South India

We have passed the half way mark of the trip. We left the north and after two days of traveling we arrived in Bangalore. We took a two hour plane to get here. It was kind of nice to have a break form India while we were in the airport and on the plane. It was weird to be on a plane going somewhere new instead of home. I think most of the group members got homesick for a bit. I did. So far the south is much easier to be in than the north. I'm not sure if it is because we are over the culture shock or if there really are fewer people living on the streets, car horns, and less garbage. We are staying in a huge building but I am not exactly sure what it is usually used for. They serve great food though. It is taking us some time to get used to the fact that they serve rice last. It's like we get 2 meals. It's very different from the north but delicious. We have more time off in Bangalore to catch up on schoolwork and hopefully enjoy the shopping.

Dharmsala

We have been busy in Dharmsala. On Thursday we visited 2 nunneries. At the first we met nuns from all over the world and got a teaching about the basics of Buddhism. It was a great overview. We also had pasta and cheese for lunch which was quite the treat. In the afternoon we had an audience with Jetsuma Tenzen Palmo. She is a British woman who was drawn to Buddhism when she was in her late teens. She came to India when she was 20 and became a nun. Nuns had very limited access to Buddhist teachings at the time and she has worked to make them available for women. She went into the Himalayas and meditated in a cave for 12 years alone. I cannot imagine what that was like. When we talked to her she did not want any questions about the cave. What stood out the most was when she talked about her mom. I asked how her family responded to her going to India at 20 years old. She said that her mom was basically the only family she had that mattered. She never held her back or complained because she was left in Britain. Her mother prayed that when she is reborn she comes back as Tenzen's mom again. She realized that Tenzen will need special parents to let her continue on her path. It was really beautiful and half of us including Tenzen, teared up. She is really down to earth. Not caught up in a celebrity whirlwind. I am so grateful for the chance to meet all these remarkable people in India.
We are now half way done the trip. We had an overnight train to Delhi and will fly to south India tonight. It is hard to believe it's been 6 weeks. It seems like it went by so fast yet so very slow.

Himalayan Adventure... Fog and Goats and Chai oh my

I had an amazing experience in the Himalayas this week. First I'd like to mention that I REALLY dislike hiking. I've tried, it just is not my idea of fun. It look us 5 1/2 hours to climb up. It was really hard. At one point I was so grouchy that I forced myself to smile. It actually worked and I felt better afterwards. When we got to the top it was so cold and foggy. A few of us were all ready to turn around and go right back down. We were miserable and just huddled together in blankets for a while. The house we stayed in was a few rooms made of stone with 2 single beds pushed together in each. We turned on an iPod and danced around for a while to lift our spirits. The fog slowly lifted and we could finally see the mountains around us. It was amazing. We were so high up and isolated on this peak but closed in by the even taller mountains around us. We were in the clouds so the weather was constantly changing. You could look at one mountain then it would look completely different a minute later. Just before sundown a few of us went for a walk to the chai shop 10 min away from where we stayed. We ran into a flock of goats and sheep. There were some baby lambs and they were sooo cute. One ran over to me. He was black with a white ring around his body so he looked like an Oreo. I crouched down and he came and cuddled with me in my shawl. It was adorable. When we tried to leave he chased after so I let the others go ahead so carried him behind a rock. I put him down and ran but he still chased after. Then the Shepard came around the corner and started yelling so we took off. It got too dark to go to the shop but it was a really amazing sunset. It was a pretty rough night. I don't think anyone got enough sleep with 4 people in each bed. At one point there was a storm and the wind was so bad. We had to help take down 2 tents and I thought the wind would blow us right off the mountain. In the morning there were hardly any clouds. The sunrise and the view was beautiful again. After a glass of chai we started back down the mountain. Going down was alot faster but alot harder on my knees. At one point a hail storm came over us but we got down ok. We walked through another herd of sheep and goats. I found one baby goat with a jacket on! If you've ever seen the movie Cold Mountain you might remember at the end where a lamb dies and she makes the coat into a jacket for another lamb. So I found a white goat with a black coat on. I thought that was really cool. The whole experience was pretty unexplainable. We have some pictures that will probably be on facebook though they will not do the view justice. I am super proud that I did it but I think that's enough hiking for me for a while.

Nothing tops today

So we have left the farm in Dheradune. one bus ride, followed by a train ride, and another OVERNIGHT bus ride, and 2 hour taxi up the mountains, we are in Dharmashala. It was a really long night on the trian. Another train had broken down so for a while there were double the amount of people on it and it was almost frightening. It was also really cold and I had no way to turn off the air-conditioning that was blasting in my face. But it was all so worth it. Dharmashala is by far my favorite place so far. The Dali Lama was actually just finishing up some teachings today. A small group of us dropped our bags in the hotel room and went out to see what was going on at the main temple. We got there about 20 minutes before he finished speaking. We were sitting with a couple hundred others, outside the main temple area and watched on a small tv screen. We couldn't understand what he was saying and did not have a radio to translate it. We consitered just going back. Then we were shuffled to the side because they were making a lane for a car to come through. So we were sitting at the edge of the empty space and the car comes in a backs to a set of stairs. We saw some monks coming down the stairs then we saw some other monks helping someone come down. It was the Dali Lama. I saw him. He paused on each step to look around at all of us. It was nothing like it would of been in North America. Everyone was respectful and just sat and was quiet. He cam around the car and we were right there... 10 feet away from him, and he saw us. It was unexplainable to have the darsan of the Dali Lama. I did start crying as soon as I saw him. After he got in the car and drove past, everyone started moving about and leaving but our group couldn't even moved. Half of us were crying and we all just stood and had a group hug... 2 of them. It was really a bonding moment.
We just relaxed and reflected for the rest of the afternoon. The whole group went for dinner at a chill little place near the hotel. It was really great to just have a beer together and dance around. I'm sure everyone else in the place thought we were crazy but it was really fun. overall, awesome day. But I am very tired.

Dr. Vanadana Shiva's Organic Utopia

I am staying on a organic farm in Dehradun. No access to internet unless we drive an hour into town so I will update this on a later date. We have amazing fresh, wholesome vegetarian food. Here is the link... http://www.navdanya.org/

Rishikesh

I am now at the Swami Rama Sadhka Grama ashram in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is beautiful and peaceful. I can see why westerners have been coming to Rishikesh since the Beatles came about 50 years ago. Our journey here from Amritsar was anything but peaceful. I'm sure everyone at home has heard about the devastating floods in Pakistan. This has been the longest and wettest monsoon season in many years for India. So the plan was to take the train to Hardiwar then a bus from there to Rishikesh. The train would not go to Hardiwar because of flooding so we were dropped off in some other city that I still do not know the name of. The vibe in this city was very different from Amritsar. We immediately caught the attention of the locals. One pick-pocket-er followed us for the entire hour that we were outside the train station. We had to stand and wait to figure out transportation and crowds started swarming. It was really frightening because the people we so hostile. One lady that was sending her children to beg from us just would not leave. They were mocking us when we said no. It felt like the crowd was just waiting for us to do something wrong so they could pounce. It was defiantly a test of patience. The worst part was watching the cart horses struggle with loads of 15 people. The ponies were about 13 hands high and some walked on tip toes because they were so overloaded and lame. It was really terrible. Most of the cows in India are sleek and fat but not the horses.
So we finally piled into overpriced taxis for the 3 hour drive to Rishikesh. We were squished and hot. It is so muggy here. The rain has made to many potholes in the road that it was really an uncomfortable drive. At one point on the highway our driver did not want to go over a pothole so he just swerved to the other side of the road and weaved his way through oncoming traffic for a while. It was quite the experience. We made it to the ashram for dinner. I have to talk about the food. It is all so fresh and delicious here. We get warm milk! It is the first place we've had milk in the past weeks. We find ourselves talking about food everyday, often more than once. The only downside to mealtimes is that we must eat in silence. We are all in different cabins and eat in silence so I really miss socializing with the group. We all feel disconnected. So yesterday we took a break from the intense yoga and meditation classes and went into Rishikesh. It was a rather touristy area but the markets were fabulous and the prices were good. Sometimes I realize that it is rather silly of me to be haggling over 50 cents off an item but we get caught up in the moment and really do not like the feeling of being ripped off. Over all I think Rishikesh has been good for me. I'm hoping to take some of the habits and disapline home with me.

Golden Temple!

The other day we visited the Golden Temple! It was really amazing – like, a gold temple at the end of a bridge over a huge pool of water. We went with another group of Indian students from the tourism department of a collage in Amritsar. It turned out they weren’t the greatest tour guides but it was still neat to interact with people our own age. It was really difficult to be in a group that large in a busy place. It just took forever for us to just walk around because the professors would stop every ten steps and try to get us all to listen to something or another. It was a bit useless for me because none of the information sunk in. It was also super hot and being barefoot on hot marble all day was stressful in itself. One of the best parts of the day was Langa. It is the free lunch that is given to anyone that visits a Sikh temple. At the Golden Temple they feed 300000 people a day! That’s 1000 people every 15 minutes! It was quite the experience. We had to wait to get in then there was a mad rush to find a spot on the floor. We sat in long lines and had food dumped on our plates. It was way too much food for me. It was all over very fast so the next rush could come. I’ve really gotten better with the food here. It’s actually gotten more appitising as the trip goes on. I’m still craving north American food though.