...

Around the World in 8...months and a few weeks...

2011-10-10T23:54:00.000-07:00

TOKYO:

My long lost sister and her two daughters (one is hiding in the background)

VIETNAM:

On our way to a local feast with two ex-pats we met at the hostel

Hanoi street scene

Jumping off the cruise ship into Halong Bay

The cave we kayaked to

Juliet and I on the "cruise"

Sunset on the island

New Dutch friends... lekker (Dutch word of the year, look it up... can be used to literally describe anything you like)

Breakfast on the beach

Couldn't resist buying something, she was too sweet

Not much to complain about....

* * *

More Serious Photos from the War Museum:

These boys were just walking down the road and tried to hide before the soldiers drove up to "finish them off" as the caption read

A soldier holding up the remains of a Vietnamese body hit by a bomb

* * *

(moment to digest)

Hello!
This will probably be my last post for a while...until the next outing that is.
Don't have a ton to report other than the fact that Vietnam has provided the best farewell to this adventure that I could have possibly asked for.
Before Vietnam I spent a really lovely five days with an exchange student who lived with my family for one year 18 years ago!! It was crazy seeing her with her two adorable daughters, all grown up... but it's funny how quickly we clicked again... as if the 18 years didn't even matter. Some people will always remain family no matter how much time passes. Her family made me feel so welcome in their home, treated me to some de-LICIOUS sushi, and showed me around the enormous city of Tokyo.
Vietnam started off at the most fun hostel I've ever stayed at to date. My travel buddy from China, Juliet, and I made tons of friends instantly, were taken out on the town for some real (delicious) Vietnamese soup dish thing, wandered the packed streets of Hanoi (my favorite city in Vietnam) with new friends eating street food and drinking street beer with the millions of other backpackers, and finally ended the night in a concert venue watching the band of some ex-pats we'd met earlier that day. The next day we took off on a three day/two night cruise in the most beautiful bay in the world...looked like we were in Neverland the whole time...felt like it too. The first night was a bit too crazy to appropriately report... the tour guides started off the night by saying, "if you're thirsty, remember, there IS water in beer." Besides a crazy night, the two days also consisted of Kayaking around the bay to a cave, wake-boarding, rock-climbing, and lounging on the hostel's private island beach. I still can't properly move one of my arms from the rock-climbing venture...
After the cruise, we made our way down the (really freaking long) coast of Vietnam, and after a perfect four days laying on the beach in Nha Trang (southern Vietnam), I've finally made it to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) early this morning. I just went to the War Memorial museum today and left with only the utmost respect for the Vietnamese people. That museum could have trashed the American government and American people so easily for all they put their country and its people through, but instead, they showed an extremely honest, non-biased view of the war and sent out the simple, powerful message of peace. There were images of U.S. soldiers smiling while they held up the decapitated heads of Vietnamese soldiers....but there were also images of U.S. soldiers dying and suffering. They showed pictures of all the deformities caused by Agent Orange, but also told stories of U.S. soldiers who protested the war and helped save some Vietnamese citizens while they were in Vietnam. I felt awkward, being the only tourist in the museum amongst tons of Vietnamese school kids...I couldn't help but hope no one would assume I was American...the only other tourist I saw had his Canadian flag prominently hanging from his man-purse.Regardless, the people here have been nothing but kind to me. Some people warned me about how much they hated Americans over here, but it's simply not true. Even after asking where I'm from, they have been nothing but kind, unassuming people.
I think this trip has impressed upon me how important it is to actually go to places and experience them rather than just read about them or learn about them from other people. No History Channel show could ever replace the feeling of being in a museum and watching the reaction of kids looking at pictures of soldiers from your own country smirking while they showcase the remains of their people's blown up body.
I'll miss all of this so much. I'll miss learning how to say random words in a million different languages, miss the odd run-in with a local person whose kindness makes me want to be a better person, miss meeting new people every night and sharing stories and a basic understanding of why we are where we are, I'll miss not having a cell phone and not being able to avoid updates on Hollywood gossip in the grocery line.
Despite all of these "missings" and more, however, I do miss home, so I'll be happy when I see those mountains in a few weeks and breath in that air.

Later Alligators...

Goodbye Month.

2011-09-25T22:53:00.000-07:00

Last days with West Lake

Lilly pads...obviously

The best part of my Wednesday/Thursday classes, my one-on-one student... we had a good time

Last night out dinner with the office...everyone dressed up

Three of my favs.... classic

My other Apple Thief

Last look at the Bund in Shanghai

This month has been so exhausting. Our entire office nearly turned over with completely new people which means a million goodbye parties and a million welcome parties. I was on the tail end of all the goodbyes, but people were all sweet enough to get all dressed up and hit the town for one more big night out before I left. It`s such a crazy feeling to look out at a crowd of 20 or 30 people, and know all of them so well and love all of them so much. I met so many good people in China who I will never forget, hope I see them again someday. Turns out the Brits aren`t so bad, ha. In fact, they`re some of the most real people I`ve ever met, and I`m so happy to have known the ones I do. I swear I learned more about British culture than Chinese culture this past six months. However, I`m quickly trying to lose my British intonation on ALL my sentences, and stop using the words, `quite,` `lovely,` and `recon` so much before I get home.. it`s starting to worry me how naturally it comes. Not to mention my crude, unforgiving sense of humor I`ve developed...
My last night in China I had to stay in Shanghai. to catch the plane out When I went up to the rooftop cafe of my hostel to have a drink and look out an the Bund, I ran into non-other than my friend Helen who I did my TEFL with in Prague!...we were obviously so excited to see eachother, and shared a drink before she left that night and I went off to eat dinner with a friend from Hangzhou. A perfect last night to top off a perfect six months.
Traveling sometimes feels most like home to me. I love meeting new people and making new friends, and no matter how bad things can get sometimes, I`ve never once been let down by an experience or a place by the end of my time there.. The down side, is that the more I travel, the more people I have to miss, and the more homes I have to say goodbye to. It`s wearing, but I`m getting used to it I suppose.Better to have loved and lost... as they always say.
I`m currently in Japan with an exchange student who stayed with my family 18 YEARS AGO!! It:s nuts catching up on everything and looking at old pictures of me in my stupid clothes and headbands I used to wear when I was five, hugging her leg... and now she has two daughters who are adorable, and the whole family is treating me like royalty. Japan is so different than any place I`ve been...it really just has it`s own vibe here, and everything is so clean and quiet... a seriously needed break from China. AND I GOT TO EAT CHEESE TODAY!!! I love it here.
Off to Vietnam in four days where I`ll be meeting my friend from China to, no doubt, have the time of our lives exploring every inch on the country. She bought a ticket into Hanoi (in Northern Vietnam) and out of Saigon (Southern Vietnam) so we have ten days to get from one end of the country to the other...no plans other than that.

I can`t wait for it all.

Where to begin...

2011-08-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

Town we stayed in at the base of the mountains

People, people, people... always, people.

One of the first "viewpoints" on the hike...

Then the fog finally settled...

Our band minus the drummer... "The Apple Thieves"

This last few weeks have been my best in China.

I just returned home from a trip to Yellow Mountain, and despite the hoards of people, constant looming- soaking wet fog that covered most the vistas on half our hike, despite all of that... the bits of the mountain we were able to see through the fog were unbelievable. I've never seen anything more unrealistic looking. All ancient Chinese art you see with the giant cliffs and fog wrapped around the base of them come from this place. It's just a sea of jagged crags shooting out of a canyon that's filled with mist. When you get to the top of the mountain, you sit above the clouds and look down at the tips of the peaks emerging from the white... words really can't do it justice.

In other news, I was just a part of the most adorable marriage proposal. My best friend and band-mate here, Josh, fell head-over-heels for a Polish girl he met seven weeks ago. About a week ago he took me out of the office to tell me that on the bus that morning he decided that he was going to propose to her, and just a few nights ago, we sang "All You Need is Love" with the greatest Salsa band at a bar we always go to downtown. While the lead singer/drummer and I continued singing the song, Josh got down on his knee onstage, called her up onstage with him, whispered some words no-one could here, and she said yes. I've never seen two more happy people in my life. They're getting married on an elephant in Thailand in a couple months.

Only 23 days of teaching left and then off to Japan and Vietnam... I'm having such a good time here these days, I'm having a difficult time imagining being gone. I've met so many great people and made so many close friends... just have to look forward to the next thing I guess. There's always a next thing.

Summer Camp

2011-08-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

Painting t-shirts...and faces

One of my all-time favorite kids in the world...super happy...can't speak English to save his life

Last night of camp celebration

All I knew about working at EF's (my company's) Summer Camp was that you had to work sun up to sun down for twelve straight days, teach three hours of back to back classes in the morning followed by another three hours of back to back classes in the afternoon, the food is slop, and you can't leave the campus that all too well resembles prison barracks. It's funny how life goes sometimes... turns out Summer Camp was a blast! The group of teachers I went with were so great, which made the experience much more bearable. We played music every night, cranium, flip-cup, darts, and anything else we could think of to get us through the extreme exhaustion. Even though my body has completely given up on me now that I'm home and immobile in bed, it was really bitter-sweet leaving the teaching crew and all the kids that I grew to love so much after spending so much time together.

I will never be hard up for ways to kill an hour ever again... some days in class we would play "dance to the music and freeze when it stops" for fifteen minutes, followed by out of control-can't believe a light never broke classroom dodge ball, then "paint your face and pretend you're an explorer while looking for mystical nature object outside," and finally "paint a huge explorers ship with your hands and stick the mystical objects on your ship." At the end of camp, the kids put on presentations for their parents that we worked on all of camp. My class' rendition of "Old McDonald had a Zoo" was the cutest thing you've ever seen. My older kids put on a hilarious production of "Snow White and the Five Dwarfs," in which the only two boys in the class played Snow White and the Prince while the girls played the Dwarfs... a very progressive minded group.

Even though I had a really good time, I've honestly never worked so hard in my life. From seven every morning to midnight every night we were either teaching, planning or eating. Before camp I didn't have my days off, so I worked for 16 days straight with no break. China is famous for it's unfair working conditions and labor laws... had no idea I'd be roped into it all so easily! They're sneaky over here..
Oh, and on that political note, I'd like to congratulate the jokers in D.C. for pulling their heads out of their asses to finally make a decision... It's embarrassing reading about it from so far away without all the details... makes us look like a joke... although reading through the bill is nearly as infuriating as the time it took them to decide on it.

I lost my camera in Shanghai a few weeks ago, so pictures have been scarce, but I plan on getting a new one for my upcoming adventures to Japan, Vietnam, Laos...and where ever else the wind blows me until I fly home (yeah, I quit my job...coming home!)!! Can't wait to breath in the autumn air. On to the next thing...still figuring that out, but I've got a few options that when I think about them make me smile to myself just knowing how lucky I am to have the freedom to have any choice at all. For a while there I felt a little rushed to get settled into something "realistic"... move to suburbia, live in a house, pretend to be happy, bored out of my mind... now, I've realized that I am settled. At the moment I'm settled in my unsettled lifestyle and I couldn't be any happier or more grateful for the realization. I think I'm actually figuring it out: contentment. I've found it, finally.

Singing "Imagine" the the kids... brought up some really interesting discussion about China-Japan relations

Practicing "roars" for "Old McDonald Had a Zoo"

Beijing

2011-06-29T21:52:00.001-07:00

Forbidden City building

The Hutong

Resting on our hike along the Wall

The great Great Wall

My travel buddy Helen! She's from Australia, I'm from America, we met in Prague, we hang in China...

Had to be taken

Just stepped off the longest train ride of my life earlier today. 17 hours and then straight to work. I love the train though; I love watching out the window, dozing off to the vibrations of the train on the tracks, and having time to read, think and be alone without any distractions or places to be.

Despite the 10 hour train ride to Beijing and the 17 hour ride back, I decided to head up north for a quick weekend trip to visit my friend Helen before our weekends are reduced to one day due to heavy, summer-class traffic. I left Sunday night after work, and arrived Monday morning. Along with a thousand other things, Beijing is known for it's old, preserved alley-ways called "hutongs" that are now converted into funky boutique/restauranty/hippyish areas where tons of travelers come to relax after exhausting themselves out in the vast expanse of the city. Turns out, our hostel was tucked into one of the main hutongs and I had a difficult time leaving it to explore much more of the city my first day there. I did make it to the Forbidden City which leads into Tiananmen Square which was definitely worth seeing, although I am going to have to go back to Beijing to check out it's other countless sites.

After the Forbidden City, I decided to head back to the hutong for lunch where I met a really friendly man from Australia at a cafe. Tea at the cafe turned into a beer on the roof of a Tibetan restaurant. I ended up spending the rest of the day and evening with him and two of his friends from Russia and Israel he had met the night before. For those of you who know Xavier Rudd (one of the names on my iPod who will not be going anywhere), this guy grew up fighting with him on the Australian Football field!! My favorite part of traveling alone is all the people you meet along the way. You're never actually alone and it makes the world seem smaller and smaller in the best way possible. It's amazing how much you can have in common with people who grew up on the opposite end of the world from you.

My friend didn't get to Beijing till much later Monday night and Tuesday morning we woke up bright and early and headed off for a 6km adventure along the Great Wall. The section of the wall our tour took us on was completely untouristy which meant we practically had the whole thing to ourselves. Due to massive rains that flooded Beijing a few days before I arrived, the air was crystal clear (as crystal clear as air in China can get) and you could see the wall draped over the hills for miles into the distance.

The trip ended on some comfy sofas at a rooftop bar where we went to grab a couple beers with two guys from Canada and England we met on our tour. After a great political conversation and some pizza, I headed back home fuled up and happy from my whirlwind trip to Beijing... first place I've been in China where I wasn't really ready to head home to Hangzhou.

Teaching is going great! Received the highest bonus you can get after my three month evaluation which was nice confirmation that I'm not doing everything totally wrong... though I think I accidentally traumatize my favorite group of eight-year old's by showing them "The Wall" in class the other day. Had a huge talk after the movie about the words "fake" and "real"... like the part in the movie where the kids jump down a meat grinder and come out as meat at the bottom: fake...whoopsie. Though i do have to say that I think the part where the students in the movie jump into the conveyor and come out as clone/zombie students (or whatever you want to call them) really struck a chord... it's basically a commentary on Chinese schools.

China is funny in that it's "cultural" bits even seem to amuse the Chinese people. Since it was all taken from them during Mao, it seems that all the buildings and cultural sites left are only standing for tourist/beautification purposes and not because people actually care about the original reason they were built. The entire country loses a lot of depth due to that feeling. Regardless, Chinese people are some of the nicest, most genuinely helpful people I've ever known on whole.... to be honest though, I'm almost afraid to write much more... there really is a sense of some monster under the calm waters whenever you start trying to analyze the place too much.

Miss everyone tons!
M*uah

Update...

2011-06-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

The Bund in Shanghai

Three of my co-workers and close friends.

All my co-workers out for my birthday... the day after my real birthday...forgot to mention I had to go to the hospital on my birthday. ha

Little turtles in little plastic things!

Night out in Nanjing

Ancient statue along the pathway to see the Emperor's tomb..way harder to climb than it looks.

I cannot believe so much time has passed already. When I got here I was ready to board the next plane home due to a combination of home-sickness and my complete commitment phobia I've realized I have with places. Ever since last June, just over a year ago, I moved to New York...and ever since then I have not lived in a place longer than a month and a half...until now. I've been in Hangzhou for almost three months now, and I'm just starting to settle into the idea of being here for a year....and I'm finally ok with that. It's such an easy life here. There are so many nice people to hang out with, I just got hired at a restaurant to play music for money two times a week, when I want to travel on the weekends I get to go to some of the most amazing places and historical sites in the world... I'll be fine. The first few months has had it's ups and downs though. It's hard realizing that your life has two separate realities and finding a balance for them is even harder.

I miss Sheridan in the summer. I miss the grass and the way the air smells. The air here is shit. There's really no other way to put it.

My job is going along great. Getting to work with kids everyday is a lot of fun. Even when it's a bad day they always manage to put a smile on your face...or at least redirect your anger elsewhere for a bit. There is one class I have on Saturdays full of 8-9-year-olds. There are about five kids in the class who literally spend 0% of class in their seat. They roll around on the floor and play war for the entire class. At first I tried to instigate a little discipline, but realized that they literally pay attention better, are more willing to participate, and distract the other students less when they're allowed to act like roly polies. I'm sure it looks like a zoo from the outside, but we have a lot of fun, and some of the kids who weren't doing so great when I started teaching the class seem to be improving. There is another class that I play a new song for each week. They have a sheet of the lyrics with a few words missing and have to fill in the blanks. After we figure out all the words, I make them get into groups and discuss what the song's about... definitely my favorite class. There are days I wish I could teach a subject other than English, but for now I'm learning so much and can't really complain.

Recently, I went on a couple trips to Shanghai and Nanjing with some friends. Shanghai is such an energetic, enormous city, it's kind of hard to comprehend. A friend of mine and I took the night train there after classes (it takes less than an hour to get there on their new super fast trains), dropped off our bags at the hostel and had a great night exploring Shanghai nightlife... we met a group of really fun people from France and the U.S. and tooled around with them for the rest of the night. The next day we wandered around the city and sat in a park blowing bubbles with some local kids for a bit. That night we met up with our friends from the night before. It's so fun traveling here because of all the really nice people you get to meet from around the world... turns out it's really not that big at the end of the day.

Last weekend I went to Nanjing on a girls trip with my friends from Canada, England and Boulder, CO! We had so much fun exploring the city that day, though we all agreed that we're so lucky to work in Hangzhou. It is literally the nicest city in China; no other places I've seen so far can really compare. The next day we went to the tomb of an emperor from the Ming Dynasty which on a beautiful hike up in the hills...climbed on some ancient camel statues, got lost on a trail for a bit, took a peak at the Yangtze River before getting yelled at by at least five different sets of guards, and then headed home.

Off to Yellow Mountain with the same girls next weekend which is where the scenery from Avatar was allegedly inspired by. Excited to get out in nature... I miss the mountains so much.

While I'm obviously learning loads about Chinese culture, not to mention picking up the language slowly but surely, I'm learning even more about British culture. I'm happy to report that even some of the harshest critics in the office think my fake accent is getting better everyday. I've been saying the word "lovely" a lot more, but I've also introduced some of my friends to some Americanisms that they quite like. The most recent term being, "shit show." I won't elaborate.

Miss everyone from home tons.

M*uah,

Martha

Epic Walk

2011-04-26T22:22:00.000-07:00

In the hills behind my apartment.

Looking out on oh so smoggy Hangzhou.

I think this was in the Botanical Gardens.

Bamboo forest!

A walk in China wouldn't be complete without seeing at least 10 people posing for wedding photos.

Prayer candles at a Buddhist Temple..

Buddhist Temple tucked back in the hills behind the lake.

When you ask kids in China to make a list of things they do in a day, only three of four things are said: go to school, do homework, and play video games or practice violin. Kids do about a minimum of four hours of homework everyday. When I have to reprimand a kid for not paying attention in class I almost feel guilty. For the most part, kids are just kids though. You have your 6-year-olds who love running around and singing at the top of their lungs to songs they have the words memorized to but don't understand (as you can probably guess, this is one of my favorite parts of the day). You have your angsty teens who won't get excited about ANYTHING because they're too embarrassed about literally everything...and then you have your super cute 8-10 year olds who are hilarious and so eager to play games and have fun in class. In short, I love my job...it's at the very least entertaining which is more than I can say about measuring people's bra size (...like I did at my last job).

I thought I'd put up a few more pics of Hangzhou. It's such a beautiful city, and there are so many great walks to go on. I just went on the most epic walk of my life today. Started in the mountains and made my way through the Botanical Gardens, the bamboo forest, around the lake and into a temple...over 10 miles!..you always see older people really high up on the mountain doing Tai-Chi, and run into tea-houses and temples tucked into the hills. Despite the natural beauty, I have to say my favorite part of the hikes are all the hilarious women and men dressed up in their wedding get-ups posing for wedding photos...you wouldn't believe how many there are! I think I ran in to over 20 today...and I've been told that it's generally not their wedding...they're just taking the pictures...for fun? I don't know.

Planning a trip to Shanghai this coming weekend...trying to keep my momentum going while the heat is still bearable...I hear the summers here are brutal.

Hong Konked....

2011-04-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

In Hong Kong.. woke up at quarter to five this morning, flew here, waited in line at the Visa place for about five hours, walked around to check out the nightlife...now I'm in bed. Super tired from all the fun-having. China has been a breeze so far. At first it was terrifying to think of being here for more than two months (apparently my cut-off point for length of time I've been able to live in a place for the past year)...but I'e finally settled in and am more than happy to be here. My job teaching the kids is really fun (for the most part...some days it makes you want to bash your face against a wall when they don't understand what you're trying to convey), and I'm meeting tons of new people, learning new things about life...and I'm content...for the first time in a really long time. I'm content here for now. While I'm in Hong Kong and can access my blog, I thought I would put up a few pics of my new situation!

Pretty bad picture of Hong Kong Island from the water...super smoggy.

My living room...yeah, I didn't decorate it...and yeah, there are still X-mas decorations up.

My room.

The lake near where I live...my favorite place in my city.

How many people are usually at the lake when you want to go on a nice, quiet walk.

View out my window...doesn't look that great...but you can see some of the hills behind the buildings that have really great hiking paths.

My office.

Wonderful Wonderful...

2011-03-28T04:31:00.000-07:00

Copenhagen! Seriously the most serene perfect place on earth. Everyone there is so chill and nice. I mean, the place's Country Bird is the Swan and they have hearts on their currency. Moreover, the friends I visited there treated me like royalty. During the days while my friend was at work, I spent the whole day riding around the city on the bike my friend got me. At nights we went out to movie premiers, live music, delicious restaurants, and fun bars where people teach English speakers to say "horse-cock" instead of "cheers" in Danish...humiliating, but funny nonetheless. The city itself has about 1.5 million people in it, but it takes about ten minutes to bike from one end to the other...and every direction anybody gave me was, "just go straight." It's the easiest city to figure out and it was a wonderful send-off to a wonderful time in Europe. Couldn't have asked for a better time.

Today I'm in Hong Kong...pretty much toured out. I'm not sure I even have the energy to go explore the place much, but all I've gathered is that there is tons of shopping here. On top of the shopping, however, is the most beautiful backdrop for a city you've ever seen. Giant, green mountains shooting up from the ocean and the most gargantuan bridges you've ever seen connect all of Hong Kong's parts. It's a great city to ease your way into China...although I've been reminded several times it's NOT part of China, it's the perfect step. Everyone here is so friendly and speaks perfect English. All the signs are in English, and the city itself is really compact and easy to get around. I might drag myself out to see some light show on the water tonight...but I'm having a hard time peeling myself off the bed...we'll see.

Here's some pics from Copenhagen!... I did see the Little Mermaid statue...but only her butt. I was too cold to get off the ferry.

A couple blocks from where I was staying.

On the canal ride around the city.

canal ride

my bike!

Everything Passes/ Everything Changes/ Just Do What You Think You Should Do

2011-03-18T03:59:00.000-07:00

My home for the past five days.

The coffee shop.

Giant East Berlin Space Needle thing.

Walk along the river.

Brandenburg Gate.

The park near the Brandenburg Gate...longest walk of my life.

Holocaust memorial.

So I'm a certified English Teacher and off to Hong Kong in about a week. In the mean time I've been spending my days in Berlin! No questions asked, I could live here. I love the graffiti on ALL the walls, the modern colors of the asymmetrical buildings, the humbling history, and the ridiculously friendly people. My hostel is in East Berlin and I can't say enough about how funky and unique this place is. I live (feels like I'm living since every other place I've been to has only been for a couple of days) in the food/ vintage-used clothing district. Every morning I go to my favorite three story-spiral staircase-giant window-cafe, eat a delicious croissant and check my e-mail. Afterwards, I decide which historical site to visit, and then which art museum I'll visit after that...it's awesome!

I recently visited a Robert Mapplethorpe photography exhibit which was really interesting...mostly because of the controversy behind his work and what an icon he is in the gay community.

I'm staying at the cutest little hostel, and despite the fact that the dude in my 8-bed dorm room snoring could wake the dead...the staff and people staying here have been really great to meet and go out with.

Finding that life isn't necessarily about being "whole" is relieving. I guess the "whole" might come later...like when I'm dead and all the parts are just one string of stories. For now, I'm enjoying the pieces. I love and miss the ones I left behind, and the ones today are preparing me for the pieces I meet tomorrow.

English...uck.

2011-03-08T14:05:00.000-08:00

So, I realize I haven't been writing a whole lot. I thought about it for a second and decided it's because I've been having to dissect every flipping part of English every day, so coming home and writing...in English (not that I have any other option) just doesn't seem that appealing. However, tonight I'm in the mood so I thought I'd try and elaborate on the past couple weeks.

I've been hired to work in China! Going to be teaching children in a mountain town (probably city actually) near Shanghai! The town is named Hangzhou... you should Google-Image it if you get the chance, it's gorgeous. Regardless of whether or not I'm going to be making millions while I'm over there, I can't wait to experience China and be out East again... couldn't be happier actually.

I walk to class every morning, listening to my music, just smiling about where I am and what I'm doing. I feel so lucky.

Budapest was truly unbelievable. We arrived there at 2pm Saturday and hit the ground running. The sun was out and so were all the people enjoying the fantastical squares and giant bridges connecting Buda to Pest. Budapest is a lot like Prague with it's giant river, gorgeous bridges, and decorative architecture.... though no city can really beat Prague for beautiful buildings. It's so big though; much larger than Prague. I'd like to go back someday to see more of it.
The nightlife there was really nuts, and before we knew it daylight came and the sun was not only rising, but had already risen. That's when we dropped everything we were doing (which I think was sleeping on a stranger's arm in a club trying to pretend I was still awake and interested in his story) and went to sleep for a mere three hours before waking up and walking for six hours around the rest of the city. The fresh air woke us up as we made our way down a cobble-stone path lined with trees to one of the biggest, most subtlety beautiful parks I've ever been to. Not only were there really mystical looking trees and large open fields being warmed up by the sun, but there was a castle with a (empty) real-live moat going around it!!!! That night we hiked up a huge hill on the opposite side of the river and looked out on the city. I think we were both pretty blown away by the scene...we couldn't contain our smiles and giggles...but then again, I think we were pretty tired and knew we still had six ours to go before boarding our overnight bus back to Prague. After the mountain, we threw down for a traditional Hungarian meal at an extremely nice restaurant with a live Gypsy band in the background. A great way to end the trip.

Only three more days of class left, and I have to say I feel pretty satisfied with having made it through. There will be a bit more to learn (a slight understatement I'm sure) in China, but I feel much more prepared to go teach a class today than I did four weeks ago.

Miss everyone at home! Sending a hug and kiss!

Budapest!

2011-03-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

Quick bus stop in Slovakia

Back yard of our hostel

The hostel

Stumbled upon a bachelor party...

Inside the Cathedral

Castle with a moat!!!!...just no water

Looking out over Budapest

Just pictures for now...I'll write more later. Budapest was amazing.

Krakow.

2011-02-27T12:12:00.000-08:00

In the Jewish Quarter

Matching bike

Becky, one of my travel buddies

The theatre near our hostel

The weekend crew (Lauren and Becky)

In front of the castle

Walking to the main square

Main Square

Old building

Chair memorial in the Jewish Quarter. Symbol of all the furniture that was destroyed after the Nazis rounded up all Jews in the Ghetto and sent them to the camps.

Center of the Jewish Quarter

Just eating some whipped cream out of a can and waiting for the overnight train to take us back from Krakow to Prague. I'm actually really sad to be leaving.... Krakow is amazing! Best weekend of my trip so far.

Coming in on the train was like traveling into an old WWII movie. The scenery and hazy air makes you feel like your inside an old black and white photo. The first thing we noticed, however, was how nice the people are. Everyone is so happy to help you with anything and the people running our hostel are so genuine. For $18 a night we got free breakfast, dinner, vodka, and a place to hang before our train even after we checked out. Best hostel I've ever been to. Over dinner we met a really nice crew of Danes we spent the night with... had a pretty great time to say the least. I thought Prague night life was nuts... The people we were out with were really great though. I wish we would have had more time to play.

During the day we explored the main square and the Jewish Quarter which is really funky. It reminded me a lot of Soho in Manhattan. We kind of created our own little pub crawl (forced upon us by the cold) and had the most delicious meal I've ever had in Europe at a kosher restaurant. Potato pancakes: delicious.

After my whopping three hours of sleep last night, we took a walk to Shindler's factory. The sun was actually out today, and walking down the streets watching the old women in their fur coats and families stroll down the path by the river was a perfect way to end the trip. The buildings here are old, but it's still so beautiful... and you can almost see the history of the city written all over the walls of the buildings.

Should be finding out in the next couple of days if I'm going to be living in China for the next year...kind of nuts to think about.

So, great weekend in Krakow. Ready to crank out the second half of this program.... can't believe how much there is to get done.

Hope everyone reading is doing well!

2011-02-20T14:26:00.000-08:00

Classes have been intense. Teaching is much more difficult than I thought! We learn so much information in one day of class that it's pretty exhausting by the end of the day. Since none of us speak the language of the people we teach, there are a number of different techniques we have to practice in order for our students to understand us... at the end of the day, it's mostly about having the confidence to act like an idiot playing charades in front of a classroom full of people laughing at you and talking about you in their native tongue. My students have all been really sweet though. I'm really impressed by how eager they are to learn and how much they absorb in one class. Some of my students have only been studying for two months or so and I can't believe how good they are.

Hard work during the weekdays has lead to hard play during the weekends. Clubs here don't get going till around 11:00pm at the earliest. I went out last Friday and left the club at 5:00am the next morning and the place wasn't even close to shutting down. These people are nuts. I did met some interesting people though. I got stuck arguing with a 9/11 conspiracy theorist from the Czech Republic for a good portion of the night... and then got swooped into another intense convo about ignorant Americans with a guy from Germany who loved Canada...psh. Not to mention the venue was a building owned by some eccentric artist who lets kids live in the building if they help design, construct, and work at the club. The place looked like the inside of a computer. The walls looked like motherboards and there were these neon creepy crawly metal structures hanging from the walls. Everything else was brick and dark and neon and there were people just going crazy to the drum and bass music beating through the walls... almost makes you happy to see Monday... almost....can't say I didn't have a good time though.

I just applied for a job in China.

I don't have too many photos...I'll put some new ones up soon!

Prague!

2011-02-13T21:23:00.000-08:00

It's strange going back to places. Every time I go back home, I'm reminded of the last time I was there and how much change has happened in my life since then. It's always a good point of reference. Being back in Prague has done the same, and has forced me to see the change that has taken place in my life since last September. I'm still trying to comprehend how I ended up all the way back over here. New York- Sheridan-Europe-Sheridan-Denver-Sheridan-Back to Prague. I feel like I've been on some insane carnival ride ever since I graduated. Not that I don't like carnival rides... the Zipper is a true novelty. I guess I'm still trying to comprehend what it means for me to be back over here. So far, it's meant tons of fun and beautiful walks through Prague... today is the first day of school though, so things are going to get more serious from here on out. Within the next thirty days I'm going to have to decide where I want to go teach English... and so far I've narrowed it down to Europe, South America, or Asia... great start, I know. Most recently I've been debating between Portugal and Malaysia, but who knows... I don't. So, if anything, I'm just as interested as the anyone to see where my life is headed, because of today, I have no clue.

I live in a villa outside of Prague with a bunch of other students from the program. It's a really nice place and i have a huge room (that everyone is super jealous of... it's the biggest in the building....not sure how I got so lucky) with my own private balcony! Downtown Prague is just about a ten minute metro ride away and the school and grocery store are right down this cute little walking path down the hill. It's similar to living in Brooklyn as opposed to Manhattan... not bad at all.

Not much else to report. Everyone on the programs is really nice and up for a good time. I'm just really happy. I like not knowing what's next.

Some pictures (I didn't put up too many of downtown yet since none of them would be much different from last post's pictures of Prague):

The Villa

My huge room

The neighborhood

The path to school

Just a couple of downtown

Out to dinner with some of the group... not everyone had arrived yet

Update

2011-01-27T16:31:00.000-08:00

Munich, Germany

Main plaza.

Olympia Park.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Prague, Czech Republic

Venice, Italy

Cinque Terre, Italy

Rome, Italy

Sienna, Italy

At the wine vineyard we toured.

Greece

On the ferry coming in to Greece.

Athens, Greece

Gyro.

Crete, Greece

In the gorge we hiked.

Santorini, Greece

On the highest peak on the island.

Sunset village.

Kos, Greece

Sunrise.

Istanbul, Turkey

The storm.

Whirrling Dervish.

Egypt

Abu Simbel... my favorite temple.

Feluccas on the Nile.

The donkeys we rode to Valley of the Kings: Gyro and Wilber (we clearly named them ourselves).

* * *

I graduated from college last May.  Not so exciting considering the only job I've been able to land since graduation has been at Victoria's Secret helping the wealthy, unexciting Denver population find the perfect bra.  Thank you Sociology major.

Naturally, I moved to Manhattan after Laramie.  My best friend Scott and I lived in Harlem in a two-story flat that we shared with two other roommates. Scott and I shared a key to our apartment as well as a bedroom..and every second of every day we spent there.

The Starbucks down the street along with every other store in Manhattan never got back to me about a job... so we had some fun instead.

Harlem quickly became my favorite place in the city. We learned that the Poppeys with the bullet-proof counter down the block gave away biscuits right before closing, and the Applebees staff down the other block was the nicest staff in the city. We also became friendly with the Baskin-Robbins staff. The nighttime entertainment was great too. Some nights we would just sit on our roof and could hear the woman all the way down the block screaming at her boyfriend, "why am I fucking you!, why am I fucking you!"

In August I went to Europe and Egypt with another Scott, different than the one I went to New York with. We started our trip in Munich, Germany.  The rest of our itinerary looked like this: Munich- Amsterdam- Prague- Zurich- Venice- Cinque Terre (Italy)- Rome-Sienna- Athens- Crete-Santorini- Kos- Istanbul- Cairo-Luxor-Aswan-Frankfurt-Home.

There was a night we spent near the end of our adventure in Istanbul, Turkey. We were sitting at a hookah bar overlooking the sea when a dark purple and orange storm crept over the city. The waves in the sea started churning and rain started to pour. We finally found refuge on a ferry boat and I remember getting really caught up in how intense the moment seemed.  I was the luckiest person in the world to be there, in Istanbul, on that trip. I couldn't believe all I'd seen and how lucky I was to have seen it.  There are so many moments in life I can look back on and realize how they've changed me, but in that moment I think I was experiencing the change in the precise moment it was happening.

The whole trip was like that. There wasn't a moment that passed me by.

In Amsterdam I was reminded of the fact that humans are also animals. I've enjoyed being in touch with my animal self ever since.

Prague was so amazing that I am going back in less than two weeks to go to school to get my license to teach English as a foreign language overseas. One night we sat and stared out our hotel window mystified by the view of ancient rooftops.  Despite so much else, this might have been my favorite part.

We stumbled upon a Communist Party Convention one night in Venice, and dangled our feet in the canal as we watched the scene and shared champagne. I ate way too much gelato and pizza in Rome. In Cinque Terre (five perfect villages perched atop the jagged coast of western Italy), we went on the most sweaty five hour hike of my life.  However, the constant view of the Mediterranean during the hike and jumping off gigantic rocks into the refreshing water at sunset afterwards made every second of the day worthwhile. We shared wine and conversation with an old hippie chick from California one night. She ate all our Lindt chocolates we scored in Switzerland and tried to convince us we had all eaten them, which was just not true. We ended Italy in Sienna where I snagged a couple (a bundle) of the most delicious grapes in the world at a vineyard we toured outside the town in the Tuscon hills.

After 21 hours on the open-air deck of a ferry from Italy to Greece, we arrived in Athens.  Despite how filthy the city was, I ate the best gyro of my life there...I'm not kidding.  Scott literally only ate gyros for every meal during our entire ten days in Greece.  In Crete, we hiked eleven miles down a gorge that lead to a small beach where we spent the afternoon lounging until a ferry picked us up. In Santorini we rented a mophead and explored every corner of the island as well as its highest peak.  We also spent an afternoon convinced we could catch a fish in the ocean with our bare hands. We couldn't.

We briefly visited the Greek island of Kos (for four hours) before heading to Turkey. Once we arrived, we spent the afternoon sleeping like homeless people on a park bench in Turkey's port town of Bodrum before boarding a ten hour bus ride to Istanbul. Turns out I can fall asleep literally anywhere.  The marketplace, hookah bars, Whirling Dervishes, powerful dark sea that separates the city, the really bazaar Turkish bath experience, the most beautiful people either of us had ever seen, this weird delicious spicy tortilla food I found on the street, and the night we spent talking world politics and dancing in the street until 5am with four random Turkish friends... changed me. Istanbul is incredible.

Ever since I was little I've had an obsession with seeing the Pyramids at Giza. When I finally saw them it was confirmed that I'm the one who ultimately decides where my life is going to take me. "I am the master of my fate: the captain of my soul," as a poem by William Ernest Henley puts it. I loved the ruins and would have spent forever in the million degree heat listening to our tour guides explain their history. We spent a night on the Nile aboard a felucca (a giant sailboat) and jumped in the famous water below for an evening swim. I almost got to hold a baby lion at the zoo, but when the man slammed the giant metal door behind me and placed me in front of a caged lion whose paws were the size of my head and was licking the metal bars with his giant tongue that could have scooped me into his mouth in one fell lick (guess the term "baby lion" is used loosely in Egypt) , I realized my Pride Rock/Lion King dream of holding a baby lion is going to be even more difficult to come by then making it to the Pyramids of Giza.

On top of fun and amazing places, conversations you get to have when life's obligations don't exist, technology isn't available, and when no one else speaks your language are what truly show you a person... and yourself. It was probably one of the best conversations of my life.

All I remember about Frankfurt is feeling sad. I wasn't ready to go home. I think that's the real reason I'm going back.

The End.

2009-05-11T23:16:00.000-07:00

View from our hotel in Dharamsala.

View from our Manali hotel.

Manali.

My travel buddy, Nick.

Camp sight in Shimla's mountains (Himalayas).

View from Shimla hotel.

Our hotel room in Shimla. We decided that the only explanation for its decor (red velvet, and mirrors on the ceiling) was that it was once used for a 70's porno set in a ski lodge.

Waterfall in Rishikesh!

View from our Rishikesh hotel.

My aunt's apartment.

View from bridge right outside my aunts apartment.

Side note: My friend had a run-in with a tractor. It ran over his arm. I meant to post this earlier, but didn't download it until now.

I'm back now... well in the Western world anyways. I've been in London for the past couple of days with my aunt reaclimating myself to this once familiar world. Three days ago I woke up to the familiar sound of cows mooing while rummaging through garbage, construction workers hacking up something from deep in their throats (I could never figure out exactly why they HAD to make the noise for so long), and the smell of garbage, sewage, flowers, and burning plastic in the air. Today, I'm looking out the window of my aunts apartment which borders the Thames river. There's a giant Ferris wheel in front of me, Big Ben to my right, the Queen of England a few blocks behind me, and blocks upon blocks of clean streets filled with tons of people who look like me and dogs on leashes all around. I just had my first piece of steak in five months last night, my first bite of real cheese (besides the yak cheese I tried up North), my first uninterrupted long walk through a city, and my first car ride with a seat belt! I'm sure if I had come from London straight from the U.S. I would have noticed the differences between the two places, but having come from India has completely blinded me to any differences there may be between here and the U.S. Other than the fact that the word 'pants' means 'underwear' here, I feel like I'm back home.

Before I sign out of this forever, I wanted to put up some final picks of the last trip I took in Northern India. Some friends and I headed up to Rishikesh after school got out where we had the time of our lives swimming in the Ganges (which is much cleaner up North than in Varanasi), rafting in the Ganges, hiking up to waterfalls, and discovering exactly what it was that the Beatles loved SO much about the town when they made their famous visit in the 70's... After Rishikesh, we went to a mountain village in the Himalayas called Shimla where we went on an overnight hike in the mountains. I've got to admit, Colorado could certainly give this town a run for its money. I couldn't stop thinking of home when we were there. Finally, our group split up and I headed even further North with my friend Nick in hopes of seeing some white-caps before we left the country. Low and behold, our first morning in Manali, though rainy and cold was accompanied by the most regal and beautiful snow capped peaks I have ever seen in my life. I love the Rockies and I've even attested to them being more beautiful than the Swiss Alps and the Andes in Peru, , but I can't put the Himalayas on that list. While they are incomprehensibly gigantic, their is something so calm and welcoming about them. The mother of all mountain ranges, I'm never going to forget the feeling I got staring at them from the balcony of our room. I think I even had a few tears in my eyes, I've never seen or felt anything so powerful.

Last stop was Dharumsala, home of the Dhali Lama and tons of Tibetan refugees. Dharumsala didn't feel like India, it was filled with so many tourists and Tibetans. It was so clean and accommodating, it just wasn't India. Regardless, we had a great time filling up on Momo's (classic Tibetan food) and tea until our stomachs couldn't take it any more. One night we ate so much all we could do was roll back to the hotel, read aloud the last 40 pages of "Into Thin Air" to one another, and go to bed at 9:00. Lamo, I know. Nonetheless, my last weeks in India were great. It all kind of feels like a separate life right now, and sometimes I get waves of serious withdrawal walking down London's orderly streets. I have way too much to be thankful for to be sad though. I hope I don't ever forget that.

"Ordinary People"

2009-04-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

During the "Cultural Performance" on campus, my friend Nina and I played a couple songs

We celebrated Passover and had the most fun Seder in the world (even the all the Jewish people leading the Seder said so)

It was Nick's (guy in orange) 21st, so we went to the cheapest bar in Hyderabad and danced...

and danced...

and danced...and danced....

Classes have ended, finals are looming and the past couple of weeks in the immense heat has lead all of us to near madness. We've found a few ways to pass the time... see pictures above. I can't really comprehend the fact I'm leaving here soon, but I can't say I'm not anxious to touch the ground in Colorado, say hello to the mountains and breath in the fresh, non-polluted air that I've been dreaming about ever since I got here. I have one more trip planned before I leave India. My friend and I are going to the Himalayas as a grand finale to a grand adventure.

What have I taken from this experience? I don't think I'll ever really be able to articulate exactly all I've gained from living here. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to explain why it isn't completely abnormal that my friend was hit by a tractor walking home the other night, why I didn't second guess the fact my friend's boyfriend had to get plastic surgery last weekend after a waiter at a bar hit him in the face with a metal pole, why I don't even blink when I see monkeys or camels or elephants on the road anymore, and why I have learned to appreciate the use of a berka under certain circumstances. I guess it's all just part of your context and adapting to what's around you. I've adapted to this world, finally, and I have to admit I'm a little afraid of the world I'm about to re-enter.

I think the most profound thing I've learned from living here is the really simple fact that we're all just ordinary people. Sure, I feel lucky for having been born in a situation that allows me to experience extraordinary things, but that doesn't make me special by any means, it just makes me... lucky. In the U.S. I feel like people are constantly trying to justify their weird quirks or minor talents in order to feel special, or extraordinary. While wasting time trying to become unique individuals, we sometimes miss out on meeting other people, seeing other things, and experiencing the world in its entirety. I'm starting to believe that what is "extraordinary" and "special" in this world is all its ordinary people and different parts combined.

Hampi (part 2)/ Kerela

2009-04-09T01:12:00.000-07:00

In back of a rickshaw.

Mountain in Munnar.

Drinking coconut juice on the house boat.

On the Backwaters.

My explination for why Indian people litter: the trash bins are really freaky.

At the tip of India.

I'll begin with Hampi. I already went to this town, so I won't elaborate on the scenery and such, but what I will say is that it was a blast. When my friends and I weren't succumbing to the heat, laying comatose on the hammocks outside our tikki huts enjoying the view and the company, we could be found tooling around the Hampi's countryside via motorbike. In rout to finding a reservoir to swim in, we took a wrong turn and were attacked by a town full of (once again) sexually oppressed men who decided to randomly celebrate the god-awful holiday of Holi (see blog below) which we already had endured once. The mob of blue men stopped our bikes, slathered us in color, and even copped a few feels before we were able to regain composure and power through the crowd of men horns a-tooting. Again, I hate Holi. Despite the unwelcome ambush and rainbow-stained clothing, the drive through the countryside was so picturesque. Unfortunately, the ride home on the overnight train was spent on the floor next to the train toilets amongst millions of baseball sized cockroaches. If it wasn't for the good company I don't know what I would have done. Instead of crying and throwing ourselves from the train, we decided to contemplate things like: killing cockroaches, the man we had met in the tikki hut next to ours who had ample knowledge on the turnover rates of crack-cocain sales in the U.S. and many a story of "visions in the Arizona desert," and the usual conversations concerning life and what's to come of ours.

This picture pretty much sums up the rest of the trip.

Last weekend I went to Kerala, one of India's most southern states. While this trip provided much less sleep and relaxation than Hampi, Kerala proved itself to be my favorite place in India to date. The first night we arrived, we hopped from one six-hour bus ride, to one four-hour bus ride, to one more half-hour bus ride in order to arrive in Kanniyakummari to see the sunrise the next morning. Kanniyakummari is not actually in Kerela, but it is literally at the tip of India where the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea converge. Looking out on the water there was pretty powerful. I kept picturing myself on a map, and couldn't believe how far I was from anything familiar. The next day there two little old men in a motorboat the width of two telephone poles offered us a ride. We quickly accepted their offer, hopped in the boat/raft, and were taken for the ride of our lives over giant blue waves at the tip of India.

Next, we took a tour of the "Backwaters" of India which are amazing canals and rivers that flow all throughout Kerala. During the tour we picked cashews that our boatman had pointed out to us in a tree. He told us to wait to eat them until he could cut them open for us, but I naturally resisted the suggestion and greedily bit into the seed. I will never look at cashews the same again. The oil from the seed burned the shit out of my lips and tongue for the rest of the ride. My top lip was still a little numb the next morning. Our boatman just laughed at me and said, "Yes, is bad. Burns."

The people who live along these waters are not like other people I have met in India. Many people I have met on campus and up north have seemed anxious to prove their country's worth to me. They would ask how it compares to the U.S., and some would even ask me to say good things about India when I return home. People in Kerala are not like this for the simple fact that they live in a place that needs no explanation or understanding. Kerala is unbelievably beautiful and the people who live there know this. They have nothing to prove and nothing to hide; they have a confidence about them that comes from living in such a special place that I have not seen in other Indian people I have encountered.

Our last stop in Kerala was my favorite, Munnar. Despite the terrifying night's bus-ride up a mountain where I was literally planning my next move for when, not if, the bus rolled, Munnar's mountainous surroundings and kind people were worth the horror. We hiked a mountain near the town the morning after we arrived, and learned about the plants and animals that live in the area. We weren't lucky enough to see wild elephants, but we did see wild dog scat and one dead mouse along the way. On the hike down from the mountain, we walked through tea fields which Munnar is most well known for. Our guide explained to us the tea cultivation process and took us to a shop to buy tea after the hike. The entire day was amazing, and it did my soul a lot of good to see mountains again.

Before we headed to the airport the next day, we took a pit-stop on the coast to take a dip in the Arabian Sea. We had hopped the water would cool us down in the extreme heat, but the water turned out to be warmer than the weather. Not that I'm complaining, considering the alleged snow storms raging on back in the U.S.

I'm staying in Hyderabad until finals are over, and am planning to head out late April up to northern India one last time to see the Himalayas. Kerala definitely impressed me, but I'm saving my definitive "favorite place in India" thoughts for after I see the Himalayas.

Later alligators!

2009-03-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

Attempt to Ride on Back of Bike: Part 2

Mount the back of Dan's bike.
PTSD sets in.
Yell at Dan for not slowing down over speed bump.
Relax a bit after speed bump, impressed by improvement in my balance since last ride.
Wave hello to Anuj, my cricket coach (yes, I now play cricket), as he passes on his motorcycle.
Laugh when Anuj holds out his hand to Dan as if he were seriously offering to pull us up the hill on his motorcycle.
Scream in protest as Dan actually does grab Anuj's hand.
Dan and Anuj fly up the hill hand in hand, I'm on back of bike holding on for dear life.
All I can think of is scene from the movie "The Goonies" when the boy riding his bike is grabbed by the jerk in the red convertible and ridden at high speeds down a mountain pass only to be thrown off the side of the road in the end of the scene.
Anxiety subsides for a moment.
Just as I begin to let loose and enjoy the free ride, a biker in front of us swerves in our path.
Anuj yells, his motorcycle swerves to the right.
We swerve to the left.
My life flashes before my eyes.
Our bike is literally horizontal to the ground, and Dan somehow manages to keep us alive... and on the bike!
Moral of story is: don't ride on the back of bikes, and don't be too disappointed if something really uninspiring like "The Goonies" is the only thing you can think of before you die.

On to more important news. I have a new dog! Not a replacement to Charley, but a close second. I've named him Roti. His name refers to a South Indian bread best described as a close relative to the tortilla. There are so many stray dogs in India I can't even begin to count the ones I see on one walk to class. Most of them are pretty tough, mangy looking, disease ridden, flea eaten, and sometimes hairless muts. While Roti possesses many of these qualities, (a sever case of fleas, a missing ear, and knock knees) the little guy has completely won my heart. He has been known to follow me for a couple of miles to and from campus in the unbearable heat, pouncing through sand hills and snubbing any food I have to offer him to let me know that all he wants is my friendship. I feel so guilty for only being willing to pat him on the head every once in a while in fear of catching his fleas. Here are some pictures of him:

I've been enjoying the past couple weeks of relaxation in Hyderabad.
These past few months have flown by faster than I ever would have imagined and I'm not sure how I'm going to bring myself to say goodbye to so many of the people I have met here. They say that people who survive plane accidents, ship wrecks, drug rehab, etc. bond in ways that outsiders are not able to comprehend. I feel the same way about my friend's here who I have lived and traveled through Indian with. Not to say that being in India is like surviving a plane crash, but this country certainly does strip you down to your bare bones. We were instantly stripped of any social facade we might have brought here with us and were soon after put in countless situations that have redefined our "limits" in every sense of the word. I can't wait to see my friends and family from home; I literally dream about stepping off the plane at DIA and taking a deep breath of the fresh air. However, my time here has changed me, and there are really great people here who I may never see again to thank for that.

Holi...

2009-03-12T04:24:00.000-07:00

Alright, I went into this holiday with an open mind as I try and go into every day in India. Holi is a Hindu holiday which celebrates... well no one has really given me a straight answer, but it is known as the festival of colors. Basically you buy a bunch of highly carcinogenic, brightly colored powder and go attack people all day. One of the side effects of some of the powder is "mental retardation." I'm not even kidding.

As I walked down the road to the school "union" I was greeted by numerous hoards of students ready and waiting to pounce with died liquid and tons of powder. At first it was so great, as I dumped powder on complete strangers and screamed "happy Holi!" to everyone in sight, I felt like it was the first time I could let loose and just have fun with everyone around... them came the egg attacks, the tomato attacks, the behind the back attacks where men would come up and grab your face and rub color on you till you practically drowned in it. It quickly turned from a rainbow colored romp to a psychedelic Lord of the Flies, release your sexual tension fest. Men were banging on garbage cans, ripping each others pants and shirts off, climbing trees and wrestling one another to the ground.

As I stumbled home in the kazillion degree heat the egg on my head was seriously cooked onto my head by the sun. It was all I could do not to vom everywhere from the smell of it. It only took two hours in the shower and two more showers after that to look and feel semi clean again.

Today, my hair is highlighted pink, by boobs are blue, and my arms are an assortment of various colors splotched randomly about.

That all being said, it was a great day. I would celebrate Holi again in a second.

The North

2009-03-01T20:12:00.000-08:00

Normal street scene in Varanasi.

Morning boat ride on the Ghats.

The Taj Mahal. I just wish any of my photographs could do it justice.

Our tour guide made us all take this picture... but it looks kind of cool, right?

Desert scene

Second morning in the desert, relaxed and sufficiently sunburned.

Raju (my favorite camel)

Me riding Chompa the elephant in Jaipur.

I just returned home from Northern India last night around midnight. I'm not sure if I should begin by describing how beautiful the Taj Mahal was, how awesome the Rajistan desert was, or how little I have been able to bathe and sleep the past ten days.

My two friends Laura and Abby and I began our adventure with two plane tickets: one from Hyderabad to Delhi, and one from Varanasi to Hyderabad. The rest was up in the air, we just had to make it to Varanasi within ten days after arriving in Delhi. Our first stop after Delhi (where we only stayed the night and left early the next morning) was Jaipur, a town known for it's textiles, palaces, and pink buildings. Upon arrival, a rickshaw driver named Kalu took us under his wing and showed us the good places to eat, picked us up the next morning to go on an elephant ride, and proved to be a good, honest person in Northern India's sea of hagglers and con-artists. He ended up eating dinner with us one night and I will never forget what he said when asked what religion he was: "human being," he said. The same night we all got our palms read by a little old fortune teller man. For way too much money I was told that I will have a long life which will end abruptly by way of a heart attack, I will have twins, a good career (only if I apply myself because sometimes I'm lazy... true), I am honest, I am severely independent, and love love too much. Oh yeah, and he gave me a monkey bead for good luck.

We are still unsure if the "hotel" we stayed at in Jaipur was actually a hotel or if we accidentally stayed in a joint-family's home. They were constantly waiting outside our door, coming in our room unannounced, and asking if we were comfortable an uncomfortable amount of times. The breakfast they made for us in the morning consisted of wonder bread toast and ketchup... the obvious breakfast of choice for American tourists. Despite the breakfast, lack of privacy, strange odor in the room, and pitch black shower I took due to a power outage, I payed less than $2.00 a night to stay there. I can't complain.

After Jaipur, we headed off on an eight hour bus ride to Bikaner where we felt like royalty trekking through the Rajistani desert on camels! My camels name was Raju (see picture above). I was re-named in the desert by our safari guide (no one in India can pronounce my name). For the rest of the trek I was called Kiki, which was kind of funny because our guide's name was Kuku. The desert in Rajistan isn't like the Sahara, it has bushes and trees, and little villages spread throughout it. We rode camels for two hours every morning, rested, ate lunch, rested, rode camels for another two hours and then set up camp, ate dinner, and listened to village musicians play traditional Rajistani music into the night. Being able to breath the fresh air, look up and see the stars at night, and relax for those two days was such a treat.

As soon as we arrived back in town from the desert, we took another eight hour bus back to Jaipur and stopped for a quick bite to eat before taking the midnight bus to Agra. Although the tents in the desert were comfortable, I wouldn't go so far as to say that I wasn't looking forward to sleeping in a bed again... little did I know a good night's sleep in a bed was a distant dream at that point. The midnight bus to Agra consisted of my two friends and me crammed on a bench built for two in the "cockpit" of the bus right next to the driver. I was literally sprawled out on the dashboard of the bus, slamming my head into the windshield ever time we hit a bump on the road (approximately every other second), trying with all my might to fall asleep, but finally conceded to the situation. I chugged a chai at a rest stop and pulled an all-nighter eager to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise. On this five hour ride of delirium and discomfort I was kept sane only by the grace of my iPod. I hate to say I needed technology to get me through that night, so I'll say that Eddie Vedder kept me alive instead. I should note that I have found the strangest musicians to serenaded me throughout India. Who knew Grateful Dead, Elton John (note to Kanye: I may have underestimated the wonders of Tiny Dancer), Eric Clapton (thanks Sara), and Pearl Jam would fit so well in this foreign context.

We arrived in Agra at 5:00 a.m. where we wondered its empty streets for an hour before finding a place to sit in a chai stall until the gates to the Taj opened. At this point I had caught my second wind and had no idea what to expect from the Taj Mahal. The place blew me away. I generally don't get too dumbfounded by man-made structures, I'm more of a nature person, but this was different. Walking up to the Taj is like walking into the most serene and beautiful Van Gogh or Monet painting you've ever seen. It's unreal, I only wish my pictures could do it justice. After spending a sufficient amount of time gazing at the tomb, we decided to drag ourselves to a park overlooking the Taj where we passed out like the true vagabonds we had become. We had planned to catch the overnight train out of Agra that night to go to Varanasi, so we had quite a bit of time to kill before catching the train. As bedraggled, sunburned and dirty as we looked, we tried our luck at getting into the the nicest, most expensive, five-star hotel in India to have a snack. My friends arrived before I did, pulled a few strings and were escorted onto the premise by armed men with walkie-talkies. When I arrived they took one look at me and instantly knew who I must have been meeting there and let me through with fewer questions asked. The money we had saved sleeping on bus-dashboards and staying at questionable hotels was spent in a flash on a couple drinks and a cup of chai at this hotel. To give you an idea of how nice this place was, a chai which is normally 3-5Rs everywhere else in India was 235Rs at the Oberoi. However, the complimentary chocolate cookies that came with the chai made the entire experience worth while. We liked them so much that our waiter snuck us an extra plate of them before we left.

Finally, we made it to the train station eager to cozy into our sleeper bunks and get a much needed nights sleep... only to find that our train was delayed two hours. That two hours was a struggle. I would have given anything to curl up on the pavement amidst the trash and rats and dogs, but traveling with only girls in India does not allow for such luxuries. No matter how much I wanted to trust people up North, not matter how kind and genuine a person seemed, I was always skeptical of their next move. It's really too bad, but the truth is that there is no other way to travel here as a woman. People are constantly offering their help and just as soon as you even acknowledge them they're asking for your money. I can't remember one step of our travels which were not invaded by unwanted assistance and company. While we were walking by a funeral pyre in Varanasi, a man followed us and started babbling about the history of the funerals. We didn't say one word to him the entire time but he still asked for money afterwards. His exact words were: "burning for learning, commission for education." It was so offensive.

As a women, we were hastled even more so.

When it finally arrived, we took one step on our train and were instantly swarmed by twenty Indian men. They were trying to help us when we didn't need help, fighting over the sleeper bunks next to ours, and asking us a kazillion ridiculous questions. We ended up having to sleep under little tents we made out of scarves to avoid their staring eyes which we went to sleep to and woke up to. I should explain that these men are not necessarily threatening, they are the equivalent to thirteen year old boys in the US. The way they giggled and chatted and hopped around from bunk to bunk the entire night made me feel like I was transported to a resident summer camp for annoying, pre-pubescent boys in the U.S. Needless to say, I did not get much sleep that night either. When morning came, the staring, questioning, and foot grabbing became too much for me to handle, so I sought refuge in another section of the train. I met a really nice woman from Poland and her boyfriend from Chicago (who has distant relatives in Sheridan!). When in doubt, find a man from the U.S. to sit next to on the train.

Varanasi came at just the right time. We had a bed, a warm shower, and a room to ourselves for the first time in five days. While Varanasi is most definitely one of the most amazing places I have ever seen in my life, I couldn't help but feel relieved when we left. Our hotel was situated right on the Ghats which is the most holy river in India and is considered to be the most holy place in the world by many easterners. It is believed that if you die in Varanasi you increase your chances of being freed from the cycle of samsara, or reincarnation and in some cases attain Moksha (Moksha is kind of the equivalent to Nirvana in Buddhism). Being able to sit at the steps of the water and watch the townspeople and other spiritual pilgrims bathe themselves in the river every morning and every night was mesmerizing. As an outsider looking in I tried to stifle the statistics about the pollution in the Ghats racing through my head (Lonely Planet says that for every 100ml of water from the Ghats there are 1.5million different fecal coliform to be found, there are over 25 sewage drains which run directly into the river from the city, and there are ashes from the funeral pyres constantly sent into the river which burn 24/7), and learn something from these people who place their entire lives in the hands of their faith.

One may think that a hotel situated right on the Ghats would be a really spiritual experience, which it most definitely was. However, our hotel was also directly next door to the Burning Ghats, a major funeral pyre where bodies are cremated and sent into the river. While this was also amazing to wittiness, I had a difficult time getting past the fact that the smoke that wafted by our balcony window and the musty odor in the air was coming from the fire of a burning body that I could see out my bedroom window. I've always been intrigued by death and how other cultures tend to perceive it with so much more acceptance than we do in the United States. Other cultures are not as afraid of it as we are, they celebrate it. However, as open-minded and culturally immersed as I was trying to make myself, I did not shed too many tears saying goodbye to the Ghats, and goodbye to the funeral pyre next to our hotel. Two days in Varanasi was plenty.

India has brought me to the obvious, but blunt realization that people are different. There is never going to be a universal answer to all the world's problems that is going to please everyone. Living in a country still struggling to regain its strength, accountability and composure after being colonized for so long is painful at times. Just last semester I was learning about globalization and the "progress" that can come from it, and today I am sitting in a country suffering deeply from its effects. Sure, globalization helps westerners whose lives are based around progress, technology, money, and success, but what about people whose only goal each day is to survive, or people who are content (a word foreign to most westerners) with the culture and traditions that have surrounded them for centuries? People are kidding themselves by thinking that one day the world will all be one global market. People need to stop trying to make everything the same and start working with and respecting other's differences. I'm not saying we need to ignore social injustice. I'm saying that what some may consider to be "problems" in one country may not be problematic at all within that specific society. Perspective, that's all, entrepreneurs of globalization need more perspective.
I'll stop ranting now, it's all quite obvious information anyway.
All in all, the trip was a great success. India has completely stripped me of any anxiety or stress I may have had before I came here. Everyday it has pushed me to my absolute limits and then some. I think I may even be experiencing the strange sensation of patience! It's great.
That's all I've got for today.
Peace.

A Tour of Campus... and the Beach

2009-02-12T21:58:00.001-08:00

Here's a really unorganized slew of photos. They show my trip to Pondicherry and the campus at the University...

Morning in Pondicherry.

Attempt to show the chaos of 13 people in a jeep.

My friend Laura and a cow on the street.

More cows on the street in Pondicherry.

The bay of Bengal.

Monkey on the way home from class.

Part of the barren, expansive road I take every day to class.

My Dorm

Pondicherry

2009-02-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

India has a funny way of making you love it and hate it all at once. It's beautiful and ugly, rich and poverty stricken, decadent and dirty, and all other antithetical characteristics a place could have. After a marvelous couple of days eating lobster and swimming in the Bay of Bengal, I found myself sitting on the floor of a jam-packed, non-air conditioned bus. For two hours I sat squeezed between other passengers and seats barreling down narrow busy streets in what I thought was a stream of chai dripping from a girl's chai thermos but was later informed was a six-year-old's puke.
Despite the bus ride, the weekend was a hit. We explored a beach town above Pondicherry, ate French food, drank real coffee and shared two beds and one bathroom bewtween nine people. Then came the ride home. It took us exactly 28 hours (instead of the expected 13) to make it home. The train in front of ours derailed. The two hour taxi ride in a jeep with no doors, packed with thirteen people, and tons of luggage lead us to another train station where we waited for another two hours playing sherades. The University gates were closed to motor vehicles due to a protest on campus, so I walked to the dorm in the afternoon sun carrying my backpack, blanket, and new guitar (a $30 purchase on the beach!) the two miles home across what might as well be the Sahara. Punch me in the stomach while I'm drowning, seriously.
There has not been one day where I haven't learned something new here. I find myself complaining about the way people constantly stare, the way some laugh at me, and the way rickshaw drivers try and rip me off the second they look at me. Yeah, yeah, I know, the world's smallest violin is playing a ditty for me right this second. At least I finally know what it's like to be a minority. It's a startling reality and a life-changing lesson to say the least. It seems so cliche to say that I never knew how much I have taken for granted all my life, but it's true.

More to come soon! The Internet in the dorms is down, so I was unable to upload any photos.
Next week: Delhi, Jaipur (to ride an elephant!), Agra (to see the Taj Mahal), and Varanasi.

Hampi

2009-01-29T21:36:00.000-08:00

Vedeawoo, another unsung masterpiece woven into the Wyoming dust. Who would have known that on the exact opposite end of the world in a place as chaotic as India, I would find myself perched atop a monkey temple looking out on... home as I watched the sunset.

A group of friends and I took our first independent weekend to venture to Hampi, a touristy town south of Hyderabad. Ancient temples scattered throughout the village were buzzing with tourists, monkeys and actual Hindu individuals worshipping their gods. The countryside is marked by giant granite rock formations which harbor banana trees and rice patties at their bases. The beauty is unreal to say the least.

One night we hiked up the five-hundred-something steps to the monkey temple at the top of a mountain. Amongst the elders praying, the monkeys playing and beautiful Indian sunset, I looked out on these giant granite peaks and found myself only thinking of home. Vedeawoo, who would have known.

The rest of the weekend in Hampi consisted of cliff jumping into a lake, meeting tons of fun backpackers, and relaxing. The touristy atmosphere, however, made me greatly appreciate Hyderabad. We are truly getting a real look at India here whereas many of the backpackers we met in Hampi have only been introduced to resort-towns and cities in India where the salads are safe to eat and tank-tops are OK to wear.

Slumdog Millionaire: see it. This movie portrays the chaos in India better than I ever thought possible. It was crazy watching it and stepping out onto the Indian streets directly afterwards. For those of you that have seen it and perhaps thought that the director embellished on the living conditions, lifestyles, or the story line... he was dead on.

Life has become increasingly more comfortable, adventuresome and enriching here. The world has proven itself to be both overwhelming and welcoming, less serious yet more meaningful, and full of more surprises than I ever could have guessed. My illusion of life as some set path with the occasional crossroad has quickly dissolved into a much less tangible idea. The vast expanse of opportunity the world has to offer cannot fit onto one road map. I would never say I posses more knowledge than any other person I encounter, but if I have learned anything here, it's what we don't know that makes us humble. The more time I spend here, the more I realize how little I know.

Next week: Ponducherry! At this french colony south of Hyderabad we hope to find great wine, cheese, food, and beaches! I'll write more when I get home.

Peace.

ps: I've been having a difficult time organizing the photos (if you haven't already noticed). The ones above are of the trip to Hampi and the train ride there. Hope you like them!

2009-01-20T23:11:00.000-08:00

A monkey fell through the roof at Dominos.

Yesterday: best day of my life. My friends and I were fortunate enough to stumble upon the president of Democrats Abroad in Hyderabad who informed us of a Barak Obama inauguration ball which we attended last night. Amidst the excitement of dressing up in saris, the great food, free drinks, and the dancing that took place, the 30 minutes of watching Aretha Franklin sing America the Beautiful and listening to Barak Obama restore my faith and pride in my country were 30 minutes I will never forget. That night I struck up a conversation with a man from Belgium who said, "America is a motor, and when it breaks down, the world breaks down. Now it's fixed." I've encountered so many people who take one look at my friends and I and just exclaim "Obama!" It's a new day.

It's a small small world. My group was taken to a school built for children saved from child labor. While we were playing with the kids after lunch, I found a picture in one of the little boy's pockets. When I looked at it, I realized that it was a picture of students from the University of Wyoming standing in front of the union on campus in Wyoming. What are the chances? I even knew one of the girls in the photo. The little kids were so much fun. They made us sing a song for them and everyone elected me to lead everyone in singing Let it Be. I was very unprepared to say the least.

We're off to Hampi, a town south of Hyderabad, tomorrow! I've heard some great stories of cockroaches on the overnight, non-AC sleeper class (which we are taking). I'm sure I'll have more to write soon.

It's become more and more difficult explaining this place to people. It is truly beyond words.

Oh yeah, a friend of mine woke up with a rat on his neck the other night and another friend and I just saw a wild boar the size of a small horse hall ass across the road in front of us. I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard.

Shoes, No Service

2009-01-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

I've already gone to the doctor twice.

After a minor skin-cancer scare (false alarm), I ended up going back to the doctor today due to a bike accident. Although Indians seem to have no problem riding on the back of their friend's bikes, I have found it to be quite difficult. Today, I ended up getting my toe practically ripped off in the spokes of my friend's bike after going over a speed bump. I went to the doctor to see if they could disinfect it and was greeted by a woman (who did not speak English) who ended up pouring numerous mysterious potions on my bloody toe. Due to the lack of communication, it was too late to ask her anything before she ripped off the skin hanging from my toe with a pair of tweezers. I ended up feeling really tough after the whole experience. The doctors and nurses here are not ones to coddle, no one is that important in India. It's very humbling living here.

After bandaging my toe, I headed off to a Hindu temple that was unbelievable. The entire thing was made out of marble, and carved into the rock were hundreds of statues, prayers, and designs. Cell phones, cameras, and... shoes were not allowed. One of the first things the doctor told us at orientation was not to walk barefoot in public places. So far, I have been forced to remove my shoes on several accounts in public places in order to view mosques and temples. I nearly stepped on a dead pigeon the other day with my bare foot at the mosque. I'll be sure to blog my next trip to the doctor after contracting some terrible infection via my foot.

On a more serious note, my friends and I got caught in quite a pickle today at the market place. While waiting for our car to pick us up, about five kids surrounded us begging for money. The one tugging on my arm was carrying his year-old brother who was only wearing a filthy little sweater and nothing else. As our car arrived, one of my friends handed a kid about five rupees (2 and 1/2 cents) and within seconds fifteen other kids swarmed us. It was all I could do to squeeze into the car without shutting their hands in the door. I didn't talk very much for a while after that. All I could think about was how that could be real and how people can go on with their lives knowing that there are kids here living like that. Despite being swarmed with kids after giving one money, the other scary part about handing out money is that many of the kids are working for adults who collect their earnings at the end of each day. It's very unclear who you are helping. I'm hoping to volunteer at a school or orphanage when the semester ends in order to help in a more productive way. Until then, however, I feel pretty helpless. Every day here has been a huge reality check, the United States has already become a wonderland in my mind. Music. Earth's universal language. We jammed on the hostel balcony the other night which subsided any home-sickness I had felt coming on. Wagon Wheel can bring me home no matter how far away from home I actually am. Also, last night we found ourselves sipping on free French wine in the courtyard of a magnificent hotel listening to French jazz musicians play into the night. It's not often you get to see a French jazz band playing in India, introduce their songs in English, and sing a song in Spanish.

One last thing: we were not allowed to go into a part of Hyderabad called Old City two days ago due to a Muslim festival. During Muharram, Shiite men proceed down the streets performing acts of self-mutilation in memory of Mohammed's son's death. Supposedly, the streets are stained with blood by the end of the day.

-Shanti

"Organized Chaos"

2009-01-05T03:14:00.001-08:00

Namaste!
Before I arrived here, I had some pretty wild expectations for this place, but despite my high hopes for new experiences and adventure I routinely reminded myself not to be too disappointed if India was not all that National Geographic and CNN had made it out to be. I expected to see poverty, I expected to see pollution, I expected to have to pee in a hole in the ground every once in a while, but what I didn't expect was to have every expectation I had placed on India exceeded to the fullest extent.

From its palaces to its poverty, India is a place of extremes. The first, most obvious extreme is the disparity between rich and poor. Next door to L.A.-style mansions lie tarp huts where people bathe on the street corners in buckets of water. The poverty here is unreal. I have had a difficult time comprehending it, my mind has refused to believe that the shanty communities are people's actual homes. No one could live like that, but they do. Along with poverty lies pollution, mass pollution. There is trash packed into every corner and crevice, and the sky is filled with dust, exhaust, and other haze. Despite how disheartening it is to see, the sunrises and sunsets are breathtaking.

Behind my brand new, beautiful guest house at the University is a shanty town where construction workers for the University live. Every morning I look out over the balcony and observe the men bathing in buckets full of cold water, women cleaning pots and pans next to a fire, and little kids running around all over the place. New years eve consisted of the students from my group exchanging "Happy New Year!" wishes to the shanty community behind us. From our empty building, still in the process of being furnished, wi-fied, and water heated, we watched people living in tarp huts dancing, singing, drinking, and... watching T.V.! to reign in the new year. Who new Shanty towns had cable let alone electricity? This is most likely not the case for most shanty towns in India.

Every morning I wake up to the sound of monkeys howling and cows mooing. The wildlife here is insane! We have already encountered a monkey on the way to class, and cows are EVERYWHERE... it's actually similar to Wyoming in that regard. Goats and dogs roam the streets as well. I fed a puppy a cookie the other day, probably shouldn't have done that. Oh yeah, the bats are literally the size of pterodactyls.

As if cows, goats, dogs and people were not enough to crowd the streets, the traffic here is indescribably horrifying. Traffic lights, one-way streets, and stop signs are mere suggestions... I'm not even kidding. You literally have to look eight different directions before crossing the street, and that sometimes is not enough. A random Indian woman sensed my fear as I was waiting to cross the street the other day and instantly grabbed my hand, asked for my name, and didn't let go until I was safely across the road. Yesterday, we also learned that the bus drivers do not stop the bus for you to get off at certain stops, you are expected to jump and then run for your life to get out of oncoming traffic.

Despite the chaos, despite the poverty, and despite the pollution, there is somehow organization and understanding to it all. India's massive population has made people tolerant to the pandemonium, and they have adapted well. Although more poverty stricken and impoverished than anything I have ever seen, the people here are beautiful and kind. From the women I have seen in the high-end shopping malls, to the women who work shoveling out ditches all day, they are all so regal looking in their brightly colored saris. While walking to a restaurant one night a herd of children literally attacked my group. They grabbed my scarf, tried stealing my friend's shoe off his foot, and mocked our attempts to communicate with them in broken Hindi. As heart wrenching and annoying as this sounds, the children did this all with giant grins on their faces. You could just see it in their eyes that no harm was intended. It was all an innocent game to them, a game that we were more than happy to play... for a little while. Every single person I have met here has been so kind.

The American students who I am studying with are all so much fun. We have formed strangely close friendships in such a short amount of time. Most of us think that this is due to the large amount of time we spend discussing (excluding me of course) going to the bathroom. Everyone is so afraid of getting bacterial dysentery or something of the sort that we have promised not to judge each other based on bathroom experiences. "What happens in the bathrooms in India, stays in the bathrooms in India" has kind of been our unfortunate theme.

I hope everyone reading this is doing well where ever in the world they may be.
Love,
Martha