There and back again (I'm reading LOTR right now)

All strapped in and ready for take-off! 

One third of Bangladesh is made up of water. In the words of my friend here, "Bangladesh is one big swamp." So how better to get to various remote towns and villages than by sea plane?! On Monday morning, we left fairly early to go to the airport. Our plane was piloted by a friendly American who works for Mission Aviation Fellowship. These guys are awesome! The flight takes off on land in Dhaka, but lands in rivers all around Bangladesh. The MAF guys call this plane the "ultimate amphibian." On the way to and from Khulna, our plane stopped at Barguna and Barisal (search them on Google maps if you want to see where these are). The flight (with its bus-like stops) was a ton of fun. It seated ten people, including the two pilots, and was actually not too bumpy of a ride. We were greeted at each stop by the stares of the boatsmen and people along the rivers (planes are rare and apparently quite the exciting spectacle). Once the plane reached the shore, children tied it down by putting a large metal screw into the mud. We then waited for a boat to pick up the one or two people getting on or off at each stop.

Our ground crew :)

Our pilot there and back

I got this pic from the MAF magazine in the
seat-back pocket, but this is our plane!

Our boat took us down the river in Khulna to a dock, where we took a rickshaw to the AG compound. The rest of my time in Khulna was within these walls. The compound has several buildings. One is a youth hostel, another is a school, another houses the girls in Akhi's Place and acts as a home for Touch Bangladesh. The girls at Akhi's Place were adorable and I enjoyed playing games with them, running around with them, and learning from them. I now know how to say yes, no, red, blue, okay, and good in Bangla. :) They also loved singing the songs they learned at church, complete with hand motions. Also, they all said thank you for the backpacks I brought from the States. So "Thank you" to all of you who gave me money to buy them (and a few books and crayons) for these girls! They're all ready to start school in a couple of weeks. 

The five girls from Akhi's Place all dressed up
for a picture with their new backpacks

When I wasn't playing with the girls (which was most of the time), I was just relaxing. We left this morning to head back to Dhaka. I very much enjoyed my time in Khulna. It's been wonderful to see a couple of AGWM projects (the school on Sunday and the AG mission in Khulna). Tomorrow I get to see one more! Thank you all for your prayers. :) I've definitely felt protected and I am learning a ton and experiencing so much!

Engaged with Engage

I'm excited to replace my fake pearls with real ones!

A view from outside the Home of Hope school

On Saturday, I went pearl shopping and out to dinner with a couple of ladies (the one I'm hanging out with and another with AGWM). Pearls in Bangladesh are extremely cheap, and I love jewelry, so I was excited to be able to buy a few strands for myself. We had dinner at the American Club. It's exactly what it sounds like, a club with a monthly fee that is mostly filled with Americans and that has a restaurant and athletic/spa facilities. Dinner was delicious, and I had root beer to drink and mango cream pie for dessert (yum).

Simon Says, "Turn around!"

Jack fruit all ready to eat, all but the almond-sized pit that is

The real adventures began early Sunday morning. At about 7:00 am, two members of the Engage team game to pick me up. Engage is a ministry that allows undergraduate students to do overseas ministry for up to two years while working simultaneously on their degree. They spend about half of their time in the field and the other half studying. Bangladesh currently has five. I enjoyed hanging out with them (most of them are my age or younger), and I really like the program. The three of us met up with the rest of the team and drove to the Home of Hope compound. The Home of Hope is an AG orphanage, but on location is also an elementary school. Most of my morning was spent watching the team work with the kids at the school, teaching them the alphabet, sounds, and songs. At one point, they let me play Simon Says with one of the classes. In the afternoon, we had lunch at a college and waited while one of the girls taught an English class. (By the way, if you don't know, people in India and Bangladesh, among other countries, eat with their right hand. This lunch was the first time I did it. I was always the messy one growing up, so I didn't mind haha. It might even taste better this way...) I also tried Jack fruit during lunch. It's about the texture of mucus and tastes a little sweet, but I didn't like it. They grow everywhere around here (as does everything else). You can see from my picture that Bangladesh is extremely lush and tropical.

Jack fruit on the tree

From there, we went to an AG church service. During the drive, it started pouring. I'm used to pouring rain/thunderstorms from the East Coast, but I've never seen such terrible flooding before. In some places, the water along the sides of the roads was about a foot deep! At the church, someone with AGWM spoke in English, so the service was translated. I'd never heard a sermon translated before, so it was helpful to get this experience before preaching with translators in Mizoram. I enjoyed the service, but it was definitely harder to engage since I don't know Bangla. After the service, we had Pizza Hut. Apparently, the Engage students like their American food. It was actually delicious, but I do like try local cuisine too...

After dinner, I went home and crashed. I had another full day ahead!

PS Mom, b-ah-ngladesh is more correct. B-ah-ngla is the language and desh means country, so Bangladesh is land of Bangla. B-a-ngla means frog, so B-a-ngldesh would mean land of frogs haha. That's how she explained it, but she admitted that the English pronunciation is like France with an English vs. French accent.

Crash Landing in Bangladesh!

Okay, that's totally not true. I just wanted an exciting title haha. I said goodbye to Lara and Faythe at the Kathmandu airport. While I was waiting to check in for my flight, I met a very nice older couple from the states who have been in Bangladesh for about 26 years. They run a school (K-12) and were taking their senior class on a trip to Nepal. I was adopted into their group, and they ushered me through the airport with them, helping me navigate the crazy check in line, the 1.5 hour flight delay, and the immigration/visa on arrival parts of the Dhaka airport. Praise God for that stress reliever! Since I was traveling by myself, it was such a blessing to be herded by a friendly face and a group of really great, bright kids. All of the students knew English incredibly well, and all of them are planning on attending university in the fall (some in the US, some in Canada, and some in Asia). I actually ended up sitting with them on a HUGE flight. So crazy. I have really felt God's protection during this trip...

Dinner at a cafe in Dhaka with my friend

When I got into Dhaka (late, as I mentioned), I had no trouble getting my visa. The person who was supposed to pick me up at the airport (a girl working with AGWM) was there, and we went to her apartment. The rest of the day was spent meeting very friendly people, eating at a yummy restaurant about a block away from the apartment, and going to the grocery store. The next few days are packed with exciting activities in this bustling and HUMID city. Can't wait. :D

PS More to come on interesting topics such as animals, children, religion, and poverty. I've wanted to write about these things for a while, but haven't had the time. I will definitely have more time once I arrive in Mizoram, but might have some extra time here too. Keep your eye out! And again, if any of you have any questions/ideas for my blog, please post a comment!

Peaceful and Chaotic Nepal

I apologize ahead of time for giving a brief account of Nepal. It's late here, and I'm really tired. We arrived on Monday afternoon. Some Air India flights had been cancelled due to a strike, but our flight was only delayed one hour. A man from the hotel picked us up at the Kathmandu airport (which is extremely tiny) and drove us into the city. That evening we rested, since we were all tired from traveling and since Faythe was still feeling unwell.

The streets of Thamel, the tourist district,
pretty much all look like this.

On Tuesday, Faythe stayed in all day, but Lara and I explored. The guidebook describes Kathmandu as quirky, and I would have to agree. Hippie clothes being sold in shops, strikes and power outages as daily occurrences, monkeys eating mangoes on the steps of Buddhist temples, and men who laugh when you try to bargain for a lower price at stores. I love it here. The people, in general, are all extremely friendly. Unlike India, where everyone seems to have an agenda (in the words of my sister), Nepal is much more relaxed. We've only been doing a couple of things each day, instead of trying to fit in something every minute like we did in India.

The Himalayas (Mt. Everest isn't pictured here,
but we did get some pics of it)

This morning (Wednesday), we got up bright and early to take a mountain flight at 6:15. Buddha Air, and many other airlines here, offer a round trip flight that goes near the Himalayas. Our plane seated about twenty people, and every seat had a window, offering a perfect view of the majestic mountains, including, of course, Mt. Everest. :) After getting back to the hotel, we took a nap and then headed to Swayabhunath, or the Monkey Temple. We climbed 250 steps to the top, but it felt more like 1,000 haha. Although the temple itself was beautiful, my favorite part was the monkeys swinging from the temple and the surrounding trees.

The Monkey Temple, with the Buddha's
eyes staring out into the Kathmandu Valley

The rest of the day was devoted to shopping. Did I mention how cheap everything is here? The meals run us about $2.50, and our hotel (which is quite nice) is only about $40 a night. So great. By the way, I never thought I'd try yak cheese, but I had it unexpectedly on my scrambled eggs the first morning here. Yak cheese, yak wool, yak milk. I love Nepal. haha. It's so weird and awesome. Like I said, I'm keeping this entry short. If you have any questions about Nepal, just post a comment and I'll reply in a later blog.

Tomorrow, we plan on doing a little more sightseeing, but we have to pack up! Faythe and Lara leave the day after tomorrow for the States, and I'm off to Bangladesh!

PS The "peaceful and chaotic" description in the title refers to Nepal's restfulness (at least in terms of the speed of the trip) and peacefulness when the power goes out (about 3 times a day), but also Nepal's crazy strikes (everything was shut down on Monday and Tuesday until 5pm because of a strike) and the crazy roads full of motorcycles and people walking every which way.

Not just another sunny day

Lara and I decided to wear our salwar
kameez to church on Sunday

The last several days have been both eventful and relaxing. Nepal is a restful change from our hot, fast-paced India experience - but that comes later. First, there is much to tell of our last day in Delhi.

We woke on Sunday morning with enough time to get ready and eat breakfast before walking to church. Prior to our departure, Faythe had asked a former missionary to India if he could suggest a good church to attend. He gave a couple of options, and after looking up their statements of belief on the church websites, I chose the Delhi Bible Fellowship. It just happened to be about a fifteen-minute walk from our hotel!

We arrived to the service a few minutes early, with just enough time to find seats and take in our surroundings. To our delight, the church filled with mostly Indian Christians, a large number of other Asians, and very few other faces that looked like ours. The service was in English and began with worship at 9:30.

Church on Sunday morning at Delhi Bible Fellowship

The pastor preached a sermon on divine healing. Before he began, he mentioned that many of the congregants had been asking what the church believes about healing. It was awesome to know that this sermon was an intentional part of the discipleship process for the Indian believers in that church. The sermon was very well-done, and all three of us took something away from it. What an amazing thing to be able to worship and learn with Christ-followers halfway around the world!

After church, we decided to take the metro to see the Jama Masjid, which is the largest mosque in India. The mosque is in Old Delhi - a far cry from the metropolitan streets in the newer part of the city. Dozens of power lines adorned the streets, which were crowded and dirty with people buying and selling everything from fresh fruit to rubber tires. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant per the guide book's recommendation. After eating, we crossed the street to the mosque and had what was likely one of our least favorite experiences of the trip. It was probably a more difficult experience because we were three young women touring a religious building highly dominated by men.

The white building on the left is a Hindu temple,
the middle domes are part of a Buddhist temple,
and the left dome is part of the mosque we visited

We left the mosque intending to visit next the memorial at the sight where Gandhi was murdered. Unfortunately, we discovered when we arrived that the memorial was closed because the prime minister from some foreign country would be touring the next day. At this point, Faythe was beginning to feel really ill, and after some trouble finding the metro again, we headed back to our hotel. Since it was not quite evening yet and we had some shopping we wanted to do, we left Faythe in the room and headed back to Connaught Place - home of the "hassle-free government emporiums."

Our primary objective was to purchase tea and honey, though, of course, we found a few other things that sparked our interest. After buying those few "other" items, we searched for a store that sold tea and honey. The directions that we received from some kind Nike store workers were to no avail, as the small store that they sent us to was closed. We wondered what to do for a moment, when Kelsey spotted a couple sitting on a bench and decided to ask for help.

We found out later that we had interrupted them in the middle of an argument. Nevertheless, this unlikely couple became our friends for the next hour or so, as we went on one of our most fun adventures yet. The woman (whose name I don't remember now) offered to walk us to a store where we could purchase tea, rather than to simply give us directions. We were very appreciative, since following someone's directions in an unfamiliar country where you don't speak the language can be rather difficult. Her English was excellent, and as we walked, we discovered that she was a very well-educated assistant professor of sociology.

They were so nice! (This is outside
of the Bengali sweets shop.)

Much to our chagrin, the store that she and her husband took us to was also closed. She told us that many of the stores are closed on Sundays because it is a holy day for both the Hindu and the Muslim religions. After a quick discussion, the couple offered to take us to another place, not far away, where there would be an open market. We would need to take an auto rickshaw, but they would go with us and show us where to buy the tea. As the four of us squeezed into the rickshaw Indian-style, I asked Kelsey under my breath, "Is this crazy?" Overhearing my question, our new friend spoke up, "Oh, no, you're fine. You can trust me! There are many people you can't trust, but I'm a teacher!"

As promised, we soon arrived at a little market, where we were able to buy the tea and honey - now a highly-valued commodity, considering the lengths we went to to find it. After we completed our purchase, the husband asked if we would like to try some Indian sweets. Across from the little store was a Bengali market, which displayed desserts in glass-covered cases, like a bakery. They ordered us the wife's favorite sweet: rasgullas. These cottage cheese balls covered in syrup were certainly a new taste for us!

After that, they took us back to Connaught Place by rickshaw. We headed back to the hotel on the metro and crashed. Our flight to Nepal wasn't until the early afternoon, so we had time to pack in the morning. Read on to here about our adventures in the Kathmandu Valley!

PS Lara wrote most of this one.

Dog Days in Delhi

Let me start by just saying that Delhi is a completely different world than Agra. Unlike Agra, which has a much more rural, dirty atmosphere, Delhi is booming with a modern feel. Women wear jeans under their kameez, people use iphones, and the cars actually somewhat pay attention to the rules of the road. It's a major change, and we all agree that we like this city better. Also, it's easier to navigate because it's more metropolitan. Despite all of this, we absolutely do not regret going to Agra. It's still a must see when going to India... just visit Delhi too. :)

We got a late start to the day, heading to our first site, the National Museum, at around 12:30. On the way out of the b&b, we met the owners, who offered us a lift to an ATM and a nearby metro station. The metro here was extremely simply to figure out (especially because Lara and I have used metros at many other places). This was Faythe's first metro experience. In her words, the experience was "incredibly easy and convenient and efficient." The best thing about the Delhi metro is that it has two entire cars devoted to women only. Even though we feel relatively safe here, close quarters become much more enjoyable with the same gender haha.

The metro took us to a stop that was a ways from the National Museum, so we walked from there. Lara got scolded for taking a picture of a government building on the way there, but in her defense the airplanes outside were really cool. It took us a while to get to the museum, and we had to ask several people if we were headed in the right direction. (We did this many times today, and everyone was very kind and helpful). The museum was insightful; I enjoyed learning about the Harappan Civilization (Indus Valley), which was a contemporary of biblical times (Egyptian/Mesopotamian). Also, the Hindu and Mughal Empire paintings were fascinating.

The sauces and soup were delicious,
just spicy enough. mmm.

From there, we eventually found a restaurant from the guide book. We had southern indian cuisine. The dosai were good, and Faythe and I bought iced coffee with ice cream inside that was delicious. After lunch, we went to Humayan Tomb via the metro and a rickshaw. It was built by the wife of a Mughal emperor. This was my favorite thing today. Faythe and I almost like it better than the Taj Mahal, which is a little crazy, but the contrast in the colors of the marble and sandstone is beautiful! By the time we explored the area, and after taking about 20 pictures with a cute family that didn't speak much English, we headed back to the b&b. Even though we only saw two things today, we experienced much more by walking around, getting a tad lost now and then, and riding the metro and a rickshaw. Tomorrow, more sights and church in Delhi!

P.S. Besides the hot weather, the title of this blog is partly an homage to the creepy dog that followed us all the way home. Don't worry, I have rabies shots (but pray for Faythe and Lara). haha.

The tomb -- this picture doesn't do it justice...

A sweet family who took our picture and then wanted one with us. :)

Magical and mysterious Agra

It looks like I'm doing well,
but those are his. haha.

Let me start by saying our hotel in Agra is a five star (by Indian standards). We loved it. While eating breakfast at the hotel restaurant, a chef handed us a plate of Jalebis, an Indian breakfast dessert. It is a lot like funnel cake. They make it by pouring dough into hot oil in little round circles, then dipping the dough into extremely sweet sugar and honey syrup. Know how I know? The chef offered to take us into the kitchen and watch/help him make some! It was a ton of fun. By the way, we've been making videos, but the internet connection here isn't good enough to upload them. Needless to say, in a while I will be able to post facebook links to them, one of which will be a video of this experience. :) After watching/helping them, we were able to eat some fresh. They are too sweet to eat more than one or two, but YUM!

We're sitting on the center
of the parcheesi board!

After breakfast, Guddu picked us up and took us to Fatehpur Sikri, the palaces of Akbar and his three wives and concubines. It's about an hour's drive from Agra, and it was fun to see outside the city a little. This was my favorite part of our trip to Agra. Obviously the Taj Mahal was incredible, but this was an unexpected wonder. Akbar married three wives (Muslim's are allowed to marry four, as long as they treat them equally). One of this wives was Muslim, one was Hindu, and one was Christian. Instead of converting them as he was supposed to do according to Muslim law, he let them all remain faithful to their beliefs in an act of political savvy. He was trying to appease these three groups of people under his reign. Each wife was given a separate palace. The Muslim wife had the smallest, but most intricately carved and decorated room (with mirrored walls and diamond flowers on the wall). The Christian wife also had a small palace, but with four rooms instead of one. Hers was my favorite and was in the shape of a cross, much like a cathedral. The Hindu wife had a huge palace, with a large courtyard and a summer and winter house and a temple. Another interesting part of Fatehpur Sikri is the life-sized parcheesi board. The king and queen (whichever, who knows haha) would sit in the middle, while beautiful women would dance as their pieces. I loved this place because it reminded me of Arabian Nights. It's so magical and different than anything in western culture. Great... now I have that song in my head.

We did a little shopping, had lunch (again, yum), and went back to the hotel to rest in the AC and to get our bags. After about an hour of resting, Guddu took us to the train station and we headed back to New Delhi. It's Saturday morning now, and we're about to head out for another day's adventures. More to come!

Mughal emperors, mosques, and mausoleums

The train station in New Delhi

I am currently sitting in the courtyard at our bed and breakfast in New Delhi. Thursday and Friday were spent in Agra (apart from the 2 hr travel time each way to and from Agra). The New Delhi train station on Thursday morning was quite the adventure. We were dropped off at the station by a taxi, which our b&b arranged for us the night before. Despite the early hour (5:45 am), the station was ridiculously crowded... but that makes sense, since 1.2 million people live in New Delhi. As soon as we got out of the taxi, a "friendly" young man asked us where we were going and offered his assistance. At first, he told us the track number of the train to Agra; then he directed us to a staircase where we could exchange our e-ticket for a "real" ticket. We went up the stairs, at the top of which we found a locked gate and a man. This man told us that our trip was cancelled and that if we followed him to a travel agency, we could purchase tickets for the next trip, which left 55 minutes later. Fortunately, I had heard about this exact scam the day before I left from a friend who had been to Delhi. We walked away from him, found our way into the station, and walked straight onto our train. The only other mishap that morning was finding our seats in the wrong car (number 5 instead of 8). This was easily remedied. Catching the train to Agra: accomplished.

The boy on the left and girl on the right are Guddu's kids

I would give a lot more details about each activity, but so much has happened that I would rather give a brief overview instead. Once we got off of the train in Agra, we walked out of the station, hoping to find some mode of transportation to our hotel. A man led us to his car, got us inside, and walked away, saying something about getting a ticket in order to leave the parking area and that he wouldn't be our driver. At some point, you just have to believe people, even to the point of sitting alone in a strange car or getting into a car with a man you have never met. haha. Our driver's name was Guddu, and we ended up hiring him to drive us all around Agra for our two days there. He was extremely friendly and very helpful, giving us little tidbits of information like how to say "how much?" in Hindi in order to get a lower price offer. In return, we taught him American idioms like "killing two birds with one stone" and "a piece of cake". 

If it looks dusty, that's because it was!

After checking in early at our hotel, we headed to Taj Mahal. We had to go on Thursday, since it is closed every Friday for worship purposes. It was absolutely stunning, but you could have guessed that. Lara's and my favorite part was the symmetry and the marble inlay/calligraphy work. Like Greek columns and buildings, which were built in order to please the human eye, the Taj Mahal was cleverly built to give the effect of optical allusion. The four outside columns are actually bent outward. Similarly, the Qu'ran calligraphy is larger at the top in order to look the same size from the human standpoint. We were able to go inside, but we had to take our shoes off since it is a holy place. There is a mosque to the left of the Taj, but the Taj itself is a mausoleum. 

One rug could take anywhere from
three months to two years to make

From there, Guddu took us to The Silk Route for lunch. We are loving the food here (even though it's making me a little sick... I'll get used to it lol). After lunch, we went to Agra Fort. It is sixteen palaces, mostly made out of red sandstone, which is quarried here in India. We didn't stay that long, because we went in the middle of the afternoon, and let me tell you -- it is HOT! Like many drivers in India, Guddu takes his customers to places where he gets a commission. We saw three local handicrafts after Agra Fort: marble inlay work, rug making, and embroidery. I told Faythe and Lara that it kind of felt like going to a time share meeting, but, honestly, watching them make their art was really cool! A lot of work goes into each of them, especially the rugs, which are made knot by knot. We bought a few things, and then headed back to the hotel. Since this was our first full day, we were exhausted. We ended up going to bed around 7. Day 1 in Agra: success!

Welcome to India!

We made it!!!

After meeting up with Faythe and Lara at the Newark airport, we boarded the plane and headed on a 14 hour journey across the world. It's crazy to think that I am standing (well, sitting) in India RIGHT NOW! The flight was uneventful, but I watched Slumdog Millionaire for the first time. After landing, navigating the airport was easy, and we met up with our ride within a few minutes of going outside.

Off the plane and about to go through immigration.

The drive to the hotel was probably my favorite part of the day. Our driver's motto was "good horn, good breaks, and good luck." When Faythe asked if the road lines are just suggestions, he laughed, but I can attest to the fact that they are. We got to talking with him about traffic fines. He said that the fine for running a red light is about $5, but that the police are "no problem." The fine for talking on your cell phone in the US, he said, is the same as one month's rent and food for his house.

It's late here, and we have an early morning tomorrow to head to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, so I'll end here. But I wanted you all to know that we've made it here safely and are having a wonderful time so far!

Planning Amidst Poetry and Prayer

Hello all! I am so excited that you will be following along with me on this journey! Here's a brief overview of what I will be doing...

- Touring New Delhi, Agra, and Kathmandu with Lara and Faythe (5/15-5/25)
- Working in Dhaka and Khulna with girls from the slums (5/25-6/3)
- Teaching at the Academy of Integrated Christian Studies and preaching at various churches in Mizoram (6/3-8/17)

If you don't know how this all came about, let me briefly explain. Students at Princeton Theological Seminary are required to spend one summer interning at a church or hospital before completing their degree. One option provided by the school is interning at an international location. I applied to the program and interviewed with the supervisor at my top choice (AICS in Mizoram). They accepted me, and the past few months have subsequently consisted of preparatory meetings, vaccinations, and planning! The next two weeks will be full of last-minute planning, though part of my time is devoted to Poetry and Prayer, a class I am taking right up until the day I leave!

Although the main reason for the trip is my field education for seminary in Mizoram, I decided to take advantage of being in another part of the world. For the first three weeks of my trip, I will be traveling around Northern India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, I will be working with a woman from Northern California who has been living in Dhaka for two years and who is currently working with young girls from the slums. I am excited to learn about Bangladesh, to play and love on these girls, and to shadow the woman I will be working with.

I will attempt to blog every couple of days. However, unlike my trip to France, internet access will be very iffy. Power outages are common, and I am prepared for the unexpected. Please feel free to comment on my posts; I would love to hear from all of you! If you have more personal questions or comments, please email me at kelsey.pagh@ptsem.edu and I will try to respond as soon as possible.

Here's a quick way to find what time it is for me. (And, yes, India is 9 hours and 30 minutes ahead.)
India Standard Time

The next time you'll hear from me, I'll be on the other side of the world!!!