My love/hate relationship with India

Asia » India
October 26th 2008

Published: October 26th 2008

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Becca10

Cock fireworks

Only in India would the fireworks (all boys love them) would they be named this!

Hello everyone,

I am finally out of India. My time volunteering with the mother theresa homes was absolutely amazing and a great finish to my adventure. I met some amazing people and made some great friends. It was too bad that my schedule got cut so short as I only had a few days of volunteering. I spent the days at Prem Dan which was hospital for the mentally ill and handicapped. It was about 75 women that lived there. We started our day off doing laundry the old school way! Rinsing, rinsing, scrubbing and squeezing the water out so the clothes could be hung out to dry. It was quite the process. All of the Indian women like to sing so we would take turns coming up with new songs. They were probably just singing about what a crazy American I was and how they didn't believe I was American because I looked Japanese and my hair was matted and I smelled funny. I felt as though every Indian was thinking this from time to time. :=)

Then we would spend time giving massages or rubbing lotion on the women. I would usually sneak upstairs to my favorite

Hero Pharmacy

What a great concept? I wish everyone called us Heros!

two old women and teach them dance moves. They had a radio upstairs and we would always play bollywood music. Although come to think of it, it usually was just me dancing and them laughing. Hmmmm. Story of my life? I had these two ladies that I absolutely adored and we would spend about an hour holding hands and talking to each other. I would usually just make up stories and laugh whenever they did. I had no idea what they would talk to me about. But one of the ladies I think started to think that I was deaf! So whenever she spoke to me she would grabmy head and pull it really close and scream in my ear. It was hilarious. Little did she know that I'm not deaf, I just don't know Bengali! Then the second half of the day would be devoted to feeding. I fed this one lady every day that looked as if her bones had literally been tied into a pretzel. I have no idea how that happened but she was just a pile of skinny mangled limbs that were in all the wrong places. I can't even describe it. But we became

Sunset on the Ganges

pretty good friends, I think. She never spoke to me but I could see it in her eyes that she liked me. I taught her some dance moves too. Well theres always one critic in the bunch and I was not without my enemies at Prem Dan. This one lady was a real treat and I tried my best to get her to like me. I even gave her a second helping of chai one day! Every time I sat next to her she would completely turn her back to me or try to move to a different spot. She even stuck her tongue out at me one time and I tried to give her a hug and I thought she would catapult herself out the window! I will never know why she didn't like me. Maybe she's racist and hates Asians or it might have the butt drop?

I'm in Bangkok tonight and having a hard time b/c I have no money!!! No debit card and noone will give me a cash advance on my VISA. So i'm living off 5 dollars and charging way to much on the credit card. It is great to be in a

Varanasi

The land of the Hindus

city with no trash and no poop on the streets! Sidewalks and crosswalks with actual lights. Although I stepped outside my hotel and the first thing I saw was an Indian restuarant! Ahhhh. I can't escape it.

I put more pictures up on Flickr and added some to this blog. India is an amazing place and the only place that you can love and hate all at the same time.

See you in the states!
Becca

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