Hi Mom and Dad!
South Africa was amazing.
It was very beautiful. There is a beach here called Boulder's Beach on the Indian Ocean with little penguins. It reminded me of Virgin Gorda with the white sand and big rocks. I went there with my friend Doug from Coto de Coza and Megan from Michigan who goes to U. of A. Doug and I went on a helicopter ride together after the penguine beach. It was so fun. The helicopter is called a Heuy (I have a certificate saying I went on it to put in my scrapbook) it was shot down in the Vietnam war and in Etheopia, but put back together in S. AF. The only way a person could ride on a heuy is if you are in the US Marine Corps or at that office I went to in S. Africa. The Heuy went straight up in the air and nose dived down making my stomach drop and then it would drop side to side inverted. We rode so close to the ocean that you could reach your hand out and feel the water and we also rode right over the tree tops. It was alot of fun. The whole ride was 30 minutes and only cost like $90. I thought it was worth it because it was a lot of fun, Doug wanted to go, and I saw a bigger part of S. Africa. Most of the SAS kids went skydiving, but I didn't think that was a safe idea and some other kids went shark diving in cages...too scary. So I thought the Heuy ride was a safer compromise.
I went on a sunset sail on an old sailboat with Katie, Bethany, Chandler, Neil, and Eric. We came back and had dinner with some kids we met on the sailboat from S. Africa. We went to the Stellenbosch (winelands) the next day. They were so beautiful! I'm having the time of my life. I love you both! I wish you could be here to do this with me. Thank you again. I'll try to get in a picture with Andy so he can put it on the website.
love Jen
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
India
We received a call from Jen at 4 am California time from a cell phone (1 of 20) that a communication company brought on the ship. She was able to charge the call on her Visa card. The connection was very clear and we talked for at least a half hour. Jen had just gotten back from Che 7 Service Project. She put up a brick wall with her friend Eric. She said the poverty is beyond words. But she was very happy that she could help the people. She was covered with cement and it was 95 degrees. She was waiting till 6 pm to take a shower on the ship. Her excursion Che 19 B leaves at 4:30 am on Sunday. She was very excited to be going to Delhi/ Varanasi/ Agra/ and the Taj Mahal.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
India
I don�t even know where to start. So the other day I was walking around India and I got stopped from crossing the road by the longest train in the history of the universe and while you�re waiting you have about fifty people who drive rickshaws asking if you need a ride to the ATM or to go shopping, then you have a whole bunch of children asking if you have chocolates or a pen for them, about four guys trying to sell you post cards and a midget asking for change�and to top it all off the train stops because there�s a cow in the way so you have to wait even longer for it to get it�s huge cow butt off the tracks��
We were told before we got to port that India was a country that gets into your blood�and that is exactly what it did�not literally but it was so easy to fall in love with it. I didn�t know what to expect they told us that it would assault your senses, that women would shove dying children in your face, that cows would be everywhere yeah there was that but there is so much more. There is the smell of incense and jasmine everywhere. The streets are lined with fruit stacked in diamonds, women riding motor bikes in brightly colored sarees. Temples on every street corner.
The city was amazing every bit of it. On the first day we walked off of the gang plank and there we had to go thru three guarded areas to make it to the street. At the street we went thru a whole bunch of rickshaws to a taxi where we paid a man to take us (Eric, Tony, Mike and I) to Kancheepuram, the city of a 1000 temples. It was wonderful after our hour and a half drive (it was so long because we had to stop for every cow that decided to cross the road) we drove into the town.
We were showed around the temple by the priest�s son. We left our shoes with a woman and walked thru. We saw the back of the temple that no one else is privileged enough to see. We were blessed by Shiva given incense and had jasmine wrapped around us. This would mark the first of my jasmine experiences, there wasn�t one day where I didn�t have jasmine given to me. In India in the morning before you leave your house the women put fresh Jasmine in their hair (a kind of perfume). I will never smell jasmine again without thinking of India. After our trip out of the city Tony and I preceded on a quest to see a movie. Well we had a rickshaw driver take us to a theater that had been recommended earlier that day. We got there only to see that we were late for the only non-american movie so we quit that idea and our driver insisted that we go see a store that he was friends of (when really they get a kickback for every sale).
The store was ridiculously priced and we treated it as more of a museum than anything else. The guys who worked there were funny and it was an enjoyable experience none the less. So with the night still being young we decided to go with 4 other girls to find a bar to get a drink at. We ended up at the Marine�s Club where there were maybe 8 Indian guys and three guys in a band who played an Indian version of Another Brick in the Wall, Yellow Submarine and other Classics. The second day I lucked out and managed to hang out with the lady in charge of the field office and a wealthy couple from Chennai. They took us to Dakshina Shitra, an Arts village. The place was amazing I saw shadow puppets, a street theater troupe where two men were dressed as very convincing women (one of the guys I think was sure that I thought he was really a women but in reality his voice scared the crap out of me when it was really low). I had Henna done on one hand, had my fortune told by a parrot and was led in a meditation and hindu song session all for free. It was so much fun. The next day I left for my home stay.
I ended up staying with 3 other girls (Haley, Janelle and Tori) we were hosted by a man in his 30�s who was still in school named Krishna. We stayed at his house with his Mom, who was just the cutest little old lady, his dad, also adorable, and his aunt Utha, and his blind uncle. The four of us ended up having to share one queen size bed, it was cozy. His father got a kick out of the way I prance and dance around to every thing�he was always laughing at me and making fun of me in a language I didn�t understand. We had a variety of foods in their stay, some of it I liked and some of it was REALLY hot, still I was brave. One of the weirdest foods was a coconut and dill sauce it was absolutely confusing to the pallet. We went to get more Henna done at a shop of Utha�s friend. We had to sleep with it on so when we woke up there were little bits of henna stuck to us. We also met a neighbor girl who was also 20 and she is a professional dancer and she showed us a few moves.
The next day we went to Mahabalipuram another holy city. It was a fun day but the best part was visiting the Crocodile bank. They had every species of crocs there and also did venom extraction of snakes. It was so cool. We saw them call the crocs and feed them and at one point there were two crocs just sitting so close with their jaws open waiting for food, so close I could just lean over and touch them, I would have lost my hand but I could have touched them.
That day was also a holiday called Holi. A festival marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of summer. Basically everybody runs around in white throwing colored powder, especially bright pink, at each other and attacking people with colored perfumed water. Some of the members of our group are still stained red. I was lucky and it all came off of me. For those of you back at school I�m thinking that it might come to Alfred next year as a program, outside of course Brenda.
The last day was very sad I didn�t want to go. His family was wonderful and every moment was special and amazing. They spoiled us. We went saree shopping and went out to lunch before they dropped us back at the ship. I was so sad to say good bye to India. The poverty and begging children mixed with their beauty is still overwhelming and hard to deal with but even in those people who I�m sure haven�t eaten in days they are happy just to see a new face. It�s that innocence that I miss. I need to go back. I have place to stay. Utha tried to convince me not to go back with the ship but I have a little too much invested in this trip not to come back. Everything is I don�t know how explain it. I cried all last night because my body was simply overflowing with emotions as I slowly digested everything I had seen. In love with a country, I was angry at myself for not giving more to those who needed it and yelling at children who would just not leave you alone, I missed my new family and knowing the starting war on top of it was a lot to take in. but even still If know I have to go back. I met some girls who took a couple of children who were homeless on the street for the day. They took them to the mall, bought them lunch and dinner got them a new set of clothes and took them to a movie. I think that that had to be one of the sweetest things I had ever heard. It probably only cost them 10 dollars, 500 rupees, each because everything is so cheep in India but it probably made a world of difference to that child. I�m thinking of maybe doing something similar in Vietnam or china. I also heard a story of an Older lady who 27 years ago adopted a baby boy from an orphanage in northern India. They went to go visit it to see where their child had lived and been taken in. She also told us that their son is now going thru the adoption process to try an get a child from that same orphanage. So you could just see on her face how much it meant to her to see where her child and grandchild will and have come from. Even now just thinking about the country makes me want to cry.
Those 5 days that I spent are amongst my happiest ever. I met not a single scorning face everyone welcomed you in, even when I was behind the tourist curtain. A little boy came over while we were at the tailor and asked me if I was sick, because my skin was so pale. I suppose you guys will never understand what I feel, unless you go.
So in 4days we will be in Vietnam and another 3 days after that in China. The time is going so fast now. Before long I�ll be arriving in the Rochester airport. I hope this gets to everyone. I miss and love you all so much. If anyone has any questions go ahead and ask. I look forward to hearing from every one�.and um mail would be really nice too�.hint�.hint�.
Love always
Jen
P.S. stay tuned
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------