Istanbul

Few places have ever effected me in such a way as Istanbul. It's been more than a year since I went, yet I still can't quite put my finger on what it was about that city that pulled me in. I'm not sure if it was noisy, cobblestone streets, maze like bazaars, or spices stacked so high that if they toppled, you would die smelling heaven. It could have been the stray cats that napped in the shade, or the big old dog that sat watching everyone in the park. Maybe it was the conjuncture of new and ancient, towering minarets and a mysterious underground Medusa head. It might have been all the families crowded into the park, breaking their Ramadan fasts, or street vendors selling roasted corn or the children eating cotton candy and shooting light up toys into the sky. Whatever it may have been, something about Istanbul drew me close, and made me feel as if I could live there my whole life. 

Perhaps the reason Istanbul had such an effect on me was the same reason I was so enthralled with India: I didn't know much about it. My knowledge of Istanbul before I went was this: it used to be called Constantinople, and before that it was Byzantium. And it had some pretty buildings. And that was it. I didn't know, for instance, that the streets were so winding and narrow in the part of town that we were staying in, that our cab driver wouldn't even know where we were going, even though we were staying next to the biggest landmark in the city. I didn't know that the fountain in Sultanahmet park lit up with different colors (at least during Ramadan) or that you could get almost any flavor of Turkish delight that you could think of. I certainly didn't know how much I would love ayasofya (Hagia Sofia). Being inside that building was the closest thing that I have ever had to a truly religious experience. The scale of it was beyond anything I could have dreamed of; it's sheer size left me in speechless wonder for more than a few 

minutes. Originally it served as the Greek Patriarchal cathedral of Constantinople, except for a short period when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral. It was then converted into a mosque. Now, it's a museum. The walls of the building have beautiful mosaics depicting religious scenes. When it was converted into a mosque, they were painted over which ironically preserved them. Standing in the middle of the massive building, I was humbled. Its size and its beauty were enough to nearly bring me to tears. The upstairs balcony held a special surprise for me, other than the beautiful mosaics being restored there. On one wall, there were holes where it was obvious that ornate crosses were once there. There was something about ayasofya that could have kept me there forever. I was fascinated and enthralled by its massiveness and its history, overwhelmed by the myriad of emotions that standing in the middle of it all brought down on me. Being there brought to me the realization of  the inevitability of change and the idea that we are surrounded constantly by layers and layers of history. This was something that I kept coming back to throughout my trip, and throughout Istanbul. 
Basilica Cistern was another place that, like ayasofya, had a great effect on me. It wasn't to the extent that I had felt from ayasofya, and maybe in a slightly different way, but Basilica Cistern was one of the weirdest and most interesting places that I've been. I can't really remember the history of it, or why it was built, but I can tell you this: it is one strange place. Underground, it is an enormous cavern with hundreds  pillars and platforms that suspend you above the water it is filled with. It's dark and cool and damp and a little creepy. The platforms are slippery and it smells a bit (not too bad though). The pillars have dim lights on them and the entire time I was there, I was writing the climactic chase scene of a movie in my head. Maybe the strangest things of all in the Basilica Cistern were the Medusa column bases.  No one is sure of their origin, or what they might have been used for previously. They stare at you menacingly, striking into you a fear that perhaps they will turn you to stone and you will be trapped underground forever. Fresh air was a relief when we resurfaced.
While the grandeur of places like Blue Mosque, ayasofya, or Topkapi Palace were surely a reason that I loved the city, what I think may have caused me to fall in love with it was not the architecture (amazing), but the atmosphere. As began to set, families spilled onto the streets and into the parks, toting picnic baskets and coolers. As they spread their things out and set up their meal, lights strung between the minarets of Blue Mosque flickered on, and the official band of the night set up on stage in Sultanahmet park. Leaning against a fence and eating a big, juicy slice of watermelon that I had bought from a street vendor, I was reminded vaguely of the 4th of July. Children were running around laughing and screaming, the aroma of wonderful, wonderful food filled the air and music played on. Wandering away from the park and on down the main roads, hosts beckoned you into their restaurants while cars and the occasional streetcar (tram/train/trolley?) whizzed by. Looping back around and walking up a quieter street, the shops were closed for the evening, and through the windows you could see people eating at higher end restaurants. There was almost no one on this quieter street, and at first I thought my ears were playing tricks on me. But the noise grew louder as we approached an outdoor restaurant down the block from our hotel. Floating gently through the Istanbul night was the theme for the Godfather, being played mournfully by the live entertainment for the night. As the song played on and I returned to my hotel, I thought to myself that perhaps one day I would return to Istanbul, but the tune was carrying me to Italy, and as sad as I was to leave, you can't complain if your next destination is Venice. 

I did a really good job of getting back into this blog, didn't I?
Yep. Really skillful.
WELL
This time, I think I am back for good.
Although I have created another blog on both this site, and wordpress, since I forgot the password to the email that I created this account with and decided to just make a new one altogether. Then I remembered and got myself back on here and made this poorly written post. So I guess I will continue to write here, but if you wish to, you could check out my other two blogs (they don't have very much written on them at the moment, and possibly never will, knowing my ability to honor commitments).

here's the blogger one 
and here's the wordpress one

And here's to the new year and hopefully making more regular posts.

Invincible

We paddled our yellow raft down the cold Kern River, Ben, Aiden, Evan and I.  The smooth strokes through the freezing water were relatively coordinated, and our path wasn’t a complete zig zag. Aiden and Evan sat in the back, steering.  Ben and I sat in the front, supposedly moving us forward.  We looked to the left, and saw Alex, Sara, Conor and Gabe paddling their raft gracefully along.  Moving in  a straight line. They looked over at us, and saw us struggling to move forward, and struggling even harder to not hit the banks of the river.  

Ok, Ben, I said.  Ben, you and I, we gotta keep moving, keep paddling.  Aiden, Evan, you two just gotta get us to the middle of the river. Just get us there and we can have wiggle room.  Just do it, please? 

They agree, reluctantly, to do work. Before long, the four of us are cruising right along, making good time, with no potential crash areas in sight. 

And then BOOM. We hit something, a rock I think.  I couldn’t tell, I was disorientated. Up, down, up? I thought we were going the other way... And then I realized we were going down the river backwards, and heading straight into the rapids, unable to see ahead of us.

 What do we do? Ben yelled in my ear.

I don’t know I don’t know I don’t know! I yelled back.

Paddle! Aiden screams desperately, so we paddle. 

Aiden, Evan, turn us around! Do it do it do it! I screamed.

They paddled as hard and fast as they could, while we were tossed mercilessly around in our little boat. The water poured in over the sides, into our raft, and Ben nearly fell out as we hit a large rock, but I dove to the other side of our little bench and pulled him back to the relative safety of our boat. 

Evan and Aiden finally turned us around, so instead of being pushed blindly through the water, we could see where our fates lay. 

Paddle guys, paddle! Try to get around the rocks on the left, those look like they’d hurt, I ordered. 

They paddled, I paddled, we paddled as a team.  We missed the rocks on the left, and swerved out of the way of rocks looming on the right.  All four of us were breathing sighs of relief until we hear Ben.

Oh shit! Oh shit Oh shit! We’re gonna die! No way we’re gonna make it!

And then we see it, a row of rocks, unavoidable, lined up in front of us. And then we’re all copying Ben’s words, and I’m pretty sure we all believed them.

Our puny yellow raft hit the rocks, we were all holding on to each other, grasping all the life we could find.  We flip like a coin, over, and over through the air.  It can’t have been more than five seconds, because soon we were underwater. We popped up, amazed. 

Alive? Alive! Dude! We’re freaking alive! That was awesome! Dude! Let’s do it again! We rescue our boat, pull it ashore, and we truly are invincible. 

~molly

Return!

I feel bad. I abandoned this blog. And now I feel bad. There wasn't  a reason I did it, except for my discovery of Tumblr, which is blogging but requires less thought. And now I miss this blog, and I think I will return to it and attempt to regain my honor by writing stuff.
See, I'm already back on my A-game, using phrases like "writing stuff".

Hope you had a wonderful summer, and that your fall is yummy!

~molly

Hello

Wow!! It has bee soooo super duper long since i have posted anything on here! I was just so busy with school, trying to keep my grades up, which I managed to do relatively ok. A's in everything except a B+ in math, which i got an A- on the final and A+'s on the last two tests of the year. I guess that just doesn't make up for a couple of F's and D's on tests earlier in the year...
But WOW IT'S SUMMER AND I AM SO EXCITED. And grounded... So, since I am basically not allowed out, I have plenty of time to let the creative juices flow, or even doing some more analytical pieces (something I got pretty good at in English this year).
Hopefully I get ungrounded sometime soon, so I can see my friends at some point before my dad and I take our trip. We are apparently tackling the I countries, as last year we went to India, and this year, we are going to Istanbul and Italy!! I'm really excited, because I finally get to see Pompeii, which is something I have wanted to see since I read the Magic Tree House Story about it in Kindergarden.  And Rome, which has been up there on the list since I saw the Lizzie McGuire Movie (which incidentally was on TV earlier today). And Venice, since I saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Istanbul I expect will be amazing as well, though I don't know much about it. All I know is I am gonna have a great time.
Since it's summer and I'm grounded, my activities are limited to writing, reading, facebook, watching movies and cleaning the house, so I will probably read more books than I have really for the last year. Currently I am reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson. I love it! It's the best book I have read in a long time and I highly recommend it to everyone who loves a good  mystery!
Hope your summer is great!!!

~molly

Free

The heat in New Delhi in July is oppressive. It traps you, it suffocates you.  Just walking down a sidewalk tests your mettle.  You’re surrounded by people, by noise, by smells, and muggy, smoggy air.  The world is chaotic, unorganized, and making your way through this strange land seems a daunting task.  

You can hide from the heat in a hotel, escape the crowds, and find shelter in the air conditioned lobby. But you can’t leave the noise behind you. There is a perpetual racket being made by car horns and the tuk-tuks that run on C.N.G that ceases only late at night.  But there is no quiet then either. There is the sound of the wild dogs howling and prowling the city at night.  And by the time this stops, it’s time for the sound of engines again. 

The Birla House, on Tees January Marg, is where Mohandas Gandhi, the father of India spent the last 144 days of his life.  This is the spot where the great man, who fought with his words, not his fists, and led India out of British control, was martyred. 

Beyond the white house, you follow Gandhi’s footsteps, the last he would take. You find yourself on a lawn, a large, vibrantly green lawn.  You realize that it’s different here. The heat has abated, and you can feel an almost breeze on your skin.  And the silence.  You’re suddenly miles away from the blaring horns of cars on the other side of house.  You’re in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world, and it’s quiet.  You’re distant.  You’re separate from the rest of the world, which goes on rushing by.  You feel free from it all, free from the heat, the noise.  

And then you feel sad.  Unexpectedly sad.  A life is such a beautiful thing, such a terrible thing to take.  But what can you do, against such hate and anger? You stop for a moment, and think.  This place, really, it is beautiful.  Its beauty isn’t just soft edges and strong colors.  Its beauty is in its freedom, it’s the release of a soul. It’s the ability to find beauty in an ugly thing.  It’s the capacity to shake the world, to make things better.  It’s the power of one life. 

You’ve answered your question.  Against the anger and the hate you can be strong.  You can keep on going, though your feet may hurt and bleed.

And then you’re back to the world, roused from the thoughts you were absorbed in.  A bird is perched on the spot of Gandhi’s martyrdom.  It chirps prettily, and takes flight.  You smile as it spreads its wings and heads into the warm, Indian sky, free. 

~molly

i need a puppy

I love dogs. I love them so much.  Sometimes, they are better than people, because they just listen. And then you can get the best hugs and cuddles from them. And they can at least pretend to look like they care, unlike cats...I want a dog so so so so so badly, but chances are I won't get one for a looooooong time.
But when I do, I am so getting two, and naming them:
Tybalt (pronounced tibalt).  Not that it's an especially great name, or that he is the best character in Romeo & Juliet, (that would be Mercutio) or that he has any really great lines, because he doesn't. No, it's the fact that its Tybalt, said tibalt.
How do you spell that? T-Y-B-A-L-T. Tie-balt? NO. Tib-alt.
Here Tybalt.. good Tybalt.

And doggie number two: Ganesh.
In India, somewhere between Agra and Jaipur, at a rest stop with giftshop selling overpriced merchandise, I found a comic book. It was called The Adventures of Ganesh: That Wacky Little Trickster.  How much I wish I had overpaid for it, you will never know.  The consolation I found was that hey wait! That would be a great name for a dog! So, doggie #2 will answer to Ganesh, and that wacky little trickster.



Shutter Island was great! I highly recommend seeing it. Actually, I recommend seeing it twice! I saw it with my dad and one of my best friends, and through the varying tastes in movies, we all came out impressed, yet slightly puzzled.  Hence the see it twice part! Hope your weekend is going good, and you have a good week!  Wish us luck in our first game this year in Valencia!

Sonnet

Sonnet for English Class

High above our heads dost thou swiftly rise.

Thou art a shimmer in the heavens blue,

But thy woe shows when tears rain from thy eyes.

We can’t fix thy problems, nor pay thy dues.

Far from grace did thee tumble to end here,

Stuck to spend this morrow edging the shade.

So thou climb’st up, and the light dost near.

The dark consumes all, but thou will not fade.

Thy foes pull thee down, but thou won’t concede,

Ne’r wilt thou follow them; bid them adieu.

Thou hast struggled, but won’t succumb to greed.

Thou journey’st hence, not so high as thee flew.

As night approaches, and dark surrounds thee,

Thy feet art grounded, but thy mind is free.

Notice the Shakespearian language ;D

~molly (:

movie star hair

smiling face, train to jaisalmer

Originally uploaded by NiklasPlutte

Movie Star Hair

Picture! Picture! Can I take picture? The little girl asks me with round, chestnut eyes.
Picture? Sure, of what? I reply, bending down to the girl, who comes up only to around my belly button.
Of you! She exclaims excitedly.
Me?
Yes! You! Picture! Please?
Ok, I say wonderingly.
The little girl runs to her mother who is wearing a green punjabi suit, and tugs at her elbow, points at me, and hands her the camera. She runs back to me, towing her mother behind her. She smiles at me apologetically, and I smile back, no problem.
The little girl takes my hand in her tiny one and smiles big at the camera. I look at her and her toothy smile (the second grade, I just lost half my teeth kind) and can’t help but smile in return. The camera clicks, winds, clicks again, and we’re done.
The little girl bounds to her mother who hands her back the camera. Her mother tells her something, and the little girl scampers back over to me.
Thank you! She says, beaming.
You’re very welcome, I say. But why do you want my picture?
You have movie star hair!
I can’t help but laugh at that, and she laughs too. I’m not a movie star, I say to her.
But you have movie star hair, she says again.
Come back, calls her mother.
She smiles endearingly again, and skips back to the picnic blanket where the rest of her family sits.
When we leave the Mother India Temple, and pass their family again, the little girl waves at me, with the most radiant smile in the world. 

~molly (:

to sum up a year, and a holiday

This holiday season was... interesting.
Boats, I still do not like them. Nope. I almost threw up the first night, but then the rest of the trip was good fun! My dad didn't have a good time, but my parade was not rained on, because I barely saw him for the next 3 nights. I made some new friends, had a jolly good time, and had a Titanic-like moment on the front of the boat. I also rode up and down in the glass elevator with said friends at 2 in the morning, and ate a couple gallons worth of soft serve.
I also realized how many flippin stars there are. When you are out in the ocean at 3 a.m, you can really, really see all the stars.  I had a very deep conversation with one of my newfound friends on the time it takes light to travel, and how we aren't seeing the present. It was beautiful beyond belief. It was endless.
It was also very cold. So cold in fact, that my Titanic-like moment was cut short, and back in side we went.  There was kareoke, and I don't know whose DUMB idea it was to put the Titanic song on the list of songs to sing, but yep, it was there, and that stupid little child was singing it.  Singing us to our doom.
But thankfully, we didn't sink, and Leonardo DiCaprio didn't freeze to death. So that was good.
I enjoyed Ensenada, mostly for the harborside park it had.  It was quite lovely on Christmas day, to see all the families there with their kids playing with their new RC trucks.  Good stuff.
Once back, I was herded off to my mom's, where I suffered for around 4 days.  I lacked internet there, as well as on the boat... That was sufficiently depressing.
And back I came, to have a relatively uneventful New Year's Eve, and to ponder the past year/decade.

2009:
Not to sound cliche, but this is really a year I think I will never forget.  It was a year of triumph and new experiences.  I travelled to the other side of the world.  I watched history go down as Barack Obama was sworn in. I made friends who I've become as close as can be with.  I got in a few fights, I did great on state testing, I discovered music that I love, and I made money.  I was introduced to my favorite movie, and discovered two T.V shows that I am now obsessed with.  I cried a couple times, and lost a couple friends.  I hurt when my Dodgers lost, and was euphoric when they won.  I made the school team, and my teams won championships.  I discovered my favorite songs, and tried out a few new talents. I even ate new foods.  All in all, it was a good year. (:

~molly

Winter Break!!

It's winter break!! WOOHOO! I was in much need of a break, and mine got sort of extended a week, since I was sick most of the last week of school. I swear, I've been sick more in the last three months than  in the last three years! I'm still sick, with what I don't know (my friends are all set on me having bronchitis) but now I've got these two weeks to rest!!! MWHAHAHAHHAH.
Our family decided that for Christmas, they wanted to do a cruise. On a boat. joy... I have a slight aversion to watercraft, no matter what the size really.  So this Christmas should be... interesting? Today, I must finish my Christmas shopping, and then REST.
Two weeks is a long time, and I think I'll get down to some writing in this period because I have barely written anything at all in the last like 3 months. Maybe I can post some of the creative pieces or something from my English journal. =D
Anyways, we have our Christmas tree, and according to tradition, we have named it. Last year it was Colonel Blimp, after the main character in one of my dad's favorite movies, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. I can't really remember what the year before was, but usually, they are after characters in movies or books or something like that.  This year, our beautiful tree (really, it is quite lovely) is named Mel a.k.a D.S Amelia Silver, one of the characters from the AMAZING, SENSATIONAL, SPECTACULAR, WONDERFUL, EXTRAORDINARY series from BBC, Waking the Dead. I love that show and I have wasted over 30 hours of my life watching it. What can I say, it's an obsession...
We only added one new ornament to our tree this year, a surfing Santa from Hotel Del Coronado.  None from India.
OH speaking of India, we are trying to figure out where to go with all the miles we earned from going to India. My vote goes to Spain, and then going to Morocco for a bit, to add two countries, and a continent.  But, like the little caption on our Christmas card (made by me, AHEM) who knows where we'll end up?

~molly (:

time flies..

I guess it's true to say that time flies.  It doesn't seem at all like I've had this blog a whole year plus like a week!

Around this time last year, I think I was complaining about my English teacher, and the dumb assignments we had in her class. Well, this time around in December, I'm loving my English teacher/class/assignments! We've actually read some good books, I found an author I liked, and because of the assignments, I was forced to find a book of my own, and I am ending up to love it!!

I'm kinda reading a lot of books right now, but that's ok, because I'm almost done with one, another is really easy, and I am enjoying the other two quite a bit.  The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde  is interesting, and I enjoy our in-class discussions/debates/tangents that we get on from one little question about the book.  Mary Reilly  is an easy read little companion to Jekyll and Hyde.  On my own, I picked up  The Reader at a little bookshop in Coronado (we had Thanksgiving at the Del Coronado), and am speeding right through it.  About a Boy, though, by far, is my favorite.  I find it poignant and funny, and sweet.  And true.  (also the movie is one of my favorites).

We just made cookies, 3 dozen chocolate chip cookies, and 3 dozen molasses cookies.  We're sending two dozen of each to my friends dad who is stationed in Afghanistan.  So I feel like I did my good deed this holiday season.  I donated 2 dollars to livestrong, and a lot of pennies to Pennies for Peace.

Rat dissection on Thursday!!

~molly (:

Sick.....................

Ick. I'm sick.  Or rather, I was really sick, and now I'm slightly better.

I ate for the first time since Wednesday yesterday.  Threw up 10 times Thursday.  Almost threw up yesterday.  Dry heaved around 6 times Friday.  Almost passed out during softball yesterday.

I ran out of stuff to throw up.  It was gross. Throwing up is such an awful physical sensation. You all of a sudden start sweating, and then you get awful woozy, and then the gagging, the ewwwwwwwww. Stopping. Dropped my uncle off to get on his cruise today.  Everyone in the car was talking about throwing up.  I know for a fact that none of them has thrown up in at least 10 years. I told them to shut up, I might puke on them if they don't. They did. I can barely stand.  This sucks.  I'm slowly being allowed to eat. key word slowly. Blah.

~molly

my favorite ghost

His hands,

are your hands

If only in my mind

Their touch, 

if I forget,

if I close my eyes,

if I pretend,

it could be yours.

Almost.

I’d not forgotten you,

and I don’t hate you,

as you seem to think.

In fact, 

quite the opposite. 

I miss you, 

and I love you.

He’s not you.

But I was scared,

so I killed this bond,

before it could grow,

and hurt me.

Now you’re gone, 

a murmur of

a rainy Saturday

in June.

You are gone.

You are not here.

You are not mine.

I don’t pretend you are.

I must forget this.

It was my choice.

But the problem is,

I can’t.

I can’t forget the ghost,

that lingers on during the 

end of that song

or turn away from 

once inviting curbs.

You are my demon,

my haunt that won’t leave me.

But please,

don’t leave me.

You are my favorite 

ghost.

~molly c.

Dodging Raindrops

smiling in the rain 

Originally uploaded by lucy96734

Dodging Raindrops

I remember the first time I saw you

Standing in the grey, bleak day

Scrunching your face up every time

A drop of water hit you

Trying to dodge the drops

Trying to do the impossible

I remember that smile

That little curve of red

That stood out from the shades of grey

I remember smiling back

More of a grin really

Teeth showing

Lifting my head to the sky

Fingers spread out

I remember now

We all have raindrops to dodge

Impossibilities to do

We just need to remember

That a simple smile

Can get us through

i'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining (:

We are a week slash two weeks into October.  Can you believe it?  (i know i can't) 

We're right up on  that time of year.  That nerve wracking, nail biting, fist clenching

couple of weeks.
That's right.
MLB postseason.
AND THE DODGERS ARE IN THE NLCS!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOO!!!!!! 
I'm going to the game Thursday.  I went to the first game of the NLDS.  Painted my face.
It was pretty awesome.
:D


School sucks.  Or, most of it does... I get so ridiculously bored, except in English. I like that class.  And the day seems to go on ffffffooooooorrrrrreeevvvvverrr. 
Meh...
We are working on a compare and contrast essay in English, about different "cliques". you must interview random (or just people that aren't part of that clique) to get stereotypes of the clique.  Then you gotta interview people from the clique.  Then you gotta write an essay about it.  This is due the 20th.  I should probably get on that.  As much as I hate when teachers give you only one or two nights to do an assignment, I do a better job than when I get two weeks to do it.  Because I am a procrastinator .  OH which reminds me I have to do that long term math assignment. FUN!
But other than that, school is good (ish)


I'm kinda sick right now, it's kinda raining, and my dad is kinda at a meeting, and i'm kinda bored, and kinda have nothing to do.
AN OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

have a great week!
~molly (:

october

spiraling (EXPLORED)
Originally uploaded by Serena Joyce
ah school, back in the swing of things.
sort of.
kind of.
not really.
:D
so far, all goes well this year at school. i've made some new friends [ :) ]
i've severed some ties that needed to be severed. i've made amends with some people who i missed. and i've kept on top of my school work.
let's keep it that way.
in this past week that i have been grounded, i have been denied internet, except for the purpose of school work. it is pathetic, and i mean PATHETIC how reliant i am on internet/facebook/ichat/cell phone. P A T H E T I C. For the past week i've felt so disconnected from my friends/the world, it's ridiculous. and to think i get internet back only for this weekend really....
hopefully, i can start posting english assignments on here, but they might just be boring boring essays...

root for the dodgers, and have a great weekend!!

~molly (:

ok I didn't plan on doing this but I will because I know I won't ever get around to a super detailed post about India.

sorry for that long title.  but it summarizes what i am about to do. which is try to compress India into a post.  i am wishing myself luck.  (BTW sorry that the pictures are bad quality-- i dragged them off my album on facebook :D)

Still in New Delhi, we went to Humayun's tomb.  It was soooooooooooooooooooooo sooo sooo beautiful. The Taj Mahal was in part based off it's design.  The first double dome (i think that's what it's called) in India.  It's really beautiful place, sandstone, with a garden.  Also, we went to the National Museum. and the Craft Museum, which I like more than the National Museum.  A couple carpet shops (ergg) and of course, Professor Butt, who ensured that I will never forget that hand knotted carpets are in fact NOT the same as hand made.  We went to the Gandhi Museum, on the location of his martyrdom.  The stuff downstairs was really interesting, and the stuff upstairs was too.  But th

e stuff upstairs was a little trippy.  Like something from a sixties movie...but still interesting.  It was odd to be in such a peaceful place in the middle of New Delhi.

Flash forward through the super nice domestic terminal in Delhi, to hopping off the plane in Varanasi, possibly my favorite place we went.  It's a holy Hindu city, and also a holy Buddhist city I think.  It's one of the worlds oldest living cities.  It's considered a "small" city.  Small being a population of about 4 million. :D  It's a lot different than New Delhi, which is much more urban.  Varanasi is located on the banks of the river Ganges. The monsoon this year was bad, so the river was kinda down, but not all the way.  While we were there, there were a lot of pilgrims, dressed in saffron clothing, which has a special meaning, that escapes my mind.  Might be sacrifice.  They walk from their homes, and take water from the river, because it is holy.  A lot of people are cremated in Varanasi, because of its h

oliness.  There are two main crematoriums, and one electrical one.  The two main ones have around 200 crem

ations a day.  We took a little boat out on the Ganges, and made our way over to the crematorium.  The people there don't mind if you watch, you just can't take pictures beyond a certain point.  It was really...I'm not sure the word to use...interesting? I'm not sure.  The atmosphere made it so that it was macabre or morbid at

all.  Death there is treated a lot differently than it is here, so the dead bodies wrapped in their cloth didn't seem scary or bad.  They seemed more peaceful.  We took the boat back in, and watched the evening ceremonies, which are to honor Mother Ganges.  Those were really cool.  We were on the banks of the river, seeing the moon rise over the Ganges.  It was really indescribable.  We went out on the river again the next day, at around 4 in the morning, which was no biggie, since I was already up.  We then went to temples, museums, and a couple historical locations.

Back to New Delhi.  Into the car.  Onto the road.  Holding onto my seat.  I was told on multiple occasions there, by multiple people, that there is a say

ing in India that goes "to drive in India, you need three things: brakes, a horn, and luck".  SOOSOSOSOSOSO true. All the way to Agra, there were cars coming down the other side of the road, animals and people in the street, yadayadayada.  I fell asleep, woke up in the middle of the night, looked up at the spedometer, and saw the number 100.  I flipped out for about 10 minutes before I realized that it was 100 kilometers per hour.  Not miles.  Whatever- it felt like it.

We checked into out hotel in Agra around 9 hours after we left New Delhi.  I deci

ded to order fried rice, and my dad ordered

 paneer.  I had had paneer in other restraunts and it was ok.  This stuff my dad got, I might have puked a little in my mouth when I saw it.  Too bad my dad has never mastered my technique of making it look like you loved the food you actually hated.  It really works.  He got a little sick.  But not too bad.  ANYWAYS.  The next morning, we got up, and went to the Taj Mahal.   WOAH.

So, everyone has seen pictures of the Taj Mahal, and heard of it's astounding beauty.  Ok. The pictures, the descriptions, they don't come anywhere near the truth.  I was literally left speechless by its beauty.  Me, speechless, that is qui

te a task.  It is such a beautiful building, with the gardens and reflecting pool.  Only bad thing was the breeze (that OH SO AMAZING breeze) rippled the water in the reflecting pool, so you couldn't see the reflection.  It's just amazing and wonderful and breathtaking and.... great.   After that, we went to Agra fort, which had some seriously cool stuff.  But my dad has a terrible fear of heights, and almost got a little sick in one

of the towers.  But that's ok, I liked it.  :D

Onto Jaipur, the pink city.  The hotel there was super nice.  Had a really big pool.  :D

First, we went to the Amber Fort.  My method of transportation: elephant! That was one awesome ride.  I really liked it.  But then, after, I felt bad for the elephant, because it was hot, they wanted to go sleep, and the elephant drivers or whatever they're called, kept hitting their heads with bars.   But still, it's an experience I'm glad I had.  In the Amber fort, there were some awesome rooms, especially the mirror room, where the walls had mirror on them.  I liked that.   City palace was also cool.  We ate lunch next to th

e Maharaja.  or he ate next to us, cuz' we were there first.  That was cool.  We also bought a bunch a pictures, which we got framed, and I might take pictures of the pictures and post them.  Maybe. If I'm not too lazy.  We went to another fort, possibly called Jagra (not sure-can't remember-don't feel like checking) fort, where there was a HUGE cannon, fired once, and a hella lot of monkeys. They were cuties (:  At some point in this huge fort, I lost my dad.  I spent about an hour walking around the fort, end to end, 3 times, in 100 degree heat + humidity, with no water because he had the bag, to look for him.  I swear I almost hit him when I found him.  We went to the monkey temple, which was SUPER DUPER cool. Because of the monkeys :D  I got to feed monkeys!! They took the food out of my ha

nds!!!!!!!!  We went to the Maharaja memorial, which was really cool, because it seemed kind of forgotten.  It was really beautiful, but seemed a  little abandoned.  I liked it.

We hopped a propeller plane (EEK I HATE FLYING SO MUCH) to Udaipur.

Udaipur was by far the smallest city we went to. Not even a million people.  Lazy little town.

We stayed at the Lake palace, which was the summer palace of the Maharana of Udaipur, now converted into a hotel.  A really nice hotel.  REALLY nice.  My favorite pictures of that hotel aren't on my computer at all, so I can't post them, but it was really beautiful and peaceful and relaxing.  It's in the middle of a lake, and you have to take a little boat to get out there. So cool.

We went to the Monsoon Palace, which is on top of a huge hill, and you have to take a really really windy road to get there.  I have no fear of heights, but that drive was a little scary.  Once you got to the top though, you got a great view.  We also went to the city palace, which was the Maharana's winter home, and where the Mah

arana currently lives.  That place was really cool, so great rooms with mirrors in the walls, stained glass, great views.  So beautiful.  By this time, the schalazium (it's a stye on the inside of your eye) in my eyes was really bad, so we had to go back to the hotel, where I moaned and groaned about it.  It was really bad.  Hurt.  Still hasn't quite gone away ):

I was sad to leave Udaipur, and even sadder to leave India.  But we had to, and took the long flight home from New Delhi to Chicago (we got delayed) and I watched Wolverine, 27 Dresses, and Star Trek.  I watched Star Trek 3 times.  We arrived in Chicago before customs opened, so we had to stay on the plane for half an hour, until 5 AM

.  We rushed through that, and ate fast, and then, the flight back to LA got delayed 2 hours.  Whoop-dee-doo.  Back to LA, that flight seemed a lot longer than the 4 and a half hours it was.  Got home.  Went to sleep, after over 48 hours awake.  Got up at odd hours, attempted to get back into the swing of things.  

It was an amazing trip, and if given the chance, I would definitely go back.

Have a great Sunday, and a wonderful week :)

~ molly (:

OI

SCHOOL STARTS ALL HP AND THEN I HAVE SOFTBALL FOR SCHOOL THEN SOFTBALL FOR MY TEAM THEN I DO HOMEWORK THEN I PRACTICE GUITAR THEN I SLEEP. MY LIFE.

New Delhi Part 1

After around 24 hours of traveling, no sleep, and pretty bad airplane food (better than usual though...), my dad and I arrived in New Delhi, India.  I was ready to collapse the moment I stood up.  We exited the plane, and made our way through baggage claim, and found the man who was to take us to our hotel.  To do this, you exit the building, and go outside.  The first thing that hit me was the smell.  It just smells different there.  Not in a bad way, like even in clean places, the smell is just different.  It's kind of a thick smell, a crowded one.  The second thing that hit me was the heat.  It was around 9 at night, and oh my god, it was around 90 degrees farenhight.  Yipes.  The last thing that hit me was the pollution.  Coming from a pretty polluted city, I didn't think that the pollution would bother me, but right away, my eyes started watering.   I mean, I got used to it, but it was just a constant thing.

We went to out hotel, and after showering (I hate the feeling of not being clean....eww) I basically passed out on my bed.

Waking up at around 4 or 5 in the morning the next day, we were out of the hotel to explore at around 9.  Mistake.  Nothing is open til like 11, and we went walking without water.  I hardly ever sweat, like I can play a 2 and a half hour softball game at catcher in 100+ heat, and barely break a sweat, but within 10 minutes, I was dying.  Also, exhausted still from travel.  Back to our hotel we went, and back to bed I crawled.

The next day in New Delhi, we had a guide and a car.  We headed off to Lal Kila, the Red Fort.  This place was immense.  The walls towered above you, and once inside, gardens spread out in front of you.  I could just imagine what the Red Fort had been in its day, even grander than now.  I wish I could tell you more of the history that the guide explained to us, but I just can't remember.  I really, really wish I could, but I can't.

We left the Red Fort, and headed to  Jami Masjid, the largest mosque in India.  To get there, we walked through the market, Chandni Chowk.  It was fascinating.  I don't know if you have seen the Harry Potter movies, but it looked kind of like Diagon Alley.  The picture I put with this post is from there.  The movement, the life, it was just so full of it.  Once we got to the mosque, it was quite different.  It was quiet, peaceful.  As I don't wear a burka, I had to borrow one from the mosque, as did most/all western women.  It didn't have the head covering part, and the only reasons I detested wearing it, were that it was my three least favorite things in clothing : 1. Pink. 2. A dress. 3.  Flowery.  Aiaiaiaiai.  A nightmare come to life.  ANYWAYS. Jami Masjid is the largest mosque in India.  I can't remember the number of people that can pray there, but it is over 30,000 I think.  It is a really beautiful building.  I would post more pictures with this, but I just got a new computer (YAY) and I am not uploading all of my 2,000 some pictures from India onto it. But it was beautiful, set in Old Delhi.

I'm not one to write long posts, so I will end New Delhi here, and do a part II soon!

Have a cheery weekend!!

~molly