Day 3 part 2

After lunch at the hotel, we loaded into a couple SUV taxis and cars and headed over to the site of our first footwashing. We'd only been in the car for 10 minutes when the taxis pulled over and parked on the side of the main road next to barber stations and fruit carts. We unloaded and walked down a small road, around a corner, and into the courtyard of what looked like a community center. Men, both young and old, were gather at the back and women were seated on chairs at the front. Children were running around, some gathered at the front and sat down to stare at us. (See picture.)

Once we arrived everything began quickly and without much ceremony. Some pink rose petals were sprinkled on the tables in front of us and there were also bottles of mineral water for us to drink since it we were outside and it was quite warm. This location was unique because the ceremony was opened by a Buddist-monk-in-training who gave a prayer asking for peace and unity. Then Sunil began speaking and singing with Earnest and Pranjal playing the instruments. When Sunil speaks, he will speak and then flow directly into song without skipping a beat of the Message he is delivering. Since music is a big part of Indian culture, TruthSeekers uses songs that they've written, as well as some Bollywood songs, to help communicate Truth with the low-caste Indians.

One of the ladies in our group, Lynelle, a little bit about herself and why she was there. Jody and Win also shared. Then, I hardly noticed when it happened, there were chairs and buckets at the front and we got up and started washing feet. Women could only wash womens feet, and we started with the oldest women. We tried to coax the women to come forward, sometimes they wouldn't come up unless urged to by some of the local men who spoke to them in Hindi. I washed maybe 6 or 7 womens' feet. When I wasn't washing feet, I was helping empty basins and hand out towels.

While we were still washing feet, about 20 minutes later, we sang another song and then we said a prayer. Then Deshpande came and got us to leave. We had to follow him closely and leave without a lot of announcement. You see, we had about 50 kids following us down the street and alley to the waiting cars and it was quite a task to stay together. Once the men escorted us to the cars we stayed in there until they finished gathering their equipement and joined us so we could leave. The kids remained swarmed around the vehicles and just stared at us or tapped on the windows. It was hard to leave without offering them everything their eyes were asking for--hope and love.

We arrived back at the hotel and met together on the roof in order to debrief. Several Indians were there who had been a part of the day's ceremony. One of the women offered to give the ladies on our team Henna tattoos. It was really fascinating to watch and I like tattoos - so it was a win/win for me!

We left for dinner shortly after - we walked up the road to a restaurant. Since the food took a long time to arrive (and it wasn't very good either), I ended up walking back to the hotel to eat in the hotel restaurant. I stayed up talking with a few members of our team before going to bed exhausted.

Day 3 - over.

Day 3 part 1

Early on Sunday morning we were packed again and taking a 2 ½ hour train ride to Agra. I rode in the backseat of a scary taxi with one of the springs in the seat causing me discomfort on the way as our driver coughed incessantly. It was pretty frightening at the station; traffic was loud and made me disoriented as I tried to walk between the cars without losing sight of the group or losing grip on my luggage. This moment was when we really noticed people staring at us. Being a large group of white people, we stood out to say the very least! And when Indians stare, they have an expressionless face and they don't really stop staring--even when you meet their eyes. Some how I got used to this during the next six days.

We hustled and bustled to get everyone on the right train car, in the right seat. Finally, we were departing and on our way to Agra. Out the window of the train car, I saw countless slums as we moved through and out of Delhi. Children and women were walking around through piles of trash and garbage, there were housing areas that were made of flimsy materials, and there was litter all along the side of the train for the length of our journey.

When we arrived in Agra, the leaders of the community we would be visiting later that day greeted us with flower leis. There were people everywhere but we managed to stay as one group and load up into cars as we drove to our hotel. I already liked Agra better than Delhi. It was crowded like all of India is, but it seemed like the roads were more open and the sky more bright. When we arrived at the Hotel Taj Plaza, I looked down the street and saw the top of the Taj Mahal! We explored our less-than-stellar room with three tiny beds (smaller than a twin) and sketchy bathroom. The roof was fun, you could eat meals from the hotel restaurant there, and had a specktacular view of the Taj Mahal.

Since we had two hours to kill before our afternoon footwashing, we got the chance to walk around and see what normal life looks like. Since we'd mostly been in the TruthSeekers office the day before, it was good to get out and feel the sun. Although you can never really take a deep breath of clean air in India due to the pollution, the warmth of the air seemed to help us adapt to the time zone.

We walked down the road in front of the hotel that leads to the Taj Mahal. The closer you get to the Taj, the more venders and sellers start to yell at you and walk alongside you and try to get you to look at their postcards, snow globes, marble works, wooden trinkets, etc. We were taught that the best approach to losing their interest is to simply look straight ahead, not making eye contact, and completely ignore them. Sometimes I'd shake my head from side to side and say "Nay. Nay." But often that just encouraged them more than the ignoring.

As we turned left down another road outside the West entrance to the Taj Mahal, the shops became less tourist-oriented and we saw more of the simple shops and trades that occupy the streets of neighborhoods. We saw monkeys wandering around, pigs digging through trash, naked children, hardworking men and women, donkeys carrying carts, cows wandering around, bicycles and rickshaws, goats, dogs sleeping in the street, and lots of curious glances.

We quickly discovered that the children all know "hello. chocolate?" and "hello. money?" in English. Since we weren't handing out money or chocolate, we entertained them with our cameras by taking pictures of them and then showing them. I remembered my go-to phrase of "What is your name?" in Hindi and got many giggles in return. It was a fun way to spend the morning.

Notes from Day 2

In my journal, I wrote down several things that were shared during orientation on Saturday. I thought they were worth including for you to read as well:

"Reformation can only come to India through the presence of Christians from other countries. "

"We are dreamers, that is why we are living. The day we stop dreaming is the day we stop living." - Sunil Sardar

"I don't know if I'm a traditional Christian. But I wasn't a TruthSeeker before, and I am now. Of this I am certain." - Victor Paul

"Everyone thinks they can change India by getting rid of the caste systems. But this has only caused the castes to grow stronger. We need reformation to see change--a difference of the heart." - Sunil Sardar

Day 2

I woke up at 5am because of the time difference and took a very cold bucket shower. I had waited roughly 3-4 minutes for hot water, but that didn't happen so I just filled the bucket with cold water. Although there was an option for the normal shower, the pressure wasn't impressive and I decided to just use the provided bucket and cup method. (See picture...and to clarify, I took pictures of more than just bathrooms.)

After that experience, I stood at the window by our balcony and watched the street wake up for the day. I saw a husband and wife go through some sort of morning prayer routine on their balcony, I saw men pushing carts begin to call out their wares in Hindi, I also heard newspaper headlines shouted out by cyclists, and watched the birds and parrots sway on the telephone wires.

When everyone was awake, we all walked two blocks to the TruthSeekers office for breakfast and orientation. The office is on the second floor of a building and includes a kitchen, a large gathering room, a dining room, two bathrooms, and three office rooms. People come and go throughout the TruthSeekers office everyday, dinner is served every night, and there are beds on the fourth floor of the building for guests to sleep in while in Delhi (some of the single TruthSeekers live up there). Since Delhi is essentially the Washington DC of India, lots of caste leaders from all parts of India will travel there for meetings. The office is open to everyone as long as they are willing to interact with whoever else might be there. I like that within the walls of their office and home, the TruthSeekers are working to see the caste system destroyed.

I should mention that the four main objectives of TruthSeekers are love, equality, dignity, and freedom. They are as much a social justice organization as they are a Christian ministry. Their ultimate goal is to see reconciliation of the caste system in India. Because there is not even a word in Hindi for reconciliation, the TruthSeekers teach it to low-caste Indians by connecting the pieces of truth that are throughout Indian history, traditions, and culture. So many people in India have been told lies about their worth and TruthSeekers wants to give low-caste Indians their dignity, tell them words of truth, and sing them songs of love in order to point them all to God. This was also our goal with each footwashing ceremony we did during the week.

Anyway, after breakfast we spent time in general introductions of both the American team and the TruthSeekers. To name a few: Steve Smith (from Texas!), Sunil Sardar who started TruthSeekers, Deshpande, Earnest, Pranjal, Bhascar, Vincent, Victor, and Dr. Renke. I noticed that there is a unique culture/community about TruthSeekers. Throughout the week they introduced countless social and spiritual leaders to us as "a friend of TruthSeekers" or "a TruthSeeker." Because everyone who is working for the freedom of low-caste Indians is part of the same fight, they consider all of them friends or partners of their ministry.

Throughout the morning we spent time together going over the schedule for the week, tips about food and sleep, then we would sing (I learned several songs in Hindi), and, finally, we washed each other's feet. All in all, I know that it was a crash course in learning about India and the caste system and that we didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of understanding it completely.

At the end of orientation, the women went to the Smith's house (just a few blocks away) and received a clothing lesson from Steve's wife, Robin, and their daughter Irene. In this photo, we have in the back Irene Smith, Ashley Job (13, California), and me. Then in the front is Lynnel Job (California), Jody, and McKenna.

Then we all loaded up in cars and went shopping at FabIndia for our "salwars." The bottoms I bought were called Patiyala pants, the tops are called Kurtas, and the scarf is a Dubatta.

I think we ate dinner at the TruthSeekers office, but I can't really remember. I know I went to sleep around 8 or 9pm because I was pooped!

Day 1 of my trip to India

After a 15-hour flight from Chicago on November 19, which skipped ahead 11 1/2 hours to November 20, I arrived in Delhi late at night. Five other Americans were on my flight and we picked up by our leader, Noel, outside of baggage claim and customs. It is entertaining to note that I had my first experience with a squatty potty in the airport. (see picture)



When we first stepped outside the airport into the warm air, I realized that the air in India is hazy and smells like campfire and incense. But there was little time to soak in the surroundings as we were quickly divided into a taxi and the TruthSeekers van. Because it’s always rush hour in Delhi, it took us a long time to get to our guest house—or perhaps it just seemed like a long time because of the harrowing ride through a city of 14-million people with confusing roads and no apparent rules for drivers. On the roads in India, not just Delhi, you will have huge trucks and buses alongside smaller cars, motercycles, bicylces, donkeys pulling cards, 3-wheel rickshaw taxis, and wandering livestock. Combine these factors with unmarked roads, confusing construction detours, and everyone honking their horn every 5 seconds...it was total chaos!

We arrived to the "South Extension Part II" of New Delhi, where both our guest house and the TruthSeekers Office are. Our guest house was called the "Pee Fiftyone House" and was much nicer than I had expected. I stayed with Jody (23, Texas) and McKenna (17, Colorado) in a large suite with a normal toilet in the bathroom. (see picture, that's McKenna)

It was after midnight when we arrived, so we went to bed.