Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread

(The title unfortunately has nothing to do with this post, it's just the current meal I'm craving...sigh)

Hold on to your seats everyone, lots of pictures in this post! I'll write less and let the pictures do the talking. Starting with last weekend -- Caroline and I explored what I like to call "nice" Delhi. That's one of the best aspects of Delhi, you escape the craziness just as easily as you can get lost in it. We bought a picnic lunch and people watched at the Lodi Gardens. 

The beautiful Lodi Gardens

Who knew places like this existed in Delhi?!

Just some random temples in the Lodi Gardens

Then we went to Ghandi Smriti -- the place where Ghandi spent the last 144 days of his life and was assassinated.

Ghandi's last footsteps

Then we checked out the Qutb Minar complex. A gigantic pillar that was recently completed and lots of ancient ruins (including India's oldest mosque) surrounding it. I think it may be the tallest individual tower in the world...

Spotted: Hanes white tee, whoops! :)

At the base of Qutb Minar

Then it was off on another train on excursion number 2. We headed about 12 hours southwest of Dehli to Udaipur -- the city of lakes. I absolutely loved this city, and so did lots of other hippie white tourists, oh well! Our hotel was right on the lake and it was an easily walkable city.

Udaipur

City Palace lit up at night

This excursion was again filled with visits to rural villages and various health care centers. Our first stop was perhaps the most challenging -- a malnutrition unit of the medical college in Udaipur. Most of the  malnourished patients were infants but the most alarming case was a six year old boy. I have never seen a skinnier person in my whole life, his limbs were sticks, and his face was sunken. It's impossible for me to wrap my head around how this can happen to a child when there is so much food in this country -- in this world. 

It's hard to see the severity of this child's malnutrition from the picture, but that is the six year old boy  on the bed

Since our first excursion focused on government health facilities, this one focused on NGO's. The first NGO we met with in Udaipur was Seva Mandir. This is a non formal education center in a rural village that is run by Seva Mandir. 

Inside the non formal education center

I love the village scene, and couldn't stop taking pictures...

Kids, don't try this at home!

This is an immunization camp also facilitated by Seva Mandir. The doctor visits 17 different villages once a month

Doctor doing check up

A short hike over a hill to reach a village

Village women at a women's self help group meeting. This is a micro finance group to help women manage their money and provide loans when needed.

And you thought my nose ring was a statement...

The countryside was absolutely beautiful. So green!

Irrigation system: this guy rides around in a circle behind those cattle all day...

In one village we were sitting in on an adolescent girls meeting -- where they learn about reproductive health -- when they told us that this girl was getting married that evening! Oh yeah, and she's only 15. Her sister (18) was also getting married, apparently it's common in rural tribes for parents to marry off multiple daughters at once to save money...

The young bride

We got back on the train for a quick ride to Chittorgarh. Then it was a three hour bus ride to the remote hostel/camp place we were staying at. 

Colorful temple in the town near where we stayed

Boys in front of the world map at a school we visited

A mother with her 5 month old son at home

Baby in big shoes

Some cute old men: traditional healers and religious leaders

Traditional healer (bopa)

Religious leaders

Great color!

A colorful fabric fence seen from the bus window. We passed lots of poppy fields (yes, opium harvesting is legal, but supposedly only used for medicinal purposes...)

On our last day, we drove back into the city of Chittorgarh to check out the fort before catching our train.

Inside Chittorgarh Fort

Monkeys and pigs enjoying the fort

Chittorgarh

With my friend Anna

I forgot to mention how hot it's getting here, I think it was probably mid 90s during our excursion and back in Delhi it's upper 80's...oh, and our host father told us tonight that our AC is broken. WHAT??! 

Sending sunny thoughts back home to rainy Seattle and big love to those suffering in Japan.

xoxo

katie

Home Sweet Home

There is quite a bit of commotion at our house tonight--relatives! As if the house wasn't full enough with seven of us living here, four more adults and two babies were added to the mix tonight. It was actually pretty fun, we got to coo over a 7 month old boy and a 9 month old girl while everyone else blabbered in Hindi. The only downside is that now I get to fall asleep to the sound of crying babies...

As promised, here are some pictures of my apartment...

Our room! That metal shelf is where we keep our clothes and that's my bed against the window

My bed against the window and Caroline's bed on the right.

When you walk out of our room you walk into the one common space of the apartment. The small floor mat on the right is the bathroom. 

View from our doorway

This room is the living room, dining room, computer room, and bedroom for the kids. Yes, all three kids (ages 17, 19, and 21) sleep in that bed.

Just off this room is the itty bitty kitchen...

My sister Sadia (left) and Ami in the kitchen

This is the other bedroom in the house where Abu and Ami sleep (and occasionally one of the kids will sleep with them too). Through this room you walk outside over this grate thing (sorry for the poor description, it's hard to explain!) to another bathroom that has a western toilet (hallelujah!)

Ami and Abu's bedroom

Finally, the exciting bathroom pictures! This is taken from the doorway of the bathroom. That hole in the ground is the toilet, and the green bucket next to the drain is the shower. In Indian bathrooms the floor and walls (until about 3/4 up) are tiled because everything gets wet.

Still standing in the doorway but looking to the right, there is the sink and washing machine. Even the washing machine drains onto the floor and down the shower drain. This startled me the first time it happened because all of a sudden there was water gushing at my feet. Apparently this is normal!

The glamorous Indian style toilet! Jealous?

And there you have it, the tour of my digs in India! I can't fathom sleeping in the living room and not having a space to call my own. I'm so thankful Caroline and I have a room with a door! On Sunday we're leaving on our second group excursion to Udaipur and Chittorgarh until the following Saturday. Hopefully this blog post will tide you over until then :)

Namaste!