Hey loved ones,
we're all safe and sound in Sikkim, which is a groovy, magical mountain state that only became a part of this wild country in 1975. but to backtrack a bit-our last blog post said only "holi hell" and some mysterious thing happened to the rest of the blog. Its gone. Maybe forever. Our very own Hillary Brown assures us it was a great one, too. A moment of silence for the fallen soldier............. moment over. back to reality.
when we last checked in, the crew was in Kolkata. We volunteered at the Mother Theresa Homes, working with all different kinds of people. The people we worked with ran the gamut from old, young, deathly ill, seriously injured, mentally disabled, totally sane, mute, fluent in English, and then some. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that it was eye opening in a lot of ways. Its difficult to say how it affected all of us here because we each had totally different experience. But I can confidently say that the volunteering lived up to its reputation as a draining, sometimes heartbreaking, hugely rewarding experience. For some of us, it was incredibly difficult to say goodbye. Hillary got really close with a little boy named Phillip. She gave him a guitar and sang him Simon and Garfunkel every day. Karen had a huge bond with a boy named Johnny, getting him to laugh and talk more than most other volunteers ever could. The sheer scope of the city, its poverty, and its density was a sight to behold. Our last day in Kolkata was the festival of Holi, which was just about as wild as wild can be. It's celebrated by throwing water and dye at everyone you see. We celebrated it mostly in the backpacker neighborhood, where drummers pounded out beats and a mix of fellow volunteers and locals danced and threw dye. By the end of it, we were all pretty unrecognizable. Our faces, bodies and clothes were entirely covered with green, pink, red, blue, and black dye. Most of us have recovered, but some of us still have visible remnants. Chrys, for example, still has bright pink hair. Karen has a lot of pink in her hair as well, but at least all the green is out. All of us have patches and streaks, but I happen to think that they add character and look pretty funky.
Now we are far away from the hustle and madness of the big, noisy city that always smells like burning trash. I think that by the end of our stay in Kolkata we learned to appreciate its strange, quirky qualities, the generous monks we stayed with, its egg rolls and street-side chow mein, its bus and metro system and the Bengali version of donuts. Sikkim is a whole different thang. Instead of being woken up by heat or traffic noises, we wake up to cows or roosters. The house we are staying in is incredibly homely (they say homely where we would say homey), the views are not to be believed, air is clean and everyone here is so kind hearted and relaxed. We haven't seen a single beggar since we got here. Also, because it is quite a bit colder, we have been crocheting and knitting hats, scarves, and headbands. During our downtime, we pretty much sit in the kitchen or living room and craft up a storm. Another big change is that we have home cooked meals, which is just ducky (says Ben, leaning over my shoulder). We start volunteering in a small village tomorrow, repairing a hydroelectric something or other. I anticipate adventure. Basically, Sikkim is amazing and feels totally different from the rest of India that we have seen. And I think our legs are getting a little more used to the hills, but we'll see how we fare on our trek.
More later. You're all beautiful people.
Word.
Nina
Monday, March 16, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Holi Heck!
hey there people out there in cyberspace
there seemed to be some technical difficulties for this last posting
and now it is lost in the vast and confusing land that is the internet
but Kolkuta was an amazing experience for all of us
there was a general consensus that volunteering was quite the worthwhile experience
I know personally I had the great fortune to work with four young kids
all who were orphans and hiv positive
they were so incredibly vivacious and happy
these kids have so much in the world going against them yet they always are running around with grins on there faces
and food stuck to them too!
While we were in town we celebrated the blessed nativity of our fearless leader Karen
we went to Bar B Q a very fancy Chinese restaurant
and we bequeathed her with quite possibly the largest grapefruit any of us have ever encountered
overall it was a wonderful ringing in of Karen's twenty sixth birthday
We also had the great fortune to be in Kolkuta for Holi
Which is quite possibly the best holiday
EVER
for those out there who are not well versed in Hindu holidays,
Holi
well,
i don't actually know what holi is exactly celebrating but you throw colored powders at eachother
which is SO MUCH FUN
many of us suffered for a few days because we were either pink or had new hair colors
by far Chrys suffered the worst
and her hair still looks like cotton candy
but we all enjoyed getting our holi on!
there seemed to be some technical difficulties for this last posting
and now it is lost in the vast and confusing land that is the internet
but Kolkuta was an amazing experience for all of us
there was a general consensus that volunteering was quite the worthwhile experience
I know personally I had the great fortune to work with four young kids
all who were orphans and hiv positive
they were so incredibly vivacious and happy
these kids have so much in the world going against them yet they always are running around with grins on there faces
and food stuck to them too!
While we were in town we celebrated the blessed nativity of our fearless leader Karen
we went to Bar B Q a very fancy Chinese restaurant
and we bequeathed her with quite possibly the largest grapefruit any of us have ever encountered
overall it was a wonderful ringing in of Karen's twenty sixth birthday
We also had the great fortune to be in Kolkuta for Holi
Which is quite possibly the best holiday
EVER
for those out there who are not well versed in Hindu holidays,
Holi
well,
i don't actually know what holi is exactly celebrating but you throw colored powders at eachother
which is SO MUCH FUN
many of us suffered for a few days because we were either pink or had new hair colors
by far Chrys suffered the worst
and her hair still looks like cotton candy
but we all enjoyed getting our holi on!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
This is India
Those who have seen the movie Blood Diamond (if you haven't, do it) might remember the acronym "T.I.A.," which means this is Africa. In the movie, it served as a simple way to describe the utterly complex, intricate and random workings - from the land to the people - of the entire country of Africa.
Similarly, our group has adopted T.I.I. (this is India) to describe the disappointment, the stress, the sheer chaos, the filth, the underlying simplicity, the sense of purpose, the respect, the history, the beauty, the humor, the delightful surprises and all serendipitous happenings that we all experience each day here.
Kolkata is the New York City of India. It is filled with people, personality, and an extensive public transportation system. The food ranges from good to great, and there is never a dull moment or a lack of things to experience. The streets are littered with taxis and buses that look like they came straight from the 1940's (to be honest, it wouldn't surpise me of some were that old) and serves as a reminder to just how resourceful the local population is here. When you don't have much (and many in this city don't), you do what you can to keep and treasure what little you have for as long as you can. In India, and especially Kolkata, things we would normally throw away or give up on are embraced here, "MacGyver'd" new life and are put to full use. One man's trash may be another's treasure, but in Kolkata, if something is found discarded you can be sure it is truly beyond repair.
The hustle-and-bustle of this city (and I suppose any large city) is a double-edged sword; it gives and it takes. We are all engaged in the personal challenge of meeting the needs of our curiosity with the city while still providing enough time and space for ourselves to relax with a good book, grab a cold cocoa cream drink and reflect on the day, or just have a quiet nap - perhaps all three! I think I can speak for the group when I say the juice is undeniably worth the squeeze, and we are all growing as individuals and as a cohesive whole because of it.
In closing, one of the things we have all learned and seems to be the most pertinent in this city at this point in the trip is that there is much more then meets the eye with India. It is easy to dismiss things as chaotic, disorganized, unpleasent, broken, or even just stupid. What it really comes down to, though, is simplicity, efficiency and tradition. Undearneath it all, there is much to learn from these people. T.I.I.
Desmond
Similarly, our group has adopted T.I.I. (this is India) to describe the disappointment, the stress, the sheer chaos, the filth, the underlying simplicity, the sense of purpose, the respect, the history, the beauty, the humor, the delightful surprises and all serendipitous happenings that we all experience each day here.
Kolkata is the New York City of India. It is filled with people, personality, and an extensive public transportation system. The food ranges from good to great, and there is never a dull moment or a lack of things to experience. The streets are littered with taxis and buses that look like they came straight from the 1940's (to be honest, it wouldn't surpise me of some were that old) and serves as a reminder to just how resourceful the local population is here. When you don't have much (and many in this city don't), you do what you can to keep and treasure what little you have for as long as you can. In India, and especially Kolkata, things we would normally throw away or give up on are embraced here, "MacGyver'd" new life and are put to full use. One man's trash may be another's treasure, but in Kolkata, if something is found discarded you can be sure it is truly beyond repair.
The hustle-and-bustle of this city (and I suppose any large city) is a double-edged sword; it gives and it takes. We are all engaged in the personal challenge of meeting the needs of our curiosity with the city while still providing enough time and space for ourselves to relax with a good book, grab a cold cocoa cream drink and reflect on the day, or just have a quiet nap - perhaps all three! I think I can speak for the group when I say the juice is undeniably worth the squeeze, and we are all growing as individuals and as a cohesive whole because of it.
In closing, one of the things we have all learned and seems to be the most pertinent in this city at this point in the trip is that there is much more then meets the eye with India. It is easy to dismiss things as chaotic, disorganized, unpleasent, broken, or even just stupid. What it really comes down to, though, is simplicity, efficiency and tradition. Undearneath it all, there is much to learn from these people. T.I.I.
Desmond
Friday, February 27, 2009
Bodhgaya - birthplace of Buddhism
Hey everyone, Chrys here, reporting for blog duty.
We're currently in Bodhgaya, but before I get to that, there are some highlights from the rest of our time in Varanasi. Nina, Ben and Desmond did some fire=dancing with actual fire! A bunch of the girls made rings in jewely making class. We went on a sunrise boatride on the Ganges and on another day, took a boat ride across the river and had a picnic, traditional food cooked the traditional way, aka on a cow dung fire. We all really enjoyed our internships and kept busy. One night, a bunch of the girls went to an Indian wedding (it seemed there was at least one every night) and danced with some kids and had a blast. We came to really like our temporary home in Varanasi.
A few days ago we left for Bodhgaya on a very early morning train. While here, we've been doing some meditation, lectures adn meals at the Root Institute, a tibetan buddhist place, and are staying in a monastary. We've had several lively discussions sparked by our surroundings, about our personal philosophies and spirituality. We visited the MahaBodhi temple, which makres the place where the Buddha found enlightenment, and sat under part of that bodhi tree. It turns out we are here during the Tibetan New Year, so the MahaBodhi was pretty crowded!
There are Buddhist temples here from just about every majorly Buddhist country, which some of us have been checking out. Earlier today, we visited some caves wehre the Buddha spent six yers and six months meditating. It was pretty cool. The rickshaw ride there was definitely memorable, with it's bumps and turns, and also with all the animals we saw along the way, including cows (of course), water buffalo, goats, chicken, monekeys, cats and dogs. On our way to the caves, these rel young kids kept asking for rupees...and for kisses! It was a bit odd, tehy were like seven years old and followed us around!
It seems that at this point, we have all had a little bout with the expected traveller's diarrhea, which hasn't been the most fun part of the journey, but is to be expected. Everyone seems to be doing well now. In other group news, Ben shaved his head (there is a lot going on with haircuts it seems) and I think I'm next up for a haircut with Willa Rose. We've spent a lot of our free time in our short stay in Bodhgaya just chilling, avoiding the heat and exploring the city. Oh, and doing tarot readigns!
One interesting thing about Bodhgaya is that it seems the electricity is off during most of the day. It sometimes is barely noticeable, since it's so sunny and warm, and then in the evening the electricity comes back on and we can charge iPods and camera batteries (speaking of, we're going to try to add some photos to the blog when we're in Kolkata (Calcutta), feel the cool air from fans and...take hot showers! Everyone's been relly stoked about that, and the western toilets at the monastary where we're staying. A little comfort goes a long way.
Tonight, we get on a train for Kolkata, wehre we'll spend almost two weeks, volunteering at the Mother Theresa HOme for the Destitute, and soaking up this city that promises to be interesting and full of life. Our trip leaders are handing the reigns over to us a bit at this point in the trip, so Nina will be securing our accommodations in Kolkata and Hilary and I are rocking the itinerary, making sure we get to see the cultural sites and landmarks, as well as taking in a Bollywood movie, criquet games, hopefully enjoying the vibrant arts life of the city, and I am throwing in a strong vote for some some museum/planetarium stuff. It is sure to be a wild ride. Personally it was the part of our trip I was the most nervous about, but at this point, I'm psyched, and hope the rest of the group is too.
Well, running out of time here. I'm sure we'll update you more from Kolkata and as I said, try to load some pictures from various points along the way. Check you all later!
We're currently in Bodhgaya, but before I get to that, there are some highlights from the rest of our time in Varanasi. Nina, Ben and Desmond did some fire=dancing with actual fire! A bunch of the girls made rings in jewely making class. We went on a sunrise boatride on the Ganges and on another day, took a boat ride across the river and had a picnic, traditional food cooked the traditional way, aka on a cow dung fire. We all really enjoyed our internships and kept busy. One night, a bunch of the girls went to an Indian wedding (it seemed there was at least one every night) and danced with some kids and had a blast. We came to really like our temporary home in Varanasi.
A few days ago we left for Bodhgaya on a very early morning train. While here, we've been doing some meditation, lectures adn meals at the Root Institute, a tibetan buddhist place, and are staying in a monastary. We've had several lively discussions sparked by our surroundings, about our personal philosophies and spirituality. We visited the MahaBodhi temple, which makres the place where the Buddha found enlightenment, and sat under part of that bodhi tree. It turns out we are here during the Tibetan New Year, so the MahaBodhi was pretty crowded!
There are Buddhist temples here from just about every majorly Buddhist country, which some of us have been checking out. Earlier today, we visited some caves wehre the Buddha spent six yers and six months meditating. It was pretty cool. The rickshaw ride there was definitely memorable, with it's bumps and turns, and also with all the animals we saw along the way, including cows (of course), water buffalo, goats, chicken, monekeys, cats and dogs. On our way to the caves, these rel young kids kept asking for rupees...and for kisses! It was a bit odd, tehy were like seven years old and followed us around!
It seems that at this point, we have all had a little bout with the expected traveller's diarrhea, which hasn't been the most fun part of the journey, but is to be expected. Everyone seems to be doing well now. In other group news, Ben shaved his head (there is a lot going on with haircuts it seems) and I think I'm next up for a haircut with Willa Rose. We've spent a lot of our free time in our short stay in Bodhgaya just chilling, avoiding the heat and exploring the city. Oh, and doing tarot readigns!
One interesting thing about Bodhgaya is that it seems the electricity is off during most of the day. It sometimes is barely noticeable, since it's so sunny and warm, and then in the evening the electricity comes back on and we can charge iPods and camera batteries (speaking of, we're going to try to add some photos to the blog when we're in Kolkata (Calcutta), feel the cool air from fans and...take hot showers! Everyone's been relly stoked about that, and the western toilets at the monastary where we're staying. A little comfort goes a long way.
Tonight, we get on a train for Kolkata, wehre we'll spend almost two weeks, volunteering at the Mother Theresa HOme for the Destitute, and soaking up this city that promises to be interesting and full of life. Our trip leaders are handing the reigns over to us a bit at this point in the trip, so Nina will be securing our accommodations in Kolkata and Hilary and I are rocking the itinerary, making sure we get to see the cultural sites and landmarks, as well as taking in a Bollywood movie, criquet games, hopefully enjoying the vibrant arts life of the city, and I am throwing in a strong vote for some some museum/planetarium stuff. It is sure to be a wild ride. Personally it was the part of our trip I was the most nervous about, but at this point, I'm psyched, and hope the rest of the group is too.
Well, running out of time here. I'm sure we'll update you more from Kolkata and as I said, try to load some pictures from various points along the way. Check you all later!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Varanasi...
So we are in this amazing city called varanasi, oh yeah! lots of bonding and good laughs flowing.
To start this blog off, "bridey" has officially changed her name to willa rose, which is awesome. There have been to recent hair stylings, thanks to our own willa rose, that have left the girls a bit short on the head (hillary and graham). As you may well know our beloved friend julia has left our group and decided to continue her journey at home, which we all respect as a mature decision for her situation. But we all do miss her dearly, and are working hard to somehow fill her void, but "everything is alright"(sing song for that).
We are all starting to delve into the cities personal aspect, i.e. getting close (but not too close) with the locals, which we are stoked about as in delhi it was hard to get away from the tourist to beggar relationship. The GODS ARE ALIVE here, and we got to experience a sunrise cruising along the ganges in a boat, very sturdy and well made, that took us to a temple at the far north end, bout hour and a half walk, edge of town. There we got some good snaps and got too see probably the largest wasps nests hanging from the arches, HUGE!
Our expert guide, Vinay Ji (don't hold me to the spelling), is full of little chuckles and has no problem keeping us entertained with his witty knowledge and seemingly infinite wisdom. Speaking of wisdom, we had a quite eye opening lecture by a local guru/philosopher, age 72 and can't remember his name, sorry, who provided some clarity and insight to indian culture, provoking thought and centering in the group.
Every day, pretty much the best part in a way, we indulge in around 3 to 4 cups of the most amazing chai tea EVER, no joke, sometimes in tiny clay cups or little glass ones you return...very classy. Probably the best part is when we are able to splurge on gifts or huge meals, then at the end of the day we recap the amount to about a total of 5 to 10 dollars in all, soooo awesome. Almost everyone you pass is very friendly, welcoming our presence with smiles and offering to buy you a cup of chai...we love it here.
Well, signing off for now, but good talking to you, all this chai is getting us thirsty for more. Peace, love and infinite happiness...Namaste to you all...Ben and Willa Rose~
is this thing on?
hello out there in Bloggerville-
just throwin out a test blog of sorts. we have been experiencing technical difficulties and our last blog got lost in cyberspace. Stand by...
just throwin out a test blog of sorts. we have been experiencing technical difficulties and our last blog got lost in cyberspace. Stand by...
Monday, February 16, 2009
blog numero uno
hello everyone,
sorry for the tardy post, but rest assure everyone is more than happy and healthy. We are currently in varanasi, the city lights, and kicking off our internships and hindi classes. Hindi is definitely a challenge, but we're getting the hang of it slowly... ie practicing on the roof top with the monks across the street. The internships include fire dancing (nina, bridey, ben and desmond, classical indian singing (chrys). kattaa aka indian dancing (chrys), sitar (hilary, nina, julia and bridey), tablar aka indian drum (ben), henna tattoe (bridey and graham), jewlery making (julia, karen, hilary, graham), minature painting (graham)and stone carving (andrew). I think that's everyone, but I may be missing someone and things are likey to switch up a bit. In addition to the hindi classes and interships, the majority of the group is taking indian cooking classes, which ensures a legit meal for the day. So that pretty much wraps up the day-time activites. A few of us got up to see the sunrise over the ganga river, which was definitely the most amazing sight of all of india so far, if not my life. It's amazing that people are already up before dawn going about their daily routines in such an awesome place. There are people meditating, praying, doing laundry, bathing, and swimming as well as goats, dogs and monkeys hanging out doing their thing. So I'm so psyched to be spening more than a week here and I think everyone else is too. Our accomandations are great, except for the mosquitos. Mostly everyone battled with the little buggers all night and woke up with welts and pizza faces, the boys defintely got hit the hardest(bridey and I were the only ones that got out bite- free). The problem has been solved with the instalation of mosquitoe nets and the purchase of various types of insect repellant-so rest assured we are now fully prepared to outsmart the little buggers. Ive run out of time and space, so Im going to have to sign off now. Quick recap: india is flippin awesome, everyone is lovin it and we all miss you guys at home. We're going to be more on top of the blog in the future, so stay tuned for our next adventure-packed post. namaste, Graham
sorry for the tardy post, but rest assure everyone is more than happy and healthy. We are currently in varanasi, the city lights, and kicking off our internships and hindi classes. Hindi is definitely a challenge, but we're getting the hang of it slowly... ie practicing on the roof top with the monks across the street. The internships include fire dancing (nina, bridey, ben and desmond, classical indian singing (chrys). kattaa aka indian dancing (chrys), sitar (hilary, nina, julia and bridey), tablar aka indian drum (ben), henna tattoe (bridey and graham), jewlery making (julia, karen, hilary, graham), minature painting (graham)and stone carving (andrew). I think that's everyone, but I may be missing someone and things are likey to switch up a bit. In addition to the hindi classes and interships, the majority of the group is taking indian cooking classes, which ensures a legit meal for the day. So that pretty much wraps up the day-time activites. A few of us got up to see the sunrise over the ganga river, which was definitely the most amazing sight of all of india so far, if not my life. It's amazing that people are already up before dawn going about their daily routines in such an awesome place. There are people meditating, praying, doing laundry, bathing, and swimming as well as goats, dogs and monkeys hanging out doing their thing. So I'm so psyched to be spening more than a week here and I think everyone else is too. Our accomandations are great, except for the mosquitos. Mostly everyone battled with the little buggers all night and woke up with welts and pizza faces, the boys defintely got hit the hardest(bridey and I were the only ones that got out bite- free). The problem has been solved with the instalation of mosquitoe nets and the purchase of various types of insect repellant-so rest assured we are now fully prepared to outsmart the little buggers. Ive run out of time and space, so Im going to have to sign off now. Quick recap: india is flippin awesome, everyone is lovin it and we all miss you guys at home. We're going to be more on top of the blog in the future, so stay tuned for our next adventure-packed post. namaste, Graham
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