11 November 2004
Dear family and friends,
I'm writing to you from Agra, India, home of the Taj Mahal. The
celebration of Diwali, festival of lights, begins today, so fireworks are flying over my head as I write. Our day began with a 4:30 a.m. wake-up call; we took a 2-hour train ride from Delhi and spent the day touring the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, and other historic sites. Now we're relaxing with tea and cold drinks while sparklers go off very, very close to where we're sitting. On a personal note, today is my 21st birthday, and I have to say
that being serenaded by some of my Global friends at the Taj was a pretty good way to spend it.
Our last week in Bangalore was a bittersweet rush of trying to see and do everything one last time. On Saturday we were invited to dinner at the home of a friend from Church, Cecil. Being welcomed by the ECC staff and members of Whitefield Memorial Church has made us feel like a part of the community here and made saying good-bye to Whitefield all the harder. We became especially close to members of the Church youth group, who invited us to a birthday party and introduced some Globalites to Bangalore nightlife.
On Sunday we sang in Church (the first and only time most of us will ever be in The St. Olaf Choir) and PB preached. Many of us also wore our sarees/kurtas/salwar kameezes to Church for the first time and felt very beautiful and princess/prince-like (or at least I did).
Another big event of the weekend was Sunday night's talent show. The acts included Cheridyn's re-wording of "Blowin' in the Wind" (Global style), Julia's dance, Thomas and Jarvi's "Watermelon and Charlie" skit, song and dance numbers by all-boys and all-girls groups, and dances performed by the children of the ECC staff. On their last dance we joined the kids on stage for one last glorious hand-waving, feet-kicking celebration of India.
Somewhere in all the festivities we found time to study for Tuesday morning's Religions of India final, which consisted of short, medium, and long definitions of terms. Afterwards most of us spent the afternoon biking, walking into Whitefield or Tech Park, or doing last-minute shopping in Bangalore. Later in the day we all dressed up in our India finery again for a farewell ceremony with the staff, after which we enjoyed one last game of cricket.
Wednesday was a long day. We left the ECC at 5:30 and flew into New Delhi, where we spent the entire afternoon on a city tour. One of the highlights of the tour was the beautiful Bahai Lotus Temple, which was absolutely silent inside and surrounded by pools of water outside. A non-highlight of the tour was being assaulted by vendors again, something that had been a little more manageable in Whitefield. Optimistically thinking we might change our minds after telling them NO 43 times before boarding the bus, the vendors surround our bus and knock on the windows
waving T-shirts/postcards/necklaces above their heads. Back in Mysore Cheridyn attempted to trade her sunscreen, pen, and bug spray through the window for souvenirs. Unfortunately the vendors are pretty set on accepting rupees.
Waking up today was one of the more painful experiences I've had in awhile, but seeing the majestic white Taj Mahal surrounded by its peaceful, green gardens made up for lost sleep. Up close to the Taj you can see semi-precious stones inlaid in white marble, and the craftmanship blew me away. We were able to spend the morning leisurely roaming the grounds and taking about 10 million pictures each. Just today some of us were listing all the "big things" we've seen on Global: the Colosseum, Acropolis, pyramids, Sphinx, now the Taj...Great Wall of China, here we
come! It's also incredible that we're about half done. In celebration we've all written cards to each other than we'll get to read during our break in Thailand.
Many of us agree that it's hard to leave India. In spite of the pushy vendors, intestinal issues, and ice-cold showers, there's something about India that makes me want to stay for many more months. It's hard to put into words. The rainbow-colored temples, bumpy autorickshaw rides, delicious naan, yards and yards of silk sarees, cattle everywhere...it's worked its way into my heart, this crazy country.
So much more I could say, but when I scratch the surface I want to dig all the way through, and this letter has already gone on long enough! So I'll end by saying we miss you and think of you often--whether trading photo albums, buying you souvenirs, telling stories, or fighting tooth and nail over who gets to use the computer to email you, our family and friends are very present in our thoughts and hearts. And we'll continue to remember you fondly as we spend a week vacationing in sunny Thailand 
Global love from us all,
Meredith Johnson
