Arrogant Cows

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First, let me apologize for not posting yet. My computer time has been limited but I have a little chunk before I get on my plane to Kashmir. The past three days have been absolutely slammed with sights, food, nervousness, traffic, ect.
When I left RDU on Wednesday, Kelly, Erika, and my brother Brody were there to see me off along with my parents. My mother can vouche for the nervous wreck I was on the way to the airport. We got there in plenty of time for me to visit with my friends, say my goodbyes, and with a sigh of relief check my only 33.5 lb bag.
My flight to NY was short and calming for me. I had an hour to release my nerves, listen to music and gather my thoughts. I sat alone, so it was nice to do some cloud watching. I landed in NY around 6:30, ate some dinner, called to say a few last minute goodbyes, and headed for my concourse. It was obvious where my flight was. I was one of the 10 non-indians on our 14.5 hour flight to Delhi. The couple I sat next to was incredible sweet. They were from Portland and quickly put me at ease. The Lord has placed people in my lap at exactly the time I've needed comforting. The letters Kelly and Erika wrote me were also a tremendous comfort!
Leaving NY was beautiful. We flew right over Manhattan and saw the city full of lights. We were served Indian food on the flight as a little introduction for me. It wasn't great but it didn't kill me either. I slept for the majority of the flight and tried to stay occupied.
Landing in Delhi, I was surprisingly calm. It was 8:15pm on Thursday evening. I made it through customs easily and my new friends from Portland were waiting for me to make sure I got to baggage claim alright. It took about 30 minutes to get my bag (it was a huge flight). Then I faced the 'hall of names' There were hundreds of people standing at the exit like paparazzi holding name card signs. I quickly found my name and the young man who lead me outside to wait for our car. The ride to my hotel was a blur. The driving itself was enough to get used to. Horns are used to their full potential and lanes don't really exist. It puts all amusemant parks to shame for sure.
I arrived to my hotel about 30-40 minutes later after winding through many unfamiliar streets and sights. I saw some cows (will get to the title later) along the way. They took me to my room and told me that Raj (the man from the company who has helped me plan my trip) would be there to meet me in 10 minutes.
When he arrived, he welcomed me and ran through a few things for me and told me he would be coming to get me at 10am. That gave me a good chance to settle down and sleep some more. Because I slept so much on the plane, I woke up at 4 am wide awake. I managed to do about 7 word searches and do some reading before I went back to sleep from 7am-10am.
I was picked up in the morning and brought to the India Backpacker's office (www.indiabackpackers.com) I was able to check my email, have some tea (always delicious), and relax a while before I took my tour of Delhi. It's quite a city. I still can't wrap my mind/eyes around the size of it. I was a little nervous again, but the Lord calmed me down eventually. Raj also put me at ease and assured me that everyone would love a smiley person like me. It took all day to go to a few of the major sites:
There were people EVERYWHERE. Never have I seen so many people . I saw the Monkey God statue, The India Gate where a group of men thought it would be fun to have their picture taken with me, haha. After that I went to see Humayan's tomb. Of course I managed to lose my ticket in my bag so I only saw half of it. The weather was a little overscast and it drizzled some through out the day. My driver/guide were so sweet to me through the whole day and I always felt safe with them. While I was going through the tomb/garden, they went to pray. Friday is a holy day.
I then ate my first meal in India. They took me to this food court type place where I went in to a restaurant. I never thought my first time eating at a sit down restaurant alone would be in India (true sign of independance).
After lunch, they took me to the Lotus temple. Absolutely beautiful! It is made out of marble and definitely worth seeing. It isn't faith specific, it's just a meditation spot for people to come and be quiet and pray. We had to take our shoes off before going in.
My last spot was the Lodi garden (I have renamed it the 'Garden of Love"). I went in with the young man who had been with me all day and he explained to me that in this garden you will only find couples. It's one of the few places where PDA is allowed so families never go there. I thought this was hilarious. It was probably my favorite place in Delhi. It was beautiful with ancient tombs of Muslim Kings. The tombs are centuries old, but the garden is new. It started pouring as we were walking through it, so we dashed inside one of the tombs. He seemed to know his way around there pretty well. After the rain subsided, we returned to the car.
Soaking wet and tired, they took me back to my hotel to rest for an hour before I was picked back up to go to the office. I was glad for a little down time. I went over my schedule and budget with Raj and quickly became nervous. I managed to underestimate my budget tremendously. We changed things around a little to better fit it for me cost wise. They are taking such good care of me, I know I can give them my full trust. If you're ever going to India, let these guys help you out!
Raj can read my emotions like instinct and quickly assured me that I had no reason to be nervous at all. He took me to eat some real Indian food ( I had chinese at lunch because the menue intimidated me). Indians like to feed me! He ordered me two huge plates of food, which even after I was full, looked untouched. It was delicious and my stomach hasn't had any problems at all 😊
I went back to my room and did started the book Papa Pratt gave me, 'The way of the Heart' and started the Bible study that Eva wrote. Both were a huge comfort to me.
I had to wake up at 6:30 yesterday morning to make the trip to Agra for the Taj Mahal. I was told my driver would be there at 7:30, but I'm learning that Indian time is vague. Raju got there a little after 8. He is a jolly guy and laughed almost all day long. It took about 5 hours each way to Agra. We chatted a little bit but I was mostly quiet because there was so much to see. People are never out of site. We passed many towns along the way. I wouldn't say I have 'culture shock' but I'm just constantly taking everything in. I saw rice fields and hundreds of straw/mud huts.
Once we reached Agra, I was glad it was only a day trip. It's not exactly a lovely city. The only thing worth going there for is to see the Taj. Raju was very good at warning me to leave my bag in the car, take only my money, passport, and camera, and to not talk to anyone on the way there.
We had to walk a little over a km to get there because they don't allow motor vehicles near the Taj. Getting in was an adventure itself. I had to push my way through the security line to then be felt up and down by a female guard. Once I made it through though, I was taken away. Seeing the Taj Mahal is nothing like seeing pictures. There really aren't words to describe how intricate and perfect it is.
Raju liked taking pictures and made me pose in front of every possible view. He is so funny. The whole trip, he liked to take my hand, and hold it to his chest and say "Good friend, life long friend." I know he means it too.
Everywhere I go, people are curious about me because I look different but I've quickly learned that a smile gets you a long way here. It seems to connect our humanity. The people here are beautiful and I have enjoyed watching them. I feel that this whole time has been a bit of an out-of-body experience. I feel as if I'm watching myself go through all this and that I'll soon wake up and be home. It's hard to not let their happy spirit's rub off on me.
I was extremely tired when returning to Delhi. We hit 'rush hour' traffic, which it's always rush hour, but this was the worst part of it. I think I inhaled straight exhaust fumes for about two hours. I was so happy to finally get back to the office. I was told that Dawn, a woman who I emailed a few weeks ago because she stayed with the same family I'm getting ready to stay with, was back in India. Raj took me to her apartment and I was greeted by her huge yellow and chocolate labs; they are very sweet. It was so great to meet Dawn. She's got a passion for life and living in India. She comes here very often and is very familiar with India. We chatted for a little over an hour and had dinner. Again, she put me at ease when my nerves were starting to rise again.
When I got back to my room, I sacked out. I woke up around 8 this morning and started packing up and headed downstairs. Now I'm back in the office waiting on my car to take me to the airport. I'm excited to get to Srinagar. It will be nice to know I'll be there for the next 6 weeks. I'll keep you updated when I can. I need to find a place where I can stick my memory card in from my camera because I've managed to forget my camera cord (of course).

Thank you all for all of your prayers, the Lord has been so close to me over the past few days and I've allowed him to take care of me.

**Title: There are cows everywhere. They are free to roam around wherever they please. They even lay down in the middle of the highway with cars coming at full speed and they just stare at them, knowing they won't be hit. Too crazy for me. *

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Comments

[windy pratt]

Wonderful
It all sounds so wonderful and terribly exciting. So glad the people have been helpful and kind. Thanks for the update! Prayers being said for you often!

[heidi dent]

Exciting!
Moriah, we are so happy to hear that you are well and are really enjoying living vicariously through your words. Can't wait to see some pictures. Have a safe trip and we'll continue to monitor your journey!