Things I Have Learned Today

Hello! So today was full of information about Indian life. An absolutely amazing day!

1. Driving is a dangerous sport: Driving here is crazy. There are absolutely no traffic laws, or at least there doesn't seem to be. First of all they drive one the left. There are lines drawn denoting lanes but apparently they do not mean anything. Everyone honks constantly. It basically is a free for all on the roads, everyone trying to pass each other. If traffic is going to slow for you, no worries, just drive on the other side of the road to pass traffic and honk so the on coming cars hopefully avoid you. Jenna and I have found ourselves gripping the car many times thinking we are about to hit another car, but amazingly we don't. The drivers here are very skilled and just whip around each other like its nothing. However, its not always incident free. Today we passed by a bus that had fallen off the road and tipped over. We stopped to help pull people out and amazingly no one was hurt. A few scrapes and that was it. Incredible

2. No one should travel around India without Mrs. Gowri: Mrs. Gowri is one of the wonderful travel agents who helped us to plan our trip. She is traveling with us through Mysore (the city we are currently in) and we are learning so much more about India than we would ever learn otherwise. Today we drove out to an ancient temple and on the way stopped on the side of the road probably 5 or 6 times for her to point out various things to us such as: we stopped in the rice fields to see how they were sowing the ground after to harvest, we tasted tamarin straight from the tree and learned that it not only is used as seasoning but is also what the women use to make the dot on their head (see below for more), we saw banana plants, we stopped at a school (see below), and so many more incredible things. She has taught us about all the different foods and took us to a temple dedicated to a certain goddess and it happened to be "her holy or worship day" so we were able to see and partake in some of their rituals. Seriously, if anyone ever comes to India they must contact Mrs. Gowri

3. There are 3 main gods: Today we drove out to an ancient temple build around the 1200s. There we learned all about the hindu gods. There are three main gods: the creator, the preserver and the destroyer. Each god has his own wife. You recognize each male and female god by the objects they hold in their hands (also, they can have anywhere from 4-36hands) and the animal which they ride. This ancient temple was made of soapstone. The entire thing was intricately carved into various statues of the gods. When this was built they did not have cement so they created holes and pegs to put the pieces of stone together. This particular temple was dedicated to the god that is the preserver, Vishnu, so the temple was mainly covered in statues depicting him and his wife. I learned from Gowri that much like Catholics have a patron saint the Hindus have a family God. Each family has a specific god that they worship and they will carry this god into their families when they marry to pass on to their children. We also went to the temple of the god of the royal family. Today is Friday so it was her worship day so the temple was full of priests. We entered very confused and simply followed Gowri and received a blessing from the priest in which he dabs tamarin on your forehead and gives you bangle bracelets (not sure what the meaning of those are). Today was such an interesting day to learn all about the religious (mainly Hindu) side of Indian life.

4. India still has some Kings: So, long ago each Indian state was ruled by a different King but once India became a democracy these kings lost all their power. However, here in Karantagar (I am totally butchering the spelling of this state) the king still lives in his palace and is respected by all in his state. We were able to tour his palace today. It was absolutely beautiful. It had some of the most amazing stained glass windows that I have ever seen.

5. People here, especially children, are amazed by white people, especially blond ones: Jenna and I have become quite accustomed to the stares we get from people but still some of the big reactions are hilarious. Today, on your drive to the ancient temple, we saw a bunch of children playing at a school. Gowri told the driver to pull over and said "come, we will go make these children's lives, many have never seen a foreigner". She was not kidding. As soon as we had been spotted we were swarmed by the school children. They all came running out of the classrooms and wanted their picture taken. Each one had to ask us our names and then tell us theirs. Every single one wanted their picture taken but they didn't quite understand the concept of the camera and that if you all back up more of you can be in the picture. They thought that they had to get right up in the lens of the camera in order for it to see them. So cute. Very peculiar but they associate foreigners with pens. Every child we have seen and even lots of adults have all asked us for pens. Had I known this I would have brought boxes of pens to to hand out. Pens, who knew?! So one of the funniest reactions I have received was this tiny little boy maybe 3yrs old. We were walking into the royal temple and he just stopped and stared at us in absolute confusion/amazement/shock/etc. you could tell he had never seen a white person before and just could not believe what he was seeing. it was hilarious. Needless to say, I stand out here

6. the third eye: I was always taught in school that Indians where a dot on their forehead to signify they are married. However, I have seen women, men and children with paintings on their foreheads. So I asked the oh so knowledgeable Gowri what it all meant. According to their culture the spot between the eyes is your vulnerable spot. They believe it is where evil can get you and that if you get hit there you will die instantly. So many children and men will paint a small flower, eye or symbol there to represent the "third eye" which will protect you from evil.

It is impossible to convey everything I have learned to you all but I will try my best. Today was a full day and tomorrow we are getting up early to go on a sunrise safari and ride elephants as well as visit a Tibetian monastery. After that we will head to Vellore on Sunday where we will begin our work in the hospital. I will try my best to find internet as frequently as I can to keep you all informed on what all is going on. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience

Jacq