Between being molested on a bus, climbing to the top of this incredible sacred lake in the middle of Utteranchal with Sikk religious turban guys, being proposed to 20 times- all by different men, eating dinner with a sweet Punjabi couple who invited Charlie and I to stay at their home in Amrisar near the Golden Temple, riding random buses to Narkanda, and Sarahan- savoring the smell of fresh pine sap, and the chilly mountain air on my cheeks, walking up to a pharmacist shop/Internet cafe expecting to use the Internet- yet by the kindness of a stranger met a man who for the rest of the night provided a bed, hot roti and naan, and the entertainment of their 6 year old daughter dancing her heart out to Cartanic music on their wooden floor in their living room dedicated to Shiva-- I still found time for my inspirational hikes up Blistreli peak in Sarahan, and the Naku temple in Narkanda- both 5 hour hikes in the morning, treated with a breakfast of lemon tea, butter toast, and curd. I got on the bus back to Shimla after having many adventures, filled with joy and colorful love bursting from my soul. There was some singing that started with a group of ladies sitting at the front of the bus, their glass bangles tinkling magically as we rolled through windy mountain passes. Before I knew it, the whole bus had started singing in an upbeat Hindi folk song, clapping and cheering, laughing and dancing in their seat. This one, rather large gentleman got up next to a pole in the bus (used to support yourself if standing) and started dancing with the pole in a quite jovial mood. I clapped and laughed along, feeling very lighthearted and welcomed into their culture.
They all saw I was enjoying myself and asked for an English song. Cheering me on, I sang Mary Mack's mother loudly in a British accent- complements of Lula my previous traveling companion. They enjoyed it so much, before I got off the bus they asked for another, and I sang OKLAHOMA- my state song. This one they liked even more- and clapped, cheering along with me. It was so much fun! I was at my stop, and got out of the bus, to catch my final one to Shimla.
After a long day, I had another 4 hours of creepy people trying to take a picture of me, not being able to find a room, and feeling very tired. However with some help from a nice man, he led me to a really clean room for a fairly reasonable 8 dollars- pretty expensive compared to what I'm used to spending, yet I was glad to finally sleep.
I went out in the crowded streets of Shimla to get some dinner at my favorite little health food corner- to which the little old man with ozzie glasses recognized me, and declared I must have Vegetable Biriani. This little old man was very intelligent, and his shop was an open plan with windows facing northeast looking out towards the moutains, and the inside filled with quotes from Voltaire, Buddha, and lost letters from World War 2. He saw me reading them, and we had some conversations about these quotes. After dinner he gave me a huge stack of his favorite poet's (he called the Christ) writings. He was very excited for me to read all of these little papers. I took them gratefully, and read a few that night later.
I saw my mountain climbing friend from the YMCA, and we talked about climbing a mountain in July. It's so cool to meet someone else who is totally about climbing mountains, and exploring nature. On the team so far is a couple from New Zealand. I don't feel very prepared for this climb. I need a sleeping bag, and some more supplies.
The next day I visited a medical college in Shimla, bought some gifts, had lunch with my friend, and walked in the market for a little while exploring the world of Indian sweets, and yogurt. I met a law student from upstate New York who was very encouraging and gave me some tips on traveling. As we were talking, a man came and stood very close to us and we saw his friends getting out a camera to take a picture. This has happened countless times I was used to it and didn't think anything about it, yet she was really pissed off they were taking a picture of us. She suddenly broke out in this mad Hindi accent, swearing the poor man to high heaven. After he apologized, and posture now shrivelled, he walked down the street, quick to avoid a further scene. Her name was Katelyn, and she turned back to me and explained she spoke only a little Hindi. Her confidence and manner was almost aggressive, yet strong. I wondered to myself if I would become this masculine after traveling another year on my own... haha.
That night I took a long 11hr bus ride from ShimlaNoida, but didn't want to wait inside the metro station filled with homeless beggars, and crazy men. I asked the German if I could ride to his hotel and just wait in the lobby until the metro opened. He said that would be fine, and so we did just that. After he found a hotel, I slept with my backpack as a pillow.
6:15am, I felt someone tapping my shoulder, and my eyes fluttered open to see one of the hotel staff announcing it was now 6am. I thanked him for waking me up, visited the toilet to splash my face with water, and took the metro, and bus back to Greater Noida. I arrived just as everyone was going to church. I jumped in a much needed shower, and slept from 8am to 4pm exhausted. I woke up for dinner, then went back to sleep until the next day.
A new semester of classes has started. There are only 3 students in ESL at this time. Needless to say I feel like I'm not needed there, and Ruth has asked me to sit and observe for 4 hours of another teacher's class, so I can get tips for teaching. 20 hours a week of sitting in a class is a long time, and I know it's because they don't have anything else for me to do. Right now I feel rather useless, and am not teaching speech anymore, but reading comprehension. It's basically reading a book, working on pronunciation, then answering questions. We play games, and I try to make it fun, but honestly my true passion is for helping students speak English fluently, and play around with the language. I'm trying to remain in good spirits, and have taken a good look at my finances and such thinking about what I'm going to do next.
Nepal is calling out, "how can you be so close to the worlds highest mountain, and still you haven't seen it yet." Cairo is calling out, "it's only 100 US dollars to fly from Delhi, come on you know you want to see the Great Pyramids." And Greece isn't far behind, "I've always been your top destination to go to, and there is a fairy for 200dollars from shores of Egypt to the banks of Cyprus." Uggh, all of these places I've wanted to go all my life and they are so cheep to go to over here from India.
But unfortunately not all of us have a money tree growing in our back yard. I'm having to make so practical decisions now, so I don't run out of money and end up a homeless traveler on the streets of Mumbi. I have a burning desire to go back to Uni and study nursing, and am looking at colleges, and assessing my time and making the decision to stay or go. To stay traveling around the world, or go back to my mother country.
I feel many thoughts brewing, and am trying to create that perfect magenta of adventure, travel, education, and a job. The problem is that I'm trying to make this all happen, and I'm gradually trying to leave it all in the hands of the one who already what I'm going to do- God my creator- and just enjoy being here right now. He has put food in my body, water in my drybed, and renews my blackened branches with beautiful loving friends around me. My visa expires in November, and until then, I am free-falling baby!
They all saw I was enjoying myself and asked for an English song. Cheering me on, I sang Mary Mack's mother loudly in a British accent- complements of Lula my previous traveling companion. They enjoyed it so much, before I got off the bus they asked for another, and I sang OKLAHOMA- my state song. This one they liked even more- and clapped, cheering along with me. It was so much fun! I was at my stop, and got out of the bus, to catch my final one to Shimla.
After a long day, I had another 4 hours of creepy people trying to take a picture of me, not being able to find a room, and feeling very tired. However with some help from a nice man, he led me to a really clean room for a fairly reasonable 8 dollars- pretty expensive compared to what I'm used to spending, yet I was glad to finally sleep.
I went out in the crowded streets of Shimla to get some dinner at my favorite little health food corner- to which the little old man with ozzie glasses recognized me, and declared I must have Vegetable Biriani. This little old man was very intelligent, and his shop was an open plan with windows facing northeast looking out towards the moutains, and the inside filled with quotes from Voltaire, Buddha, and lost letters from World War 2. He saw me reading them, and we had some conversations about these quotes. After dinner he gave me a huge stack of his favorite poet's (he called the Christ) writings. He was very excited for me to read all of these little papers. I took them gratefully, and read a few that night later.
I saw my mountain climbing friend from the YMCA, and we talked about climbing a mountain in July. It's so cool to meet someone else who is totally about climbing mountains, and exploring nature. On the team so far is a couple from New Zealand. I don't feel very prepared for this climb. I need a sleeping bag, and some more supplies.
The next day I visited a medical college in Shimla, bought some gifts, had lunch with my friend, and walked in the market for a little while exploring the world of Indian sweets, and yogurt. I met a law student from upstate New York who was very encouraging and gave me some tips on traveling. As we were talking, a man came and stood very close to us and we saw his friends getting out a camera to take a picture. This has happened countless times I was used to it and didn't think anything about it, yet she was really pissed off they were taking a picture of us. She suddenly broke out in this mad Hindi accent, swearing the poor man to high heaven. After he apologized, and posture now shrivelled, he walked down the street, quick to avoid a further scene. Her name was Katelyn, and she turned back to me and explained she spoke only a little Hindi. Her confidence and manner was almost aggressive, yet strong. I wondered to myself if I would become this masculine after traveling another year on my own... haha.
That night I took a long 11hr bus ride from ShimlaNoida, but didn't want to wait inside the metro station filled with homeless beggars, and crazy men. I asked the German if I could ride to his hotel and just wait in the lobby until the metro opened. He said that would be fine, and so we did just that. After he found a hotel, I slept with my backpack as a pillow.
6:15am, I felt someone tapping my shoulder, and my eyes fluttered open to see one of the hotel staff announcing it was now 6am. I thanked him for waking me up, visited the toilet to splash my face with water, and took the metro, and bus back to Greater Noida. I arrived just as everyone was going to church. I jumped in a much needed shower, and slept from 8am to 4pm exhausted. I woke up for dinner, then went back to sleep until the next day.
A new semester of classes has started. There are only 3 students in ESL at this time. Needless to say I feel like I'm not needed there, and Ruth has asked me to sit and observe for 4 hours of another teacher's class, so I can get tips for teaching. 20 hours a week of sitting in a class is a long time, and I know it's because they don't have anything else for me to do. Right now I feel rather useless, and am not teaching speech anymore, but reading comprehension. It's basically reading a book, working on pronunciation, then answering questions. We play games, and I try to make it fun, but honestly my true passion is for helping students speak English fluently, and play around with the language. I'm trying to remain in good spirits, and have taken a good look at my finances and such thinking about what I'm going to do next.
Nepal is calling out, "how can you be so close to the worlds highest mountain, and still you haven't seen it yet." Cairo is calling out, "it's only 100 US dollars to fly from Delhi, come on you know you want to see the Great Pyramids." And Greece isn't far behind, "I've always been your top destination to go to, and there is a fairy for 200dollars from shores of Egypt to the banks of Cyprus." Uggh, all of these places I've wanted to go all my life and they are so cheep to go to over here from India.
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| Narkanda, a hill station deeper in the mountians 2 hours from Shimla. Good memories waking up and hiking, drinking hot chai tea, and enjoying the morning call of the birds coming from the white mountain mist... |
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| Sacred Hemkund lake according to the Sikk, where their 10th guru recieved nirvanna. For me, a 5 hour hike up a brutal path 15, 000feet- higher than I've ever been before. It was raining, and clouds whipped past me assending into the heavens above the snow capped mountians. This is what it looks like in summer, but when Charlie and I went to the lake, it was frozen and people were breaking the ice to bath in the crystal waters. Burr! |
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| Jealous yet? Haha. This place is mystical and beautiful, and yes, on my hike I came upon a meadow where there were 7 horses with bells around their neck, and one baby with a rope around it's neck. A village family waved to me, and this old woman was milking an Ox. She looked at me with her piercing black eyes behind the veil of her sari. I am still stunned by the beauty of this memory. Incredible India. |
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| Shimla, a lovely town filled with Southern Indian's escaping the Summer heat, and decorated in British architecture from their long lasting rule over Himachal Pradesh and India. Cute little sweet shops, and surprisingly lots of Chinese food since this state shares a border with Tibet. Nice tourist town, but really crowded. |
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