Delhi for Diwali

For the weekend we went to Delhi because pretty much everything was going to be closed in Hubli for Diwali. Diwali is like the Indian New Year. It lasts for two days. We arrived in the Delhi airport and the air was filled with smoke from all of the fireworks. No joke, people were setting off crackers the entire weekend. Our first day in Delhi we had to ourselves, so we went and explored Humayan’s Tomb. He was the second Mughal emperor. The tomb later became the inspiration/basis for the Taj Mahal. It was so beautiful. All of the carvings and architectural details were amazing. Later we went to a couple different markets to look at jewelry and clothes. They have the most beautiful clothes here!!! It’s hard not to buy everything (especially since it is so cheap too.) I bought a Diwali outfit for our celebrations that night. We had dinner at the hotel (this weekend we gorged on non-Indian food) and then walked around and saw people setting off fireworks with their families. It was kind of scary, how many people were lighting fireworks and the air was so thick with smoke it made it hard to see. Allegra (my hotel roomie) and I watched the fireworks from our hotel window. Fireworks shows went on around the city from 6pm until 1 am. We’re talking bigger than the fourth of july fireworks.

The next day we all boarded a bus and took the 4 hour journey to Agra, home of the beautiful Taj Mahal. We ended up arriving a little late, so we saw the Agra Fort instead, which was a lot cooler than I thought it was going to be. The fort was built by Akbar and it is HUGE. It also overlooks the Taj Mahal and had really pretty views. There were so many different courtyards and mosques to explore. Our professor’s children came to visit her this weekend (they are 3 and 8) and boy were the Indian people loving them. People would come up and take pictures all over this fort with these two blonde kids from America. It was funny because they wouldn’t even ask, they would just come right up next to them and start taking pictures in their face.

The next day we woke up really early to go see the Taj Mahal at sunrise. It was so beautiful. I can’t think of any other word to describe it, it was just so stunning. When the sun finally came up, it made the whole building golden. It was breathtaking, I could not stop staring at it and taking pictures of it. It’s truly, truly beautiful. It was an amazing morning. It was one of those mornings that I felt so grateful for the life that I have, and that I was fortunate enough to see this beautiful, epic building in the flesh.

After that, we went back to our swanky hotel and relaxed by the pool in the hot, hot, hot Indian sun. Our bus ride back to Delhi was gross--7 hours long because of traffic. Monday we went on a bus tour around the city and went shopping. We went to this great store called Fabindia which has very, very beautiful clothes and fabrics. I bought a couple of outfits. We continued to shop around and found this huge underground bazaar. On the way home, we took the metro and Abby and I got separated from the rest of the group. We got left behind and had to wait for the next train. While we waited, I read aloud to her the book I bought about love marriages in India. All the sudden the train arrived and we were a part of a huge sea of people. We got shoved all the way from the door to getting smashed up against the window on the other side of the car. People are insane here! They just shove and push. To get off at our stop I had to cross my arms across my chest while Abby shoved me out of the car. It was quite the adventure. It doesn’t help too that people are too busy staring at us because we’re white to move out of the way or help us. Oh, adventures in India.

Service learning starts again tomorrow!

Our internet is moving CRAZY slow tonight, I'll post pictures tomorrow!