Holy Cow!

Unfortunately I have had very little time to write this blog anymore. I am in class from 9:30 to about 7 every night. It usually takes an hour to get home, and I have been to exhausted to write. My flat is very comfortable, and my roommates Saurabh and Jen have been helping me navigate the city and lifestyle of the people. Saurabh took me to the Lotus Temple which is a Baha i temple where people come to pray in peace. There is no structure but worship through peace and praying. Perhaps it was the impressive architecture of the place, but it felt surprisingly peaceful.

Hindi classes have proved to be the biggest educational challenge for me. Perhaps it is because American people do not learn other languages often or pronounce things with a European accent. The other 2 students I am with are German and already pronounce Hindi words correctly. Europeans are also used to learning multiple languages, which makes it hard for me to keep up with. I am constantly getting frustrated because I am usually a quick learner, and apply a lot of pressure on myself in school. Applying the same pressure and still not retaining the words I am learning in class is very difficult. I am trying to use the phrases I learn on the street, but often forget what the words are.

We had a lecture on diversity from a man named Sohail Hashmi. This was much more interesting and I could remember the information better. He made connecting of the travel of people and customs through the 1600 some languages that are here and many religions. These can also be seen in the architecture of the ruins around India. You can actually identify who made it what religion they were and who it was built for and what religion they were. It's amazing to make these connections with my archeology classes.
Sohail also told us the amazing story why cows are holy. The Arians brought cows with them into India as domestic herders. Cows were regularly sacrificed to the gods for blessings to help people with decisions and missions. There was an agriculture boom shortly after and cows produced bullocks to plow fields. Cows were needed for farming so to try to stop the sacrifice of cows, killing them was illegal. People worshiped cows who gave them the bullocks to farm. Now some of the country still kills cows for food and such, but many states put people in prison for 3 years for killing a cow.
This is why many cows are roaming around. It is illegal to kill them, so if someone can't afford to take care of their cow, they let them roam.
There is actually illegal smuggling of these cows through the boarder to Pakistan now. Pakistan gets most of of their beef from India through people heading stray cows off the boarder and paying off the guards. So that is the story behind the Holy cow. :)