Thursday's Blog - Nicole

Since we have been so busy with activities and traveling, we haven't had access to the internet in a while; however, I am now taking this small bit of freetime to recap our adventures thus far:
My last blog left off with Saturday afternoon, so I will begin with Saturday evening. On Saturday evening the EMPI students performed an awesome talent show, which displayed the various dances and songs from the various Indian states. On Sunday, we celebrated "Holi," which is a huge holiday in India. Indians celebrate this holiday by throwing paint on each other. As we celebrated we got covered in paint (some girls still can't get the paint out of their hair)! Despite the messiness of Holi, we had an absolute blast interacting with the Indian students and learning about how they celebrate their important holidays. After the Holi celebration, the EMPI female students helped us get dressed in sarees (formal wear for Indian women). After we were all dressed, we hopped in a bus with the EMPI students to tour Delhi. As we toured the city we saw prominent attractions, including the Gate of India, the parliment building, Bhati House, and Ghandi's burial area. When we got out to explore these places we were the main attraction as Indians have probably never seen 20 American girls dressed in sarees .... they swarmed around us, taking our pictures, and asking to be in pictures with us. This was very overwhelming for all of us. After the tour, we arrived at our final destination, the Indian Habitat Center. At the center we were joined my the president of EMPI and other faculty members for dinner. The food was great and the company was even better! On Monday we woke up very early as we needed to reach the Delhi airport by 6:30am for our flight to Jammu. After the one hour plane ride, we arrived at Jammu and were graciously greeted the the University's faculty and students. We then went to the Jammu University guesthouse and had a traditional Indian breakfast with the students. After the breakfast we headed by bus to a small village (Nud village). At Nud village, we had a firsthand glimpse at rural life in India...from the crafts to the home to the energy system. After Nud village, we drove to Mansar where we enjoyed delicious Dogra food on the side of a lake. The landscape was absolutely beautiful and the food was delicious as well (although a bit spicer than other Indian food). After lunch, we packed in the bus again for a very long bus ride to Dharamshala (were the Dalai Lama was exiled to). The bus ride long and bumpy, which caused nausea among must of us. Half way through this adventure to Dharmshala we got out at a small village. This was my first time walking in a non-rural village and I must admit was a bit scared...children came up to us begging for money, adults selling oranges were in our faces asking us to buy their goods, and the smell of smoke was so strong that it was hard to breathe. After this break, we continued onto Dharmshala and eventually arrived there around midnight. On Tuesday, we had an absolutely wonderful day as we saw the Dalai Lama give his spring teaching firsthand. Although we could not take cameras into the temple, I will forever remember the hundreds of monks sitting and praying as the Dalai Lama spoke in Tibetan. It was an absolutely amazing experience that each and every one of us will remember forever!

Well, I must get going as we are scheduled to see a demonstration of Indian dancing in about 10 minutes! I will update the blog soon so everyone knows what I have been up to in incredible India! :) ps: I think we are going to an Indian McDonald's either tonight or tomorrow ... stay tuned for reviews of the restaurant!