Day 7 - and still counting

India has been incredulous!If anyone asks me how my trip was, I wldn't even noe where to begin! It is definitely not the place for the faint-hearted, if you decide to do it the 'free and easy, on your own' style.


This is really not a chill vacation. Imight probably return more exhuasted than when I left. Here, its so stimuating. Everything on the street is demanding my attention. The colors, the sounds, the movements, the contrasts of wealth and diversity of things happening... Physically, I've been on the move. Mentally, I've been challenged. Need to start to sl owdown (which is almost imposible here).

For the past 4 days, we spent 2 days with BJ and her family. So for a while,my guard was down. It was n ice to be around people you can trust. I take back what I said inmy earlier entrythat India's nottoo bad a place in terms of safety. One really h a s to be on his toes all the time. No wonder BJ's family(locals) were worried for us to be on our own. Pple are out for your money and physically ifthey can. After all the encounters, my mantra for this trip is "Trust no one". One really dunno whlo's sincere and who's not.

We went to Agra to se the taj mahal o n fri only torealise thta its closed. The red fort was closed too by the tim ewe reached the place. SO,for 4 hrs of traqvelling to Agra from Delhi, we did not see wat we expect4ed tosee. In any case, we will be taking a 6 hrs drive to agra againtmrw from jaipul the crazytown i'm in now to spend ourchrimstasthere.

Yest, we arrivedat Jaipul. If anyone thinks that Delhi is bad, Delhi's only an ORIENTATION to INCREDIBLE India! It wascrazy. horse carraiges, camel carts, rickshaws, tuktuks, minivans, buses of al assortments, bikes, death-defying pedestrains (we have joinedthe ranks), bicycles, etc all on the same street! Of course, tere are a million things going on atthe same time... guys trying to entice you (harass actually, iwas physically harrased by a 5 yr old boy! til i gave him a loujd 'hey' followed by a teacher-stare), guys using the 'public bathrooms - a.k.a walls', vendors peddilng ALL SORTS of goods (brushes, metal utensils, bags , spices, jewelry, shoes, etc.), pple making candies, touts trying to sell their ware etc.. all going on simultaneously. If Kalimantan was surreal, this beats it all hands -down.
Well, I'velearnt much. Its just hard to imagine whn I'm back in the classroom treaching, these scenes still exist constantly here. I ask God where is my place in this crazy world (not India per se) and just wait and see. :)

Meanwhile, will be traveli ng back to Agra tmrw to seethe Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. Its prettykewl. Taj Mahal either on CHristmas or my bday. Den it'll be back to Delhi and then home.

I do look forward to home just as much as i find India fascinating. One has to move on... in order for more 'adventures' to come. Asking the Lord for new inspiration in teaching, so taht I can hopefully inspire my kids too. :)

Signing off for now... Apologies f or bad typing. Keys are stiff, and the spacebar is constantly stuck. *laughs* That's what I call 'character'. Afterall, I'm in India. ;)