And we climbed like monkeys

It was a rough start but the day got better.  My room is right next to the dining and gethering area so I have to wait until everyone goes to bed to fall asleep.  I am also awake when people start gethering, watching videos, playing music, or skype. It is frustrating because my ear plugs do not block out sound like they should. I'll just hope things get better and people tire out so they sleep more.

Both of our classes were a little tougher to get through today.  Me being tired may have contributed to that but the content and presentation also may have influenced my thinking.  The first lecture was on law, which I thought would have been interesting.  It was in some sense but the professor had such a horrible power point it was hard to focus.  I felt like it was exaclty what you should not do: many slides, paragraphs on each slide, and reading directly from the slides.  It was a little upsetting; you'd expect more from a law professor. Nonetheless, I did learn a few things and enjoy a few comments. In India there are 22 official languages and 300 more that are spoken with different dress and cultures in different areas.  I agreed with his comment that a strong, independent, competent legal profession is imperative to any free people.  He said that the law needs to be closer to the people to solve societal problems and that radical changes are needed along with implementation of the law to achieve social justice.  After so many years of independence the poor man still wonders why he is invisible to the affluent eye of the law. Laws have to be made less complex and more workable.  The rights of the poor need to be asserted; right now they have them in theory but not in practice.  Unknown, unasserted, unavailable rights are not rights at all. 

Our second lecture was about India's multicultural experience.  We learned about Sufism and the Bhakti movement.  That's pretty much all I've got on that...........

After lunch we had a splendid afternoon, much better than I thought it would be (I was a little suspicious when I heard we were going to a fort)!  Our first stop was Tuqhlaqabad Fort.  It was HUGE!  We only had an our to explore and didn't even see a fraction of what was there.  We took many pictures.  I climbed part of a wall with some Indian children who were around and pet a cow.  I also saw a bunch of Indian women gathering.  One of the guys who spoke English said they were praying to a god.  I asked if I could join them if I took my shoes off and was told yes.  I was shown what to do for a blessing and they let me take pictures.  When all of us met up after an hour we went across the street to a mausoleum.  We again walked around, took pictures, and saw monkeys. It was a fun afternoon.

P.S. I can't figure out how to flip pics so they are not sideways. Just FYI. They are saved the right way but don't upload correctly. I knew you'd understand!

Sorry there are so many! Making up for yesterday :)

Ben's mom: if you're reading I am glad you like my blog so much! It is nice to know you are following! If you'd like to know anything else just ask!