Global N.E.R.D.S: Day 1 Roundup
Greetings from New Delhi! I am so elated to have contact with the outside world!! We are all having a wonderful time. Today was ourfirst full day in the city. We ate breakfast, which was really heavy compared to my chocolate Cheerios and milk back at home. Then we headed to Jama Masjid Mosque, the largest mosque in all of Asia. Unfortunately, we got kicked out when the prayer session started and scolded because we were laughing. Although this caused problems, we all learned something valuable. When we had our nightly meeting, we all said that although we were mistreated, we handled ourselves in a mature manner.
I learned that many natives love to stare......STARE at foreigners. They took pictures of us and I have admit, I loved the attention. I felt like a Bollywood celebrity! I realized there are numerous of perceptions of the American traveler. They think we are either 1. Rich, 2. Fat, or 3. Snobby and don't care. This was extremely upsetting to me because we all do not possess these traits.
Later in the evening, we visited the Gandhi Museum. Wise dude! We followed his last footsteps that were engraved on the ground before he was assassinated.
The highlight of my day was riding on these AWESOME rickshaws. For those who don't know what they are, it is a bicycle with seats in the back. We sat while they rode the bike, touring the city. We saw the Sunday market.....DANG I never seen so many books and people crowded on one street before!! We saw slaughter houses in the market and even spotted an elephant!!
We all have one mission in mind-that is to immerse ourselves in the culture and learn as much as we can about the people, religion and traditions of the Indian people. So far, I have to rate this trip a 10. I've grown closer to my friends from school as well as new ones I made. Although, we were insulted by the Indians from the mosque, I felt a sense of bond. We each stuck together and did not argue. I think our motto of "there is no limit to open minds" truly fits our group. Global N.E.R.D.S. (New Explorers ready for D'sala) can take on India. Peace out New York!! We will be reporting back tomorrow with even more stories!!
--Kristina