India

I will start this entry by clearing up the title. Yes, I know I spelled  Guardian angels wrong, it’s all part of the post! The reason is because this post concerns the Indian peoples fascination with us English folk.

So, because of the unexpected cold many of us went out to look at jackets. A lot of the jackets like many things here had are covered with English sayings or words. One of the Australians got one that said rock’n’roll all over it. He wasn’t particularly excited of the jackets, but beggars can’t be choosers, especially in India. So, he bought the jacket and on the way on we realized on the back of the jacket what we thought said guardian angels actually said gardian angles. Of course this has become a regular joke, but it also got me thinking about the Indian people and what they think of the English.

I don’t really know what to say about the people, but they are simply lovely! They stare, they ask questions, and they seem genuinely interesting in other people’s lives. I get asked the following questions about five times a day; where are you from? why are you in India? What is your job? Where do you go to school? and Are you married? At first of course I was taken aback by these questions seeing as these people will never see me again, but as the questions continue I have gotten pretty comfortable with the answers. This has become a normal thing for me and I have fallen in love with the people here and even their nosey questions. Today I was flattered once again by the strangers I met, four young girls who made my day.

But of course nothing just happens in India, things always lead up to it. And for me today it was an enjoyable tour of Delhi. Jesse, my driver here, took me first to the Lotus Temple, a temple of meditation for all religions. Unfortunately, we could only see the temple from a far but it’s size and shape were shocking! This Lotus shaped temple is made of marble, cement, dolomite, and sand. Not only is it for all religions, but all people as well. This idea of universal worship is what has made India so unique in its religious make up.

After that we went to The Humayun Tomb. This is a set of graves and monuments constructed in the mid 1500s. The cool thing about this place is there were literally no restrictions. You could climb anything with stairs and walk all along the top of the boarder’s wall. I could have stayed there all day. The open lawns and beautiful structures were jaw dropping. At the exit of the first section me and Em (one of the Australians) were approached by four young girls. They were all probably about 16 years old and spoke broken English. They ask to get photos with us and then they asked us to email them to them. When we said they would they got so excited. To think that this picture with a complete stranger was so special to them was very warming. “Aapka naam kya hai?” they would ask, which means what is your name. After I told them Jake they just kept repeating it “Jake, Emma, Jake Emma!” they would giggle to each other. After we left them we climbed the top of a monument. When I looked from the top I spotted the girls still in the same spot and not soon after they spotted me, waving and screaming up at me like I was a good friend. On the way out I passed them again and we had another little chat. “How old are you? Where are you from?” Then the questions started to get tougher, “Where is your girlfriend? Are you married? Why aren’t you married?” As I explained that marriage is different in the United States I was interrupted by one of the girls saying, “will you marry me?” It was very funny and extremely sweet. The people here have touched us all, but these girl’s curiosity, openness, and kind hearts really made my day. I hated saying goodbye to these girls, but I had more to see!

The next section was just as amazing as the Taj Mahal, in fact, it is was inspired the design of the Taj. It looked very similar it was just red instead of glossy white. We really got to explore the building with its tombs of past royalty. As these good days continue I get more and more excited for the days to come!

The Lotus Temple

The Humayun Tomb

My new friends