Yay India :)

Hello from India! This place is so amazing, but so different from home! So far, we’ve visited three very different cites. First was Delhi, which was so full of life and great markets and interesting smells. The people there were pretty nice, but it was our first stop, so I was still really self conscious about all the staring and awkward waves. Now I’m just used to it, and I might actually miss the attention when I get back home. And, of course, the whole wave of culture shock hit me while shopping in Delhi. No one could have prepared me for all the sellers who just won’t take no for an answer! I feel like the Delhi markets were just practice for the touts we met in Agra. These kids will do anything to guilt you into going to their shop! I tried to get out of there without getting ripped off too horribly, but the tout Big Vicky, with the help of our own Blair, sold me a marble paperweight for way too much. Oh well, it’s still cute. Despite the touts, the Agra Fort and of course the Taj Mahal have definitely been two of my favorite sites thus far. The architecture is so beautiful, even better than my expectations. After Agra, we arrived to our present location – Varanasi. This has been the most relaxing destination, by far. We’re located right on the Gages River, and the sunrises here are awesome. I feel like what makes this city really special is how open people are with practicing their religious beliefs. It is definitely a lot different from how religion is usually expressed back home. Overall, I’m having a great time here. I’m usually exhausted by the end of the day, but each morning I wake up refreshed and ready to jump into something new.