Rainy day

I'm not entirely sure if the monsoon season is fully upon us yet or if these are just the pre-rains, but it has definitely been raining for the better part of the day. We haven't seen the sun in two days, but there was no rain yesterday.

Brief side note. I've noticed that in my previous blog posts, I have misspelled a lot of words. I ask that you would please, please, please forgive me for that seeing as how I am on a tight schedule. It's a little difficult to get everything accomplished in the hour that the internet cafe allots me every time I am able to make the trek in. :D

Anyways, back to business. Yesterday was fun. We did end up going to Elephanta Island as planned. It wasn't really as great as I imagined it or websites described it as being, but it was still the experience, you know? The island is located a ways off of the island that is Mumbai, so we had to take a boat to get there. Now, I have been to the ocean three times after never having gone once in my entire life and I am completely in love!! It's just the most amazing and calming thing in the world to me. I really feel at peace there and am even more aware of God's everlasting presence than in normal situations. I can't wait to go someplace where the ocean isn't polluted and disgusting; where people don't throw everything and anything they can into it and I can actually put my toes in the water. Road trip when I get back, anyone?

I bring that up because the ferry ride over the the island was, in a word, AMAZING. The breeze, the gentle (and at times not so gentle) rocking of the boat. I never wanted to leave, but in an hour, we were there. After deboarding the boat we began the two kilometer journey to the main caves. It was located up a hill and we had a bit of a climb on a pathway paved in stones. There were merchants located along both sides the entire way up, but they didn't bother us until we were headed back down. The caves themselves had been created and decorated, according to the guidebook, over 2500 years ago. Many of the carvings were that of the Hindu god Shiva and depicted scenes of his life. The money that they charged us for entry is not spent on upkeep of the caves themselves, so it was a little anticlimactic.

On the way down, I bartered with a merchant for some trinkets and I am a little more proud of myself than I should be. He originally wanted 250 rupees for what I wanted and I bartered with him for a bit. I was told to start somewhere around a third of the price and then go up bit by bit from there. He refused to go any lower than 150 rupees, which was still a bit of a rip off for the things I wanted. So, I told him that I really didn't need these things, set them back down, and began to walk away. As I'm walking I can hear the man shouting "Alright madam, 130!" I kept walking. "120" No response from my end. Then I hear a loud sigh followed by, "Okay, okay 100." which was the price I had last asked for, so I turned back around and made my purchase. Not a huge accomplishment, but I'm really proud of myself.

Once we returned to Mumbai, we trekked over to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum. That was also a bit of a disappointment. There are some good specimens in there, but they are not being will kept. There is no temperature of regulation or humidity on the artifacts, or of the entire museum in general. Nor do they avoid shining light directly on the exhibits. Some of the paintings that are there are already showing degradation in the form of cracks and the wood beneath showing through. We all split up when it came to the museum and tackled the different wings at our own pace. It was a little awkward because people kept staring at me and I felt even more self concious than usual because it is strange in this country for a woman to be seen alone and I was rather sweaty from the walk over and the building was not air conditioned at all. The people here can spend the entire day doing the same things we are doing and not look half as filthy and sweaty as we do in one hour. It's just all what you're used to, I guess.

I finished my perusing through the museum just a little before my comrades, so I sat on a bench to wait. People would pass by and look and I would smile if they caught my eye. There was a family who passed me whose mother did just that. When I smiled at her, she smiled back and her entire face lit up. I usually don't see that response from the adults, but from the children I get it a lot. A few minutes later, I felt a group approaching me. When I looked up, I realized that it was that family. The mother said something in Marathi to me and motioned down. Where she motioned was a little girl, no older than six or seven. She asked me what my name was in English, so I answered her. Some of the family didn't hear what I had said so I repeated my name for them more slowly and they repeated it back to me. The little girl then told me her name (also in English), but unfortunately, I cannot remember it. I told her that it was very nice to meet her and shook her hand. The entire family left grinning from ear to ear. That was really the highlight of my time here so far.

I am very shocked at how little the people here see white people. I suppose if they are more from the rural areas, that is common because the foreigners tend to stick to the more populated areas which cater to them more. I understand that this is why they stare, and also why they take pictures as if I am some rare bird in the zoo. I understand it and I was prepared for it, but it still surprises me when it occurs, nonetheless.

Today we went to the BSES hospital. There we met the CFHI coordinator for the country of India as well as the cancer surgeon for their hospital. This surgeon informed us that they specialized in treating the mind because you cannot get better if the mind is sick. He also told us that the administrative head of the Brahma Kumaris (a religious group who dedicate their lives to God and meditation) who run the hospital was arriving today from a six week trip out of country. While we were in his office he got a call informing him that she had arrived and he asked us if we'd like to meet her. He compared her to Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and a few other such figureheads. We couldn't resist the invitation.

When we arrived at their center in Juhu, we were fortunate enough to sit in on the woman speak for ten minutes. Her name is Dadi Janki and you can follow this link to read more about her ( http://www.bkwsu.org/whoweare/spiritualleaders/dadijanki.htm). She is a 94 year old spiritual leader and smart as all get out. We received toli (a sweet) from her and also got a picture with her. This woman is very wise and, from what the translator told us, is very fervent for God (which gives her two gold stars in my book). I wish I could write more about her, but my hour is drawing close to an end. She really was a remarkable woman and we truly were blessed to be able to meet her and listen to her speak.

I was also planning to put up a few of the pictures that I have taken, but we didn't have time to run back to the hostel before we came here, unfortunately. I'll definitely try next time, but I won't promise anything.

We have decided that Tuesday is movie night. We went and saw Kites last week and Baadmash Company is tentatively on the schedule for tomorrow. :D

Love and miss you all.

Lydia