Adventures with Sarita

Our adventures with Sarita were packed in between our tour days and in the evenings. I divided the two into separate chapters to make it easier. Keep in mind that all the stuff we did with Sartita was jammed in with long days of touring so that we could see as much as possible in the 3 days we had sight see. When we weren't touring, we were in class learning about the culture, history and the Hindi language. (No I do not speak Hindi, not even close, but I want to)

When we woke that first morning in the hostel we met in the "classroom" for class and infractions

to people in the house ask people we can look to for help. That fist class we learned a brief history of India and the influences from all over the world that ruled throughout time.

Some brief points of learning is you wish to read…..

Hinduism began in 1500 BC and Buddhism in 500BC. The Muslims controlled India for a considerable time and many of the temples are influenced by their style. According to our teacher, India is 80% Hindu (this includes Siekism which is different but included in the number), 15% Muslim, and 1.1% Buddhist. This came as a surprise to me, I thought there were more Buddhists in India. There are 654 dialects spoken in Inida and 40% of the people know English. We were told that India doesn't have much of a middle class and 60% of the people are poor, and the gap between the rich and the poor is extreme.

The caste system is illegal according to the Constitution, but our professor told us that it is alive and continues to exist in deep in culture of the people, especially in the rural areas. 75% of marriages are still arranged by parents and usually social and economic status is the main consideration. They told us that the divorce rate is higher among the marriages rooted in love. (While I would wager to this can be the topic of a intellectual debate, it is not one I wish to dive into here) There is no health care provided by the government and the average income is 1500$ a year.

As I experienced India, I would say the lack of health care from the government is only one one of the many ways the government is unable to provide a solid infrastructure for the people. We also learned the very basics of the Hindu belief system which I found very interesting and I hope to research further. Women should dress conservatively, ensuring that shoulders and knees are covered. From what I saw, most women dress in this way. The traditional style tends to accomplish that task without trying. Mid-drifts were readily shown given how the saree falls, however it not sexualized in any way. I found the traditional style was vibrant and beautiful. I loved seeing all the color and beauty in how Indian women and men dress. It's so different and stunning in so many ways.

Immediately after class Sartita wasted no time and called out to us and asked who want to got to the market to get fabric for a custom Saree! Of course most of us wanted to, in fact our plan was to wear them to the Taj Mahal. So she called up some tuc tucs to bring us to the local market.

Now, this was my first excursion out into India. Remember, I had just arrive in the hostel the evening before, in the dark, and overwhelmed by my new environment. I assumed Sartia was coming with us so we would know what to do, say, where to go. Uh, not so much. The tuc tuc arrived, she grabbed the first four of us she found and scurried us into it. As we got into the tuc tuc and she happily and with excitement said "Oh my, your first tuc tuc ride! You must have a picture!" She then looked square at me with her hand out for my phone. Now, those that know me well, know this my hell. I hate the picture. But I promised myself not 24 hours earlier that I would surrender to India and everything it asked of me. And now it was asking for my first Tuc Tuc picture, so I obliged.

And then we were off the the market, together but alone, and I took a deep breathe and in that

moment I felt completely relaxed. I giggled and had a perma smile as we rode through the crazy streets of India to the local market. I knew the market would be chaotic, exciting, and an experience like no other. I know now this was just the simple local market, easy, but it was a perfect introduction to start adjusting my eyes and bringing clarity to what was around me.

The streets were filled with people and stores. The street was so small and crowded, I assumed it was closed to traffic, since our tuc tuc dropped us off on a side street. I quickly learned I was wrong as cars and motorbikes came flowing through beeping to warn people out of the way. Beeps are India, and India is filled with beeps. If you don't hear a beep, you should be concerned. They are part of the music India makes daily. I breathed in the market and loved the energy in the street.

As I walked I had my first experience of the "stare." When you are a foreigner in India, you get stared at. Its not mean, it just takes you time to get used to it. At this market it was less evasive than most other places. I imagine that's because Sarita has a group of foreigners in her home every other week. And through the summer months there are a lot of us. But the stare is real, and it takes time to feel comfortable with it. By the end I stopped even noticing.

We found the fabric store and bought what we needed. Sarita called the tailor who came to the house later that evening for measurements to custom make it. He also tailored in a way so that we, the non saree wearing population would be able to "easily" wrap it.

When we got back home all the girls were showing each other the fabric they bought. We sat around the table and started bonding and getting to know each other. I realized how young they all were and I was amazed at the lives they were leading. Some were traveling the world, some were on summer break from university, some were about to start college, some were working on graduating high school. All of them amazing and I am enriched from knowing them. Since we lived together we were able to develop a bond and closeness that I enjoyed and gave me a feeling a safety in our number.

Sarita had mentioned the next morning there was an International Yoga Day celebration and invited us to go with her. She warned us that it would be very early in the morning, but that it

would be an adventure and experience worth having. That turned out to be the understatement of the year.

Most of us woke to join her. I was excited because I was hoping I might squeeze in a work out... this is not what happened. We were dropped off at about 5am by Sartita's husband, who made two trips to get all of us there. As we stood at the entrance waiting for the next group of girls the traffic was flooding in like crazy and the lots were already filled of cars. There was an officer directing traffic and I would say 80% of the cars were actually adhering to his directions.

That already amazed me given what I already knew of India's street rules, or lack of street rules. Sarita again looked square at me and said, "quick snap a selfie of us." Again I surrendered to the picture, and we got a selfie. Sarita told us that this event had been talked about for months and she figured there would be at least 100 thousand people there. As we walked I remember thinking, where the heck would 100 thousand people fit to do yoga and how is this all free. When we arrived I was speechless. It was massive and there were so many people. Sarita began pushing through the crowd to get a spot. The whole time I followed her I kept thinking to myself, "okay we are pretty good, were gonna sit any minute, hmmm we'er not sitting yet, hmmm it seems people are a bit irritated by our walking over and through them.

Gezz, I wonder how far she wants to go. This crowd is huge." I bet people woke up and started getting there at 3 am, and there we were arriving late and pushing through. Suddenly I looked up and realized there was a young boy with a stick leading us through the crowd. We kept getting closer and closer and closer until we were front row. Yes, FRONT row. They literally backed people up and made a space for us, and this was the moment we first encountered "the picture." This was leveling up the stare in a big way. We were instant celebrities. People would sit with us and take their picture. Sit behind us and get a random picture. People would walk by and snap selfies with us just in the background as the backdrop. People began to crowd around and come from everywhere. The young men that volunteered at the event had to form a security line holding hands and sticks to keep people away. News stations and newspapers surrounded and interviewed us and took pictures. It was absolute insanity. And don't forget there were 100 thousand people behind us and we were at the front of this crowd. If it had went wrong, it would have gone very wrong. But the people kept us safe.

I have never experienced anything like that and will never again. It was overwhelming and I kept my promise and surrendered and relaxed believing that the people would keep us safe, and they did. When it was time to leave the formed a circle of hands around us and escorted us safely through the

pushing crowed of people who were asking for pictures and who would walk in front of our group snapping selfies. The young men protecting us also asked for pictures with us and since we had already said yes so much, it seemed the least we could do for keeping us safe.

We arrived back home at about 8am and then started our first long day of tours at 10. That was a long day and we still hadn't even adjusted for the time change. Needless to say day two was quite an introduction.

The next day was Hindi class and when we finished Sarita came upstairs with dozens of newspapers and a huge smile. She said we made the paper, not one but like 5! She had gone to purchase multiple copies of them for all of us. It was so sweet, she spent all morning getting them and asking the local newspaper people to find her more copies for her to get the following day.

This was also the afternoon Sarita pulled me aside and asked me if I do yoga to stay fit. She was so sweet, she wanted me to train her,

and I was stunned. She asked if I was staying in Delhi for my volunteer placement and was sad to learn I was going North. I felt that what ever she wanted from me while I was in her home I ready to do, she had already done so much for me. So she asked if I would go running with her the next morning. Now, of course I wanted to work out, but the heat in Delhi is not workout friendly to say the least. But I figured it would be another experience and I didn't hesitate to say yes, but I quickly followed it with, can we go early to avoid the heat. She giggled and said yes of course. She usually goes at 8 but we went at 7, since I was "unacotsomed" to the heat.

When I met her that morning I asked if it was okay that I was wearing a tank top because I didn't have a T shirt to wear and I was worried about respecting the no shoulder rule. She said it was fine. Then I asked her is she listens to music while she runs, and she said oh yes she will listen to music. So as we walked down the steps I assumed we would just start running down the street as I do in LA. But then we got into the car. We chatted the whole ride to wherever it was she was taking me, and we began to share our stories. I learned a lot from her the two days we were able to run and hang out just the two of us.

When we arrived at the park Sarita turned and told me she forgot her earphones. And when we entered the park what I saw in the other side of the wall was stunning and a complete surprise. I found myself looking at a beautiful park with statues, and swings, beautiful trees and flowers, and a track to run and walk. I heard beautiful Hindi music being played through speakers all over the park. It was perfect.

There were men sitting around chatting, there were people running and walking the track, there were people meditating and saying morning prayers, it was beautiful. I was so thankful to see this part of the city culture and even more thankful to Sarita for sharing it with me. I asked how the park is maintained and who pays for it. She said that people come around and collect dues from the people. It seemed there was an expectation of what families could give to support the up keep of community places. So we ran around the track in the heat of Delhi. And when we came home I drank my first fresh coconut water, and it was amazing. I had so many first in India, this was one of them. Sarita said the coconut cart rolls by the house every morning and that it is a must have especially to hydrate for the long day of tours we were going on. So honesty, how could a refuse.

The following day after we ran, she asked if I

would go with her to check out the local gym. Of course I was willing and honestly I was curious what the local gym would be like. When we parked I had very little expectation it looked the same as everywhere else I had been. But when the door opened I found my self in a posh gym that rivals the better LA gym clubs. It was stunning and high tech and all the beautiful people filled its walls. I will say it was intimidating since it was filled with 90% men and 10% women. The courtesy desk told us that women generally attended the group fitness classes and not so much the other parts of the gym. I saw a room that had 4 brand new spin bikes, but quickly realized that they did not have actual "spin" classes. The bikes were more for a individual cardio work out.

We inquired about the membership costs and I found that the price in dollars was about 70 a month. This is the same we would pay here and I imagine not easy for most people in India. As we left Sarita planned to get a trainer and a three month membership. She is dedicated to getting healthy and feeling good. I enjoyed my time alone with Sarita. She is a very strong women who has endured quite a bit. She has big infectious smile and a strong will inside her.

One day after Hindi class we were told that we would enjoy a Bollywood movie at the mall and it would include air-conditioning. This is a big deal since a break from the heat was treasured and didn't happen that often. We were also excited because this meant an opportunity to go the the ATM, and for me to get a coffee, and for some of the volunteers to enjoy McDonald's food. The mall was nice, obviously different from the malls here but nice.

The movie was super good and it made me want to watch more Bollywood films. This one had great reviews, and we were told that Bollywood makes hundreds of films, like seriously, there are new releases daily and the only way to know what to watch is to look at the reviews. The title was Udta Punjab, and I learned it was also being shown in a town near where I lived in LA. The film was dark, and biting, which is just the kind of film I enjoy. It was def not for the faint of heart and I believe some didn't quite enjoy it as much as I did. I also think that they expected to see a romantic comedy with Bollywood dancing and singing. I mean, I thought the same thing, it was just that I was thankful it wasn't, and others were a bit horrified by what they saw.

When we came home form the film we ate dinner and then Sarita came to the dinner table with her big smile and asked who wants henna? Of course we all did and we wondered how the heck we would all go get it done considering it was already 8 at night. She giggled and said they will come to the house. She called three henna artists and they work very fast because they have been doing this since they were young. The cost was about 6 US dollars, which still blows my mind. So we all lined up and got henna that evening.

Friday seemed to come way too quick and in Hindi class we had decided that we would wake up at 2am to start the long drive to the Taj Mahal in Agra. It was quite a distance away and if we arrived by 6am we may see the sunrise, but if nothing else we would at least beat the heat by a few degrees, which I can say makes a huge difference.

That afternoon there was no plan of adventures since we needed to wake up at 2 am. Some of the girls had been talking about fresh fruit and as we sat around the table when suddenly Sarita showed up. She had gone to the local market to get us fruit. Now I don't eat fruit, but I was told I needed to try the mango and the lychee. I promised to try whatever came up and surrender to the moment, so I ate the mango. It was AMAZING! I

imagine I will never have a mango as delicious. Mostly since it was cold and juicy and it was 100+ out and that moment was a perfect mango moment. The lychee was also amazing.

Apparently everyone, from all over the world knew what this was, except me. It was citrusy and not super sweet and now I want to find them. So refreshing. Then Sarita looked at us asked what our plan was for the day, and when we said nothing she frowned and seemed disappointed. The frown didn't las long, it seemed she was struck with a plan and excitedly asked if we would like to get facials, manis, pedis, and a massage at the spa. We all looked at each other and then asked how much. In American it would be about 16$. So spa day begun. We had to go in 4 person shifts since the space was only big enough to accommodate 4 at a time. I imagine the limit is actually 2 but they def made it work. When it was my turn, along with three others we arrived to see the fresh, relaxed faces of our friends who immediately gave us a heads up that the massage was not like the ones we are used to. Now, I have never gotten a massage professionally, so I wouldn't know one way or the other. The facial was amazing. the mani pedi was great (not the same as home), and the massage made me realize that I need to do that more often. Spa day was a success and I can honestly say I will never experience a spa day quite the same ever again.

When we came home from the long journey back from the Taj Mahal on Saturday evening, we began to realize that it was our last evening all together. The following day some would be placed in homes in Dehli and some of us would take the 12 hour bus ride North. We played games at the table, laughed, and enjoyed our final evening together. It was hard to say goodbye, and I look forward to seeing these amazing young people as I continue to travel the world and find myself in their home counties.