Gratitude

Living here in India for the past two months has been an eye opening experience for me. Just when it feels like I’m completely used to the sensory overload that makes India INDIA—the smells, the noises, the colors, the flavorful food—it’s almost time for me to go home. As I’ve thought about the different things I’ve learned here, I keep coming back to this:

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

                                   ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

 “The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.”

― Henry Ward Beecher

I knew before coming here that, realistically, I don’t have much to complain about. Of course, I have my ups and downs to work through, but so does everyone else. However, being in this country and meeting so many wonderful people has given me a whole new perspective on gratitude. Soo...

For: 

answered prayers, again and again

access to clean water 

amazingly supportive friends and family

my uncomfortable 1-inch mattress 

1 pair of shoes, let alone many

the use of all my limbs 

the Book of Mormon and restored gospel

vaccinations and modern day medicine 

the opportunity to get an education

clothes on my back 

a job

unexpected notes from others

new beginnings

my ability to read and write 

trials that teach me

quiet moments of reflection and understanding 

money to buy basic necessities

the chance to travel to new places this year

Return of the Hydraband

Earlier this summer, our team aimed to raise $4,500 to dig borewells in the slums. These will provide clean water to thousands of people who go without it far more often than they should. Although it was a huge task, on the day of our deadline, with one hour to spare, we reached our goal! Drilling started this week, and we were there to see when they hit water for the first well. Everyone was so happy to see such an amazing site.

Because we were excited about the drilling, our oh-so-talented country director, Brook, put together this video to thank our donors and to show off our sweet dance moves:

Days 2-4: Jaipur, Rajasthan

After Agra, we took a train to the Pink City, Jaipur, which is the capital of Rajasthan. I had no idea what this place had to offer before we went, but I later learned it is recognized as one of the ten most beautiful cities of India.  And I believe it now!

It had a completely different atmosphere than Agra—the most vibrant colors I’ve ever seen, incredible architecture, and amazing bazaars. Oh my, the bazaars. I had some serious buyer’s remorse after leaving because I bought way more than I should have. Oh well!

Here are some of the highlights:

Hawa Mahal, Palace of the Winds, is the most famous landmark of Jaipur. It was built in 1799 for the women of the royal household to watch the royal and religious processions without being seen.

Going on a camel ride! It went surprisingly smoother than I imagined.

My favorite site was Amber Fort & Palace, which was built in the 16^th century and housed different rulers.

You can take an elephant ride up and down the steep path if you so desire J

Once we got to the top, we were completely bombarded by merchants trying to sell us things. At one point, there were about 10 of them following us and trying to beat the other’s prices. Even after you say “NO” a million times, they keep going until you buy something. Luckily, we ended up getting some pretty good deals. The idea definitely crossed my mind how successful Mormon missionaries could be if they were that persistent, haha.

Oh yeah, in the same day I rode a camel, I also rode an elephant. Check that off my bucket list. If it wasn’t already obvious, I’m officially obsessed with elephant everything.

The weight of the four of us didn’t get distributed evenly on the elephant, so at one point en route we were literally sliding off.  It’s a miracle we didn’t fall to our deaths.

We visited a Monkey Temple, but stopped before going in. The monkeys were terrifying! This boy who wanted to be our tour guide for the walk up insisted that if the monkeys tried to bite us, he would make them bite him instead. Seriously?!

Now for the shopping. These pictures don’t do it justice, but it was just amazing.

 

Here were some of my other favorite random shots:

Day 1: Agra, Uttar Pradesh

A few weekends ago, I flew with a couple other volunteers and HELP’s visiting Board of Directors member, Janet, to see the Taj Mahal in northern India. Who goes to India without seeing one of the wonders of the world?! Aside from the heat nearly killing us—we’ve gotten used to the mostly cooler weather in Hyderabad—everything went better than we planned. Our flight didn’t get delayed, we all had beds on the train (unlike last time), and the guesthouse we stayed in wasn’t super sketchy.

Besides the Taj Mahal, Agra didn’t have too much to offer, so we’re glad we only spent one day there. Here were some of the highlights:

The memorable overnight sleeper train without AC. This was just the beginning of how sweaty we all got during the next few days.

 

They were all taking refuge from the heat like we were.

I kept thinking of the part in Slumdog Millionaire when the boys steal all the tourist’s shoes. I’m glad that didn’t happen to us.

Agra Fort

Baby Taj

We also got another view of the Taj from across a river, which is where most people see it on Fridays when the Taj is closed to visitors.

There was some smoke coming from the area to the right of this shot, so we asked our auto driver what was going on. He said the Hindus were cremating a body and after they are done, they would likely spread the ashes across the river.

A lot of the tourist shops sold marble piece since that’s what the Taj is made of. This one shop showed us how they inlaid the colorful pieces... So beautiful. So expensive.

The best part of our day was having Mori as our driver. He showed us all the sites in Agra, found us the best air-conditioned restaurants to eat at, searched for a place with snake charmers (we couldn’t find one), and told us cool stories about his two wives—the Catholic one living in Spain, and the Muslim one living there in India.