Our last day in Agra was absolutely fantastic. We spent the morning at the Missionaries of Charity - Mother Teresa's Home, where we spent time with children and some mentally/physically handicapped adults. The lessons were immense, and the people we met (not to mention the consequential experiences) were nothing short of amazing and life-changing. After playing with one of the infants in a crib, who loved her small tambourine and played it very well on rhythm, as well as giggling uncontrollably at presence, I went to the next room over. Beyond the steel, low lit passageways, I came to a room of about twenty beds, of which about six were filled. I sat on the floor next to a boy named Banu, a patient with cerebral palsy who touched me so deeply. He had a beautiful spirit, and when Dr. Stepnick, Heather, and I were hanging out with him, and with Bariani (the girl in the photo that Dr. Stepnick is swinging), when we would say his name "Banu" he would smile and laugh ever so deeply. And some construction workers were cutting down a tree outside the window, and when it fell, we all jumped, and Banu just laughed and laughed at us.
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We also ventured over to the mentally/physically handicapped adult section of the Home where we met some incredible people who loved to have their picture taken. We just all laughed and talked about things for the few minutes that we had together.
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We drove over and toured around the Agra Fort, where we saw another view of the Taj Mahal in the distance and learned of the area's rich history.
During the evening, we walked around the market areas of Agra searching for things for our friends back home and getting a small taste of the night atmosphere in Agra. After dodging taxis, motorcycles, bikes, and cows, we made it well throught the evening without a scratch... although we smelled and saw some very interesting things along the way.
We were scheduled to board a train to Veranasi at 11:30 PM... But, as India public transportation is known for its lax time schedules, we boarded a little after 12:30 AM. The supposed 11-hour train ride (to which were to arrive around noon) turned into a 22-hour train ride, due to fog and a whole list of other circumstances that we're not really quite sure about. Haha, but the journey is the destination, is it not?
We passed the time making conversations, catching up on journal entries, or succumbing to and enjoying lots of Benadryl-induced sleeping. We jumped in the Hotel India in Varanasi around 10:30 PM, got some spring rolls via Room Service, and now I'm on the way to bed.
Coming up, we will be attending some Hindu ceremonies on the Ganges River, both at sunrise and sunset (in which some of us might be taking a spiritual dip in the river) and a few other adventures. Stay tuned.
Cheers,
chris
P.S. No doubt. I know it's sad but I am actually kinda missing the Wendy's late night double stack with cheese at this very moment. 2 AM and Wendy's dollar menu: a college kid's dream for sure.