Buildings, Buildings, Buildings

First off: I'm a little disappointed that no one ever comments on my post lol. Maybe that's because no one is really reading it. Who knows haha.
The highlight of this weekend was definitely all the historical buildings that I visited. Saturday I woke up at 4 in the morning. Ugh.. horrific. I'm finally sleeping at normal Indian hours, so 4 was pretty painful. Definitely worth it though. We went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. I didn't really pay too much attention on the way there. Because its winter India is more prone to fog than at any other time of the year. It was so dense that I couldn't really see past the side of the road. So, I just listened to music and tried to sleep while squished in the back of tiny car with two other people. I was able to contort my body into a strange position that somehow allowed sleep, only for about an hour though. I listened to Atmosphere the whole way there, and the whole way back. I was really missing Aaron a lot on Saturday. The music that I once hated is now the only thing that I listen to on my Ipod. Strange.
Well, we finally aarived at the Taj. There were monkeys everywhere. All along the sidewalks, in the trees, and in the roads. A lot of the mothers were closely followed by a baby monkey or three. So cute (apparently they're mean though). We arrived before the masses usually come, so it was pretty bare. That made it a lot easier to take pictures. The building is absolutely breath taking. It's such a huge buiding, with so much intricate detail. The marble was so cool in the light, semi-sparkly, and changing into slightly different colors depending on what angle you were looking from. They gave us little booties to where while we were inside, so we didn't have to take off our shoes (thank goodness- it's too damn cold). As I was standing infront of the Taj, taking pictures, all I could think was: Wow, I feel like I'm in a movie right now- like I'm the young adult who left her life behind and is now traveling the world to see different famous places. It was a really cool feeling.
Before we left we decided to use the restroom. We had to pay a man standing outside the toilets for some toilet paper, which I thought was hilarious. Then afterward, we ventured out the exit, which was quite an experience. It sounds retarded, but I feel like I got a little glimpse of what it's like to be famous. People literally swarm you when you walk out, trying to get you to buy postcards, magnets, keychains, and all sorts of other memorabilia. I felt a bit claustrophobic, which has never happened before. Anyway, I obviously survived.
On the walk back to the driver I tried to take a picture of a baby monkey.. baddd decision. The mom made a small lunge toward me, which my overreaction of a run into the street. I almost knocked this poor man off his bike haha.
The ride home was long, but it was also very cool. The fog had cleared and I got to get a glimpse of more small town India, which I enjoyed. It's very different from the big city type of India. There were children playing cricket in the fields, and women carrying large baskets of fruit. It was a lot more peaceful.
When we got back to the home-base, I ate dinner at 7, and then went straight to bed. I was exhausted. I slept for 14 hours! haha
I finally got to see my friend, Tonni, today. The poor girl had been in the hospital for the past couple days with some sort of stomach illness. I felt bad going to the Taj without her. I know she really wanted to go.
Today's adventures included visiting the Lotus Temple, Humayun's Tomb, and India gate. Yes, I really packed in the architectural masterpieces :) The Lotus Temple is amazing. I'm completely perplexed as to how they built it in the unique shape of a lotus flower. I can't stress enough how amazing it is. I plan on going back with some friends when we can actually go inside the building (it's closed on Sundays).
After the Lotus temple we made our way to Humayun's tomb. There are so many buildings there that I'm embarrassed to say that I almost missed the actual tomb haha. There's this one building to the right as you walk in the entrance, which is where my friends and I spent a great deal of our time. It was fun though. We were climbing in the windows and on top of the buildings, which produce some very nice pictures haha. Finally, we went off down the path, and got a nice slap in the face when we saw the actual main attraction (which seems like it would be absolutely impossible to miss). The tomb is HUGE, and so incredibly beautiful. It's very simial to the Taj Mahal. I was told that the Taj was inspire by this tomb (don't know if that's true, but I would totally believe it). I think I actually like this building better than the Taj Mahal. It was an intense brick red color, accented with sparkly white marble. It was fascinating to say the least.
We then went by the India gate before going out to eat. I hate coffee! Real brewed coffee! And I loved ever sip of it :) There isn't any really coffee at the home base, only this really nasty instant coffee, and all of the shops int the market next to us only have chai tea.
I called my madre today :) Bless her. I woke the poor lady up at 5:30 AM.. Accident. I obviously didn't to my math right on the time difference. It was really nice to talk to her.
Well, I think that's all I've got for the weekend. I need to work on my lesson plans for Vidya tomorrow- can't wait to see those beautiful children. I love and miss all of my family as usual.