We hiked up to a Hindu temple that's more than a thousand years old. There was a man who had lived there at on point and he and his wife gave birth to a son who was also a god. The temple was built there, at their home. The temple was been a very important place for Hindus for a long time. One used to have to reach it on foot over a trail but now, there is a road that runs all the way up the hill. Cars and motorcycles still have a hard time reaching the top though. The temple itself was the first that I've been in other than the small temples in homes. We had to take our shoes off. There was lots of incense and people prayed to the gods. There were also other smaller shrines there and a little lake which people through food to the fish into. A few families lived up there too. They had little huts and small homes and had a few cows and horses. There was also a small tea plantation near by.
My new host father is the president of his Rotary Club (there are several clubs in the city). The six of us exchange students went on the hike with his club today.
It was nice to be out of the city today and up in the fresh air! Also I enjoyed getting the exercise I've been dying for!
Unfortunately after the hike we went to a park and had a traditional Indian picnic which means I ate too much. Food is offered until you're full and then a couple times more. The food was a typical Indian picnic meal with different breads, rice, daal, and potatoes. We all sat on clothes on the ground and placed our plates in front of us while people went around serving the food.
 |
| Trash at the top by the sacred temple... |
 |
| Nikolas and Sebastian at the summit. |
 |
| Everyone must remove their shoes before entering the temple. |
 |
| Dung and paint swastikas on the back side of the temple, facing out, off the drop off. |
 |
| The road created for motor vehicles to get up, it was partially paved. |
Today I also had the traumatic experience of having a lizard in my room! It was very scary for even though it was only a gecko type thing! Finally it left with the help of my host mother. My host sister was also too scared to help me!
Yesterday we had to give talks on our lives at home to a business school here. I hope I did Vermont justice!
We then spent the day hanging out at Ritu's house. In the evening, we went to the opening of a jewelry shop that belongs to Ritu's "brother". It's hard to tell because here your brother can be a real biological brother, a cousin, some other kind of relative, a parent's friend's kid, or a close friend. Ritu dressed me up in a traditional dress of hers, it didn't fit very well but was still fun to wear. Hannah and Amanda are living with her for the week so they had traditional clothing with them. She also gave us all jewelry. I think she likes dressing us up as live dolls and showing us off. I don't blame her. At the reception we got to try on a lot of the bridal jewelry. If you've ever seen a or photos of an Indian wedding then you'll understand the intensity of the jewelry! It was very cool to see all the styles too. I wished I could wear something like what was on display but I think I would also be afraid something would happen to it!
Tomorrow in the morning I leave for Bhopal (the capital of the state). Chances are I won't be able to writing anything the whole time I'm there (a week)... Maybe I'll be able to get pictures from today up before I leave.
No comments:
Post a Comment