AIDS WALK KC in India 2009

There were some bumps along the way in getting my team to the AIDS Walk on the 25th of April. Due to conditions in Dlehi where I am staying, we decided to move the walk to Jaipur which is 5 1/2 hours away. This allowed for us only to have myself, Anthony Williams and my friends Tofiq and Ajit.
Since we were unable to accomodate all people in the actual walk, we did a karate class the night before. IT was wonderful to share with our friends in India our passion for karate. It also enabled discussions about AIDS in India, and the problems they have. My friend Nitin told me that there is an AIDS organization here called H.E.L.P. I'm hoping next week to visit this place, but premission needs to be asked from the orgainization.
On to the walk. The reason we picked Jaipur is that there are massive forts to see, and people that live there. Jaipur was a state filled with Royals. There are 3 major forts in Jaipur, and we visited them all. Jaipur is also the home to the largest sun dial in the world.

This is the city of Jaipur as seen from the Naharagarh Fort:

The first for we visite was the Amber Fort. Anthony and I took an elephant ride to the fort, and met the rest of our team up there. It was a wonderfully scenic trip up to the fort. The entrace to Amber Fort was decorated with paint made from vegetables, and therefore doesn't fade. This fort was used as a defense system, and also as the main residence for the Kachawas rulers. On the way out of the fort we came up a snake charmer. It was pretty cool.

When we left the Amber fort we took the mountainess journey to Jaigarh fort (victory fort). On the way up we saw a ton of monkeys which was awesome. At the top of the fort was a massive cannon, and we met some new people there.

At Jaigarh Fort we stop to take a picture of the team. That's Ajit, Anthony, and Tofiq. I decided to take a walk down the wall. They call this wall that surrounds the fort a mini wall of China.

From there we went to the third fort Naharagarh (tiger fort). This fort was used by the rulers of the Amber and Jaipur as a summer home. It's a beautiful fort that is undergoing major restoration.

We finished the tour of Jaipur at the worlds largest sundial. It is accurate with in 2 seconds. Here also lies mini sundials housing all the zoidac signs.

Jaipur is a city with in the State of Jaipur. To finish up the walk we went to a place that resembles our Ren Fest. The one thing that I wanted to do this trip was to ride a camal, and was afforded the opportunity to do so here. It was a great place, and we were able to soke in how the Rajastany people use to live. There were carnival rides, and women doing traditional dance. They put large vases on their heads and danced around on top of swords and glass. Now those are some tough walking feet.

My AKKA Karate USA team has reported back to me telling me what a wonderful time they had at the walkin KC. Although Anthony and I weren't able to participate with our team in KC, I hope that you can see we had a good time our walk accross India. It was nice to bring my passion of AIDS Walk Kansas City to my friends here in India.

Walking across Delhi

We walked around around Dlehi and saw the wonderful sites to behold.

Here is the place where Gandhi delivered his sermons and consequently was assasinated. It's a very peacful place, and they have ceramic foot prints representing his final walk.


Lotus temple before is the most peacful place I have been. When you go into this temple you must be absolutely quite. The whole place is white in side, and you are overwhelmed by silence.


This is outside India Gate. This family wanted their children to take their picture with me. I'm going to say it's b/c the 07 AIDS Walk shirt I was sporting is so good looking.

Here is the India Gate. It is a memorial dedicated to the WWII soldiers who were killed. This structure is emense, and all of the soldiers names are written on the building.

This World Peace Gong can be found at Gandhi Smriti which is the home of Ghandi. Just another reminder that no matter how far away we are or how different our cultures are we should take care and love each other.

This is the place where Gandhi was laid to rest. An eternal flame resisdes over him. People come from all around to give praise and honor this amazing man.

Signing off for some more site seeing adventeures!

WALKING ACROSS INDIA

It has been quite the whirlwind since my last post. I got in to India at 10 pm Indian time which is 11:30 am central time. Got the the hotel, and left again in the moring for the Taj Mahal at 5:30 in the morning.
One thing I can definitely say for India is that they have amazing architecture. Most of it comes from the Mogul time. The Taj is done in all white marlbe with inlaid stones of malachite, onxy, and many other I can't remember.
Here are some pics of the Taj Mahal and some of my friends.





It takes 4/12 hours to reach the Taj from Noida where I am staying. It was a long trip filled with lots of interesting things to see. Of course my favorite are all the animals. Including mokeys, cows, and elephants.

The ride back home seemed to take forever. You can't even imagine what traffic is like here. I could tell you, but you would have to see it to believe it.

So I'm headed off to meet the team I'm going to be walking with. It will be good to see all my old friends.

Hello From Bollywood

Tonight was the AIDS Walk Bollywood celebration at Café Trio. It was a great excuse to go out with my friends. We all dressed up in Indian garb and headed out for a night out on the town.

When we got to Cafe Treo the party was in full effect. The decorations were absolutely wonderful. Scarves and beads were hanging around, and everyone was wearing Bindis.

My friends and I drank the "red ribbon" martinis, which were awesome. Plus proceeds from these drinks benefited AIDS Walk.

Now the party is over and it's time for bed. I hope you enjoyed a night in Bollywood. Only 4 more days until I reach Delhi!

Why India

Once I found out that I would be in India the day of AIDS Walk it saddened me that I would not be able to participate with all the great people of Kansas City. After some thought I decided there is no reason I can't take the walk to India. My friends there are very excited to be supporting this cause with me.

According to the CIA’s World Fact Book there are 2.4 million people living in India with HIV/AIDS and 310,000 deaths annually. That is compared to the 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the US with 22,000 deaths annually.

While I’m in India I’ll be going to different places (like the Taj Mahal) wearing my AIDS Walk shirts and hoping to strike up awareness there. I will be taking pictures of the places I go and sharing them with all of you back in KC.

Here are a few pics of my last visit.

Why I Walk

AIDS Walk has always been a very important event to me ever since I knew what an AIDS Walk was. When I first heard of AIDS I didn't really know what it was, just that people were dying and I couldn't sit idely by.

The question was asked, "Why do you walk," at the walker's summit last year. I had never thought about it before. However, a couple of years ago I had the honor to volunteer at the Hope Care Center in Brookside. That visit finally made me realize why I walk.

When I signed up to volunteer for Hope Care Center (a nursing home for AIDS patients), I had no idea what I was going to see. I haven't known anyone with AIDS, and thought the people would be like someone with the first stages of cancer. They look fine on the outside, but are carrying a disease. I tend to be naive.

Everyone had different diseases they were battling, and showed it. I always knew that it's not AIDS that kills you, it's the disease your immune system can't fight off. However, it didn't sink in until then.

Ann Hron of Hope Care Center worked with us that day. She told me so many success stories of people coming to the center in dire straights. Through the love and care of the center those patients were able to move back into their own homes.

Now I know why I walk. I walk for the patients of the Hope Care Center. I walk so that they can have the love and care they need to live a normal life. Even now thinking about Hope Care Center, I get chills because of the magnitude of good they do.

Hope Care Center is located in Brookside. If you have a chance you should definitely take the time to check it out: www.hopecarecenter.org

Bringing KC's AIDS Walk to India

My name is Erin Goodyear and I will be bringing KC's AIDS Walk to India this year! Watch the video below to learn more...