The last 7 days of our epic adventure have been spent at Phool Chatti Ashram. Because most of the members of our group have never been to boot camp, let alone base training, I took some time to describe the similarities and eventually we all agreed:
The Ashram Life= Spiritual Bootcamp.
A typical day in bootcamp looks something like this- (the Ashram equivalent will be explained in parentheses)
5:30: Wake up call/ Call to Duty (A Buddhist gong cuts through the morning air awakening us from our restful slumber and calling us to meditation)
6:00: Internal Strategic Strategizing (Silent Meditation)
6:30: Personal Gear and Gun Check (Cleansing of the sinuses with the use of a nettipot and Pranayam (Breathing Yoga))
7:00: Combat Training led by Commando Lalitaji (Integrative Yoga practice led by the serious but entertaining Lalitaji)
9:00: Morning Rationing ( Breakfast-simple but very tasty!)
10:00: Latrine and Barracks Duties ("Karma Yoga"- Cleaning and helping around the Ashram in a "giving back to the community" and karma-enhancing time)
10:30: Infantry Marching Practice- Led by Lieutenant Brandon (Silent walking meditation into the beautiful nature surrounding Phool Chatti Ashram: waterfalls, rivers, and the sacred Ganga - Led by the young, flowing haired, and (in some opinions) strapping American Brandon)
12:30: Mid-Day Rationing ( Lunch- Classic Indian Cuisine- Highlighted by Day 5 rice pudding (just ask Ben), and the constant friendly offering of "more chapati-soup vegetable-rice..." Silence Ends)
13:00: Soldier "At Ease Time" (Relaxation and free time- usually spent reading or doing some form of art- unless you are Lydia who found her new passion in "Extreme Rock Jumping"... kids these days...)
15:00: Combat Strategizing Session- Master Strategist Lieutenant Brandon (Discussions about life practices- Meditation, Yoga and how they can impact our existences as mere mortals on this existential playing field)
16:00: Combat Training II (Afternoon Yoga- Hold onto your bootstraps, the intensity picked up driving us all into a fiery orb or burning fire sweat. yum.)
18:30: Daily Human Sacrifice (JK, ROFLchopter. LOL. just making sure y'all are paying attention)
18:45: Ceremonial Battalion Cries- Led by 1st Rank Master Commando Swammiji (Pooja- the evening sun-setting ceremony followed by Mantra chanting by the fire led by the Ashram Guru Swamiji)
19:00: Evening Rationing (Dinner- Glorious to the body, mind, and spirit- I have been pretty into food these days)
20:30 Internal Strategic Strategizing (Guided Meditation- Silence Begins)
21:00 Beddy Beddy Bed Time (I am not sure what they call it in the Ashram)
What began as an experience we all feared would be serious and dry quickly transformed into a hypothetical soap-opera complete with interesting personalities and even juicy drama. Luke and I are the lead script-writers for "Ashram Life", a satirical sitcom we hope to have on the air by early next fall and will run for a minimum of 20 seasons. The show will follow our paths to enlightenment. Its gonna be a hit. Trust me.
The week ended with a talent-show that showcased the unrivaled talents of the Carpe Diem group as well as the interesting and entertaining ideas of our foreign counterparts. A fire-ceremony capped off the whole experience and we are off to Amritsar!
Noha
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Indian Limelight
In a country where the word 'cricket' means little more than a noise-making bug, you may find it hard to grasp the greater meaning of the word cricket, the cricket that may forever change the face of India. With wickets and overs and bowlers and sixes, you muggles may ask yourselves: what in the name of Ganesh is all this rubbish-talk all about? Ladies and gentlemen, its cricket. Its a sophisticated game of skill and prowess; a game that puts to shame the likes of our national sports in intensity and ingenuity. But in the Indian scope, cricket is not just a pastime, it is a culture.
Two nights ago at 11:06pm asia time, India, our India, rose above Sri Lankan mediocrity to claim the ultimate crown- Cricket World Cup Champions.The streets erupted, Indian flags ran rampant through the air, jubilant war-cries echoed into the night. The energy seeping from the depths of Indian society into a sea of luminous light. Carpe Diem India! And so they did.
-Noha
Two nights ago at 11:06pm asia time, India, our India, rose above Sri Lankan mediocrity to claim the ultimate crown- Cricket World Cup Champions.The streets erupted, Indian flags ran rampant through the air, jubilant war-cries echoed into the night. The energy seeping from the depths of Indian society into a sea of luminous light. Carpe Diem India! And so they did.
-Noha
Rishikesh
Today we will be leaving our free days at our guest house in Rishikesh and on to the ashram.
While in Rishikesh we stayed at a wonderful cottage, and although the boys seemed to be favored by the restaurant workers, we always finished our meals happily. We have enjoyed our free days very much here in the yoga capital of the world. We have had chances to go shopping, eat falafel, and plan a few activities to entertain ourselves while we were here. Saturday Luke, Noah, Lotte, and Lydia went on a walk up to a waterfall, that they said was fun, then they hitched a ride back on an ambulance! Sunday we went white water rafting, with the exception of Lotte and Becca who have already been. The seven of us who did go rafting enjoyed it very much, and when we were in the cold water it was very breath taking and exhilarating. Our guide Sundi was also fun to be with. He had us play a game where we all took turns running around the edge of the raft trying not to fall in the Ganga. Now we are all looking forward to a peaceful week at the Ashram where we will be able to get in plenty of yoga and meditation!
-Maddi
While in Rishikesh we stayed at a wonderful cottage, and although the boys seemed to be favored by the restaurant workers, we always finished our meals happily. We have enjoyed our free days very much here in the yoga capital of the world. We have had chances to go shopping, eat falafel, and plan a few activities to entertain ourselves while we were here. Saturday Luke, Noah, Lotte, and Lydia went on a walk up to a waterfall, that they said was fun, then they hitched a ride back on an ambulance! Sunday we went white water rafting, with the exception of Lotte and Becca who have already been. The seven of us who did go rafting enjoyed it very much, and when we were in the cold water it was very breath taking and exhilarating. Our guide Sundi was also fun to be with. He had us play a game where we all took turns running around the edge of the raft trying not to fall in the Ganga. Now we are all looking forward to a peaceful week at the Ashram where we will be able to get in plenty of yoga and meditation!
-Maddi
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The Tremendous Trek
Although three of us were sadly unable to go on our trek last week, the six of us remaining had a great adventure. We had a couple struggles, but were all able to keep high spirits and push threw them. The high altitude helped bring a few laughs too!
Every morning during our trek we would get into a circle and the captains of the day would warm us up. After we did our routine warm-ups we would do our routine dance moves that each of us had taken part in making. Ben introduced to us "the squirrel", and Lotte "grandpa move", Phoebe's dance was "the roll", Luke's "The pointers", Lydia did the "Val", I did "the Indian", Becca taught us the "Kelsey", and Noha's...well Noha's dance was very unique, we topped it off with Jess's "Wingle move" and we were ready to go. I'm sure we brought entertainment to our awesome trekking crew everyday with our crazy random dances.
We were served the most delicious meals three times a day by the cook crew, and were even brought hot tea or tang when we were getting close to camp each day by Mote! The warm drinks were much appreciated in the cold weather. And we can't forget the pack horses who carried all of our things everyday for us. One of the horses was always nibbling on toilet paper or whatever he could and he was named Munchers by our Carpe group. We also named the some of the other horses Showgun, Cappuccino, and Thumpers.
On the last day of our trek we finished it in silence then we were happily reunited with our other group members. Now we are enjoying a few much needed relaxing days in Darjeeling, before we go on to Rishikesh!
Love, Maddi :)
Every morning during our trek we would get into a circle and the captains of the day would warm us up. After we did our routine warm-ups we would do our routine dance moves that each of us had taken part in making. Ben introduced to us "the squirrel", and Lotte "grandpa move", Phoebe's dance was "the roll", Luke's "The pointers", Lydia did the "Val", I did "the Indian", Becca taught us the "Kelsey", and Noha's...well Noha's dance was very unique, we topped it off with Jess's "Wingle move" and we were ready to go. I'm sure we brought entertainment to our awesome trekking crew everyday with our crazy random dances.
We were served the most delicious meals three times a day by the cook crew, and were even brought hot tea or tang when we were getting close to camp each day by Mote! The warm drinks were much appreciated in the cold weather. And we can't forget the pack horses who carried all of our things everyday for us. One of the horses was always nibbling on toilet paper or whatever he could and he was named Munchers by our Carpe group. We also named the some of the other horses Showgun, Cappuccino, and Thumpers.
On the last day of our trek we finished it in silence then we were happily reunited with our other group members. Now we are enjoying a few much needed relaxing days in Darjeeling, before we go on to Rishikesh!
Love, Maddi :)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Trekking!
Taken minutes before the start of our trek with our mascot Cyndira the Unicorn in the background.
Yay we made it to the top!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Two more days until the trek!
Today is Holi, the festival of colors, and it doesn't get as crazy
here in Sikkim as it does in the big cities, but there's definitely a
lot of very pink Indian men roaming around town. Jess and Becca and I
went into town today to get some last minute trekking supplies and
came back completely covered in colors. It was amazing.
Thursday was our last day of volunteering at the school, and to our
surprise the school organized a cultural assembly for us with
traditional songs and dances. At the end all the girls cheered for us
and asked us to sign autographs, we felt like celebrities. I don't
think I've ever been so overwhelmed with gratitude. Overall, the
experience seemed to be just as rewarding for us as it was for the
kids. They got a change of pace from their regular classes, and had a
lot of opportunities to sing Justin Beiber songs with us. As teachers
we were really pushed out of our comfort zones and I think we left
feeling much more self confident and empowered. I gained an
appreciation for all the different kinds of education I've received
throughout my life, and the lessons I continue to learn every day in
India.
On our day off we took a trip to the Himalayan Zoological Park where
we saw a himalayan black bear, an adorable red panda, lackadazical
civets, and a leopard with an attitude. Back at the house we've been
relaxing, eating delicious food cooked by our home stay family, and
playing tons of games. Now it's time to pack our bags and get ready
for the part of the trip I've been looking forward to since day one. I
can't wait to be up at 14,000 feet surrounded by fresh air and
beautiful mountain views. This is gonna be awesome.
Love,
Lydia
here in Sikkim as it does in the big cities, but there's definitely a
lot of very pink Indian men roaming around town. Jess and Becca and I
went into town today to get some last minute trekking supplies and
came back completely covered in colors. It was amazing.
Thursday was our last day of volunteering at the school, and to our
surprise the school organized a cultural assembly for us with
traditional songs and dances. At the end all the girls cheered for us
and asked us to sign autographs, we felt like celebrities. I don't
think I've ever been so overwhelmed with gratitude. Overall, the
experience seemed to be just as rewarding for us as it was for the
kids. They got a change of pace from their regular classes, and had a
lot of opportunities to sing Justin Beiber songs with us. As teachers
we were really pushed out of our comfort zones and I think we left
feeling much more self confident and empowered. I gained an
appreciation for all the different kinds of education I've received
throughout my life, and the lessons I continue to learn every day in
India.
On our day off we took a trip to the Himalayan Zoological Park where
we saw a himalayan black bear, an adorable red panda, lackadazical
civets, and a leopard with an attitude. Back at the house we've been
relaxing, eating delicious food cooked by our home stay family, and
playing tons of games. Now it's time to pack our bags and get ready
for the part of the trip I've been looking forward to since day one. I
can't wait to be up at 14,000 feet surrounded by fresh air and
beautiful mountain views. This is gonna be awesome.
Love,
Lydia
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