Before the trip I had bought some coconut water to prepare myself to drink coconut water in India. I finally had the opportunity to drink water straight from the coconut today. And let me tell you – I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor! When it comes to the taste of the coconut water straight from the coconut when compared to the taste of store-bought coconut water there is a huge difference. The flavor of the water from the coconut was not as sweet as the store-bought coconut water. As someone who loves sweet, this completely changed my thinking. I wasn’t fond of the flavor of the coconut water that I bought from the store but I absolutely fell in love with the authentic coconut water.
We went to the gardens in hopes on being able to catch the laughter therapy session, unfortunately, we were too late for the session or we just couldn’t find it because the garden was so big. I really enjoyed visiting the garden – they even had bushed shaped like various animals such as rabbit and flamingos. The only other garden I can relate this to is the Botanic Gardens in Texas, but even that’s not really the same. This day was so enjoyable because we were able to focus on the experience and not on some competitive race against the clock.
I wanted to purchase some nice silk scarves for my mother and sister so our stop at the handicraft market was perfect. I am still surprised by how comparatively cheap everything is in India. I know it’s because of the value of the American Dollar compared to the rupee but it still surprises me. That’s going to be a big adjustment when I got back to the US. I won’t be able to get silk scarves for $13 or flowy pants for a little over $2.
I wasn’t feeling very well during the scavenger hunt because the night before Kate, Indy, Megan, Elizabeth, and I decided to make pizza and pasta for dinner. Megan, Indy, and I made pizza. This was not a good idea but at the time we didn’t even realize it. We didn’t even think about the cheese that we were using. The cheese had been in the refrigerator at the grocery store and every time the power went out the cheese would get spoiled and warm and then the power would come back on and make the cheese cold again. This was just something that was so small and simple that no one had even thought of. We had gone over refrigerated food precautions in prep class but this just went completely out the window. This was definitely a learning experience.
Later this day we went to Starbucks and were tasked with talking to someone and getting their life story. The person we talked to was waiting for his friend. And he had been waiting for quite a while and said that he could be waiting for anywhere from 30 more minutes to 2 hours – he wasn’t sure when his friend would get there. In terms of India culture this made perfect sense as time is seen as flexible and something that can be stretched. He and his friend were going to talk business because they wanted to start a business in Japan. It was cool getting to talk with them and hear their stories.
They ended up asking us about Trump – shocker, I know. The guy we were talking to originally really loved Trump but his friend didn’t like Trump at all. The original guy we talked to said that Trump was ‘leading America in the right direction’. I was immediately drawn back to prep class when we talked about Indians’ views on Trump and how some Indian would support Trump because of his anti-Muslim sentiment and others wouldn’t like him. His friend didn’t like Trump because of Trump’s polarizing message and divisive policies. It was really interesting to see that people here are just as passionate about Trump as we are in the US. It was cool to see that even though these two had such different political views, they were still friends and respected each other.
Later this night we visited the Ashram. This was a very emotional and impactful experience. I can’t imagine how hard these girls lives are. The amazing thing about every single one of them is that they still manage to find happiness and joy. They’re truly inspirational. I was almost brought to tears when we were presented with beautiful shawls and pearl and floral necklaces. It was a profoundly sweet gesture considering that they don’t have much to spare. I am glad that we had the opportunity to work with them and that we hold a fundraiser for them as well.
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