Pray for India: October 2014

To start off this blog entry, I'll explain the caption of this post. Here in India, instead of pronouncing the letter 'z' as /zee/, they pronounce it as /zeh/. The students had no idea what I was saying as I was spelling a word with the letter 'z' in it. Just a fun fact!

During the end of my two week trip, we got a message saying how an outreach team from AECS was taken to prison during their outreach. Long story short, this is what happened: they went to Hassam, which is a village with a very strong Hindu group called the RSS. During one of their nights, as they were singing a song inside a local pastor's home, the village people surrounded the home and invaded the home. They took their cellphones and bibles at first, then started taking away their belongings. They then started to hit the students, but no weapons were involved. This went on for two hours. The police then arrived, and took the students to prison. The village people charged them with the Anti-conversion Law (which says that any religion can be practiced, but may not try to convert others). They were then held in prison for 5-6 days, as the process was delayed over and over. Two pastors from AECS went to Hassam to bail the students out. Although they are currently back at AECS, they will have to go back to Hassam every so often for the court cases. This is only 10% of the process, as the remaining is still yet to come. Please keep the students and this court case in your prayers!

Last Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday was the Diwali Festival (I think it might have been longer). During this time, Hindu's celebrate Diwali by lighting fireworks and firecrackers. Their belief for this festival is that if they light the firecrackers, they will scare off all the evil spirits (or that the fireworks would catch the god's attention). During these three nights, especially Thursday, firecrackers would be lit from around 5pm to 3am. On Thursday, it would be nonstop and it seems like every street had fireworks being lit. It almost sounded as if a war was going on!

In one of my fourth standard (grade) English classes, I connected the students with a classroom from back home. I knew the teachers since I was in high school, and am so lucky that they were willing to set up pen pals with our classrooms! We have received their letters last week, and the students are finishing up the letters by the end of this week. The students are really excited for this, and I am too as it is my first experience with having international pen pals!

There is a boy in one of my classes and his name is Nitish. One day during tea time (break), we were talking and we both noticed that each other had white hairs. Then he pointed out the mole on my left arm as we showed me the mole on his arm. He was sharing how kids tease him all the time and that he would beat some of his friends for doing so. I then shared how I was always teased, too, when I was little about my white hairs. He then went around telling the whole class how I had white hairs and a mole on my arm just like he did. I was glad that we were able to relate this way allowing him to show off his white hairs for once! Last week, Nitish came up to me again during tea time. He asked if I lived in Los Angeles, and I told him I did. He then shared with me how he was watching Discovery Channel and how he watched a show about a factory (I think it was a factory that made chips). Again, he went around the whole class telling his classmates how I am from the same city as this one factory that aired on Discovery Channel. Moments like these bring a smile to my face (and my heart)! :)

Eating samgyupsal for brother Purna's birthday!

Chicken kebab at Empire Chicken!

I was craving korean food so I went to a korean restaurant and ate some kimchijigae!

A view of the firework madness on the roof

These were two guests who visited here for about two days. Naomi stayed here from 2006-2008 and John came with a mission team during 2007 for two weeks. They are currently on their honeymoon, traveling across Asia, Europe, and America.

As their last meal, we had chicken curry (one of my favorite India dishes) with pastor Yohan and his family.

I introduce you Nitish!

I just got back this afternoon from my 10 day trip across India, and boy, it is good to be back home in Bangalore!

So this was my trip itinerary:

Bangalore to Howrah to Jalpaiguri (Darjeeling) to Varanasi to New Delhi to Mumbai and back to Bangalore

As pastor Stephen and I left last Saturday night, our train ride from BLR to Howrah as 36 hours. We were waitlisted for this train ride, but thankfully, we made friends on the train who offered to share with us their seats and even gave us one of their beds at night. They shared their fruits and snacks with us as we also shared with them ours. During our 12 hour layover in Howrah, one of the friends we met on the train actually offered to show us around. She gave up her whole day to travel with us around Howrah and even helped us to book our tickets!

Our 12 hour train ride from Howrah to Jalpaiguri was also waitlisted, but this time, we couldn't find any seats. We made a friend, and we suffered throughout the train ride sitting on strangers' beds/seats and standing in the hallways by the bathrooms, etc. The sleeper class gets humid and hot during the day.

When we arrived in Jalpaiguri, we took a van up the mountain to Darjeeling (Stephen's home village). After about 2-3 hours, we arrived at Darjeeling. Darjeeling is such a beautiful place. The towns are small, it's green, and the weather is cool. It felt like I wasn't in India anymore. The people also don't look full Indian and rather look more Mongolian or Vietnamese (in my opinion). We spent half a day visiting his friends and family. I was also able to meet one of Stephen's friends, who is a graduate at AECS. He is currently a pastor at a church in his village. Then we headed back down the mountain to Jalpaiguri to catch our night train to Varanasi.

We finally had our first confirmed sleeper seats, and boy it felt nice (although it was really hot and stuffy throughout the train ride!). During the train rides, if you are in the sleeper or general section, there are a bunch of people that come by such as beggars and people selling drinks/snacks/accessories/etc. There are even performers and people who are transgenders who come and ask for money. We arrived in Varanasi in the evening time, and we really only had time to visit the Ganges River, which is a sacred river to the Hindus who believe that washing themselves in this river will wash away their sins. Varanasi is such a dark place, literally and figuratively. There are no street lights, it's gloomy and dusty. Also, there's seems to a thick atmosphere where it's just spiritually dark. We then headed back to the train station to catch our next train at midnight to New Delhi.

When we arrived in New Delhi, Stephen's brother picked us up and we went to his home. Stephen got to see his twin nieces for the first time! We had evening service at his brother's church and spent the night in New Delhi. The next day, we got up at 4am to visit Taj Mahal and tour Delhi. The sad part is that that Taj Mahal was closed (closed every Friday), so we drove four hours (one way) to Agra to look at Taj Mahal from the back side... Then we headed back to Delhi where we visited a few historical places. We then ate dinner at his brother's house and headed to the train station where we spent the night there.

We took the train from New Delhi to Mumbai at 5am and arrived in Mumbai at around 8:30am (after a full day). Stephen's brother's friend picked us up from the train station and showed us a few historical places. From there, we decided to join a tour bus/guide where we were able to tour the whole city within the day at a very low price! That night, we booked a room at the train station and spent the night there. The next day, we took our final train back home!

Throughout the trip, I realized that in India, there are so many different and similar cultures. As there is a common culture within India, wherever you go, each state/region has a different culture. And I think more than visiting all the famous historical places, God wanted to show me the different cultures and lifestyles here in India, and the different places where He is praised (and the places where He isn't praised).

One thing about the Indian culture that really annoyed me was when street vendors, hotel/restaurant workers, taxi drivers, tour guides, and other people would come up to me adamantly and forcefully asking to buy what they are trying to promote. Even after a simple "no thanks" or a "I don't need one", they continue to bother you. And through all this, to me it seems like they are angrily yelling at me when it is just their culture of talking in that tone. So far, I was able to a lot of the different aspects of the Indian culture, but some other parts, I am still learning to adjust.

I'll be uploading the pictures tomorrow! :)

Leaving the train in Bangalore

Train station in Bangalore

Sleeper class

Where we would've spent our 36 hour train ride if it weren't for our nice friends

Eating samosas during one of the stops at a train station

Friends that were helpful and shared their seats with us! (Excuse my wet shirt. I just brushed my teeth and I had to use water from a water bottle, and you can imagine the challenge of doing that during a train ride!)

Arrived in Howrah, Kolkata

The train station at Howrah

A famous bridge

The bus drivers are vicious and definitely would not slow down for pedestrians. And it's stinking hot in those buses (which makes the hot and humid air outside seem cool)

Visiting Victoria Memorial Hall (a memorial for one of the British queens).

We decided to watch a show at a planetarium. The show was in Hindi, so I took a nap in the nice, A/C, cushioned seats!

Busy train station right before we left for Jalpaiguri.

Passengers rushing to the general seats (unreserved seats)

We were waitlisted, so throughout the train ride, we had to squish with strangers like this.

A friend we met that suffered with us through this train ride as she was also waitlisted.

Arrive in Jalpaiguri!

On the way up to Darjeeling!

Finally in Darjeeling! Definitely did not feel like India here

Walking down to Stephen's village

Stephen's house and his father's greenhouse!

Pastor Ashish's (former AECS student) house and church!

Giving an offering from the IEC trust!

Many vans like this is the main transportation in Darjeeling

Famous Darjeeling momos!

One of the famous lakes/parks in Darjeeling

Riding down on the top of a van (there were no more seats and this was the last van going down from Darjeeling to Jalpaiguri for the day). This ride was for 2.5 hours and as we were going down, we had to dodge tree branches the whole way down!

Back on the train ride on our way to Varanasi. Our meals on the train were prepacked snacks which included some kind of rice chips as we mixed with noodles!

The rickshaws in Varanasi

On the bride above the Ganges River.

People taking baths as a part of their Hindu religion

Taking a boat ride in the Ganges River

Train station in Varanasi

Super spicy chilis from Darjeeling (which are from Stephen's father's farm!)

One of my favorites, garlic naan

Cycle rickshaw. Definitely felt sorry for this guy that I weigh a lot...

Going through the city

Arrived at another part of the Ganges River. Many Hindus spend the night here after they take a bath in the Ganges River.

Many people sleeping and spending the night at the train station waiting to buy tickets or for their trains.

Maybe a little inappropriate? But a child taking a #2 on the train tracks

Our seats once again

We took some people's seats after they left the train. This part of the train ride, we had AC3 tickets

Arrived in New Delhi!

Gate to Stephen's brother's house

Their small village

Chilling down at his brother's hotel restaurant

Taking a night ride on the back of the pastor's motorcycle

In between the streets by the airport, there is this chunk of land. Their church would practice soccer here every week, and there was even a time where the ball went out onto the streets and a motorcyclist ran over the ball and got into an accident.

A line of hotels by the airport

Their church!

They have daily devotionals with the church members

On our way to the Taj Mahal

Greeted by this closed entrance

So we made our way to the back

And this was the best view we were able to get!

Monkeys!

Then we headed back to Delhi to visit other historical places, like Humayun's tomb

Passed and paid for a domestic ticket! score!

I forgot what this place was... Probably another memorial with tombs.

Visiting a temple!

Eating momos after our long day of touring!

What they use to steam and cook the momos

I saw this as I was walking in the streets. An old fashioned iron. I didn't know that irons were made like this before!

With Stephen's family!

Chicken biryani in the train ride!

Chai tea (only had it when we were in the AC3 class; otherwise, the sleeper class was way too hot and stuffy to be drinking hot tea!)

Train station in Mumbai

Old buildings in the city

This was a hotel where a bombing took place a few years ago

We then visited a museum

More old buildings in the city

A nice view of the beach and the city buildings

Stopped by a garden

I'm not sure why this big shoe is in the middle of the garden, but apparently it's a big tourist site

Our tour bus!

Part of the tour was visiting this theater that played 4D movies. Definitely not as advanced and exciting as the 4D movies/rides at Universal Studios

Visiting a science museum

On our way to the beach!

A famous bridge in Mumbai

A village in the middle of the city

Many many people at the beach

Funny story: I was taking a selfie picture at the beach, when a group of men stared at me and gave me a thumbs up. Then this man came up to me, wondering what I was doing, and then told me to take a picture with him!