart, even the shelving was similar. The similarities kinda ended there. The women’s clothes were, like at Reliance, mostly traditional style. Past the clothing section was a series of seemingly mismatched clusters of things - dishes, electronics, chocolate, plastic boxes. There wasn’t any particular order to the sections, they just seemed to be stuck in at random, making it difficult to figure out where to find things we needed.

We finally found the toiletries and began our search for the list of things we needed. FYI, shopping is trickier when the prices aren’t stuck on the shelf under the product (the prices are normally listed ON the product itself). I’m apparently much more reliant on prices to help me choose than I thought I was. I really had a hard time picking out things when I didn’t know which cost what. Snacks were even harder to shop for. The food section seemed all jumbled, and there were a LOT of cookies. And chips. Granola bars, not so much. We finally found those in the international section.

There were still a few things we couldn’t find, but the salespeople were very attentive (and everywhere!), so they helped us. Turns out, hair dryers are stored with the computer mice. Make sense, right? Also, Big Bazaar does NOT carry umbrellas…hmmm…

After shopping, we all met back at the huge tree. And by all, I mean most. We had a few stragglers. I’m not a fan of people not being punctual, so I’m hoping this does not become a trend.

The rest of the day was a really, really long drive. We left Delhi for Agra after we finished up at the mall. It didn’t take us long to find the traffic that didn’t seem to exist late last night. There were SO MANY PEOPLE! There’s really no way to describe exactly what we drove through in words, so I’ve included a handy diagram: (which I'll add tomorrow cause I'm super tired right now)

Also, you can’t get the full experience without a background soundtrack of incessant honking. They keep telling us we’ll get used to it…

As you can see from the diagram, traffic is INSANE. It’s as if lines are painted on the road for decorative purposes only and the concept of “your side of the road” is totally lost on everyone. There are “vehicles” (I hesistate to use even that word to describe the types of objects we saw amidst all this traffic) of every shape, size, color…breed. You’ve got trucks (painted up like parade floats), auto rickshaws (the Indian version of a taxi, but with only three wheels), cars, tractors, horse drawn carts, motorcycles, bicycles…cows (no, not with riders, just kinda hanging out). Part of me was very entertained by the circus happening on the road, the other part was terrified. I was torn between keeping my eyes open so that I didn’t miss anything and covering my face so that I didn’t see us run over one of the meandering cows.

The traffic wasn’t the only eye opening part of the drive. I started noticing little settlements dotted all over. It’s apparently common practice to set up a tent (or several tents) just about anywhere. I asked Dr. Anand about it and he said that people accept the practice here and that it has resulted in crime not being directly correlated with poverty or slums. That makes sense seeing as it would cut down on resentment or resorting to rule breaking in order to survive. It was sometimes heartbreaking to see, however.

We stopped for lunch at this little roadside restaurant. We got to sit outside, which was lovely, and there was even some “entertainment” (snake charmers that I stayed far away from). Lunch was great, but, from what we’ve heard, a bit overpriced. I don’t think any of us minded - the food was good and it was a sunny break from the bus.

The rest of the ride is a bit of a blur. I slipped in and out of sleep once it got dusky, so I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to what was happening outside. We did stop and see our first monument of the trip - Akbar’s tomb. That was neat ‘cause our group did a presentation on the Mughal Empire, so I totally knew who he was!

A little bit later we made it to the hotel - the really, really nice hotel. We checked in and rested up for just a bit, then a small group of us went for dinner at Only Restaurant (a cute little place just down the street). We were all pretty up for it until we got there, sat down, and were still, then the tired set in. We ate, had coffee, and walked back. That was a semi-nerve-wracking walk - I’m pretty sure I almost got hit several times. Once back at the hotel, Honey was watching some Indian soap operas. Interestingly, these shows (which were on several channels) all seem to revolve around an event rather than people. You know how in the States, people follow soaps for the characters? Well, all of these episodes, on each channel we tried, centered on an engagement ceremony, leading us to wonder whether it was the characters or the concept that people follow these shows for. I didn’t watch for long - it’s been a long day and a shower was required, followed now by bed. Taj Mahal tomorrow!

That was the first thought I wrote in my journal...

We're here! It's a bit hectic right now, but we're having a great time already. I'll update more later, just wanted you to know we're safe. 'til then!

Namaste! I have to be at the airport in less than twelve hours. I’m packed, my clothes for tomorrow are laid out, I’ve paid rent and other bills, I’ve hugged and kissed family members and left the puppy in the care of my parents (she’ll be fine…I hope THEY survive). Now all I have to do is get a decent night’s rest…yeah…we’ll get to that in a minute. Blogging sounds like more fun.

How ‘bout I tell you what I packed for this grand adventure? Good plan? Thought so. I’m a seasoned traveler, so I’ve become fairly methodical in my packing - I’m only taking a medium checked bag and my small backpack (I wouldn’t advise a less seasoned packer to attempt such a feat).

In these bags I have:
Clothes (for two different climates)
A jacket
An extra pair of shoes (and flip flops for the shower)
A towel
A sleep sheet
Toiletries
A curling iron & straightener (though I’ve been told I’m not allowed to wear curls while I’m there…crazy things happen when I let my hair stay curly…crazy things)
A first aid kit
Like a thousand batteries (my camera eats them)
My Mountainsmith bag
An umbrella
A small sewing kit (I’ve needed it on every trip I’ve gone on, believe it or not)
Gifts for our hosts
My netbook & charger
My cameras (video & still) and chargers
A teensy tripod
Accompanying cords
My iPod & headphones & charger
A plug adapter (for all those chargers)
My journal
A book for the plane
My passport, ID, credit card, and cash
A folder with all of the information I could ever need

I’m sure there are other things, but that’s all I could remember off the top of my head. I also have a small bag full of all the gifts we’re taking to the orphanage (board games, candy, bracelets, stickers, pencils, toothbrushes, etc).

I can’t wait to get there. I know it’s going to be like nothing I’m imagining - we’ve been warned of that several times. I should arrive in Delhi about 9:30pm on Monday. I’ll update as soon as I can. ‘til then!

We're leaving in five days...FIVE. Wanna know what I've packed? Nothing...