Vocab Blog Numero 1

My cousin, Ben, just got back from his two month visit to Nepal and his one month voyage to India. Nepal is a relatively small country in between China and India. He graduated early from Johns Hopkins University in December and before entering Medical School he decided to take some time off. He thought it would be fun and exhilarating to help out in an orphanage in Nepal. It was actually an august orphanage because it was subsidized by the government. Before he went he had to be inoculated with a bunch of shots in order to stay healthy for his entire voyage. While he was at our grandparents he was telling us about the exorbitant prices that we pay. He told us that in Nepal and India, he would not pay over the equivalent of $2 for anything! Ben also told me that people imbibe ALL the time. They will start drinking at like 6 AM. He said they also smoke a lot, which is very unhealthy. As the only white person in this small little village in Nepal, my cousin seemed like a celebrity. He was surrounded by an entourage of people when he went into town because he had a lot of money according to their standards. I have learned a lot about third world countries from my cousin. He told me in Katmandu there is garbage lining the streets, and that stray cows roam the streets and eat it. Because of this, the smog in Nepal, specifically Katmandu, is very bad. Also, it causes the city to be noisome and the stench is so bad at times people need gas masks to breath.

My cousin after staying in the orphanage for two months then decided to travel all over India. He assured me that he would buy me something form the Taj Mahal, but of course never did :(. He also told me that the Taj was extremely tortuous inside and you can't even climb up any stairs in it because you would fall. Looking back on the Taj Mahal the builder of it was ingenious. The architectural ability that one most have to be able to do such a thing is incredible. I would not be able to even think of designing a building of that magnitude. Just to show its importance, it is the mecca for Hindus. In Islam, Muslims make a Hajj to Mecca once in their life time, but in Hinduism, people are supposed to make a Hajj to the Taj, or at least I believe so. Anyway that is all the information that I can remember about my cousins trip to Nepal and India and I hope you enjoyed.