My failed attempt to go see the Taj Mahal and some thoughts/observations:

So... I was planning on posting about my trip to Agra to see the Taj and fort and stuff, but I somehow managed to book the wrong tickets... at least we hadn't taken the long taxi ride to the train station before I noticed that the tickets were for 12:15 AM, as in the morning of and not the night of. Anyways, we just had our first good rain since getting here, so I'm just sitting inside reflecting on the past two months and what i've learned and observed. Here are some thoughts on religion in India:

People here are very religious. There are lots of Hindus, a considerable Muslim minority, some Sikhs, some Christians, some Jains, and some others. It seems like almost everyone puts their faith in some sort of religion. My guess is that everyone has been praying for rain the last couple months, and now that it's come, everyone's praising their gods. Religions not a taboo, but a part of everyday life. The Hindus have so many gods, idols, and little temples/shrines. Something interesting I've learned is that when many Hindus hear of the gospel, many simply acknowledge Jesus as another one of their gods. One women said "I go to that statue of Jesus and pray to IT everyday." It's so different from the US where most people either don't believe in any god or they believe in one true God.

I just saw a movie called Amu, it's about the 1984 riots that led to the killing of thousands of Sikhs. Sikhs have a history of persecution. Their holy book is holy in itself, I've heard of Sikhs being turned away from Christianity because they see how poorly we treat our bible - throwing it, putting it on the ground, etc. - again, very different from anything I've experienced in the US. Anyways, I strongly recommend the movie.

The beliefs and actions of the Jains seem most foreign to me. They don't kill anything, and some will wear masks as to not accidentally inhale a fly. Their diet is very strict, and when they die, their bodies are left to be eaten by vultures. I'd just like to say thank you God for your word that blesses us to eat meat. mmmm.

But, I'll have to say some people take it to an extreme... People joke around about how there's nothing living in Manipoor (a province next to Myammar) because they eat everything. Dogs, cats, lizards, spiders... There were some construction workers who were working at the nearby hospital, and there are lots of monkeys here. Let's just say they went home with lots of monkey jerkey...

And religion has a huge implication on the social structure here, but i'll leave that for another time. Good morning and good night.

YESSSS!!!!

We just got "broadband" in our office after almost a year of trying!! I put broadband in quotes, cause it's still pretty slow, but so much better than 28.8k... There still are some quirks that need to be fixed, but it's a cause for celebration! धन्यवाद परमेश्वर ! Thank you God!

On a side note, I smell like Indian spices, I even though took a shower yesterday...

Toilets in India... (warning, this gets a little dirty...)

Last night, I had my first bad experience on the toilet. I'll just say it was dirty and smelly, but considering that I've been in India for 6 weeks, I think I've been fortunate. Anyways, to commemorate my first day of the runs, I've decided to post on the various toilets I've experienced.


On one end of the spectrum, we have the fancy, high-tech toilets from Japan with a nice heated seat, a bidet, a butt-washer, and a dryer:



Then we have what most of us are use to, nothing special, but comfy:



Here's what my toilet looks like. It's made so you can squat on it, eastern style, but you have to be careful because if you slip, you'll probably be left hurt and in an embarrassing situation...



And here's one of the toilets on an Indian train. It gets the job done, and no indirect butt-to-butt contact, but it's still kinda dirty. Notice the small bucket for cleaning yourself (no TP here). Also, everything goes straight onto the train tracks, which I thought was nasty, but have realized is a good thing considering most of the toilets I've used here don't flush well, leaving poop in the bowl and your bathroom stinking...