Snowball Fight - 01/19/2013

In the midst of battle

BEN - We woke up to a bright, sunny day, but about 2 and a half feet of snow.  We excitedly packed our bags and cleaned up our room, anxious to leave and head into town.  We went downstairs, and immediately realized our foolhardiness.  The roads were still completely impassible.  The guy at the front desk said that maybe by the afternoon we could hit the road, but not yet.  I talked to him a bit and he said that this had been a big storm, even by Manali standards, and it might take a bit to get everything back up and running.  It looked like we were staying here another night.  We ordered sandwiches and ate them for lunch as we watched a movie.  Gabby's stomach isn't feeling right and she is battling with a bit of diarrhea  which is never fun.  We played cards and looked out over the snow covered scenery, absolutely beautiful   WE were both feeling a bit stir crazy, trapped in our room, so we decided to go for a short walk outside.  We weren't expecting what we walked out to; WAR!

Not driving anywhere today

Snowballs flew in every direction, as all the local kids were out, and punishing all who dared walk outside.  We obviously joined the fray as we walked.  It was good fun and my hands were soon numb.  We found that the locals were very friendly in the snow, everyone outside clearing off their roofs or the road.  It was an awesome winter wonderland, the one Gabby and I had both sorely missed during Christmas.  As we played in the snow, we stumbled into something even more unexpected, Americans!  We were far outside of  town and hadn't seen white skin in days.  They were a young couple from Seattle with a 16 month old baby.  They lived in one of the small villages, and their plan is to eventually open their own trekking company here.  They actually delivered their baby in the village!  That is insane.  The woman admitted she was completely unprepared for this and would not do it again.  Gabby chatted with her as I plied the guy for things to do in the area.  They were very nice people and we ended up walking a long way with them; I think both parties interested in the foreign, yet familiar coincidence.  They had met in college choir and sang in an a cappella group together.  Bizarre.  We had a good conversation and eventually parted ways and exchanged email addresses, in case we wanted to meet for dinner sometime, and were ever able to leave our hotel.  We got back to our room cold and wet, but happy for the conversation and fresh air.  The hot shower again saved the day before some card games and a mid day snack of chips and cookies we had bought on the walk.  Gabby still wasn't feeling the best, so we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in bed relaxing.

Snowed Inn - 01/18/2013

This is not set for black and white

Winter Wonderland

GABBY - We woke up to a winter wonderland outside.  There was already a good 2 feet on the ground and the snow was still falling steadily and heavily.  We took pictures from our balcony of the scene before us.  In the pictures it looks like we set our cameras to the monochrome setting of black and white, but it was just the contrast of the white snow and the dark mountains, valleys and buildings.  Ben went downstairs to talk to the front desk, seeing as we were planning on moving to the Tiger Eye in Old Manali today.  Well, that certainly wasn’t going to happen.  We were legitimately and officially snowed-in in the Himalayas.  There were no buses, no cabs, and even no tuk-tuks that were braving the weather out there today, despite the crazy mentality of many Indian drivers.  Ben was informed by the dude at reception that the entire valley had lost power during the night.  The hotel did have a generator, but they said that they would only turn it on sometimes and for not that long.  They provided us with a space heater seeing as we would be in our room for the majority of the day and would get pretty cold.  We discovered that space heater had about a 12 inch heating radius, which was disappointing and pretty much ineffective.  Our day was spent playing cards, sipping on red wine, writing, and watching movies (when the generator provided us with electricity to charge it).  We took scalding hot showers, which felt nice but made me feel a bit queasy afterwards.  I laid down and took it easy for the rest of the night, not having much of an appetite for dinner.     

BLIZZARD! - 01/17/2013

A snow covered mountain stream

BEN - The goal for today was to try and find a place we wanted to stay that was cheep, but still decent and clean.  We hopped on the local bus and took it all the way to Manali.  The main street of Manali is called The Mall and is a bustling marketplace that caters to tourists.  Luckily, there weren't many tourists around (it is not the tourist season), so we kind of had the place to ourselves.  We shopped around and each bought some cool stuff for a really good price with some serious bargaining.

Through my research I had found that the majority of the budget accommodations were in Old Manali, a 1 km walk from The Mall.  We headed off, up the gradual slope to Old Manali.  The walk was nice and snow flurries started to fall as we ascended the windy street.  We eventually crossed a bridge and found ourselves in Old Manali, a town known as the backpackers hang out, and a good place to relax and eat.  What we found was a complete ghost town, almost everything was shut down.  I had researched some places to stay here and wanted to find a place called the Tiger Eye Inn due to good reviews.  We followed a street as it climbed steeply to the upper reaches of town, eventually seeing a sign for the Tiger Eye on a dilapidated old building.  Shit, not what I was expecting.  There was an old lady selling small snack foods nearby, so I went and asked her if this was indeed Tiger Eye.  She pointed down a small alley nearby with another Tiger Eye sign and arrow.  We left the main road and navigated a series of alleyways in between small village houses, complete with kids playing cricket and moms doing laundry, all eyeing us suspiciously.  We wandered through the quaint village scene until we found Tiger Eye, where a nice man greeted us in near perfect English.  He showed us around his place, kitchen for our use, wood stove, nice rooms, cool dog, etc. and told us that he was one of 3 guest houses open this early in the year.  I asked him how much a night and almost couldn't contain my excitement; R300 (about $6) a night.  We were paying more than three times that currently and had the same amenities  but this place was literally in the heart of a small village and a 20 minute walk from downtown Manali.  It was just what we were looking for.  We shook hands and promised to be back tomorrow.

BLIZZARD!

By the time we left, the snow was falling quite thickly, in large, fat snowflakes.  We hired a tuk tuk to drive us back to Manali and grab some food.  We found a decent place and had some hot tea, pizza, and sweet and sour chicken, which actually turned out to be a soup.  When we left the restaurant, about 3 inches of snow had accumulated on the roads; time to get back to the hotel.   We found a bus heading up to Gobja, a town near our hotel.  Once the bus was packed with people, we set off, crossed the river to the other side of the valley, and were immediately stuck in stand still traffic; shit.  The bus driver tried backing up, but ended up spinning his tires for about 15 minutes.  The bus started clearing out, and people started hoofing it.  We were about 15 km away from our hotel and the snow was pouring down.  Gabby insisted we go for it, and we started walking.  We soon saw the problem, nobody could get up the first hill, it was way too slippery.  We walked past cars sliding down, people trying to push tuk tuks up, and lots of people walking.  I wasn't exactly dressed for a blizzard, so I was quite cold and wet by this time.  We hiked on through the snow and sludge, occasionally stopping to help people push cars or tuk tuks.  We walked for a good 45 minutes before we found a lone tuk tuk river who was willing to brave the weather and take us as far as he could.  He ended up driving us halfway, sliding down hills and barely muscling up others, occasionally getting help from people on the street.  It was insanity.  We gave the guy a big tip for braving the roads and were back on foot.  As if by some crazy miracle, the driver had dropped us just outside a liquor store that was open.  Gabby and I decided it was fate and bought a very expensive (all they had) bottle of red wine and two cheep beers.  Then the long trek really began.  The snow was not abating and did not help my cold and wet situation.  Trapped in a blizzard in the Himalayas, just another day in the life.  We trudged and trudged on and on, keeping warm by talking to keep our minds off of our wet feet.  We even cracked and enjoyed a beer during the walk.  Finally, tired and wet, we reached Sarthak resorts where we were very happy to have a hot shower and warm bed (although there is no heat, so many blankets were needed).  We had dinner delivered (I had a delicious paneer kadhai, fast becoming one of my favorite dishes) and fell asleep watching movies.

The Highest Mountains in the World - 01/16/2013

Early morning drive from the bus station to Gojra

GABBY - I woke up early from the winding and climbing of the road in the bumbling bus.  It was still pitch black outside, but it was obvious that we were really getting up there.  I attempted sleep, but it was very light and unsubstantial.  The sun eventually started to come up, illuminating the snow covered peaks and river that we were driving along next to.  Both Ben and I started to get giddy at the site of the sheer mountain faces and the prospect of staying there for the next couple days.  We eventually reached the bus station and were immediately berated by tuk tuk and taxi drivers.  We got into a cab without negotiating a price and were easily ripped off by a couple hundred rupees.  We had booked a hotel for our first night online when we were in Delhi.  The cab ride took about 30 minutes because we were still climbing up the mountains.  

View from the balcony outside our room

We were pretty far outside of Manali in a small town called Gojra, which seemed to be a small, village-like, place away from the “touristy” parts.  We found out that we were missing the tourist season as it starts in June.  Manali gets really touristy with people wanting to do treks into the Himalayas and shop in the local markets.  We eventually made it to our hotel called Sarthak Resorts, which was costing us $20 a night to stay there.  It is more than what we should be paying in India, but we decided to go a little nicer for our first night and move to something cheaper if we wanted to after we got a feel for the area.  We checked in at the ungodly hour of 6:30 AM and were shown to our room on the 3^rd floor.  The room was nothing special until we opened the curtain and saw the view of the Himalayas and our balcony overlooking it.  It was a breathtaking view of the valley surrounded by snow capped mountains and scattered with small villages.  We took a much needed nap to try and catch up on some sleep before heading down to the hotel restaurant for lunch.  It was a typical Indian lunch accompanied by lots of roti (substitute Indian bread for naan).  We only get roti during the days because naan is made in a tandoor, which isn’t usually used until later in the day.  

After lunch we went for a walk to explore the area a bit.  We walked through small mountain villages attracting curious onlookers and packs of dogs.  This was definitely the coldest place we had been during our whole trip.  It was probably in the low 50’s, but was a pleasant temperature for walking, especially when the sun is beating down.  We walked for over an hour, winding through forested patches and villages before reaching a large town called Naggar.  Before entering the town, we decided to catch a bus back to the hotel since we were getting a little tired.  We effortlessly flagged down a local bus and rode it back to our hotel, costing us 20 rupees total for the both of us (about 40 cents).  We hopped off at Sarthak and ordered room service for dinner.  There were some wild dogs outside that had started barking, so I told Ben an experience my family had with a barking dog in Italy.  My family was staying in a small bed and breakfast in Lucca, a small Tuscan town for a couple nights.  Amy and I were staying in one room, while my parents were in the room next door.  The owner had a dog (actually named India) who barked for the entire night.  I couldn’t fall asleep.  I tried everything, putting the pillow over my head, listening to music, etc.  All of a sudden out of the darkness and silence (except for the barking) I hear someone screaming, “SHUUUT UUUPPP!”  It was my dad, but all of my hair stood on end!  The dog stopped barking, at least for a couple minutes, but I was terrified and knew for a fact I wouldn’t be catching a wink of sleep for the rest of the night.  The next morning each of us were crying because we were laughing so hard at the previous night’s nightmare.  Basically I relived this nightmare with the wild dogs barking outside our resort.  I listened to my music for awhile, which helped, but I still had a really hard time getting any sleep.

Paharaganj Markets - 01/15/2013

Paharaganj Market

BEN - Today we slept in again and when we woke up, went and bought some internet to use.  Today’s goal was to post as much as possible on our blog (which is currently way behind).  After our multiple posts our checkout time was fast approaching.  The hotel had agreed to let us leave our bags in the lobby, so we didn’t have to lug them around town until our bus ride at 4:30.  We headed out and went to find Delhi’s famous markets.  This was really our first time walking alone on the streets of India, so we were both a bit skeptical and nervous.  We followed the hotel’s half English, confusing directions.  This meant crossing a busy road, which puts Frogger to shame.  It certainly got the heart pumping.  We walked the main road for a bit before turning down what seemed like an alley.  The way was busy with people, lots of food vendors grilling up various tasty treats and fruit stands.  This didn’t seem like the huge market catering to tourists with hand-made traditional clothing, pashminas, etc.  We wound our way through the narrow street, dodging the occasional motorbike as they came roaring through, when the alley ended and suddenly opened up into just what we were looking for. 

We were hit with a cacophony of sound, smell, and color.  All sorts of people milled about, from beggars to tourists, all bargaining, selling, and wandering along the huge stretch of small street stores.  Gabby was instantly in heaven and found the loose-fitting, colorful pants she had been looking for since we got here.  We strolled through the markets, examining all the interesting ware and brushing off aggressive beggars,  but truly enjoying the atmosphere.  We slipped into our South African bartering ways, knowing the usual tricks of the owners and always making sure we got the fair price.  Gabby bought various presents for various people.  My big buy was a colorful, warm wool cap that I really like (I look forward to testing it out up north).  After our shopping spree, we went to a small restaurant that a nice store owner recommended where we had an absolute feast of murgh makhani and murgh tikka masala; of course accompanied by heaps of delicious butter garlic naan. 

Inlaid marble master craftsman

After our late lunch it was time to head back, grab our bags, and go meet our overnight bus.  The bus stop was in front of a movie theater, and when we arrived a guy told us the bus wouldn’t be getting there until at least 5:00, but offered for us to sit and lounge on the theater’s front steps.  We must be good for business?   Eventually the bus showed and we boarded a nice semi-sleeper.  The tickets for this 14 hour ride cost us just $20 each; not bad.  We got situated and were entertained by the Bollywood Action movie that they showed.  We made a stop at around 7:00 for food, but we were both too stuffed from lunch, and ended up just having a cold drink.  We boarded the bus soon after and quickly fell asleep, excited to find out what we would be waking up to tomorrow.

Research, Schedule, Plan - 01/14/2013

Marble and glass work

The Taj

GABBY - Since we had been on-the-go for a little over a week or so, we decided to devote a day to catching up with friends and family, working on the blog, and figuring out our plans for the next couple weeks in India.  We were honestly just super lazy, but decided to go up to Manali the next day.  Manali is a small town at the base of the Himalayas.  If you have been reading the blog, you will remember a guest we met at Khotso (the girl with armpit hair and earrings) who told us about Manali.  We decided to go with her advice and make the trek up north.  We bought our bus tickets for the following day at 4:00.  For lunch we went to the hotel’s restaurant, which happened to be on the roof.  It was nice to get outside for a bit and eat some spicy Indian food.  Ben tried a new dish called Kadhai chicken, which was a mixture of onions, peppers, and masala spices.  It was neat that he branched out a little bit from our usual and found something he enjoyed!  After lunch, we headed back to our room for an afternoon of planning, watching movies, and a room service dinner.    

The Taj - 01/13/2013

The Taj Mahal

BEN - We woke up this morning and were able to catch our first ever tuk-tuk to meet up with the rest of the group.  The ride was actually pretty fun, zipping in between traffic and following no rules whatsoever.  We arrived early at Le Meridien and decided to have a cup of Masala Tea (fast becoming a favorite with its spicy mix) at the restaurant as the rest of the group ate breakfast.  The place was very fancy.  As we left I asked for our bill  and my jaw dropped.  For two cups of tea, it cost R700 or about $13.  That’s expensive in the states!  Absurd, we would definitely not be eating any meals here.  We loaded onto the bus and set off for the city of Agra, about 3 hours away.  The drive used to take anywhere from 3-6 hours, but luckily a new highway called the Yamuna Expressway had just been finished and meant skipping all kinds of traffic.  It was a beautiful road, and we cruised, and were quickly asleep.  I woke up just as we were crossing the Yamuna River, one of the three branches that make up the sacred Ganges.  The river cut a huge path, but due to the dry season, there was only a small channel with numerous people washing clothes in it.

We crossed to river and entered the city of Agra, a bustling hub full of monkeys, garbage, and people.  We stopped and picked up our tour guide for the day, Gary.  

Gary was a tall, friendly Sikh who spoke perfect English.  I learned that to be a Sikh you must adhere to these 5 tenants: 1. Never cut your hair (Gary’s beard was tactfully glued up under his chin; I never would have noticed) 2. Cover your head with a turban as a sign of respect to God 3. Sikhs are warriors, so they must always be prepared for battle 4. Wear a small bracelet, put on when you are born, said to ward off evil 5. Carry a dagger.  Very interesting culture.  Gary was knowledgeable and good with people.  Our first stop for the day was the pride of India, the Taj Mahal.  We walked through the huge red entrance gates, impressive in their own rite, and into a large courtyard realizing that there were 3 other gates in each cardinal direction.  The gate to the actual Taj Mahal was adorned with 22 spherical shapes representing the 22 years it took to complete the construction of the Taj.  Gary made us look down at the ground and walked us through the main gate.  He positioned us for a good view, drew it out, and finally had us all look up as one.

The building took my breath away.  It is immaculate.  Gleaming white marble, not like anything I’ve every experienced before.  Gary lead us all around, telling us of its history, architecture, etc.  All the while I found that I couldn’t take my eyes off the building, it was perfect.  We took all kinds of pictures, along with the swarms of other tourists there.  I was amazed to learn there are two mosques on either side of the Taj, but in actuality only one was truly a mosque.  If faced the proper direction (towards Mecca), the other was built simply to maintain the symmetry of the entire place.  Everything about the Taj is perfect symmetry, except for one thing.  The man who built it was obsessed with symmetry and the only thing he broke it with was his own tomb.  His wife is buried perfectly in the center inside, and he in a smaller tomb to her left.  The building is quite a tribute to a lost love.  The marble work is unbelievable, inlaid semi-precious stones meticulously carved and set.  Very impressive stuff. 

From a different angle

Next Gary took us to a marble shop.  Here we saw a small demonstration of how the inlaid marble masterpieces are crafted, an art only learned by son from father.  One part of the team of two etches a design into the marble with a sharp stylus  while the other uses a hand spun wheel to shave down the semi precious stones to certain shapes, sometimes holding the stones on their fingertips.  Tiring and meticulous work that makes for absolutely, astoundingly beautiful masterpieces.  The small tables they were selling were a fair price, only $250 for the simplest designs, including shipping to your doorstep.  I was tempted, and had my Dad been there, I guarantee he would have bought something.  I was able to restrain myself and just marvel at the artwork.

After the marble factory, Gary took us to lunch at a place that obviously catered to tourists and their non-adventurous eating habits.  Here we had the worst Indian food I’ve ever eaten, dumbed down to please the masses.  The chicken tikka masala was like eating tomato sauce.  Of coarse, our group loved it and were so pleased to “experience Indian food.”  Ugh.  After eating we made a brief stop at a tea shop where we got a lesson on the teas of India; great gifts.  Gabby and I each bought a bunch of different flavors. 

Our final stop for the day was Agra’s Red Fort, a giant fortress where the maharajah who built the Taj Mahal lived while it was under construction.  Complete with rooms for his 100 person harem, fishing lake, more ornate granite work, and other displays of ridiculous opulence.  The place was impressive, and we were only allowed in a quarter of it, the other 3 quarters are used by the Indian military as a base.  After the fort, we said goodbye to Gary and headed back to Delhi on our comfy bus (more napping was in order).  When we reached Le Meridien we said goodbye to our American friends.  They are all good people and it was certainly nice to travel with a large, itinerary based group for awhile, but to be honest I was ready to part ways.  I was a bit frustrated by their unwillingness to be uncomfortable and try something new.   I was ready to get back to adventuring with Gabby.  After exchanging contact details, we caught a tuk tuk back to our hotel, ate a quick dinner, and fell asleep.

Farewell Carmel - 01/12/2013

Abishek is to the left, both are in school uniforms

GABBY - We woke up this morning and had a couple hours left with the kids before we needed to leave for the Bengalore airport.  We began early as usual at chapel and enjoyed a well-delivered message by Dawn.  I specifically enjoyed the way she went about explaining her point.  She used a visual image of a caroms board to demonstrate how people may need a little push to get on the right track.  I felt that she really thought hard about how the kids could relate to the message.  She was captivating and did such a great job on it.  After her message, she called Ben and me up to the front.  She had approached us yesterday and asked if we could sing a song together following her lesson.  We decided on “Down in the River to Pray”, which we sang in harmony.  The song was received well by all, which is always nice to know.  After our song, we were called up to the front of the chapel and were asked to sit in the blue chairs.  Baki gave a small blessing and send off to us that was heartfelt and inspiring.  He told us about how a Carmel boy, who walked up to the front of the chapel, was off to Medical School.  He told us that we were truly helping to make a difference in these kids’ lives by sponsoring them.  After Baki’s heart-wrenching delivery, he told us that we should each stand up and say a little something.  I was doing completely fine up until that point.  Ben stood before me, which made me really lose it.  His sentiments summed up with something like, “You do more for us than we do for you.”  I went next and choked out, “You are all lights in this world and all of you have lit up my life.”  It was all downhill from there as each member of the team became extremely vulnerable and poured out their hearts to a chapel full of watery eyes.  After each member of the team had said their goodbyes, each kid walked down the line, most bawling their eyes out and gave hugs, kisses, and handshakes to each of us.  One moment that I have reflected on involved one of the smallest girls who had taken a liking to both Ben and me.  She came up to me with tears streaming down her face and hugged me for close to a minute.  Neither of us really wanted to let go, so we just didn’t for a long time.  I didn’t expect to get as emotional as I did, but it felt good to know that it is possible to care so deeply about people that you have met only a week ago.  We left the chapel, ate a quick breakfast and boarded the bus.  All of the kids stood outside looking at us, crying, waving and shouting as we slowly pulled away from Carmel.  I couldn’t be more thankful that we had the opportunity to meet and work with those kids.  Both Ben and I have talked about taking Bill Souser out for a nice dinner to reminisce and thank him for introducing us to this life changing experience.

Waving goodbye to the bus and us

It was a melancholy rest of the day as we were all emotionally drained and upset to have left.  We rode the bus to the Bengalore airport and said goodbyes to a couple of the members of the team who weren’t traveling with us to Delhi and Agra.  Ben and I enjoyed Indian airport food that wasn’t half bad before boarding the plane with the other Americans.  It was an uneventful, quick flight to Delhi.  After claiming our baggage we walked outside in our American pack to the tour bus.  The bus took us to Le Meridien, which is the hotel the members of the team were staying in.  Ben and I had looked into staying there with them, but were floored when we saw that it was 200 USD to stay for one night.  The team was staying for 2.  Since we are on a pretty tight budget, we decided to stay in the Singh Empire, which was only a couple kilometers away.  We pulled up to Le Meridien and were shocked by the cleanliness, service, and glitz that exuded from every inch of the hotel.  It was shocking not only in its appearance, but also the price.  It’s $200 to stay one night at the hotel, which is the same amount paid per year to sponsor a Carmel child.  I thought that was a bit off-putting.  Ben and I figured out what time we were supposed to meet up with the rest of the group tomorrow and headed down to the road to catch a cab to our place.  We drove away from the high class area of Connaught Place and deeper into the heart of Delhi.  Our hotel was one of a bunch of other hotels marked with neon lights and tacky signs.  It was a fine room for what we needed, but we certainly weren’t experiencing luxury.  It was close to the 10:00 hour, so Ben and I decided to munch on chips and protein bars made available to us by the Americans.  Not the most satisfying dinner, but it would tide us over until morning.

Carmel Love - 01/11/2013

Shalni

 BEN - After another early morning church service and breakfast, we headed to school, but had an abbreviated time to roam around.  Gabby and I decided to head to the 5th grade classroom that had Gabby's posse of girls in it (Rose, Shalni, etc.) and hang out there.  We taught them the macarena and some hand slapping games; the boys constantly just wanting to thumb wrestle me.  We were soon called away for the science fair presented by the children of 8th and 9th standards.  The presentations ranged from very impressive to confusing, but overall the kids did an amazing job and were very proud of their work.

After the science fair we headed downstairs where some of the younger classes presented different rooms and subject matters: English, Tamil, Math, Social, etc.  One room was meant to show different ecosystems, and actually had flooded a quarter of the room and put fish in it!  After making the rounds, we headed back to the hostel for lunch and a lazy afternoon of packing.  Tonight is our last night at Carmel!  While we packed, we had a knock on the door and got a special delivery.  The school had made us traditional Indian garb for the night's festivities; me a white tunic and flowy pants and Gabby a beautiful purple Punjabi.  Friena even came and gave Gabby some henna-like hand jewels and flowers for her hair, and attempted to tame my wild hair with coconut oil.  We were truly decked out.

Once we got all Indianafied we headed out to hang out with the kids as they returned from school.  They also went to get dressed up and we soon were asked to sit down for some dancing.  Again the dancers amazed us (even giving repeat performances of the crowd favorites 'Prayer for India' and 'Candle Dance').  After the dance we competed in a few more silly games; the highlight being the giant game of tug-of-war when the rope snapped and everyone wiped out.

Gabby and I  in our traditional Indian garb with Abishek (check out his Playboy shirt)

After the festivities Sam prepared giant vats of food and we all finally ate together.  The turkey that had been terrorizing us and hanging around all week was no more.  In a very touching gesture, Shockti, one of my posse, presented me with a small box with my name on it.  Inside was a little turtle figurine.  It was very sweet and something that I will not forget.  The kid has absolutely nothing, and still was able to find a present that he wanted to give to me.  Once the food disappeared, some of the teachers pumped 4 year old American pop and dance music, and we had a big dance party on stage.  I had a blast being silly and twirling kids around.  After a few songs, Gabby and I decided to call it a night, and head off to bed for the last time in Carmel.

Paravasa Ulagam - 01/10/2013

 GABBY - Today we were breaking our daily routine of attending school to go to an Indian water park.  We still woke up at the same time for chapel at 6:45.  Today’s message was given by an American guy named Glen.  Glen and Julia are a newlywed couple who have been working at Carmel for the past 2 weeks.  Glen had been at Carmel the year before for about 6 months and came back to experience it with Julia.  They are both 24 and are really energetic and bubbly with the kids.  His message was really nice and spoke to the kids in a way that they could identify with.  After chapel we headed next door for breakfast, which was good as always.  We had some time to get ready before the bus arrived, so we strategically packed our bags with an extra change of clothes, water, cameras, etc.  We crammed into the bus and were off!  Only a select group of kids were able to go to the water park.  Vika and I, a young, American college student who goes to TCNJ, tried to calculate the thought process behind which kids were selected.  We eventually found out that many of them were sponsor kids and the other factors included grades, number of times they had been to the park, and age.  I am really enjoying getting to know Vika who has been coming to Carmel for 5 years.  She is very genuine, energetic, and passionate with the kids and seemingly everyone she meets.  We passed through Dharmapuri, the closest thing to a city near Carmel and got on the main drag.  We were on the highway for another 2 hours or so until we reached a dirt road leading to the Paravasa Ulagam Water Park.  We looked around and saw that the park was nestled in between the trees, dirt, and mountains that surrounded it.  The park was completely deserted except for our bus full of Americans and Indian children.  We stopped at a picnic area and enjoyed a smorgasbord of packed authentic Indian food lunches premade by Sam!  We made sure to rave about it so that he would keep the Indian food coming.

Rain Dance

After lunch it was off to the first attraction.  How the whole day worked was the park staff would open one ride at a time.  It would stay open for 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on how much fun everyone was having and then it would close down as another one would open.  The first ride was a water slide that emptied into a big pool.  All of the women and girls stayed in their Punjabis and Pashminas while they went in the water.  All of the Americans wore shorts and T-shirts to respect the strict no-skin-showing policy.  The slides were really enjoyable and fun to zoom down.  Everyone was getting more and more comfortable with each other.  Ben and I were delighted to discover that Abishek, our sponsor child, had been selected to come to the water park!  We really wanted to spend some time with him and get to know him a little bit better.  We attempted to play with him in the water, which was fun even though his main concern was running away from us.  After the water slides we walked to another set of water slides that was paired with a lazy river.  These slides were my favorite because you got some serious air coming down them.  I spent a lot of time with Sarah on this ride.  Sarah is 12 and the youngest American on the trip.  She is Bob’s granddaughter and one of the many Davis’s on the trip.  She was probably the most popular person at Carmel seeing as every single one of the kids wanted to be her best friend.  I really respected her for coming to India (or traveling anywhere for that matter) at such a young age.  Both Ben and I tried to imagine how we would have reacted to Carmel if we came on this mission trip at her age.  

Waiting patiently and happily for their Pongal treat

Anyway, Sarah and I had a blast riding those slides over and over again.  Ben played in the lazy river with a bunch of the kids and ended up becoming something of a Loch Ness monster.  He would sneak up on some of the kids, scare them, and throw them in the water.  After that portion of the park, we headed to a waterfall and then to a wave pool and onto some more slides.  The very last attraction was a rain dance that we had heard a lot about.  The park blasts music and turns on sprinklers from above that give the impression of rain.  I danced with the girls and learned some Indian dance moves, while Ben was taught by the boys.  We discovered that Indian children have a much better sense of rhythm than American kids.  By the time the final song ended the older people in the park were exhausted (including Ben and me).  We headed into the locker rooms, showered and changed into our dry clothes.  After that we saw that they had set up a little Pongal treat for us.  There were colorful chalk drawings of floral designs on the sand and there was the sweet tapioca dish that is typical at Pongal festivities.  The kids all got a small portion to eat and ate it with their hands from a banana leaf.  Ben and I were the only ones that decided to try it, as everyone else was afraid of getting sick.  I really enjoyed it even though the temperature of the dish was scalding hot.  Each kid also received a stick of sugar cane, which was interesting.  You’re supposed to rip a piece of it off with your teeth and then chew and suck the sweetness out of the stalk.  I didn’t quite get the appeal of the taste, but I gave it a try.  After the mini Pongal celebration, we got back in the bus for another uncomfortable tight ride back to the hostel.  Some kids passed out almost instantaneously, while others got car sick and were puking in the aisles.  Not the most pleasant bus ride I have ever taken.  When we reached Carmel, I carried Abishek (who is super heavy) out of the bus since he was completely dead to the world.  He grabbed on to me and nuzzled into my neck as I hopped off the bus.  The kids said sleepy goodnights and were off to bed.  We made sure to eat the dinner that Samuel prepared for us, even though it was getting close to 10:00 PM.  Ben and I fell asleep to a deep and mind boggling discussion about religion and what it means to each of us.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes - 01/09/2013

Beautiful girls

BEN - Another early wake up for a brief church service.  Bob gave the message again, although I don't think anyone told him this was the case until the moment he stepped up there.  This morning at school, Gabby and I decided to break off from the main group and do our own thing.  We bopped around from classroom to classroom alternating between either singing and teaching songs, and playing hangman.  We taught 'Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes' and the camp classics 'Have You Heard About Harry' and 'The Grand Ol' Duke of York.'  The kids loved all the motions and we had a blast.  By the 6th or 7th classroom we were completely wiped from dancing around.  We stepped outside for a few minutes, and realized that the bus for lunch was already here.  Time flies when you are clowning around.

After a nice lunch and siesta, we headed back to school for Sports Day.  We sat on the main field and watched a few different demonstrations.  First was a synchronized ring (boys) and baton (girls) dance/march followed by a karate demonstration.  Shockti, on of my avid followers, was one of the karate stars, which was cool to see.  After the kid's demonstrations, it was our turn to play some games.   They had us come up front of the whole school and play little mini games meant to embarrass us including ball throwing, cherries on a toothpick with your mouth, ping pong balls on a spoon, and word games.  It was a bizarre spectacle, but the kids seemed to enjoy it, so whatever.

The other very exciting thing to happen was that Gabby and I decided to sponsor a little boy!  Our little guy's name is Abishek and he is a little bowling ball bruiser, infamous among the group due to his over worn Playboy shirt.  Abishek is in 1st standard and enjoys both Tamil and math class.  When he grows up he wants to be a policeman.  He has an older sister named Donnalakshme and their parents live in Bangalore.  We told Abishek and his sister the good news.  He was happy, but didn't really understand what we were telling him.  We have pledged $200 a year which covers his room and board, uniforms, and school tuition.  It is really a unique thing to be able to sponsor a child overseas that you actually had the privilege to meet.  I think it will make the relationship more meaningful.

Abishek

When we returned to the hostel, the sports continued and we played another high intensity game of soccer with the kids.  The power was off, so after soccer we had to bucket shower by flashlight.  I decided to shave my beard, which looks and feels very weird.  My hair is still wild, but the beard is gone.  Later, one of the first kids I saw said, "You shaved, it is not good."

The Gingerbread Man - 01/08/2013

One of the crafts we gave to the kids

GABBY - This morning began painfully early again with chapel promptly starting at 6:45.  Bob gave the message today, which was succinct, direct, and enjoyable  We sang songs and listened to some Bible verses read in Tamil by some of the older, more confident girls.  After chapel we headed to breakfast, which was delicious even though it was sort of dumbed down Indian food.  We think that some people complained about wanting more Western food so we didn’t have many authentic Indian dishes.  Today at school, Ben and I were asked to participate in a play.  Dawn, one of the leading ladies in our group was reading The Gingerbread Man and had some masks.  We were just acting out whatever she would read in the story.  I took on the part of the fox, while Ben fulfilled his childhood dream of acting and played the lead: The Gingerbread Man himself!  We had a lot of fun with it and the kids seemed to enjoy our silly antics.  After the Gingerbread Man was safely tucked away inside the Fox’s tummy, we headed up the stairs to visit some classrooms.  We watched the kids complete some crafts that Dawn had brought from home.  Dawn is quickly becoming one of my favorite people here.  She is a minister’s wife and has been an anesthetic nurse in Camden, NJ for over 30 years.  She had a very direct, blunt way of putting things, which I thought was hilarious.  She was completely open about her dislike for children, despite having 2 of her own and coming to Carmel for over 20 years.  Cracks me up.  Anyway, we did crafts with the kids and sang songs like “Deep and Wide” and “Pharoah, Pharoah”. I  played volleyball again with some of the boys at the school and Bobby.  Bobby is a junior in college and is a pleasant, intelligent guy to be around.  He is Bob Davis’s grandson.  The Davis’s have 7 people from their family on the trip with us.  It’s sort of like a family reunion for them.  Ben and I opted out of the bus and decided to walk back to the hostel again.  We had lunch and had about an hour to relax, read, and/or write before heading back to Carmel for an academic education presentation.  We walked up to the giant corner room and found rows and rows of tables set up with books, posters, diagrams, art projects, and dioramas.  The kids were behind the tables showing their report cards and explaining all of the subjects and content that they were learning in each standard.  I barely made it through half of the room before it was time for us to go again.  I had met a couple girls who had taken a particular liking to me.  Shalini, Roshini (Rose), Monica, Donnalakshmi, Sneyha and Jennifer were the girls who I spent the most time with and got to know the best.  I made sure to go over and see their marks and class work.  

Older girls performing a traditional Indian dance

After the academic presentation we headed back to the hostel for a competitive game of soccer (football).  Trish, a 24 year old American girl had challenged our cook, Samuel to a soccer match.  Both Ben and I chose to be on Sam’s team.  We rocked our Lesotho soccer socks and enjoyed a sweaty game of soccer.  The best moment of the game was scoring off of Ben’s perfectly assisted cross.  It was a great moment that we reveled in for probably a little too long.  After the game we took a bucket shower and cleaned ourselves up for a nighttime cultural program.  I decided to not sit in the chairs where all of the other Americans were sitting and took a seat next to my girls on the ground.  Rose and Shalini are probably my 2 favorite girls that I have met, so I sat next to them, while they leaned on me, held my hands and checked out my rings and earrings.  We watched as different groups of kids went up and performed traditional Indian dances.  There were also a couple dances to more upbeat music.  We enjoyed one of the songs Pray for India and the dance because the girls were holding candles with fire while they were dancing in complete darkness.  Another highlight was a bit of a Justin Bieber-esque dance starring Prem, a 14 year old Indian boy who is good at pretty much everything.  He always plays Jesus in any of the dramas of the Bibilical stories.  He was also one of the best soccer players on Trish’s team.  Now we found out he’s got a real talent for dancing.  Ben and I discussed how he’s going to be a Bollywood star in the next 10 years.  After the program we hugged many kids goodnight, ate a quick dinner and went to bed after another fulfilling day.  While we were lying in bed, Ben and I discussed the possibility of potentially sponsoring a child from Carmel.  We decided that we would get some more information from Bob and the other sponsors tomorrow and see if it would be something we could manage.         

Happy Pongal! - 01/07/2013

The boys during the flag ceremony

BEN - We woke up nice and early at 6:00 AM to head to the morning church service.  The service starts with the singing/shouting of loud kid songs with movements to wake everyone up.  This is either followed by a skit or song by the kids and a message for the day.  Today's message was given by a local minister who started strong, but droned on for way too long.  He was also talking about how 'heathen India' was 'saved' by Christianity; not really the way I believe things went.   The one thing he said that I did like was "I see too many temples here, and no shelter."  Anyway, after a long service we headed to breakfast and got ready for school.  From what I can tell, they treat this week at school as a fun, get-no-work-done week, as we roam around classes doing various activities with the kids.  We all loaded onto the school bus, kids on laps and standing in aisles, and took the short ride to Carmel Matriculation School.

For the second time in two days, we were greeted with fanfare, as lines of children threw rose petals over us as we walked through the gates.  We were showed to our seats where we were each presented with a flower, and then witnessed the flag ceremony. This consisted of synchronized solutes, song, and movement.  It was impressive to see 1,000 kids in complete unison, 6 year olds included.

After the ceremony the kids headed to class and our job was to try and visit/entertain as many classes as we could get to.  Gabby and I went with Glen and Trish, two of the younger members of the team, to host dance parties.  We went from classroom to classroom, blasted some music, and danced around crazily with the kids.  This was certainly not the most educational thing we could do, but the kids loved it.  After the dancing, I asked Glen if he'd ever played hangman with the children.  He hadn't and was excited by the idea, so we went to an older classroom and taught the game.  The kids enjoyed it, and we had a great time trying to stump them.  After a few rounds of hangman, I decided to head out to gym class.  Here I first learned to play carem, and got absolutely crushed by the kids.  I then decided to show some basketball dribbling, and wowed the kids with simple tricks.  It was fun and a couple of the boys wanted to learn, so I took them aside and started teaching the basics. I was nice and sweaty by the time the bus came to pick us up for lunch.  A few of us decided to walk back because we had the time, and Gabby and I wanted to see the small town of Semmandukuppam.  The village was a small, ramshackle village with lots of cows, goats, and poverty.

Pongal dancers and unhappy pink cow

After lunch the female teachers had a special celebration planned for us.  Next week in Pongal, a Tamil festival that celebrates a good harvest season.  The ladies fixed up a plethora of treats for us to sample.  The food was mostly fried, tasty pastries; some sweet, some savory.  One particularly interesting ball had a fried egg inside of it.  The Pongal celebration continued with a traditional Tamil dance by the older girls, and the presentation of a very unhappy cow that had been covered in pink paint.  The end of the celebration was a game of pinata (I'm still trying to figure out that cross culture juxtaposition).  The kids loved watching us all swing and miss at the elusive thing, until Gabby became the hero and cracked the pot wide open.

The final thing on the agenda for the night was the Sing Song.  We all went into the chapel for an evening of singing and recited Bible verses by the children.   The kids have obviously had to prepare for this week of festivities and were very proud to show off their hard work.  It is truly amazing how much they have already done for us in just two short days.  After the Sing Song we had a delicious dinner of paneer makhani or butter paneer, before heading to our room for another bucket shower and bed.

Ben Uncle and Gabby Auntie go to Carmel - 01/06/2013

Our warm welcome after getting off the bus 

GABBY - Today began a new chapter in our adventure through India.  We would be driving to a hostel in Semmandakuppam, Tamil Nadu in the southeastern part of India.  Ben had organized this portion of our trip and had heard about the mission trip from one of his friends, Bill Souser.  Bill and Ben went on a 70 day canoe trip from Vermont to Canada together with 8 other guys.  They all had quite some time to talk to each other.  This is where Bill told Ben about a mission trip he had participated in through his church.  We were meeting up with a group of people from various Pennsylvania churches to work in a hostel, which serves as housing for some of the kids attending the nearby school called Carmel Matriculation School.  Somehow from a conversation on a river or lake between Ben and Bill we had managed to get to India and participate in a similar mission.  Ben had met the group of Americans briefly last night, but I still hadn’t.  We did some last minute rushed packing and walked downstairs to eat breakfast and check out.  As we were checking out the Americans trickled down and greeted us warmly.  We boarded the bus where everyone introduced themselves by waving and reciting their names.  There was a drastic range of ages from 12 to early 70’s.  Bob Davis was the head of the whole operation and is a wise, 60 something year old, former plastic surgeon who has been running trips to Carmel for 22 years.  He has traveled all over India with Americans on other mission trips, but also for medical work in his earlier days.  Ben and I picked his brain about the country for awhile as we made our way out of the state of Karnataka and into Tamil Nadu.  Crossing the border out of Karnataka meant that we would be experiencing a different language, which is Tamil.  

Kids making an outline of India

As we drove we noticed an increase of bamboo trees and rice fields.  We were really getting out there into more village life and away from the hectic city.  We finally turned into the town of Semmandakuppum and onto a barren street scattered with shacks and street stands selling chips and local goods.  As we pulled up to the Carmel hostel I heard the booming base of a drum and shrieking, excited children.  We got off of the bus and were greeted with hugs from Baki and Friena, the couple that owns the hostel.  The dirt driveway was lined with children on both sides, girls on the left, boys on the right.  The smallest children greeted us first with flags, smiles and paper hats that they had each hand colored.  Both Ben and I couldn’t believe what we had walked into.  Everyone was so happy that we had come.  The kids just wanted any attention that we were willing to give.  Some gave us hugs, while others gave handshakes or waves.  I looked at Ben and he had tears in his eyes.  We were both so touched and humbled by the whole experience.  We made our way down the line, acknowledging as many children as we could before reaching the end.  We were then told where we would be staying.  Ben and I were unexpectedly put in the same room, which was unnecessary, but nice.  The room was bare with 2 twin beds and bug nets, a bathroom and a wardrobe.  It was excruciatingly hot in the room, so we dropped our stuff off and headed outside.  We went downstairs and walked to the main courtyard, right outside the building we were staying in, to get to know the kids!  We were immediately enveloped by all of the kids.  We spent the next couple hours learning names, playing games, teaching games like a Songadeewin classic – 7’s, pushing kids on swings, playing tag, throwing balls, and just talking.  Ben had his posse of little boys, while I had mine of little girls.  We had such a great time with the incredibly polite and excited children.  They  called all of the Americans by name and then added “Uncle” or “Auntie” to the end of your name.  They called Ben, Ben Uncle and me, Gabby Auntie.  The kids in 3^rd standard and up (standard = grade) speak decent English, enough to communicate.  

After the many hours of play we were told to sit up on the stage next to the chapel.  They had a whole welcome ceremony prepared for us, which included getting a necklace placed on us by the children, a traditional Indian dance by some of the older girls, prayers, and introductions.  They seemed so genuinely happy that we had arrived.  We learned that there are about 1000 kids that attend the Carmel Matriculation School, but only about 80 kids live at the hostel.  The kids that live at the hostel are not all orphans.  Some of them are, but others are sponsored by someone, like some of the people in our group.  Some parents also pay to have their kids stay in the hostel, which is only about a 10 minute walk from the school.  The school is renowned for its good education program and competent teachers.  After the ceremony we had a very American meal prepared by Samuel, our Indian chef for the week.  He works as a head chef in a hotel in Bengalore.  After dinner, Ben and I experienced typical Indian showering, which consists of filling buckets with water and dumping cups of it on your body.  It actually felt really good, even though there wasn’t a constant stream.  There isn’t consistent electricity at Carmel, only about 12 hours per day.  Our room was so hot and without electricity there was no air flow whatsoever.  With electricity we had two ceiling fans, but without it were lying completely still in a pool of our own sweat.  Luckily the electricity came on just as I was dosing off.  It was such a nice day, filled with so much love and appreciation that I couldn’t wait to see what the week with the kids had in store for us.  

Ketchup - 01/05/13

Love these guys

BEN - Today was to be a lazy day.  We slept in for as long as humanly possible before waking up and deciding to stay in for the day, and get some chores done.  We got on the internet and were able to book our hotel for Delhi, our plane tickets home (we have about 10 days to explore Seattle and Portland), check finances, etc.  Of course all these businessy things were intermingled with episodes of Spartacus, our new TV obsession.  Our only outing for the day was a trip to the Indian buffet for lunch, scrumptious as always.  We spent the rest of the afternoon writing and trying to catch up on the insurmountable task of our journals.  Both Gabby and I were also able to video chat with our parents which was much needed seeing as we will most likely have no internet for the next week.

Seeing as this day was pretty uneventful, here is some things that have been on my mind.  As we drove with Rafish the past few days in the heart pounding, vomit inducing traffic of Bangalore, I immediately started to think, 'how can you tame this, or apply western standards of traffic to make it better?'  I then realized that, there is no need or even room to make it 'better.'  This is how it works for 1/5 of the world's population, and they are completely content with what from my western perspective seems like 'crazy' traffic.  Who am I to apply rules to a system (or for that matter a culture) that has been working without them for longer than my culture and system has even existed.   This would become a constant struggle in my mind; learning to accept what is, rather than trying to make it fit my perception of what is should be.  LET IT GO and join the madness.  Ok, that's my philosophizing for the day.

Monkey in the bamboo

We spent the night twiddling our thumbs, waiting for the sound of a bus.  We were waiting to meet Bob Davis, who I have been emailing with for months.  Just as we were giving up and concocting schemes with the front desk as to how we would meet them, a giant bus pulled in.  I went down to very briefly meet Bob and the rest of the team.  Everyone seemed very nice.  The group is mostly older, with a few exceptions and all seem to be related somehow.  Tomorrow we put all our faith in these people and drive to Carmel Matriculation School.  It should be interesting.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, OH MY! - 01/04/2013

Tony!

GABBY - This morning we managed to wake up in time for our complimentary buffet breakfast.  It was an assortment of Indian dishes ranging from aloo (potatoes) in gravy (what Indians refer to as any sauce) to French toast.  After breakfast, we met Rafish for another day of sightseeing around Bengalore.  We had decided to head outside of the city a bit to Bannerghatta National Park, which featured a safari and zoo.  Leaving around 9:00 am, we were stuck in morning Bengalore rush hour traffic for close to an hour and a half.  It was hard to get any quality snoozing done with all of the different car horns blaring.  We eventually made it to the National Park, paid our entrance and safari fee and headed to the departure point for the safari.  We were put in a holding area, which was a square plot with a large bench surrounding the perimeter.  We were held there until there were 30 people in the holding area.  The bus wouldn’t leave until it was packed to maximum capacity.  We boarded the bus and attempted to stare through the bars that came between our window and the outside world.  It wasn’t the most ideal vessel for decent pictures.  We had an hour to drive through the park (the only amount time the park offered) and there was no way the driver was going a second over the hour allotted.  We flew through the entire park starting with the Bear Safari.  These were Himalayan black bears and looked similar to the North American black bears, but with longer, white snouts and intense hooked claws.  They were really interesting.  We saw the first one and I bearly had time to get my lens cap off of my camera before the bus sped off to the next bear sighting.  We had about 10 quality seconds to capture a solid picture before the opportunity was lost forever.  It was a totally different experience to that of Addo Elephant Park, where you can sit for hours looking at an animal if you want.  After the Bear Safari, we drove to the Lion Safari.  I wasn’t as impressed with this portion because of the lions we had seen in Addo.  They didn’t look any different to the ones we had seen a couple months ago.  Despite all that, lions are still such beautiful and majestic creatures, so I was still delighted to see them again.  After the Lion Safari we drove with lightening speed to the Tiger Safari.  I was really excited to see tigers because I don’t think I have ever seen them in person before.  The first ones we came across were orange with black stripes, like Tony and his Frosted Flakes!  I wasn’t able to capture a good picture seeing as we had no time to focus the picture and tourists were climbing all over me to catch any kind of view.  After our visit with Tony, we were actually able to see a white, snow tiger, which used to be my favorite animals (replaced only by three toed sloths).  They are absolutely gorgeous and I definitely could have watched him for a good hour.  The 10 seconds per animal just didn’t quite cut it for me.  

Uncaged monkey enjoying some kid's ice cream

After the whirlwind of a safari we headed into the zoo, which was included in the price of our entrance/safari ticket.  We moseyed around the zoo walking around and looking into each enclosure.  We saw emus, ostriches, elephants, Himalayan black bears, long snouted crocodiles (weird looking guys), lemurs, peacocks, and monkeys that were not in cages.  The monkeys that roamed free seemed to wreak havoc on the zookeepers and visitors.  We saw monkeys jumping on the park signs, drinking from water fountains and stealing food.  After a sweaty, but nice stroll through the zoo, we headed back into the city of Bengalore for a late lunch.  Rafish didn’t really seem to understand that Ben and I were on a bit of a budget and wanted to experience the street food that India had to offer.  He took us to a really fancy restaurant called Tandoor.  The food was exquisite.  We got loads of naan and decided on chicken tikka masala and a chicken reshmi dish, which was a new choice and turned out to be delicious.  After our satisfying meal we shopped around a bit, returning to a store that we went to yesterday to buy a Pashmina and jewelry.  After our mini shopping spree we headed back to 37 Crescent, where I stunned Rafish with a traditional American goodbye.  I gave him a hug for being such a hospitable and informative guide.  He was clearly uncomfortable and taken aback, but when I was done, he ran over to Ben and gave him a big bear hug.  It was a pretty hilarious exchange and clearly not a usual practice for Indians.  When I returned back to the hotel I had a much needed hour long Skype session with Nicole.  It was really great to chat to her and not just about updates, but normal friend stuff.  We had a lazy night ordering room service Murgh Makhani (butter chicken) and watching our new favorite TV show of violence and sex - Sparatcus.