After not checking the internet for more than a week, there is more to update than I can even begin to type (especially on this keyboard. ugh) As planned, for the past week I have been living on the Bija Vidyapeeth/Navdanya organic farm [check it out! www.navdanya.org] and sitting for a class entitled Gandhi and Globalization. This experience has been so far one of the richest and most educational weeks i have spent in my life, hands down!
I will begin with the daily schedule:
7:00 am Tea
7:15-8:15 Yoga in the outdoor circular gazebo-esque structure
8;15-8:30 Circle meeting where one of the members of the group shares a poem, song, reading, quotation, etc and we discuss the days events
8:30-9 Breakfast - most of the food that we eat is grown here on the farm... and if not then it is all local, nonGMO, organic and COMPLETELY VEGAN [not to mention delicious!]
9-10 Shramdaan - this means the "gift of work" and we spend one hour with our group [the group names are compassion, beauty, love, and truth] working on the campus. we are either assigned to clean the dining room area or bathroom area or work in the kitchen or the field. The funniest part of this is that the group jobs are announced at circle meeting and sound something like "today we weill have compassion in the kitchen, truth in the fields, beauty in the toilets, and love in the dining room." haha. sometimes field work means that you get to take a huge bamboo stick and beat dried plants so that the lentils (9 different colors) come out of their pods! this is super fun!
10-11 rest time and time for bathing. this means taking a "splash" with a bucket and some solar-heated warm water. hair was impractical and annoying. i shaved my head!
11-1:30 class on the grass! more about class after the schedule
1;30-2:30 lunch... yummo!
2:30-3;30 chill out
3:30-5 walk or relax
5-5:30 tea time (its a high time for some CHAI TIME!)
5:30-7 class again
7-8 dinner and sit around a fire. where i am right now is quite far north and gets super dee duper cold at night> i am not prepared for this at all... i have no close toed shoes, only grey fleece as warmth but we huddle around fire and drink tea and eat spicy food and keep each other warm
8-? evening session --> this may be a documentary about ghandi or biodynamic farming or soya in brasil, it may be other folks talking about their travels or gardens (there is an english couple here who have recently retired and are probably in their mid sixties and have traveled here OVER LAND from england! their story is amazing! the other night we had a MASSIVE bonfire and all sang and drummed and told jokes and stories for hours in the cold starry night. wow
...and then we go to bed early! the sun goes down, it gets cold, and we are all tired and ready for sleep.
so that is the daily schedule with some changes along the way. it seems quite rigid but in reality is very flexible. anything u dont want to go to or do you dont have to! the campus is gorgeous! there is farm of about 20 acres and a ginormous mango orchard (unfortunately the mangoes are not in season...) the rooms are dorm-style and very simple, the meals are held in a big semi-enclosed dining room, the toilets are sometimes european, sometimes squat, and i walk around with no shoes all the time! my feet are so happy in contact with the earth. Since coming here i have had some bad luck with health but im okay. i got some bites that i was REALLY allergic to all ovre my legs and arms... we think that they were either fleas from the dogs or bedbugs but they made these gross huge red welts all over my body that were unbearably itchy. now about a million milligrams of clarinex and lots of cortisone cream later that has thankfully gone! also the climate change gave me a racking chest cold but im using some ayurvedic medicine and trying to get rid of that too!
I am here with about 30 other participants of all ages (im one of the youngest) from all parts of the world! its an amazing group with great energy, a TON of knowledge, lots of love and stories to share, and much more. I could not have hoped for a more fun and diverse group of interests and fields of wisdom. I am learning so much about organic farming, biodiversity, gandhi, nonviolence, history, green movements all over the world and more that i can hardly encapsulate it in a blog post!
probably the most important part of this experience so far has been the absolutely amazing teacher we have had for the first week. His name is satish kumar and he is truly indescribable. He is the most wise, caring, giving, warm, person i have ever met. his presence alone inspires you to be a better person. he has taught me so much about myself and life and more. he spent one evening session telling us the story of his journey when he was walking for peace (as a peace pilgrim when lord bertrand russell was imprisoned). he went with another jain monk friend on a pilgrimage to the nuclear cities (moscow, paris, london, washington) WALKING and starting in India. They walked the entire way (except for boat passage from london to new york) with no luggage, one change of clothes, and NO MONEY AT ALL. they relied on the hospitality of people along the way for food, shelter, warm clothing, footwear, etc. even in warring and hostile countries. it took them 2.5 years. he has taught us about trusting others, nonviolent lifestyle, gandhian principle, feeding the soil, taking care of the earth, making changes, love, and his lessons are so eloquent that its hard to believe that he is speaking without notes or outlines or anything but his own mind as the source. i absolutely cannot do justice to this man with just this paragraph but I will come back with some cD and maybe dvd recordings of his lectures that i would love to share with anyone who is interested!
For the next week, we have two other teachers... the prime minister of tibet (in exile) Venerable Samdhong Rinpoche and Dr. Vandana Shiva, the founder of this incredible organization! I am really excited for the week to come
Besides the logistics and day to day, the energy here is totally different than anywhere I have been before. it is a community of acceptance and learning and just such a powerful feeling of love... even between people who hardly know each other. it will be hard to leave but i am so fortunate to have this as part of my adventure and i STRONGLY recommend to ANYONE that you should come here to understand and experience it for yourself!
My internet time is out but i love you all and miss you tons and enjoy ur emails sooo much! keep writing!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
some of the best yet!
the past couple days have been some of the best and this keyboard is one of the worst! figures. so sorry for typing errors and lack of punctuation.
After leaving goa and taking a miserable 15 hour bus next to a sweaty fat man, I arrived safe and smelly to Mumbai. The plan was that I would swing by Prajakti's house, drop my bag, and head to the main train station to book tickets for Udaipur for that night. However, plans are always changing so instead I took a shower and headed to the train station a bit later to book a train ticket for the next night and to Jaipur (Udaipur is closer but has no direct train and Jaipur gets me closer to Delhi... my next destination)
I book a sleeper ticket (this is lowest class train ride.. an 18 hour overnight costs about $9USD) with no A/C from Mumbai to Jaipur for the following night at 1850, meet up with some friends in Mumbai and have a great night at the city I feel like im at home in! After one of the best nights of sleep I have had in a long time at Prajakti's house, I wake up for a day of laundry and repacking and coffee/lunch with Rebecca and Thatcher... before hopping on my 1850 train to Rajasthan.
In my compartment, i meet two awesome spaniards who are traveling together and going to Jaipur as well! We spend a freezing cold night on the train sleeper beds and wake up at 5 am to find that the scenery has changed a lot and its MUCH colder [kind of refreshing because I forgot what it was like to be cold...] We arrived in Jaipur at about 1330 and then me and my two spanish buddies decided to hike it with our packs to the hotel of choice. A sweaty 2.5 km later, we arrive on the doorstep of our chosen hotel to find out that it is no longer the same as it was in the book, and the price is wildly different! luckily, we quickly find a different hotel that will accommodate us but they only have one room so we decide to triple up and pay only Rs. 300 total [about $7.50 per night for all 3 of us]. i then spent the afternoon wandering around this beautiful city, hiking up to the top of a minaret for some gorgeous views (see picasa web albums), checking out the old city [all walled in by amzing red walls], and tiring myself out!
After dinner together, we chill out and listen to some music before crashing early only to wake up early for a FULL day!!!
Yesterday was one of the best days that i have had in India. Waking up at 8 am for a FREEZING cold shower in the morning chill was followed by a delicious omelette on the street. (contrary to popular american belief, eggs do not need to be refrigerated and can actually sit in the sun for hours or until used up... yum) We feasted on our tomato onion masala omelettes and chai before trying to find a bus to Pushkar. Turns out we had to go to Ajmer and then get another bus to Pushkar.. all in all taking about 4 hours! We get on the first bus [uneventful] for about 3 hours, riding on bumpy roads with our knees banging the seat in front of us and are dropped at a bus depot in ajmer where people are screaming out different destinations. After asking about a million people, we find a bus to Pushkar and hop on, sitting three to a bench seat while the aisles are filled. This bus ride was an amazing slice of India for me because I sat down next to a woman with child, her friend with a child, and another little family in front of me. By the end of the ride I was cradling one child, cooing at another, and we had figured out the only word that we could from Hindi to Enlish "sister." This translation took about 45 minutes because generally the women would speak to me in Hindi (or another language?) and I would raise my hands to say "I dont understand a word of what youre saying" and then they would laugh. At any rate, it was a moment of connection to discover the word for sister and have it applied to me and the indian baby i was holding!wow
so we finaly got to pushkar and had only to walk for about 4 minutes before we began to see camels galore! there is no good way for me to describe the camel fair except that there were people, vendors, camels, tourists, cotton candy, ferris wheels, garbage, other animals, dirty/dusty roads, more camels, camel necklaces, camel accessories of all kinds! I even got to ride one around for about 10 minutes for free [tough bargaining skills] and they are HIGH up off the ground! the camel gets down on its knees to let you get on and then when it stnads up, I felt like i was on a bucking bronco that lifted me wayyyy high up in the air! [its knees also buckle to let you down... this process is equally precarious]
After getting our fill of camels, we headed out to the other side of Pushkar to shop a bit, eat some AMAZING street food veg sandwiches and check out the ghats (lake). This is a sacred bit of water with the marble steps leading down from palaces all around. All in all there are 52 gates around the lake. Everyone washes their clothes, themselves, throws flower petals, prays, takes forbidden photos, and marvels at the beauty of this lake. PLEASE check out the photos of this one!
A full day behind us, we took two more buses and more arguing to get back to Jaipur at about 2130! Today I am off to Delhi and straight on to dehradun. I dont know if I will have internet access while there but please email anyhow and ILl get back to you when I can!
I love you all and miss you tons. Hope you had a spectacular turkey/tofurkey day!
Emma
After leaving goa and taking a miserable 15 hour bus next to a sweaty fat man, I arrived safe and smelly to Mumbai. The plan was that I would swing by Prajakti's house, drop my bag, and head to the main train station to book tickets for Udaipur for that night. However, plans are always changing so instead I took a shower and headed to the train station a bit later to book a train ticket for the next night and to Jaipur (Udaipur is closer but has no direct train and Jaipur gets me closer to Delhi... my next destination)
I book a sleeper ticket (this is lowest class train ride.. an 18 hour overnight costs about $9USD) with no A/C from Mumbai to Jaipur for the following night at 1850, meet up with some friends in Mumbai and have a great night at the city I feel like im at home in! After one of the best nights of sleep I have had in a long time at Prajakti's house, I wake up for a day of laundry and repacking and coffee/lunch with Rebecca and Thatcher... before hopping on my 1850 train to Rajasthan.
In my compartment, i meet two awesome spaniards who are traveling together and going to Jaipur as well! We spend a freezing cold night on the train sleeper beds and wake up at 5 am to find that the scenery has changed a lot and its MUCH colder [kind of refreshing because I forgot what it was like to be cold...] We arrived in Jaipur at about 1330 and then me and my two spanish buddies decided to hike it with our packs to the hotel of choice. A sweaty 2.5 km later, we arrive on the doorstep of our chosen hotel to find out that it is no longer the same as it was in the book, and the price is wildly different! luckily, we quickly find a different hotel that will accommodate us but they only have one room so we decide to triple up and pay only Rs. 300 total [about $7.50 per night for all 3 of us]. i then spent the afternoon wandering around this beautiful city, hiking up to the top of a minaret for some gorgeous views (see picasa web albums), checking out the old city [all walled in by amzing red walls], and tiring myself out!
After dinner together, we chill out and listen to some music before crashing early only to wake up early for a FULL day!!!
Yesterday was one of the best days that i have had in India. Waking up at 8 am for a FREEZING cold shower in the morning chill was followed by a delicious omelette on the street. (contrary to popular american belief, eggs do not need to be refrigerated and can actually sit in the sun for hours or until used up... yum) We feasted on our tomato onion masala omelettes and chai before trying to find a bus to Pushkar. Turns out we had to go to Ajmer and then get another bus to Pushkar.. all in all taking about 4 hours! We get on the first bus [uneventful] for about 3 hours, riding on bumpy roads with our knees banging the seat in front of us and are dropped at a bus depot in ajmer where people are screaming out different destinations. After asking about a million people, we find a bus to Pushkar and hop on, sitting three to a bench seat while the aisles are filled. This bus ride was an amazing slice of India for me because I sat down next to a woman with child, her friend with a child, and another little family in front of me. By the end of the ride I was cradling one child, cooing at another, and we had figured out the only word that we could from Hindi to Enlish "sister." This translation took about 45 minutes because generally the women would speak to me in Hindi (or another language?) and I would raise my hands to say "I dont understand a word of what youre saying" and then they would laugh. At any rate, it was a moment of connection to discover the word for sister and have it applied to me and the indian baby i was holding!wow
so we finaly got to pushkar and had only to walk for about 4 minutes before we began to see camels galore! there is no good way for me to describe the camel fair except that there were people, vendors, camels, tourists, cotton candy, ferris wheels, garbage, other animals, dirty/dusty roads, more camels, camel necklaces, camel accessories of all kinds! I even got to ride one around for about 10 minutes for free [tough bargaining skills] and they are HIGH up off the ground! the camel gets down on its knees to let you get on and then when it stnads up, I felt like i was on a bucking bronco that lifted me wayyyy high up in the air! [its knees also buckle to let you down... this process is equally precarious]
After getting our fill of camels, we headed out to the other side of Pushkar to shop a bit, eat some AMAZING street food veg sandwiches and check out the ghats (lake). This is a sacred bit of water with the marble steps leading down from palaces all around. All in all there are 52 gates around the lake. Everyone washes their clothes, themselves, throws flower petals, prays, takes forbidden photos, and marvels at the beauty of this lake. PLEASE check out the photos of this one!
A full day behind us, we took two more buses and more arguing to get back to Jaipur at about 2130! Today I am off to Delhi and straight on to dehradun. I dont know if I will have internet access while there but please email anyhow and ILl get back to you when I can!
I love you all and miss you tons. Hope you had a spectacular turkey/tofurkey day!
Emma
Saturday, November 17, 2007
"Its Always better in Goa!"
Many people wear these shirts around the beach down here and for good reason! Today is sadly my last day in Goa after being here a short week! The travel guides are fairly accurate on this one and the sense that I had before coming ..."beachy chilled out paradise" was not so far off! Its not a big sightseeing place and most of the sights are beautiful old churches from when the Portuguese had this land. Besides that, there is the beach!
I was lucky enough to meet some amazing people here even my first night which definitely made this place come alive! Some of the people live here, some are traveling through, some are 19, some are 65 and from all over the world. So I spent this last week laying on the beach, hearing amazing stories of peoples lives, going out dancing, rriding around on the back of motorbikes, going parasailing and jet skiing, witnessing a bar fight, eating some awesome seafood and having a grand time!
Meeting so many different folks from different stages and walks of life has been wonderful for more than just a good laugh. It really makes you drop your judgment at the door and meet everyone with an open mind. I know that at home around so many people i know...I am not meeting new people that often and even if i am, I know that my friends are around so there is no pressure to make a connection. Here the people you meet right off are the people you hang out with day and night. You either become more tolerant or spend a LOT of time alone!
So tonight i take an overnight bus back to Bombay, hopefully arriving in the early morning to buy a train ticket out and maybe get some laundry done. Then trying to go to Udaipur!
The sun is hot here but im looking forward to the chilly nights in the desert!
All my love.
I was lucky enough to meet some amazing people here even my first night which definitely made this place come alive! Some of the people live here, some are traveling through, some are 19, some are 65 and from all over the world. So I spent this last week laying on the beach, hearing amazing stories of peoples lives, going out dancing, rriding around on the back of motorbikes, going parasailing and jet skiing, witnessing a bar fight, eating some awesome seafood and having a grand time!
Meeting so many different folks from different stages and walks of life has been wonderful for more than just a good laugh. It really makes you drop your judgment at the door and meet everyone with an open mind. I know that at home around so many people i know...I am not meeting new people that often and even if i am, I know that my friends are around so there is no pressure to make a connection. Here the people you meet right off are the people you hang out with day and night. You either become more tolerant or spend a LOT of time alone!
So tonight i take an overnight bus back to Bombay, hopefully arriving in the early morning to buy a train ticket out and maybe get some laundry done. Then trying to go to Udaipur!
The sun is hot here but im looking forward to the chilly nights in the desert!
All my love.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Happy Diwali!!
I owe a huge long post about all of the craziness that has been taking place here. I also owe a thank you and a million emails to those of you who send me lovvely birthday wishes. However, I am going to have to fill you in later because im running late to a Diwali lunch party for 40 people!
Some of the upcoming posts will cover my trip to Pune, a smaller city to the south east of Mumbai. lots of fun! also Diwali, the Indian festival of lights has been going on these past couple days. It is like xmas, new year, july 4th all rolled into one... also with the most amazing lights everywhere and the CRAZIEST civilian fireworks I have ever seen! [we lit off a bunch ourselves but were outstripped by the family next to us who must have spent thousands and thousands of rupees on their stash of explosives].
The biggest news at the moment is that my internship at the BLP ended on thursday and I am now a free agent, traveling India for the next 2 months! Tonight I leave Mumbai on an overnight train (from one of the biggest train stations in Asia.. its MASSIVE) to Goa, a beachy paradise of beautiful old churches, festive fleamarkets, nonstop nightlife, and hopefully some cool folks! The internet may be less reliable from now on and pictures might not be able to happen... but ill try my best! It is a big tourist destination (for obvious reasons) and im looking forward to hearing what other people have to say about traveling in India before I begin my long journey...
My itinerary is totally subject to change at a moments notice if someone tells me to go somewhere I hadnt planned on, but for now this is plan:
-Goa Nov. 11-18
-Overnight train back to Mumbai on 18th, change out some clothes and whatnot, and then another overnight train to Udaipur, Rajasthan
-Udaipur Nov 20-23
-Nov 23 travel to Delhi and immediately to Dehra Dun (outside Delhi)
-Nov 24-Dec 7 work and study "Ghandi and Globalization" on an organic farming commmune
Dec 8-12 Explore Delhi and Agra *think Taj Mahal*
Dec 13-? Either go to Calcutta [REALLY FAR AWAY] or come back to Rajasthan to Jaipur, Jodhpur, and maybe Jaisalmer... perhaps a 3 day camel trek... who knows?
So basically I dont know where i will be from Dec 13 or so onwards and the New Year could be any number of places. Anyone who has been in India for the new year, any suggestions? Mumbai, Goa, Delhi, Hampi, Gokarna are a few of the options...
Please check out my Picasa web albums because I just posted some photos to that. Love you all and please keep in touch although I might take a little longer to get back to yoU!
Happy Diwali!
Some of the upcoming posts will cover my trip to Pune, a smaller city to the south east of Mumbai. lots of fun! also Diwali, the Indian festival of lights has been going on these past couple days. It is like xmas, new year, july 4th all rolled into one... also with the most amazing lights everywhere and the CRAZIEST civilian fireworks I have ever seen! [we lit off a bunch ourselves but were outstripped by the family next to us who must have spent thousands and thousands of rupees on their stash of explosives].
The biggest news at the moment is that my internship at the BLP ended on thursday and I am now a free agent, traveling India for the next 2 months! Tonight I leave Mumbai on an overnight train (from one of the biggest train stations in Asia.. its MASSIVE) to Goa, a beachy paradise of beautiful old churches, festive fleamarkets, nonstop nightlife, and hopefully some cool folks! The internet may be less reliable from now on and pictures might not be able to happen... but ill try my best! It is a big tourist destination (for obvious reasons) and im looking forward to hearing what other people have to say about traveling in India before I begin my long journey...
My itinerary is totally subject to change at a moments notice if someone tells me to go somewhere I hadnt planned on, but for now this is plan:
-Goa Nov. 11-18
-Overnight train back to Mumbai on 18th, change out some clothes and whatnot, and then another overnight train to Udaipur, Rajasthan
-Udaipur Nov 20-23
-Nov 23 travel to Delhi and immediately to Dehra Dun (outside Delhi)
-Nov 24-Dec 7 work and study "Ghandi and Globalization" on an organic farming commmune
Dec 8-12 Explore Delhi and Agra *think Taj Mahal*
Dec 13-? Either go to Calcutta [REALLY FAR AWAY] or come back to Rajasthan to Jaipur, Jodhpur, and maybe Jaisalmer... perhaps a 3 day camel trek... who knows?
So basically I dont know where i will be from Dec 13 or so onwards and the New Year could be any number of places. Anyone who has been in India for the new year, any suggestions? Mumbai, Goa, Delhi, Hampi, Gokarna are a few of the options...
Please check out my Picasa web albums because I just posted some photos to that. Love you all and please keep in touch although I might take a little longer to get back to yoU!
Happy Diwali!
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