Uneven Pavement

Greetings, This past weekend, I took yet another adventurous trip to the Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple, an absolutely intricate and elaborate temple! Never in my life have a seen a more beautiful place than that of Akshardham, too bad I was not allowed to enter with cameras or take pictures. Anyone that ever goes to New Delhi must must visit this place, and also take part in the Exhibitions that they offer (3 for 170 rupees or $2.90) The shows are absolutely incredible as well! with moving figures telling the story as you frolic around from room to room enjoying each mini play. The second show was my favorite! It was like going to Disneyland's "It's a small world" ride, you get a boat and enjoy some of India's history on a voyage through decorated caves. This was the last place for me to visit in New Delhi and my trip to India, and it was absolutely fitting to the "save the best for last" saying. I am now finishing up my Advocacy Case Study document

Hello my dear friends and family, My recent trip was to the Golden Temple at Amritsar (10 hours away by train from New Delhi)!!! By far it has been one of the best experiences I have had here in India. At first I was very hesitant to take the train because I had heard that it can be a very crowded and unpleasant expirience, but I to see teh Golden Temple for me was a must and the train was the cheapest mode of traveling so far! ( 8 USD roundtrip!!!) and so I booked my tickets along with 3 other students and we went on a train adventure to Amritsar! When we arrived we were greeted by Angad, my friend Pablo's good friend, and he invited us to stay in his home while on our trip, and we accepted his offer when we arrived his mother and sister awaited us with a wonderful dinner and beautiful smiles. Staying at their home was a pleasure and such a treat as we were feed to death by Angad's wonderful mother! Now to speak of my visit to the Golden Temple, we woke up early morning

Today I discovered my accommodation has a rooftop terrace, I walked all around and enjoyed the wonderful peaceful view. As I enjoyed the view I though about my love for children, and how much I love to work with kids. I had the idea to go to the local temple and ask if I could meet with a group of kids weekly to do some kind of learning activities with them. I just came back from talking to a young man at the temple who agreed to gather some kids for me every Thursday at 7pm, I am so excited to be doing something with the local kids next week! Maybe I will be inspired to get let go of the shyness again and go to the local school and ask if I can read to the little ones or something! I am super happy and feel that this will make my India experience even more enjoyable!!! Yesterday I went to Palika Bazaar an underground Market, it was indeed a "bazaar" experience. The market was a little crowded, but they sold some very cheap souvenirs! (not cheaper than Sarojini market,

I know it has been forever since I updated my Blog. A lot has happened in between from sickness to travel and all that falls in between. Well the next amazing thing I did after I abandoned my blog was that I visited the Taj Mahal. Visiting the Taj Mahal was on my bucket-list of things to do, and it's been done!!! The Taj Mahal is such a beautiful marble structure, seeing with my own eyes up close was surreal, a dream almost, I still can't believe how magnificent it was to feel and experience the Taj. After that lovely trip I got very sick, for a whole week...I won't even go into detail with that. Luckily that sickness did not last for more than a week, and I was up and running after. I have really been enjoying the down time in India. The internship has been great, but it's very slow paced ( "It's India" is what everyone says...) I am currently working on a questionnaire to evaluate a government initiative for sexual and reproductive health among adol

Hello! I finally went shopping for groceries so I can start making my own meals! I also bought a lot of fruits and veggies, yum! The fruits are sooo delicious especially the mangoes. I made some pasta today, so I won't have to buy food at work tomorrow, so I am very happy about that. Today I got my suit, and I tried it on and I love it! I can't wait to order Saree! (here's a little preview) Work has been going well, I am currently researching in depth the Adolescent Education Program. I am a little worried though because the money my dad deposited for the program has not been received yet, I really hope they did not lose it!!!! I have been at the office a lot and want to get out and do more field work instead, I like working directly with and for the people, I am getting a little bored with just the research, all very good reads, but there is nothing like seeing, feeling and smelling a program!

Hi, it's been a while, but I have just been having a little too much fun! This weekend I stayed at my friend Garima's house. It was great I really enjoyed getting pampered by her maids and personal waxer!!! I also got to pick out an outfit from some designers that always stop by her house to show them fabrics and tailor make them suits!!! I get it tomorrow so I will post pictures up soon! It crazy to see the contrasts between the people who have some money and the people that don't, I don't see a middle class? Today I visited India Gate and the equivalent of our White House, the architecture in India is just incredible and surreal!  I got to visit a Gurudwara (or temple) and it was a nice experience! The Lotus Temple is just 0.03 miles away form where I am and I still have not gone!!! I tried going but got lost walking hopefully I go this week sometime. My internship has been great, it's very laid back, and the work is very interesting! I am work

Hi, Well I have been lagging on the blog posts because I have been enjoying my time here! Today I had a day for me, myself and I. I tend to have a lot of those. I love to be inspired and I really enjoy life and all it has to offer! Some of you that are very close and dear to me know that winter term was horrible for me, honestly I can say one of the worst times of my life, if not the worst!.The good thing thought is that I learned a lot about myself, which is very good and in the long run no permanent damage happened just simple life learning :) I am so so fortunate and want to thank all my friends and family and remind you that I love you, with out you I would not be where I am today and doing the things I dream to do! I am currently enjoying India, and I am soo so happy I came! I love love love doing community service and working as a Public Health student, and I am doing exactly that here as well as learning about myself along the way! (as I always do anytime I travel anywhere

Hi all, yesterday I got sick so I was not able to update my blog, and sadly all my devices ran out of battery so I was not able to take pictures :(. I finally borrowed a plug converter from my accommodation manager so I won't be struggling anymore trying to borrow my roommates' plug. So yesterday I met some more friends who are local, so I am excited for them to show me around, we have started making plans to travel to all the must-sees in India. I am currently still trying to learn how to survive...I have never been much of a cook and being alone, and trying to learn is still a challenge, and I wont be able to afford eating out all the time. Another dilemma is that my credit card expires next month!!!! My card was going to be my savior if I ran out of money, and now I won't have that means of salvation...so now I am counting every cent I have, and really trying to stretch my money. Any food tips comment below! Anyway enough of the sad stories. Today I went on my first

Today was my first day with the MAMTA Health Institute for mother and child! So for those of you who may not know MAMTA is a non-profit, NGO that aims to "empower the undeserved and marginalized individuals and community through gender sensitive participatory processes for achieving optimal and sustainable health and development" (mission statement). The staff at MAMTA is amazing, and I am so excited to further work with them, my task now is to determine exactly where I want to do my projects/research. I am currently debating between Maternal Health and Reproductive Health in adolescents ( sexual activity in India sometimes starts at the age of 10!!! and a huge percentage of 14 year olds are sexually active/pregnant or married). I also met a wonderful young Punjabi girl who will be a part of the MAMTA internship as well, she is very beautiful and attends Delhi University. She took me to an Indian restaurant where I tried my first dish!!! (and I forgot what it was called...

Well today was my first day in New Delhi! I arrived  at 1am  and was picked up on time (yay because my friend waited 3hrs). I was lucky to come on the day that the place I am staying at was hosting a Mango-Lia Day! We hoped on to a car and headed to a nice place close by where we were greeted with mango necklaces and lots and lots of mangoes to eat!!! And boy were they delicious! I ate like 10 and then I was stuffed!!! After that we had dominoes pizza for lunch...but as you may already imagine it was a little different! All vegetarian of course (I hope I lose some weight while I am here ;)) mine had pieces of corn and cheese! It was good. After we ate we headed to the pool, but this was not so much fun, as there were 4 ladies including myself and 20 old men came in and joined...some only with underwear on... (offically first culture shock) And so we fled the situation and took a small taxi and then I rode the metro! Which was super cool because they have a section for women only. On m

I made it to Korea!!! it was a very longgggggggggg plane ride (11hrs) and the last hour I started to feel sick, but I was able to take care of myself and now I am feeling my healthy self again! The plane ride was an experience in itself. First off it was the biggest plane I've ever flown in with 8 seats of width!!! and 12 flight attendants (yes, I counted). I thought it was very nice that  all the passengers got their own pair of slippers ^_^. Another thing I had never seen was that we all got hot wet towels handed to us from baskets with tongs which people seemed to use to either clean their hands or wipe their face, I choose to clean my hands. Lastly I got to enjoy some "Bibimbap" which is a famous Korean cuisine composed of steamed rice, minced beef and other veggies! xoxo, Yesi P.S Kudos to Asiana Airlines they collected money for UNICEF!!!!! what a great way to give back, and what a great idea to collect loose currency, a money little adds up!!!

Hi Friends, Family and All!!! I am currently sleepless in Seattle ;) waiting to board, then I shall be on my way to Korea!!! I cannot wait, even my boarding pass is cute! (it has a little anime plane on it). Also THANKS A MILLION to all my Family, Friends and Mentors who gave me monetary gifts as a  graduation present!!! This trip will be more enjoyable thanks to you!  Besos, Yesi