By Nerelle Que

We went to an orphanage yesterday for Allie’s “Colors for Life” organization, getting ready to teach them songs, play games, and color. It was great being around kids again! I’ve missed seeing those bright eyed innocent stares and radiant smiles; no troubles, no worries, just happy to be living in the here and now…

It was interesting to see how shy a lot of them were in front of the camera. We later learned that they didn’t want to be photographed because they were taught that cameras were not allowed, even though we had been granted permission, but a few of them broke out of their shells and jumped in front of the camera every chance they got

The kids were also extremely good at drawing and coloring! I drew an elephant, and the two girls in front of me drew an elephant that was 10x better!! *cough* my turtle drawing was still the greatest though lol

Twelve of our cohort students went, and we all had such a good time, we’re planning on making weekly visits to the orphanage

As you can see, Hector’s drawing can’t quite compare, hahaha! I wish I had taken pictures of the better drawings, but again, a lot of them were super shy!

We definitely want to play more games with them! Especially Francisco, who was probably more playful than anybody in the room!

Mona, learning some awesome hand taps that the girls were teaching us. I’m pretty sure I’ve got it down pat lol… mmmmaybe

hahaha we tried to make the little girl laugh for the picture, but we eventually made ourselves crack up instead

Allie O’Brien, President and Founder of “Colors For Life”, brought an entire luggage full of crayons for the kids’ enjoyment

Passing out crayons; it’s not much, but it’s a little luxury that they may not have on a regular basis, bringing smiles and creativity

To learn more about Colors For Life, click here.

Delhi

The first leg of our Golden Triangle trip was to Delhi. Got to see some very cool things, and took a bike rickshaw through Old Delhi. Also got to see the Qutub Minar (which is the tallest completely stone structure) – I could’ve swore I took pictures, but I can’t find them, so I will get some from a friend to post. I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t utilize my time well in Delhi. I was exhausted after our long week of classes and traveling that I just wanted to chill out and recuperate, and I got a haircut!

Agra

From Delhi we had a 5-hour bus ride to get to Agra. Arriving in Agra we went to a cool textile shop, where I made some purchases for my mom and sister. But it was an early night because we had a 5am wake up call for the Taj Mahal. It is impossible to accurately describe how beautiful the Taj Mahal is, rather, it just needs to be experienced (so do it!). But we went right after sunrise, so the way in which the sun hits the Taj at sunrise is breathtaking, it pretty much glows from the sunlight. One thing I didn’t know going in to seeing the Taj was how small it is inside. History Lesson: The Taj was built by Shah Jahan for his 3rd and favorite wife (she gave him 14 children, but died in child birth), and she asked that he build something to remember her forever…so she got the Taj Mahal…where they both rest in peace together side by side inside. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

Taj Mahal from the South

Taj glowing in the morning sun

View from just outside the mausoleum, glowing again.

From the Taj Mahal, we went back to the hotel to eat breakfast and then ventured out again, this time to Agra Fort. It’s this crazy expansive fort that is mostly red. I had more fun exploring the nooks of the fort than I did the Taj because the Taj is “what you see is what you get” while the fort had all these passages and rooms that were open to explore. Again, here are some pictures…I was also completely surprised when we looked out to the east and the Taj Mahal was sitting there in all it’s glory.

Map of Agra Fort

Taj from inside Agra Fort

Taj one last time