2 weeks later

It has been about 2 weeks since I got back from my marvelous adventure in India! I am beyond thankful for the opportunity that was given to me to go there and have experiences I would have never even thought I would get to see. I would just be helping in our medical rotation one day and the thought that here I am sitting in front of a leprosy patient cleaning their wounds in India. Was completely mind boggling! This trip showed me so many things from what I was thankful for to you should always be truly happy. India really did show me what I was thankful for from the tiniest little thing like being able to walk on carpet to the biggest thing like clean water! I realized now I had taken for granted everything I have here in the U.S. I realized I was thankful for the cars, roads, clean water, showers, toilets, bathrooms, food, eating utensils, family, friends, pets. The list could go on for centuries but I'm not going to do that cause it would take forever. However India showed me that no matter how little you have you will never need "objects" to be happy. The people would simply be sweeping their houses with a broom made of leaves from a palm tree in the 110 degree weather with 70% humidity but still smiling. It really opens a door within you and shows you how much happier you can be without all the stress of a butt load of money. I super thankful that here in U.S. the people have respect for woman, sure it is not 100% but the difference between India and the U.S. Makes it seem like woman have every right in the world! I just want to say that I appreciate not being cut in front of in line or stared at in the most perverted way. 

While I was on my tour of Northern India I saw so many incredible things. I would have been so sad to have gone to India and not seen the Taj Mahal or the Red Fort because all of these have a special significant meaning to the people who live in India. I mean it was a very different experience going from staying in the elephant house to riding on an air condition bus and super comfy seats also staying in hotels every night. It was kinda weird but very relaxing! 

Our first day on the tour was flying from Chennai to Delhi so nothing very special or anything. But when we got there we were greeted by our tour guide to go get on the bus to drive to Agra. We walked over to the bus and the first thing I realized was there was a begger there carrying her 3 year old teaching him how to beg. It was so a terrible sight. Anyways we drove for about 5 hours to get to Agra so by then it was night time we went to eat some dinner then left for the hotel. It wasn't very far down the road from the restaurant so it was quick. We got up the next morning and were off to see the Taj Mahal! This was the craziest thing! We were not allowed to ride in the bus right up to the Taj so we had to take a special non polluted car. We walked up to the entrance and we were ready to go through the ginormous gat and see the Taj! It wasn't long till we were standing in front of the Taj. The feeling I had come over me was excitement all over the place! It was so beautiful the shape perfectly symmetrical the color just right I couldn't believe my eyes! We got to go indie and I'm sure we were not seeing the half of it but i was shocked by hoe small the interior was by the look of the outside it seemed HUGE. However the inside was magnificent!! The stone cutouts the perfect marble left me speechless. 

The next couple days were Japiur and Delhi. Japiur was a really fun place and we got to ride elephants! I did have kind of a hard time with how they were treated because they are meant to be out in the wild! So it made Jaipur kind of a hard couple days for me. In Delhi we got to go to the spice market and ride biking rickshaws! This was supper ddduuper fun! I had a really good time! The spice market made it kind of hard to breath at times but the thought of where I was kind of made up for it! I loved riding through the tiny maybe 6 foot wide streets and imaging that they were absolutely everywhere! 

Thank you for reading all of my blogs though out my trip! I am glad I was able to keep all those who were interested in the know of what was happening in my life while in India. Lots of love, Mackenzie