Philosophy in India

I guess you could call this a follow up to my first Shantaram entry. This book has really gotten me thinking about my own life and what philosophy I live by.I was a philosophy minor at Gonzaga...not that means much because I was never really good at remembering whose philosophy was whose. They were mostly all pessimistic and as the eternal optimist, I couldn't relate to most of the people we studied. Life is supposed to be happy! Isn't that what we're all hear to find? The sand-between-your-toes kind of happiness? At least that's my version of it. Just the sound of the waves and the sand between my toes....maybe a Carona or two as well....

Here are some more phrases from Shantaram I've dog-eared:

"Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears. In the end that's all we have - to hold on tight until the dawn." ---I think we've all seen people cry with everything except tears: A hunched over walk, shuffled feet, and that glazed over look of defeat. Like your eyes can see everything and nothing all at once. I think it's interesting that he ended that with "until the dawn" because that look in a person is all about light. There is a light in one's eyes that can darken...but most of the time, night fades and the dawn returns. That's how you know a person is healing.

There are only three big questions, the book says: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? -- I'm refraining from answering all of these with sarcasm - my go-top response when I don't have an intelligent answer . (Maybe another one should be, what is happiness?)

'"What characterises the human race more, Karla once asked me, cruelty or the capacity to feel shame for it?" I know now that it is neither of these, but rather, it is forgiveness.' --I have to agree that I think forgiveness seems uniquely human. The ability to forgive, or rather the choice to forgive, seems to differ between all of us. I know I forgive others too easily sometimes. I know I make mistakes all the time and when I do make those mistakes, I want the people around me to forgive me...so I forgive them. It's a karma thing I guess....which isn't very alturistic of me. Most recently, Chanel...my very good friend from undergrad. I'm missing her wedding, and I was supposed to be a bridesmaid, to be here in India. I hope someday she'll fully forgive me for that. I love her dearly and know that her wedding will be EPIC!

Sorry if these sort of entries are boring! But if you don't like it...don't read it! :) If you want to add something or a topic, just leave a comment

weekend in Rajasthan

My fellow interns and I make the executive decision that we deserved a long weekend! Ravi, our boss, concurred that Udaipur and Jaipur should be given at least 3 days time in order to take in the sights. Lovely!
Sarah, Katie, and I took off friday around 7pm and arrived in Udaipur around 8am. Sarah was going to stay the weekend and let Katie and I use her room for the one day that we had allotted for the city. Udaipur is south west of Delhi. It's Lake Palace is the #1 destination in my Lonely Planet. Madonna has rented it out, as has the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie crew. It lived up to the hype! The City Palace and the Lake Palace were both breathtaking and Udaipur is easily the best place we've traveled to (I mean, I loved McLeod and it's gorgeous view as well. The two can't be compared I guess). The Lake Palace sits in the middle of a man-made lake....when it's full. Since the monsoon has just now started, the Saturday that we spent there was the last dry day of the year. Of course there was still a slew to take people from the mainland to the Palace, damned on both sides by built up earth.
We had a rickshaw tourguide take us around Udaipur. Compared to everywhere else we've been, the city was deserted. It was quiet. The honking was minimal. It was a very peaceful place. Katie and I rode a camel!! For a fantastic view of the city, our driver took up to the Monsoon Palace which sat on this hill.

Late that night Katie and I left our brave little Sarah in Udaipur, and hopped another train to Jaipur. We were lazy getting our tickets and were stuck in a non-air conditioned section of the train. The conductor couldn't get us A/C beds so we went to the A/C chair car. Bad decision. I don't think I slept more than a few restless hours on those hard seats. The lights were a constant spotlight, and I swear that Indians have no concept of sleep! People were up talking all night. Good thing we had a really nice hotel to nap in :)
Around 2pm our rickshaw driver came to get us and take us on a tour of Jaipur! His name was Rahul and just like our Udaipur guy, he had a guest book with recommendations from people all over the world. There must have been over a dozen different languages jotted down in the little leather notebook. I had high expectations for this guy. He let me down.
We went to some astrology exhibit and visited the Kings' tombs. Then he took us to a textile factory where they printed their own material and everything! I had them make me a navy blue dress. The first attempt at my dress was a disaster, but the second dress (made in a few hours) is really pretty! I'm currently wearing it actually.
Then disaster struck. He took us to a jewelry place. While we were looking at rings, Rahul asked if I wanted to meet his teacher, an astrologist, and have him "read" me. I love this stuff so of course I was excited to meet this man! He ended up reading me like a book. He knew my age. He knew my birthday. He said I care too much about what others think and that's why I'm in law school. He told me that I wouldn't end up being a lawyer. He also said that I've had a turbulent time with love: that it never lines up. He said that I very recently met someone that I like, but that we come from different worlds - he didn't say it wouldn't work, but he did say that it was going to be hard. I think this guy and I have a different definition of "working out" when it comes to relationships. Heck, if I don't end up hurting him or vice versa, I call that a good relationship!
What really freaked me out and made me actually start to cry was that he said, "help your mother." He told me that she was a people-pleaser and wasn't actually happy...that she may be depressed. He talked me into an unstable emotional state...and then went for the kill. I ended up buying healing stones for mom and I. One of my favorite things about my mom's side of the family is that my great-grandma instilled in all of us women a respect for eastern culture and beliefs. Eleanor Irish believed in reincarnation, crystals, etc. She was an amazing woman whom I will never forget. I knew that these healing stones would have been something that she would have felt very connected with. Grandma Irish would not have approved of the price though! I can almost hear her laughter now - it was a light hearted chuckle that she had. "Oh hun... you got screwed!" And when she'd have said this to me, her right hand would have gone to her heart while her left went to her hip. God she was awesome.
The Astrologist told me that I don't sleep much and when I do sleep, it's not well. The stones kept me up all night! The next day I returned them. The minute they were gone from my hand I felt lighter.

In Jaipur Katie and I went to this theme park-ish place for dinner. We rode an elephant, watched dancers, and got our palms read (I really should stop doing this). The astrologist and the palm reader told me I will have at least 3 kids and marry at age 29 to someone not "American." hmm.......5 more singles years? I'm going to take this glass-half-full and say that this gives me 5 more years to go to dance clubs and exotic countries! heck yes! The palm reader also told me I'm a very lucky person! With that though, I must agree. I'm lucky to be here and I enjoy being here. I'm more lucky to have what I have at home and people there who love me.

All in all though it was a good weekend...definitely the most interesting weekend yet. I think from now on I'll let fate speak to me on it's own terms. I'm pretty sure my own fate is as independent and stubborn as I am. She wouldn't like being spoken for through random "astrologists."

camels

I took a ride on a real, live camel today! holy geez! Udaipur is sooda (beautiful in hindi)! Loving it. Tonight though we catch a 2nd class, non-A/C train (.......) to Jaipur. more on all this later. I just couldn't wait to share the camel incident. okay bye.

because Delhi isn't hot enough...

I'm going to the desert this weekend! Katie, Sarah, and I are going to the state of Rajasthan (raw-jaw-stan). We're taking the overnight train from New Delhi to Udaipur tonight. The guidebook describes it as the "Venice of the East." I really hope not...I kinda thought Venice was a sinking crap-hole. But to each their own. There is a lake there that holds a floating lake Palace. It's Lonely Planets' number one site to see in India, beating the Taj Mahal. Sarah will stay in Udaipur until tuesday morning. Katie and I are taking another overnight train saturday night (11pm-6am) to another city: Jaipur. Jaipur apparently offers the best jewelry shopping in India and has a "pink city" which I'm sure I'll adore. :) There are also Palaces and Museums to see. Should be fun. We're taking monday off of work because Ravi said that the two cities need more time than two days. I'll get back to Delhi late monday night. Namaste!

latest photos

We went to hard rock for Mario's last group meal before he leaves for home! We'll definitely miss you Mario.

My Henna. Sloppy up close but okay in the pic




Love, Mario, and Lisa

I'm sweaty

The high today is 105, but it feels like 115. It's like the opposite of a wind chill: something in the air is making Delhi seem hotter than it is. But I shouldn't worry right? I mean it cools down at night and I have A/C....yeah....no. The lows are still around 90 degrees and my entire little enclave (which my friend Vaibhav has just informed he is an undocumented part of the colony) is having wiring issues and the power has been out since about 11pm last night. The A/C at work is broken and I believe that Ravi is punishing us all for the whole "Jacob is a creepy, sick and twisted person and we no longer feel safe working with him" fiasco. (but that's a long story that maybe I'll tell. Maybe I wont. I don't want to worry Mom.) It was supposed to be fixed by 10 today. still not fixed. So I'm giving up on work and going to a air conditioned coffee shop around the corner. I have to get some sort of relief. It actually started to scare me a little this morning. I did my usual gym routine: run there, workout/lift, and run back. The cold shower at home usually cools me off just fine and I'm okay. Today I was not okay. I didn't stop sweating from every part of my body until an entire hour later! I mean, beads of sweat dripping off my wrists sweat. The clothes that I put on after the shower were soaked through in about 5 minutes. I've already had two 1liter water bottles. I'm still sweating, per usual, but that's normal here. Gully would fit in just fine ;) love you!

Today has already had a highlight though. I always lift when I go to the gym here, mostly because the cardio machines are old and in short supply/high demand. Since I started working out at Crossfit in Spokane I've been drawn to more weight lifting anyway. For only the second time since I've been here, there was a woman at the front desk. When I got there she asked me if I was liking the gym, in pretty good english. I said that I was enjoying it, thanked her, and went on my merry way. On my way out she stopped me again. She thanked me for coming in and said that she was so happy I was here, lifting weights. She said that women in India don't weight train because they think they'll get big muscles. They don't know that it will just tone you and they won't listen because there is a stigma about a woman lifting. Other than herself, I am the only other weight-training woman in the gym. She called cardio "merely a body warm-up" and that Indian women will never lose fat if they don't drop the stigma, and that I, being a foreigner, has helped them look at weights a different way. Happy to help! :) This also explains the quizzical stares I get when I do weighted deadlifts and power cleans. That isn't something they see very day...

Shantaram

I'm reading the book Shantaram right now while in India, which I must say, is quite amazing. It's about the author's life story. He escaped from prison in Australia and came to Bombay. He goes through some pretty crazy stuff in his life but is clearly an intelligent man. His writing is almost lyrical in its philosophical discourse. In other words, me gusta! :) I wish I were more eloquent. The book also gives spot-on commentary of Indian culture and mannerisms. My favorite India mannerism is what he labels, quite accurately, the "Indian head bobble." Instead of nodding, Indians wiggle their heads from shoulder to shoulder and sometimes shrug along with the bobble. It's adorable. As Gregory David Roberts states though, at first it's quite confusing. Like, is that a yes or a maybe? Does it mean okay? Is this person agreeing or trying to decide to agree or not? In the end, it's a yes/okay. I've adopted it. It's my favorite new game.

So back to the book. Here are a few of my favorite passages that I've bookmarked. "Take yesterday, for instance, when we were all talking about truth. Capital T Truth. Absolute truth. Ultimate truth. And is there any truth, is anything tue? Everybody has something to say about it...then you said, the truth is a bully we all pretend to like." (I kinda agree. the truth can throw a mean right hook at you. and it can hurt.)

"She loved the guy. She did it for him. (talking about prostitution). Some women are like that. Some loves are like that. Most loves are like that, from what I can see. Your heart starts to feellike an over-crowded lifeboat. You throw your pride out to keep it afloat, and your self-respect and your independence. After a while you start throwing people out- your friends, everyone you used to know. And it's still not enough. The lifeboat is still sinking, and you know it's going to take you down with it. I've seen that happen to a lot of girls here. I think that's why I'm sick of love." (Accurate, but not completely. At least, not for most loves. No lifeboat should need be inflated if it's the right love. Or maybe the love is right until the need for a lifeboat arises. But who am I to comment?! I'm a 24 yr old single woman who really has only had minor relationships, all of which required a lifeboat. and waterwings. Pink, disney princess waterwings. I had a slowly sinking lifeboat once. but what was lost does not compare to what was gained from having the experience. If you learn nothing from the "lows" in life, the "highs" aren't as intoxicating.)

"you still like Maurizio? Even after he did that to your friend?"
"Maurizio did exactly what I knew he would do. In his own mind, he made a trade of his affection for the visa, and it was a fair trade. He would never try anything like that with me."
"is he afraid of you?" I asked, smiling.
"yes. I think he is, a little bit. that's one of the reasons I like him. I would never respect a man who didn't have the good sense to be at least a little bit afraid of me."
---Agreed. Have the good sense to be at least a little but afraid of me.

"Didier once told me, in a rambling, midnight dissertation, that a dream is the place where a wish and a fear meet. when the wish and the fear are exactly the same, he said, we call the dream a nightmare." (paging Freud. Is there a Mr. Freud is the house to do my dream analysis? I wished to get into law school - now I fear being a lawyer. Nightmare? Or normal thought process of anyone crazy enough to enter law school if the first place? I'm just going to do estate planning so that way I'm a "lawyer" but really just a fancy financial guru. sounds good.)

"If fate doesn't make you laugh, Karla said, then you just don't get the joke." (what if you get the joke, and you think you could probably laugh, but you'd rather cry? I mean, the line between crying and laughing can be thin and easily disolved. Not saying that I want to cry in response to fate. I prefer laughter because I'm the eternal optimist (cough cough Dad.) Playing the devil's advocate is all...)

I have more to share, and I will share, because there are some lovely passages in this book. All should read it. Be warned, it's over 900 pages. Worth every turn of the page though.

tootles. (BTW: there are two posts today. The one below is new also)

case and point....

Indian inefficiency at it's best: the mall food court (yes of course I found a mall. I sniff them out like a drug dog to Colombian cocaine). The City Walk food court is ridiculous and really just made us so irritated that we had to leave half way through our french fries - that's how you know it was bad! I freakin LOVE french fries! Their like my biggest vice. We found them in the Mexican section of the menu which was odd but they were delicious and didn't even taste like curry. I digress.
So here is how the food court works: you go up to a counter at the entrance and tell them what you want. Lisa wanted french fries. I wanted nachos (BIG mistake. they were just stale Doritos without cheese). Both of these were less than 100 rupees but they asked for 200 to load onto a card. Then you take this card loaded with rupees and take it to whichever vender is selling the food you wanted to eat. They swipe the card and take your order. Then they re-explain how the card works as if we don't speak English/understand the rules and tell you that when you leave, you have to take the card back up to the front counter to get your change. I had 15 rupees left on my card and wanted a water that cost 10 rupees. Couldn't be done. They charge a 15 rupee 'service charge' and therefore my actual balance was null. If I wanted a water I had to walk back up to the front and load the darn card with more rupees. I'm POSITIVE they would make more money if the vender could just take your money himself. positive. no doubt about it.
We were so thursty. About half way across the mall we discovered a vending machine that sold nothing but delicious bottled water. Just as Lisa extended her arm to insert her pale-orange 10 rupee note, the vending machine attendent came to do it for us. dear jesus why. why is there a vending machine attendent? isn't the entire purpose of having a vending machine is that you don't need a vender?! Being more submissive, we allowed him to insert the notes and hand Lisa the water.

So back to the shopping ;) sometimes I think it's probably cheeper for me to be in India away from Nordstroms and online shopping websites such as shopbop.com and forever21.com. They constantly tease me with their "new arrivals" sections displaying beautiful flowy dresses that I need to own. wow...i'm using a lot of italics today. My friend Vaibhav told me that on wednesdays there is a flee market outside the mall and that I could find cheeper stuff there. I got a really pretty black party dress for 350 rupees/$7 USD. It's simple with spaghetti straps and a cinched waistline. Awesome find! hey ma! look at me! I bargain shopped!!
I also bought a fabulous red clutch that has zipper-detailed ruffles. but that was not found in the flee market ;) Hi dadddy! love you!
We went out dancing last night with V and his friend at a place called Capitol. Before we went out we listened to music at Katie & I's apartment and ate Kabbabs that were delicious. Capitol was good. It had a stage for me to take over so I was happy :) We danced until around 2am. Dance club w/ a stage = happy Lindsey. The late night didn't allow for a gym excursion this morning but I'm counting dancing all night as a workout. Totally counts.

dependence

I think if I've learned one thing in India, it's to be more submissive. This goes against every fiber of my being. During the first few weeks I fought it. I wanted to scream "I can do it myself!" at least a dozen times a day. I even looked the phrase up in the Hindi language book that I purchased to no avail. But, alas, I have learned to let go and have things done for me. For instance, there is a guy at my gym who's sole purpose of being there is to re-rack people's weights. The first few trips to "Steel" were frustrating. If I grabbed a weight or a bar, an assistant was over trying to help. Now I just let him help me instead of shaking my head furiously and saying "achcha nahe" (which means not good)! That got a few laughs out of the guys at the gym at least :)

The cheep labor makes having servants or assistants common for the middle and upper class. This dependence has led to inefficiency. At the little grocery stands around work there are sometimes up to three workers: one to get down my order of crackers and cereal, another to take my money, and another at the cash register who puts the money in the register. Instead of this third man handing me back the change, it is handed to the man who took my change, who then hands it to me. After a short pause, a rush of Hindi is exchanged between man #2 and man #1 until #1 hands me the items that he has bagged up for me. This job could really be done by one person. The other two men then wouldn't have jobs then and I'm sure they're providing for their families on their minimal wages.
During our recent visit to Rishikesh the Indian men around us didn't let us pay for a thing (feminism be gone!) and planned everything. I didn't mind until it started to interfere with my plans. Then I had to raise my voice to get them to see that no, I did not want to eat more food. Refusing the slice of cake did not amount to me not liking cake and really wanting McDonald's. I promise. No seriously. And yes. I really do want to go to Haridwar. It's why I came up here. Really. I wouldn't lie about that. GAH!
So I've sort of learned to be more submissive. But the stubborn arse in me may never die. And I would prefer that it didn't because I quite like myself!

What I miss the most

Toilet paper. Every time I walk into a new bathroom I think, maybe this is going to be the time that there is toilet paper. Once every 8th time or so, to my elation, there is a soft roll of white tissue waiting for me by a proper toilet that I can sit down on. most of the time though there is a hose or a spout or, even worse, a bucket to be used. Every now and then we get to use the squat toilets. hmmm...yay. Anyway, back to the hose contrapment. You use the hose to wash after using the bathroom. Iram thinks that wiping with paper would be harsh and unclean. I love it when there are cultural difference pertaining to activities that we do multiple times a day without really thinking about it! She uses water. We use paper. The girls and I have made it a habit to carry tissues or whole roles of toilet paper with us so that we're never let down when we enter a stall. It's amazing how low your standards can go though. I've used some bad toilets. You know it's bad when you enter the train's washroom to find a nice, clean squat toilet with little places to put your feet and you're greatful!
I'm sorry if you think that bathroom commentary isn't appropriate, it's just that in India using the bathroom is not always a private activity like it is in the States. I'll just say this, public urination is definitely not a crime! Iram tried to explain this to me, but I just can't adjust to this one. I like my washroom time to be private, Lindsey-only time.

The air conditioning came back to life today after two solid days of smelling like burnt flesh. THANK GOD. I had to leave work early yesterday because I couldn't stand to sit here and sweat any longer. Of course I went home, put on my running shoes and ran to the gym in 110 degree heat. Totally makes sense...right? At least I have Sarah who is just as crazy as I am and also ran in the middle of the day. We looked like we'd taken showers.

Today I get to go to the Indian law library! I'm excited to see how it all works. I'll keep ya posted.

BTW (which means "by the way" for those who aren't versed in abbreviations): Toilet paper is not exactly what I miss the MOST. I miss Cooper the most! ;)

All American girl

Everywhere we go, we're a tourist attraction. You would think that some people had never seen a white person before. Coming from a country that was subjected to the British, running around sticking their flag in whatever land they could find, I highly doubt that my girlfriends and I are the first Americans they've ever laid eyes on. We're constantly stopped by people on the street, in temples, or while shopping asking if they can take a picture with us. When they see us, mouths drop and Hindi is spoken in rapid fire while one person digs for their camera. When a group of guys ask, it's boardline creepy but when teenage girls ask to take our photo, we're all flattered. They ask, "which country?" and we say "America" and they say "Oh America! Obama!" I'm surrounded by liberals. bloody rubbish. Oh well. They really do love Americans here. Which brings me to my point, what makes us look American? Lisa is French-Irish. Sarah is Jewish. Katie is Irish. I'm...a mut. I know that somewhere down the line mom's side of the family came from Ireland and Welch. Wehmeyer is clearly German. Aside from the deadly combo of Irish-German giving me great drinking genes (I know mom is loving this commentary) I don't look necessarily like either side. I don't have an exotic look about me like Sarah. Nor am I able to pull off being European like Katie and Lisa. Lisa got asked if she were Russian once, which I could see. The others really all can pull off the European vibe, but not me. Lisa says it's cause I'm the "Abercrombie model" of the bunch and look inherently...American. So I guess when an Indian can't place me elsewhere I must be a yank. Not that I mind! I just never really thought of myself in this light. In a land of immigrants, what is "American?" Next they'll start asking if I'm from California...that'll really tick me off! ;) Work is good. Life is better. Happy happy happy! But seriously, if I don't get to go out dancing soon I'm going to start singing and doing random choreography in the office! I've had to stop listening to music for fear I may burst into song. BTW, the keyboard I'm on right now is missing it's "return" key, preventing me from separating my random thoughts by paragraphs. So you all get a rant! yay! Okay, enough diet pepsi for me. Off to get a pedicure with Lisa and Iram!! It's going to cost me a whoping $4 USD. love India. Namaste----Bollywood.

Rafting the Ganges

After a cozy overnight train back to Delhi, I am here at work safe and sound! This past weekend my friends Sarah, Katie, Lisa and I went north to Rishikesh and Haridwar. The two towns are popular cities because the Hindu's consider them sort of a holy place. Rishikesh is where the Ganges comes out of the Himalayas. There were thousands of people there just to go to the temples and bath in the Ganges. But before I get to the adventures in Rishikesh, let me tell you about our interesting ride there....
So Lisa, an intern from Boston college, has friends from undergrad who live in Delhi and wanted to go up to Rishikesh with us. Since we'd already bought train tickets, Lisa and I were the only ones who wanted to take a ride. We figured that they knew the way and it would cut the trip in half! On our way out of Delhi we were going to stop and say hi to Alok (Lisa's friend) and Amar's friends, a young married couple who have a country house outside the city. This was at about 12am. I figured we'd have a quick chat, use the washroom, and be on our way. Yeah....no. Alok is apparently an Olympic rifle shooter so of course we had to shoot at some bottles before we left. Alok was impressed with my aim! Skyler and Pete would proud :)
By the time we shot a rifle, got a 2am dinner, and back on the road, it was past 3am. With Rishikesh still a good 5 hour, I was just along for the ride! Poona and her husband (I forget his name) led the way up by following this little river through the countryside. As the sun was coming up, I was falling asleep. Around 8am we got to Rishikesh & around 10am, I was napping in the Om Resort at the banks of the Ganges.
Alok and Amar set up a rafting trip down the Ganges! I wasn't expecting much because I always thought of the river being more like the Columbia, but they were the best rapids I've been on! I sat in front so that I could get a wilder ride! When we were almost down the river they pulled the boat over to let us get out and jump off a small ledge, around 25 feet, into the river. Only in a foreign country is this allowed to happen without some sort of "I promise not to sue you if I die" form.
I've decided that being a guest can also like being held captive. The guys decided what we were going to do and when. No matter what we had wanted to do with our vacation! They wanted to show us a good time but they wasted almost the entire day sleeping, eating, and visiting friends instead of taking us anywhere. It got on my nerves real quick! They had the greatest intentions and just wanted us to relax but it made me crazy. We spend all of sunday in the car trying to get to this other town that they wanted us to see. after over an hour of sitting in some girl's house listening to them talk in Hindi between themselves, Katie, Sarah, and I wanted to go back to Haridwar. They made us feel guilty about it....yeah don't care. I'm only in India for a short time so I told them exactly how I was feeling and where I was going. We got a taxi. I still don't feel bad about it.
Haridwar was PACKED with people bathing and praying along side the Ganges. It was breathtaking! They have such a love for their faith and it radiates out of them like light. We were surrounded by thousands of happy, devoted Hindus all night long. It was quite the sight. Seeing all of those people performing the rituals of their faith restored my good mood and made my Sunday not a complete waste of time. There were men walking around with bowls of fire, allowing people to chant while they passed their hands through the flame. Then they would get a red dot between their eyes. Teenagers were having water fights and riding the current through the narrow channels between bridges.
Now I'm back at work and planning next weekend's adventures!

The White Album

With work nearly done for the week, I've been google searching this weekend's destination: Rishikesh & Haridwar. Rishikesh is the self-proclaimed yoga capital of the world, a popular Hindu temple town, and also where the Beattles spent a bit of time writing the white album (though, I'm going out on a limb here, I'm sure they weren't just sitting in an ashram writing music. Listen to the White Album and try to guess the various substances being ingested. I'm putting money on weed (hashish) and maybe some opium.) Since I say no to drugs (what would our world be without the D.A.R.E. program?!) I'll be relaxing in a meditative position for most of the weekend. Rishikesh is also where the Ganges comes out of the Himalayas, so it's supposedly cleaner to bath in than Varanasi and less crowded. Hindu's believe that rivers are gods and it's a big thing to bath in the Ganges to cleanse yourself of....well I'm not too sure exactly but I'm guessing something similar to what us Christians call 'sins.' So maybe you won't come back as a cow in your next life. Though being a cow in India might be nice since you wont get eaten....
I've heard the Ganges is not clean though no matter how far up the Himalayas you trek. We're going to check it out and then decide whether to risk a rare skin disease just to dip in and cleanse our dirty souls. maybe I'll just go to confession when I get home and entertain a priest for a while :) Okay off to yoga and then the train station to catch my overnight 1st class ride!

I pass these two kids almost daily, playing with whatever they can find across the street from a construction site where their parents must work. They're always in the same clothes but so are cute! Before they see me walking by, their always laughing and smiling. The foreigner causes them to get quiet and they just kind of watch me until I pass them, but then they start laughing again. Maybe I'll give them the candy land game that Katie and I acquired a few weeks ago.

While I apply bronzer....

...Indian women apply "fair and lovely" or various other forms of skin lightener. Does anyone else find this sort of perverse? Every cosmetic company has their own version too: chanel, Loriel, mabeline, etc. This is not a beautification reserved for the women though. There is a mens skin lightener as well! It's considered more beautiful to have fair skin. My friend Sarah analogized it to hair relaxers that people in the states use. I think their dark skin is beautiful! As for me, I bust my booty to the tanning salons twice weekly (if I'm not too lazy to go) and apply a bronzer to my cheeks each and every morning.

Although I'm having a great time traveling around on the weekends, I'm also having just as much fun right here in Delhi. Last night I met up with some friends from the states who are here visiting friends. They are Christine and Lydia who know the Sharber's (friends from Gonzaga for those who don't know), and their friends Mahima, Kunal, Sammar, and a few others whos names I am forgetting. We all went out to dinner and then dropped them at the airport so they could catch their flight home. Dinner was at this really great place that had a live singer! He took requests and sung both Hindi and American pop songs all night long. I wanted Britney Spears, Toxic....but no luck on that one! Mahima's friend knew the owner of the restaurant so we had the best seat in the house, our food was ready when we got their, and our drinks seemed bottomless. I chatted up Kunal who goes to Duke and is from Phoenix about how much I absolutely despise Duke basketball. ;) A little rivalry never hurt anyone...right? We had fun slamming each others teams for a while.

On Monday I joined a yoga studio! It's a proper Indian yoga centre that started as an ashram in Rishikesh. It's much different than yoga in the states and in my humble opinion, much better. So I go to class monday, tues, thurs, & fri. for two weeks and then have one week of free open classes after that. Which is perfect because after three weeks I'll be leaving Delhi anyway. It's from 6:30 to 8:00pm, which makes my days pretty full here during the week. I like it that way though.

man-love update

Iram is from Calcutta (which she affectionately calls Cal) and is my Indian culture guru. She was confused when I asked her about the man-love I've been seeing in India and assumed it was the same in the US. She also said that being gay is against the law but that there are gay clubs in Bombay. So here is the breakdown:
Man-love = "what.... American men don't hold hands?"
homosexuality = illegal. but potentially not enforced/selectively enforced.
Interesting....

Social/societal commentary

I was remembering an assignment that I was given in Florence last summer about finding something about Italy that is very different than the states and then giving a short presentation on it. I had a lot of fun comparing those two places so I thought I would start doing an almost-daily social commentary. first, I'll start with myself. I won't go into the bloody details, but it's safe to say that I wasn't necessarily happy last semester. I lost control of a few things in my life. Sometimes it takes extreme change to figure out the basic aspects of one's life. India is just about as different as it gets for me! Among the bustling chaos of Delhi, I have found personal tranquility.
Okay so enough about me...more about India! I'll start with affection. For someone such as myself who has an abnormally large personal space bubble when it comes to open affection, India is very different that the US. What would be classified as "gay" in the states is very common. For instance, men hold hands with other men more often than with women and walk around with their arms over each others shoulders. I've only seen a few male-female handholding. The male-male or female-female relationships seem much more affectionate than mixed-sex public relationships. But I believe that's because of female modesty and the culture surrounding women here. Holding hands in public is almost more personal to me than a peck on the cheek....in certain circumstances. It's a happy contemptment that has the ability to be very personal. In India, men hold hands as they cross the street, walk with one another, and while they stand around. Women hold hands as well but this somehow isn't as different as it is in the states. I mean, KB and I held hands while we skipped around Seattle in an I-love-britney-spears overloaded daze. :)
I'll try to get a few pictures of this phenomenon to accompany the blog post. If there are any topics that you are interested in and want to know if and how it's different in India, please let me know! Thanks a bundle!

Hindi words of the day

Kuttaa = dog
Billi = cat
For instance, if I were speaking in "hindish" (get it...like Spanglish...) I would say: Is it terrible that I would rather feed the stray kuttaa instead of giving the beggar my rupees?
Or for the more advanced linguistic challenge of "spanindish": I no me gusta billis.

Clearly I'm bored at work and amusing myself.

my favorite pictures

Me spinning the prayer wheels in the Dalai Lama's temple

A Buddhist Lama spinning prayer wheels

Hiking the Himalayas

Daddy... can I get a lamb? pppplease!

Iram made it!

Making our chai to keep warm - it was freezing!!

girls at the top!

Extreme camping

where the cliff-line dips (and the mountain in the background peaks) is where we hiked to! long way up!

photo-rama

I made it to the top!

McLeod behind me

view from my hotel room

Looks kinda like home actually... which means I'm extremely lucky to live in such a beautiful place! I miss Cashmere in a good, healthy way :)