HI all,
We've made it back to Delhi for a night's rest...after a lovely two days in Varanasi...which Liz is going to blog about any minute now. (We had a bear of a time getting internet connection there and, of course, there was no internet on our 24 hour train ride. BUT...it was a good opportunity to live out our motto of MOFA: mishap = opportunity for adventure! )
So...I'm back tracking a bit here...
January 1st was a day of contrasts…perhaps symbolic of the peaks and valleys you might experience in a typical year. We started out on the road to Agra and along the way made a quick stop along the roadside to see a ‘brick factory.’ Really, it was just a handful of people, mostly children it appeared, hand patting mud together into brick form. We could see into the fields rows upon rows of gray bricks. The moment we stepped off the bus a few children ran up to us, then more children, then even more children….as if a pied piper (this time in the form of a tourist bus) was calling them.
Chris, wanting to be kind to the kind, offered some of his cookies purchased at a recent rest stop trip. Immediately, kids wrestled for the bag. As we tried to pull them apart, the strength with which they held on was startling. All the while one of the men from the village was photographing us watching it all unfold as if nothing was unusual or significant. That we, in fact, were the thing to be noted.
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From a distance, poverty can look deceptively beautiful in the form of colorful shantytowns and saris. However, when it’s a small child with dried mud on their face and hands, it‘s hard not to consider what it all means, particularly from ethical, sociological, and political perspectives. The sociology students have been quite insightful regarding the poverty we’ve witnessed. We can understand it, theoretically, but here in the ‘safety’ and comfort of our bus, as we head to yet another meal, this stop reminds us not to idealize the slower pace of India or the poverty that exists here. Life may be slower here, but it also seems much, much harder. It has left us speechless and weeping and wondering about our obligations, as individuals and as a nation.
From there we went to lunch and then to the Taj Mahal. It’s hard to explain the astounding beauty of the place. We’ve all seen photos of this ‘seventh wonder of the world’ but as we entered the gates, I cried for the second time that day. I am still wondering about this day of ugliness and beauty and while I am not capable of summarizing it in my current sleep deprived, got a cold kind of state, I’d like to offer you today’s ‘quote of the day’ from our syllabus.
‘Adventure is the path. Real adventure..self determined, self motivated, often risky forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way, you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing again will ever be black and white.’ (Mark Jenkins)
Good night folks. Know that we love you and miss you and are so grateful for this experience even though difficult. It’s real and it’s powerful and we are privileged to have it. And, I'd add, it's been an incredible experience to be here with our students. People may lament the state of 'kids' today but these young people fill me with great hope.