Indian Residents 10rps Foreigners 250rps

I just returned from a week long exploration of India. The journey consisted of taking a train to Agra, then one to Delhi, a bus to Manali, a bus to Delhi, and a train to Mumbai. The trip had so many twists and turns I have no idea where to begin.

The trip started off with an older man giving Robyn and I a safety and traveling lecture. No need to have parents in India, random train travelers will make sure we receive all the warnings we need before heading out. I wasn't feeling so well on the train, so as soon as I could go to sleep, I did. As for Robyn on the other hand...she stayed up late playing games with a very large family group. This family group was on their way to the village they were originally from in order to attend the arranged marriage of their daughter. Oh, and their son would also be getting engaged on this trip. I can't imagine having an arranged marriage.

Seeing the Tajh Mahal was wonderful. It was much bigger than I imagined and the grounds were more beautiful than I could imagine. While awing at the beauty random Indian tourists would approach Robyn and I and ask us if they can take a picture with us. I don't think I will ever understand this one. A large beautiful historical land structure is right in front of them and they want a picture of us. I have developed a cynical feeling about having my picture taken with random people, so I always say no. One group of boys didn't want to take no for an answer. Instead of moving along and leaving us alone they offered us money. After continuing to say no they tried to force Robyn to lift her head up. At that point we both became angry.



On the train to Delhi Robyn was sat on by an older man. Apparently he thought the people in the seat needed to move over, but instead of asking he just sat on her! I was shocked and appaled. Then he continued to talk to her even though she had headphones on and even though he didn't speak any English. Amazing!

Once in Delhi, we met up with Mano and his friend Jitu. Mano introduced Robyn and I to something neither of us had ever experienced before...shopping & bartering for a hotel room. We went to four different hotels, asked to see the rooms and then bartered. I tried to picture going to a hotel in the US and asking to see the room before I booked it. No way would this ever happen.

We went to Mano's organization the following day and learned a lot about an area of social work in India that I never knew about. SRUTI is a nonprofit agency that is not really an NGO nor is it really an organization. One of his coworkers explained to us that the agency is somewhere in the middle. They are working in 13 different states supporting over 32 different NGOs. It is the SRUTI employee's responsibility to go to the different NGOs, observe what is happening, and write up reports about the progress and the deficits. When at the site visits the SRUTI employees interact with the NGO staff members in such a way to find out what the needs of the NGO are. After evaluation the needs, SRUTI tries to find the resources to connect the NGOs with in order to fulfill the needs. SRUTI is like the middle man. I really liked this type of an organization and it seems so necessary in the type of social work India is doing. I am very thankful I got to go and observe and have people willing to explain the ins-and-outs of it to me.

Mano then took the next day off and showed Robyn and I around the city. We saw so many things and did a ton in one day. My favorites were the Lotus temple, making up stories about the Red Fort, the India Gate (which looks remarkably like the arc d'triumph in France) and street food. If you are ever going to go site seeing in Delhi beware of the 'foreign charge.' At every place we went to Mano and his friend, Jitu, would pay between 10 and 15 rupees. Robyn and I on the other hand always had to fork over 250 rupees each. Does this seem right to you? This is over 16 times as much!!!



The next day Robyn and I were left to decide our own plan around Delhi. Robyn had read about something called "City Walk Tours" in her travelers guide book. This probably was the highlight of my day. The tours are put on by Salaam Baalak Trust in Delhi. Salaam Baalak is the same agency that i work with in Mumbai. If I didn't really understand what the NGO does, who it serves, and the impacts of its efforts, I most certainly do now. The young man who lead our tour is a former SBT child. He told us his story, how he became a street child in Delhi and what he is doing now. He lead us around Delhi, showed us where the street children live, shower, hangout, and peddle. Some of the stark differences between this SBT and the one in Mumbai are that this NGO serves children who are on drugs and it has a more complete staff base. A doctor and a clinical social worker comes to the different NGO sites at least once a week. Many of the kids are able to receive counseling and medical attention.

In reference to learning so much about street children in Delhi, I saw the desperate need of the children as we continued our visit. One day I was walking around the town and I saw kids wearing heavy makeup and doing tricks with sticks, hoops, and acrobatics(somersaults) at stop lights. Our City Walk guide told us about different gangs that have the kids go into the streets and do such work and then bring the money back to the gang leader. It broke my heart. Another time I came first hand with the need was when Mano and I were sitting on a walkway waiting to meet his friends. A little boy came up to us, thin as a rail and wearing cloths that could fit two of him in them, and started talking with us. Mano attempted to play marbles with him for a minute. Then the boy asked Mano if he did drugs and if he had some. It was a wonderfully playful little boy.

Tim had joined us by the end of our tour around Delhi with Mano and it wasn't long before Tim and I left together for Himachael Pradesh. He and I had planned on going trekking for a few days: me for 3 days and he for 5. After a sickly bus ride (Tim threw up most of the way) we reached a little resort town called Manali. We booked a trek that required us to meet up with a young man from Germany who had started the trek earlier that morning. We got our gear and left. The hike was beautiful. I would have never thought I would be trekking through the Hyminalans. It was much colder up north! In fact we saw ice and frost and a little snow in the distance. Our guides were wonderful cooks and I think I had the best food on the trek!! During our journey there was one point when I felt like my calf muscles were being ripped off! I knew my legs would hurt for the next few days! It was definitely worth it though.

I left the trek early with one of the guides....you will have to ask Tim what happened after I left. You will DEFINITELY want to ask Tim what happened! It is a story that can't be surpassed!

I made it down the mountain, showered at a natural hot spring, and then headed to the bus station to get back to Delhi. On the bus ride, a young man ended up sitting next to me. At first I thought his travels were kind of cute. From his luggage and his body language you could tell he was on his way to the big city for the first time. He was nervous and excited at the same time. After trying to make small talk with him I realized he didn't speak any English. Since my Hindi is very limited, talking was out. After 4 hours of the ride the bus stopped for dinner. I have gotten used to fending for myself, so I went and sat at one of the patio tables. The young man immediately came and sat next to me. Two things ran through my mind about his sitting with me: 1) He didn't want me to look like a loner foreigner or 2) he didn't know anyone else and he felt like he had kinda made a friend in me. After finishing our meal the bus reloaded and we headed off again.

The nights are cold in Northern India and the young man I was riding next to pulled out a newly purchased blanket that could have covered eight people. Realizing that it was too big he offered to share some of it with me. This is where the story turns for the worst. Thinking twice about it, because I am an American woman in India traveling alone, I decided to accept and hoped I wouldn't regret it. Boy did I regret it...

During the night, even though he was sitting in the window seat, he would continually try to lay his head on my shoulder. After pushing him off and saying "get off me." I hoped it would stop. I moved as far away from him as possible and tried to get some sleep. Sleep was not going to be possible for this girl. I woke up and he was laying all over me! I forcefully jerked him off and sternly told him not to touch me. He definitely was taking advantage of the language barrier because I am sure he could hear my anger. I moved and he moved again laying all against me. I pushed him up and he finally got the point. At that moment I knew sleeping was not an option for me. I got out my phone, wrote a text message to Mano (who could yell at the kid in Hindi) and waited to send it. For some reason, a few hours later in the middle of the night, the young man took all of his belongings and went up to the driver. The man yelled something at the kid and he was never seen again. I was relieved and finally able to sleep.

Mano picked me up from the metro station when I arrived early in the morning. By the way, the metro in Delhi is one of the best metros I have ever seen. No joke. It was only a little over 2 months ago that I was on the metro in Paris and I think the one in Delhi may top it. So clean, air conditioned, not jam packed. Nice seats, announcements in every language and quite. A wonderful change from the grueling commute on the Mumbai local trains.

This new plan of visiting the students that came to Tulane in the spring is a wonderful addition! One thing I am happy I got to do was learn more about Mano's story. After being in India his story became more real to me. During dinner one night he told us about his journey to college from his small village in Assam. He told us about being first from his village to go to Delhi for school, the different parts of life between living in a Tribal community as to living in a city, and what it was like being the only person from his village to ever leave and go to the US. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip because it made me realize what life is like around the world, outside of the privileged US.