Day two

We started our day off with a beautiful breakfast made by Rahul's sister who is in from Melbourne to host us. We all fall in love with the sandwiches which is the filling of a smosa in bread and put in a sandwich maker. We get to see our first monkeys, which are shoed away off the balcony by the maid…I thought they were kidding when they said not to walk outside with food as the monkeys will attack us… but it’s true.. We take a walk around our compound and see some of the locals playing with their kids, washing cars etc. The community has a large fence around it with armed guards. Allen and Lori get the bright idea to race each other up 8 flights of stairs on our way back from our walk so all of us follow suit and learn very soon just how tired we really still are… it is 4 hrs till we have to leave to meet the district governor so we all crash for a mid morning power nap….

During our nap, Allen and Linda stay up to chat with Rahul's sister and learn about her arranged marriage and her life in Australia.

Rahul arrives to see us off, and to explain our entire trip itinerary, he warns us of the fruits and water and lets us know to make sure to say NO when we really don’t want any more food!! So far Allen has proven to be a perfect gentleman for any food I can’t seem to finish, but I think that might wear out soon!!
We leave for our next stop and begin our journey towards Hathru were we will meet with the district governor and then attend our welcome dinner…

Driving in India is an exciting experience! There are hundreds of people on the roads, bikes, motorbikes, camels, cows, cars, trucks, tractors, and people walking… everyone is encouraged to us their horns here to let you know they need to get by you or pass. The horns are loud and constant, it is not considered rude here it is like using a blinker to pass….

We come into a town and are slowed by traffic; hundreds of people on the street stare as we drive by. At one point an eager young man runs up to Betty Jo’s window to get his picture taken. The scenes from slumdog millionaire couldn’t possibly prepare you from seeing the towns and the people in this place.

We finally arrive at the district governor’s hotel and proceed to drive to his home in Hathras. Upon arrival we are greeted by local Rotarians including the secretary and local club president. As we walk through the doorways we are greeted by the ladies of the house with beautiful flower necklaces and shown up to their sitting room… We all sit and wait as the women make a snack and tea for us in the back room. The children of the house run and hide in corners to get a peek of us and giggle when we catch their eye. We are feeling the effects of a long day, but it is 10:30pm and an amazing welcome dinner awaits. So quickly we change and off we go to our welcome dinner…

Indians sure know how to put on a show. As we arrive there is a large crowd of Rotarians waiting for us, their children are all there running around playing games and whispering about the new guests. We are offered snacks and then seated on stage facing the entire audience like a bridal table at a wedding. One by one we are welcomed with more flower necklaces and gifts from different members of rotary. We are then asked to each speak about or journey so far and what we thought was just a silly joke we made in the car ride over with the governor turned real when he asked us to all sing our own national anthems. It’s a good thing we have 2 great singers on the team, one from each side of the border that helped make us sound less than ridiculous.

After the anthems came the best part of the night… the dancing and performances from 2 beautiful Hindi children. The ladies of our team are pulled on stage during a song about the festival of colors and flowers and we all take part in tossing pedals like snowflakes into the air and at each other… After a few songs on stage it is Allen’s turn to dance… and DANCE he did!!! He was pulled up on stage to dance behind the children with the men and he decided or thought he was to copy every move of the performer on stage… what a site, he had the entire place laughing so hard I started to cry and couldn’t stop… he definitely broke the ice if it wasn’t already because after that song we were all pulled up on stage and many of the children and wives and men all came up to dance.

After we finally convince them that we are danced out ( I think they would have gone all night had we let them!) we are taken to the buffet to start dinner… it is 12:30am, I begin to serve myself food and ask one of the ladies to explain the food to me.. I soon realize it is best to take a small bit of everything and decide what I like and come back for more. I get to the end of the buffet to get my bread and behind the table on the floor are 2 elderly women working tirelessly rolling the dough and handing the food up to the men to put on the burners. They look so tired and fragile but smile sweetly as we walk by. We all sit to eat and soon the children come to visit with us, 2 of them speak very good English and are so intrigued by our homes and our stories. Betty Jo pulls out her picture book from home and a crowd of children and serving staff surround to look at all the pictures. At this point I cannot hold it anymore and I ask for a bathroom…. We have been spoiled till now with bathrooms with toilet paper and sinks… this time I am taken into a dark room with a broken door and dim light. There is a hole in the ground and marks for where you put your feet, there is nothing to hold on to or wash, I forget to bring my purse with my tissue so I chicken out and decide I can hold it for longer…

We finally leave the party around 3am to come home, I asked one of the children if this is normal for parties to run this late and she smiles and say “oh yes.” When we arrive back home we learn that our host, the district governor, has patients in his home on the first floor and he needs to tend to them before coming upstairs. We go ahead of him and get into bed, exhausted from a long day of travel, food and entertainment! If this is only day two I can only imagine day 30… WOW!