Namaste November

Namaste (pronounced \NAH-muh-stay) means "bowing to you" or "I bow to you". Read on and you'll know why I gave this blog the title I did.

I started off the month with a bang by ushering for STOMP, a unique combination of percussion movement and visual comedy at the Eccles theater.

Amie, Matt, Jaxson, Danica, Dale and I got together and did baptisms for the dead at the Logan Temple. We had our own family names that we took with us to do. With the new changes that the temple made with witnesses and those that can do the baptisms, we were able to have Dad baptize Danica and I, as we did proxy names. Then Matt did proxy baptisms for Jaxson and Amie as Proxies. We all got to be witnesses as well. It was a neat experience. We went to dinner after and visited.

Dale and I decided that since the USU Men’s basketball team has been ranked 13th in the nation for college teams, we decided to buy season basketball tickets. A first for us! We’ll call it an early Christmas present for us. Go Aggies!!

Dale’s mom has been in and out of the hospital. She’s been battling high blood sugar, gout, and an irregular heartbeat. She gave us all quite a scare, but pulled through it all. Bless her heart.

Garrett and Zandra gave us an offer we couldn’t refuse. They invited us to go to India with them and see the areas where he had served his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints almost 9 years ago, and we took them up on the offer.

A family of all girls that Garrett has kept in contact with since his mission was invited by Renu Singh to attend her wedding and act as her brother. An opportunity of a lifetime.

Day 1: We drove through a snowy canyon and went to Garrett and Zandra’s to load up their truck with everyone’s luggage, and then climbed in the Tacoma and headed to the Salt Lake City airport for a red-eye flight that would take us to the John F Kennedy airport in New York.

The kids had been sick earlier, and Zandra was feeling ill as we traveled. Not too fun for her, but all went well.

Day 2: Luckily it was an overnight flight so the kids slept and it wasn’t too long of a flight.  After our 3 hour layover in New York, we caught our flight to London, and from there would end up in New Delhi, India.

Once we landed in London, we had to book it to get on the plane for our next flight, but we made it. The kids were great to help with their luggage by pushing the bags on wheels down the walkways. We got settled in our seats and sat, and sat, and sat and waited, and waited, and then we found out that the plane had a mechanical problem with the landing gear. So, we all had to get off the plane and those that missed their connecting flight (which was probably half the plane) were put up in a hotel and got a dinner voucher. We were rebooked on the next flight out to New Dehli, India, and would be staying a night in London, not leaving until 4:30 pm the next day to catch a 8:05 pm departure to New Dehli.

I do have to say that it felt good to sleep in a bed, laying flat for more that 4 hours. I also think that Zandra and the kids needed the rest too.

Day 3: To make the most of our bonus time in London, after breakfast we got an Uber ride to take us to Windsor Castle so we could get a taste of how the Royal Family live.

I loved the British accent of the people and the feel of the area around the castle had a small quaint town feel. A lot different than I expected it would be being by a castle. The history of the castle was pretty awesome as well. To think that kings and queens from hundreds of years ago lived there and that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married there earlier this year was pretty cool to think about as you walked the halls of the castle. We got to see a changing of the guard, which was pretty neat too.

Zandra was a trooper and joined us, but because she hadn’t really been able to eat much and was feeling weak we had her take the tour in a wheelchair. I think this unexpected stop was a little blessing in disguise for us. Bonus!!

At the London airport waiting again to board the plane to head to Delhi.

  Zandra was prepared for the long flight with activites for the kids.

Day 4: We landed at the New Delhi Airport around 1:00pm and again got our bags, but this time we had a driver in a van waiting for us to take us to our home away from home.

We also met up with Anjali Singh (Renu’s sister), a local and friend of Garrett and Zandra. She was very helpful as a translator and informant. Cute gal too. Our first glimpse of India outside the airport was feeling the heat, smelling that Indian air, and being greeted by wild dogs roaming around. Our driver was patient and definitely knew how to drive in the crazy traffic that India has. We were awed by how four or five cars can drive down a three-lane road and how street lights and stop signs are mostly just suggestions. The horn is used to let a driver know you’re around and there were a lot of motorcycles zooming around with as many as five on one motorcycle! People were also sitting in open truck beds. There were also small motorized Rickshaws weaving around, and cows on the side of the road.

We stayed in the home of the landlord of Jamie Bolton, a gal that Garrett and Zandra knows. They stayed with Jamie, and we stayed on the main floor of Ashoak and his wife’s place (The landlords). It was in a nice secured area and very comfortable. . Garrett & Zandra were just a couple of floors above us.

We had Renu, Anjali, and Radha Singh come and have dinner with us at Jamie’s place. We got to know them a bit better.  They introduced us to some yummy fruit, a Sugar or Custard apple. It looked a bit strange, but tasted so good!!

Day 5: Renu and Anjali and their sisters; Ashu, and Radha, met us at our apartment the next morning, and we all boarded our mini bus and headed to the city of Jaipur, which was around a 6 hour drive.

We saw wild cows walking along the highway or laying in the median. One even walked across the highway! We also saw wild monkeys, pigs, dogs, and a few camels roaming around as we were driving down the highway.

                                      
And the driving is still pretty crazy. People just jaywalk across the roads, and motorcycles are definitely an advantage. Some do wear helments, but not all.

When we’d stop for toll booths mothers with babies, children, or random people would come and tap on the bus windows asking for money. Garrett had warned us about this, and told us not to give money to them. My heart hurt for these people, but to be honest I couldn’t give anyone any money because Dale and I didn’t have any Rupees (Indian money) yet, because we hadn’t exchanged any American money into Indian money.

When we stopped for lunch and to use the bathroom we realized that we should of gotten Rupees because when you used the bathroom you were suppose to pay (or tip) the person who gave a paper napkin to dry your hands with. We made sure we had money next time.

Our driver took us to our hotel first. It was a VERY nice hotel! They greeted us with leis made from marigolds and they gave us fresh squeezed juice that was very tasty. The workers adored the kids and were very friendly.

We got settled in our rooms and then went to dinner there in the hotel. After dinner we went and watched a program with native music and dancing. I was invited to go up and dance with them, and then Renu joined me with the group.

Renu stayed in our room for the night. We got to know her better. She is a cute gal.

Day 6: After breakfast at the hotel we boarded our mini bus and headed to Rajasthan to tour Amer Fort, ride an elephant, and see the Pink City.

We got off the bus at the place where we would ride the elephant and were swarmed by street peddlers trying to sell us their wares. Dale did give in and buy a Turban type hat for us to wear as we road the elephant.

                                            

The elephants are big, very slow, and don’t smell the best, but we rode one to the top of the hill to see the Amer Fort. This was quite a place in it’s day. It had a lot of cool architecture and design. It also had a neat area that had gold, silver, and mirrors that reflected light and looked beautiful.

                     

The scenery looking down on the town was pretty too. We had a personal guide that taught us about the area. The town of Amer was originally built by Meenas, and later it was ruled by Raja Man Singh l, who reigned from 1550 to 1614. The fort is known for its artistic Hindu style elements.

                               

Instead of riding the elephant down, we all piled in the back of a Jeep and got down faster and avoided the persistent peddlers along the way until we got out of the jeep that is. Once we were back in the bus we were good though.

We grabbed some lunch at a nice restaurant. The food got Garrett's approval on the Chicken Biryani, and then headed to see more of Jaipur's history.

We saw the kings Water Castle where he would go to get away from the people because it was built on an island and you had to access it with a boat.

We also came across a Religious procession that had the religious leader riding on an elephant that was decorated, and people were riding horses and walking behind it. This town likes their elephants.

We went to a museum of things from the fort and learned a bit more about the history of the area. And we went to Jantar Mantar and saw where displays were made that you could use for astrology, as well as a stone carved time court. They had the first sun dial there. It was amazing to think that they used these ways many years ago to tell time and do astrology.

We headed back to our hotel where we were again warmly greeted and given fresh juice. Again, the kids were adored by the workers.

Renu had to get back to New Delhi for work the next day, so she caught a taxi to the airport to catch her flight out. We had dinner at the hotel again and visited and then hit the sack. It was a fun full day and the weather was perfect.

Day 7: We went and saw the Pink City, which is where every building within the historic center is painted a terracotta pink color. The color is so significant to the heritage of the city that it is enforced under local law. The reason for the city being pink lies with absolute power of the Maharaja (Sawai Ram Singh) over his capital and his extreme strategy to impress Prince Albert during his 1876 tour of India. The Sawai kept the color of the city pink because his favorite wife adored the color scheme. She talked the Maharaja to pass a law making it illegal for buildings to be painted any other color than Jaipur Pink. This law passed in 1877 and still remains in effect today and helps transform the otherwise polluted and dirty city into the pink city.

As we were walking along the streets, we came upon a snake charmer. I just thought they were in the movies, but this was the real deal.

We headed back to New Delhi, arriving late in the evening. Luckily the dogs didn’t bark to wake up our gracious hosts.

Day 8: Garrett was out tour guide today because we stayed around India. We saw some nice area along the highway, as well as cows and wild dogs.

               Indian Gate in Delhi                                             Sights along the highway

Around the American Embassy grounds

The cows along the highway                                     The Temple from the highway   

                       

We had our driver take us to the Akshardham Swaminarayan Hindu Temple. A beautiful building with amazing architecture and beautiful grounds. Over 11,000 artisans worked on this lavishly decorated Hindu temple complex that was completed in 2005. It  had a theater that had scenes and told the story of the area and people. It was pretty fancy.

From there we went to see the Red Fort. It is a historic fort in the city of Delhi. It took almost 9 years to build (May 1639-April 1648), and served as the main residence of the Mughal Emperors. Another very impressive building with amazing architectural style.

 We caught a man-powered Rickshaw that took us to an outdoor Marketplace. The driver of the rickshaw had to weave around people, cars, and went in tight places, he even got

some boys to help push us up a slight hill as he pedaled his hardest. The calves on these men were built for sure. Sometimes they'd get a push uphill from younger boys needed a few Rupees.

At the Marketplace we bought some spices. The smell was very fragrant in this area. There were a lot of people too.

We got lunch at one of the eating places there. They have very good food in India, you just have to be careful where you eat. We also bought a few things for the wedding.

As we were riding in the rickshaw we saw alleys that had wires going everywhere and again, roaming dogs and garbage on the streets and along the river. It’s kind of sad because they do have garbage cans out, but it appears they don’t get used or dumped regularly. We definitely were in the minority, but our rickshaw driver looked out for us, and in general the people are friendly.

Day 9: Still in the Delhi area, Garrett planned our day, with our driver getting us there. We went to the Qutub Minar Complex, an area that has monuments and buildings for the Delhi Sultanate at Mehrauli in Delhi. Some of these monuments or buildings date back to the 4th century BC!! A lot of history happened here. We had a guy take us on a little tour so we could learn about the area.

Then we went to the Humayun’s Tomb, a historical landmark in Delhi, and the inspiration for the Tajh Mahal in Agra. It is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun in Delhi. It was commissioned by Humayun’s first wife and chief consort, Empress Bega Begum, in 1569-70. The Persian architects were chosen by her.

We also went to the Sri Bangla Sahib Gurudwara Temple a prominent Sikh house of worship in Delhi. It has a large pool of waist deep water inside, known as the Sarovar, that people could go in to bless themselves. It also had a working kitchen that makes roti and curry. We went on a tour and were able to roll out dough for flat bread. We also got to get a glimpse of how they worship by attending a small service. Our guide was very nice and the area had a peaceful feeling.

It’s a beautiful building as well.

                                          I saw this monkey on the way out from the temple.

We ate at a nice restaurant by our homebase.

Garrett and Zandra did more shopping at the Marketplace for the wedding while Dale and I watched the kids at Julie’s house.

Day 10: For a Hindu wedding they have different ceremonies that they to before the official marriage ceremony. Renu and her fiance’, Harry,  are not to see each other for two weeks prior to their marriage. They can talk to each other, but not see each other. They also have a week long celebration/ceremony for the groom and a three day celebration for the bride (which for Renu was condensed to two days). Today we attended the Tumeric (or Haldi) ceremony and the Henna ceremony for Renu. Haldi or Tumeric hold a special place of honour. It is known for its anti-inflammatory and other healing properties, because of which it has become popular as a medicine as well. A paste of haldi is applied to the bride and groom’s body before their wedding. It is held at the bride’s home, after the Mehendi ritual.

This paste is applied on the bride and groom’s face, neck, hands and feet, by their near and dear ones. The reason for applying haldi is to ward off evil spirits for the bride and groom. The color ushers in a life of prosperity for the couple who are starting off their new life together. It also leaves the skin fair and glowing, and blesses the couple with beautiful skin. Haldi is also used to purify and cleanse the body. It is known as an excellent exfoliating agent. It also has Curcumin, and antioxidant that is known to work as a mild anti-depressant and a natural remedy for headaches, so it’s a good way to relieve wedding day anxiety and jitters, and also can soothe an upset stomach. Those in the ceremony wear the color yellow which in a Hindu wedding is the most auspicious color after red.

 After those that have been invited to apply the paste are done, they give their blessing to the bride or groom for a happy married life. Along with Garrett and Zandra, Dale and I were invited to add the past to Renu because we were considered adopted brother, sister, mother, and dad, in their family. It was touching to see the love that the Singh sisters have for each other during this ceremony. We also were able to meet and visit with extended family members in the Singh family.

                                            

We left and went to a shopping plaza that had Barbeque Nation in it, a restaurant that Garrett loved as a missionary. It was an all you can eat meal and we tasted a lot of good food.

Then we did a little shopping to find a few things to top off our clothing for the wedding the next day. Zandra and Jorie looked like they fit right in at the mall where we ate.

We got a ride through Uber and the driver took us back to the Singhs place for the Henna or Mehndi ceremony. Mehndi is a form of body art originating in ancient India, in which decorative designs are created on a person’s body, using a paste, created from the powdered dry leaves of the henna plant. This ceremony is associated with positive spirits and good luck as a way if wishing the bride good health and prosperity as she makes her journey on to marriage. Henna is applied to both the hands and the feet as a means of cooling the nerve-endings of the body, preventing the nerves from tensing up.

Renu had her arms ¾ of the way up, her hands, and her feet up above her ankles painted with henna designs. Two artists worked on her as family and friends ate, and danced to music. 

The young children loved to dance with me and talk to me because some had never talked to a white person.

Zandra, Jorie and I were invited to have our hands done. The artists are very good and very fast, but poor Renu had to sit for quite a long time with her arms out.

          

                                           

The apartment that Renu lives in with her family has an open area for a few couches, and a table and chairs to eat on. The kitchen is quite small, and then there were two bedrooms. One with a Queen bed, and a balcony off of it looking down on the street, and another with a queen and a double bed with a set of bunkbeds. They also had a small bathroom. It was where eight lived. It was a humble, yet nice home, that was very crowded for the ceremonies. They used the parking garage for the Henna ceremony and dance. You make do with what you have. They made it nice. We really grew to love her family. 

We got another Uber, and headed back to the comfort of our home away from home with the ceremony still going strong. They love to celebrate. 

Day 11: We had our driver take us to the mall in Vasant Kunj. On the way we saw some of the poorer areas. Sad, to see, but if that's all you know, they make the most of it.

When we got to the mall, the outside of it didn’t look very fancy, but inside it was like walking into a really nice mall in America with nice stores, a food court, and restaurants. The bathrooms were REAL nice too. We bought a few things for gifts and ate at the food court.

Then we headed back to get ready for the wedding. As we were in our room, we had a family of monkeys playing on the railing outside our window. That was pretty fun because you don't see that in Utah!

Where Garrett was acting as a brother he was all decked out, almost looking like a prince! He wore a pink Turban hat that represented the Singh’s family color. Zandra and the kids were all decked out in full Indian dress as well. Dale and I went a little more plain, but fit in just fine. We all piled in Jamie Bolton’s car and she took us to the wedding ceremony festivities.

I was in awe at how nice everything was and how even though it was mainly outside how they had created rooms with material walls. There were decorative rugs on the ground, and a lot of flowers everywhere. They had a big area set up with chairs and couches for the ceremony area, and another area for a buffet meal that was very nice and full of different foods.

The groom, Harry, came riding to the venue on a white horse that was all decked out with flowers and colorful cloths. He looked like a prince. There was a band playing as he walked in and tons of people!! He went to the platform/stage area, and a group of male family members did a dance and chant to greet him, then he greeted people.

Renu had to wait for 2 hours after Harry showed up before she could arrive. She came walking in under a cloth canopy that was held by family and close friends to her. Garrett was holding one of the poles that held up the canopy. Music was playing and she looked radiant as she walked in. Harry then accepted her at the bottom of the stairs and they took their place on the platform/stage area and had pictures taken together and with family. Then they sat and greeted people the rest of the evening. We never stayed for the actual wedding ceremony because it was to be done in the early morning hours.

I couldn’t believe how many people there were at the wedding!! We met a lot of wonderful people that knew Garrett from when he served his mission. Great people. The whole evening was a celebration with food, visiting, and music.

 We left around 1:00am and it was still full of people and food and music. Renu and Harry looked good together. I hope it all works out for them.

Day 12: We had our driver take us to the mission home and house that was the home of the New Delhi Mission President and also housed a meeting place for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was a little different than what we have at home, but had the same feel. There weren’t pews, just folding chairs, a pulpit and seating area, a piano, and an area for a sacrament table. It was neat seeing the faces of people that saw Garrett had knew him from his mission. We were all warmly greeted.

The Primary did their program and sang and had speaking parts. It was just like home. The ward wasn’t real big, but it had grown some Garrett said. We stayed a visited with some of the members for a bit. You could tell Garrett had made an impact on the people there. It made my heart smile.

We were invited to have dinner with a family who had a daughter, Manisha Singh, that was in the ward. So, we had our driver take us to her humble home. It was an apartment, with a sitting room/bedroom, small kitchen, small bathroom, and a bedroom with two beds, and bunk beds. It also had a storage area room that housed eight people as well. The meal was simple, but very tasty.

The family didn’t speak much English, just the daughter that Garrett knew, but we communicated the best we could. Great humble, loving people.

From there, we went and visited another family, the Verma's who also had daughters. They had a nice apartment, with a living room, kitchen, nice bathroom, and a couple of bedrooms. Where we had just eaten they treated us with dessert, and a drink. We had a good visit with them. When Garrett knew them on his mission they were living in

different circumstances, so he was glad to see their living conditions had improved. We felt their love, goodness, and love for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We caught an Uber for a ride home and felt blessed to be able to get to know why Garrett loved serving in this area. The people are wonderful, and would give you the shirt off their back if they felt you needed it. So loving, caring and easy to talk to. They will hold a special place in my heart.

Day 13: We gave our thanks and said our good-byes to our gracious hosts and loaded up all of our luggage on the bus and headed to the town of Agra. It was around a five hour drive. This trip showed us a different area of India. We got to see an open pretty country feel looking out from the freeway. It was nice.

 This sign was on the garbage can at the place we stopped for lunch on our way to Agra. They're trying to teach people to put their trash in the garbage cans. I thought this was a good reminder to all.

When we got to Agra, we first checked into our hotel. This one was nice too, but it didn’t have the fancy feel of the one in Jaipur. We met up with the tour guide that Garrett and Zandra lined up. He was very nice and spoke better English so we could understand him better. He took us to a restaurant the was at the top of a building that was getting remodeled. We had a way tasty Butter Chicken dish that was to die for, and the view on the top of the roof overlooked the whole town. We also got a great view of the Taj Mahal as the sun was setting. It us exited for tomorrow when we’ll go see the Taj Mahal up close.

Day 14: We woke up early and our driver and tour guide took us to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise. What a sight to see!! The Taj Mahal or the Crown of the Palace, is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in Agra. It was built in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who reigned from 1628 to 1658. Work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. It was also built to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. It includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall. The Taj Mahal was commissioned in 1631, in the memory of his wife, who died on 17 June that year, giving birth to their 14th child. Construction started in 1632 and finished in 1643.

The Taj Mahal Complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1953 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million rupees, which in 2015 would be approx. 52.8 billion rupees (U.S. $827 million). There were some 20,000 artisans that worked on it.

So it has a love story associated with it as well as being a beautiful building and one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The detail was incredible and still holding strong. So pretty. As the sun burnt off the fog, the building was even more beautiful.

We went back to the hotel and changed and loaded up the mini bus for the airport and then at our tour guides request, we went and saw the Agra Fort and learned some cool facts about that as well. This fort is way old! It was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. Before capture by the British, the last Indian rulers to have occupied it were the Marathas.

 Our tour guide for Agra was awesome. So personable, talked quite good English and totally adored the kids.

I got quite close to a monkey eating a banana, and as I got out my phone to get a picture it didn’t like that and bore it’s long sharp teeth at me! I backed away fast. There were other young monkeys around the area as well that we watched from a distance.

We got a bite to eat at a nice restaurant recommended by our tour guide and invited him to eat with us. We also stopped at a shop and we bought a nice marble coaster set that had the Taj Mahal on it as our souvenir from India.

We dropped off our guide and headed back to New Delhi, where we’ll say good-bye to India.

We arrived at the airport with time to spare, said good-bye to our driver, and met had Anjali, Babita, Radha, and Ashu Singh. We also saw Harrry and Renu before they headed out for their honeymoon trip to Thailand. A couple from the ward, Anu and her husband and son, also showed up. We had quite a farewell party going on!! It was good.

The Paris airport was probably the nicest one we went in. Very clean and bright.

Lucky for us, the flight to Paris gave us time to unwind, and then we flew from Paris to Salt Lake.

It was a long, long flight, but we were able to get some sleep in and arrived in Utah on Day 15 of our travels, but in reality with the time zone changes we actually landed the same day we left. It’s funny how that works doesn’t it? 

We left in snow and came home to more snow. After loading up Garrett’s truck with all of our luggage we headed to their place and got the bags sorted out and visited a bit, then we headed home and found all well. There’s just no place like home. It was an amazing trip, but so good to be home. Sleeping in our own bed was awesome.

Waking up it was Thanksgiving Day. We slept in and took our time getting ready to head out for a family dinner at Maple Springs where Dale’s mom is residing. We were able to secure a room so that Dale’s family could gather for a nice dinner with his mom. We had the Mallory’s, and the Haswell’s with us representing our family. It was a nice meal with great company, and I know Mom Hansen was deeply touched to be able to be there. We are grateful for family.

I set out the farewell treats that we were given at the airport so all that visited our home could get a taste of India.

 Amie and Danica talked me into hitting the local Black Friday sales. We started out at 11:00pm and got home around 6:00am, and I was dealing with jet lag as well, so I was REALLY looking forward to getting in bed!! We did find some good deals though and had a good time shopping. We also ate breakfast at Angie’s to top off the day. Memories were made, we laughed, we cried, we ate, we got some deals. 

Namaste November!! The rest of the family's happenings are on my November Nuggets blog post.