So long

My time here in India is steadily drawing to a close and this will probably be my last post. I have a few days left working at Maitri and then I hit the road. Not the road home yet. No. There is still far to much to do and see here. In a few days I board a train bond for Haridwar in Northwestern India. I am going to the elephant reserve, the yoga capital of the universe, and the mountains. After that I am off to Nepal with some friends. It will be a few weeks before I board a plane for the States. I would like to be able to summarize my experience here into a few bullet points about what I have learned. But that would be like trying to summarize India itself in a few sentences, and that is impossible. Its roots are too deep, diverse, and intertwining. I am a little aprehensive about returing to the States; where we have so much. If we determine the validity of a reality by how many people are experiencing said reality and would agree that it is how the life is, then the reality experienced by those living in India is much more real than the one I have grown up in. One sixth, probably more, of the world population lives in India. Reality as experienced by Indians is proportionally much more real than my American life. If we ride this trian of logic to its conclusion then spending your days in the fields under the hot sun is much more real than working at a desk in an office. Cooking your meals over smouldering patties of cow dung that you have pressed yourself is much more real than sitting in a nice resturant and being waited upon. Squating and releaving yourself in a field, behind a building, or on the sidewalk is much more real than indoor plumbing. Poverty, disease, abuse, and neglect are much more real than abundance, health, care, and nurturing. Not that everyone suffers in India. A great many are healthy and happy regardless of their economic status. But it makes you think for sure. Perhaps I, we, should be more grateful for what we have. Or perhaps we do not need all that we have. Or maybe what we have is not what we really need. There is a lot of goodness in the world. Here in India you will find kindness and hospitality from the poorest of places. However, there is still a lot of room in the world for more kindness and brotherly/sisterly love. There is great need for it.

My gratitude and thanks to all the Winnie Ma'am, General Sir, Sonal Ma'am, the Maitri staff, and all the people of India. This has been incredible.

The Pink City

I have thought long and hard but I still cannot seem to find words that adequately describe the surreal charm of the city of Jaipur. It is a bustling city that sprawls as far as the eye can see. Located deep in Raghastan where it is much drier and desert like. It is an ancient, yet modern city. Case in point, across from my hotel there was a walled enclosure that looked several hundred years old. The walls were high enough that I could not see what was beyond them, even from my hotel's restaurant rooftop. However, poking above the crumbling walls was a satellite dish. Whatever, or whoever, is on the other side of those ancient fortifications has satellite cable. Go figure eh.

Jaipur has a tradition of painting its buildings pink. Though most of these have sun bleached to a fine tangerine orange. The entire walled off section that comprises the old city is this color and is full of all the shops you could imagine. I had my first real experience shopping in India in the bazaar lined avenues of the old city in Jaipur. The shop keeper will take you in the back of his shop and sit you in the most comfortable spot. He will insist that you take some chai (tea) and then proceed to try his absolute hardest to get you to buy something. They are pretty good to. I walked away with a few trinkets that will go to friends and family. Bartering is not my strong suit but I think I did alright.

One of the best things about Jaipur is the hills. Delhi, and just about everything for hundreds of kilometers around it, is absolutely flat. Honestly it drives me insane some days. I need some texture to my landscape. Jaipur is ringed by hills filled with the most amazing temples, hill forts, and lonely shacks occupied by Hindu holy men. I spent an afternoon wandering the cobblestone paths in these hills listening to the songs and prayers of the holy men as they were broadcast over loudspeakers. Eventually I found myself passing through the temple of the sun god and on my way to the other side of the hills to Galta. Galta is a temple complex devoted to Hanuman, the monkey god. It is inhabited by hundreds, maybe thousands, of monkeys. At first I was a little uneasy. Monkeys have big teeth. When I turned corners in the temples monkeys ran every which way. Eventually I got used to them and walked about freely. Except up one path. There was a large, and very aggressive monkey there attacking all the others. I thought it best to give him some distance. I am sorry there are no pictures of the temple of monkeys, but you need permission to take photos and the monkeys tend to attack cameras. You can see the temple off in the distance in the canyon the path leads to.

Across town and in the northern hills is the Amber Fort. It is a short bus ride there. By the way I love the local buses. It is so much more fun to be among the people than to be on a tourist bus being guided everywhere. Anyways. The valley the fort is in is ringed with defensive walls, which of course I climbed. Come on. It is a several hundred year old defensive wall on a high hill top. It has to be climbed. I hung out with the young India boys up there for a bit and then headed back down. The fort itself I did not see much of. I walked up the stone path to it with all the other pilgrims, past the snake charmers and trinket sellers, to the gates. But since it was a festival that day I decided not to wait in line for hours to get in and decided I had seen enough.

Another important thing to mention is the elephants. There are so many elephants up at Amber fort. Elephant rides are offered up to the fort, but I opted not to ride one out of concern for their treatment. Elephants should be free I think. Though sadly there remains little habitat for them to be free in. Of course I guess I am a hypocrite. Should not all domestic animals be free? Anyways, elephants are amazing creatures that need protection/some space where they can be left alone and thrive. I walked among and alongside them in absolute awe, but with some sadness. I hope they are being treated well.

A quick train ride later and I was back in Delhi. There is nothing like seeing the Indian country side at sunset as you hang out of a train. The safety standards are a little different here and it seems to be alright to stand at the door and watch the world fly by.

India Found

I feel like I have finally found India. It is a hard thing to grasp, India. It is a constantly changing chaotic mass of tradition, modernity, humanity, and nature. It would take a life time to fully experience and understand. However, I feel like I came closer to comprehending the soul of India this week than I have in the past three months. Over the weekend I joined two of Maitri's staff members, Priyanka and Anita, and returned to Vrindavan. I wish I could sum up the experience in a orderly way. Perhaps with a single statement. But just like summing up India in a single sentence, that is impossible for me to do. I will just have to share the events as they occurred. With no common theme running through them.

On the morning we arrived I was blessed to find a spare hour in which I could wander. Those of you who know me well know that I love to wander. I found myself walking down a dirt road that led out of town. In no time I was on a country road far away from the noise and pollution of the city. It was just me, the occasional farmer tending his field, water buffalo bathing in the waterholes, and the peacocks. Ah the peacocks. There is something magical about a peacocks cry. Mournful in a way. Even though I was only able to walk that road for a brief forty minutes I found peace there. I felt the stress and wear of three months time fade away. I felt connected with the world.

We went to the Ashram were some of the widows live that Maitri supports. Bless those wonderful mothers. Wonderful women. They are so much more than the label of marginalized widows implies. They have such a wonderful sweetness about them. They are filled with humor and good nature. Their souls are bright. Although I was able to serve them food again, the majority of my time was spent taking pictures of the widows for Maitri. How they love getting their picture taken. Smiles spread across wrinkled faces as they see pictures of themselves. One reached out to me and embraced me.

I was blessed to spend the night at the home of the man who runs the projects in Vrindavan. I apologize ahead of time for not knowing the spelling of his name, but will update this blog as soon as I know it. He lives in a village a good 50K from Vrindavan. It took us a bike rickshaw ride, auto-rickshaw ride, and bus ride to reach it. He introduced me to his mother, sister, wife, and sons. They are a wonderful family. He and I slept in the guest room. When the morning came I woke up to the cry of peacocks. In no time my host began introducing me to the entire village. They were such friendly people. So hospitable and eager for me to return. I hope I am able to. That was India. Even though great historical events have occurred. Empires have risen and fallen. Cities and economies grow. India is in the villages and has been for thousands of years.

If you have been following this blog then you by now probably know that I have developed a love for camels. They are fantastic animals. Much bigger than I ever imagined. They walk with a sort of grace they I did not expect. Very chill. I was lucky enough to ride one. There was some kind of fair happening. The camels were out. Ferris wheels and other rides filled the market. The smaller ones were powered by young men. The small childrens' roller coaster had no brakes besides a young man who grabbed it a stopped it by planting his heels into the platform. Later in the night we joined a procession with the God Vishnu. There is a massive walled temple in Vrindavan. Once a year Vishnu is brought out and his taken through the city to meet the God Hanuman. We joined the singer priests, musicians, holy men, and worshipers in the night procession.

On a minor note I fought a monkey. Not the monkey in the picture. I just thought that one was interesting because he has one blue eye and one green eye. Monkeys are everywhere in Vrindavan. The Monkey decided he wanted my banana. But I was hungry and wanted my banana for breakfast. He jumped up and pushed me in the chest. I chased him around. After minutes of staring each other down we shared the banana. By the way, the monkey in the picture is not behind bars. It was my first time looking at a monkey where I was the one behind the bars.

I went running later on in the week and I ran into a man taking his elephant for a walk. Have you ever pet an elephant? They have the toughest skin I have ever felt. Absolutely amazing creatures. Camels, monkeys, peacocks, elephants, and cows. (I pet some cows too) What an amazing place.

Happy Holi

Happy Holi everyone! For those of you who do not know what Holi is, well, I am in the same boat as you. From what I understand it is a celebration of the end of winter and the coming of spring. Except what passes for spring in India is 90 degree weather. Pretty warm. I am used to 60-70, rainy, and grey springs. Anyways. Back to Holi. I am sure there are some Hindu legends and Gods associated with Holi. There is for just about everything. I just don't know what they are for Holi. To celebrate Holi you first buy some cheap squirt guns and water balloons. Then you buy as much powdered colors as you can. Bright ones are best. Especially bright, hot pink and neon yellow. Next, gather as many friends, neighbors and family members together as you can find. When you can't find anymore find as many strangers as you can and adopt them for the day. Eat as much as you can. If you are a drinker then drink as much as you can. Then have the biggest national water fight in history and throw your powdered colors all over each other. Then go find even more complete strangers to douse with buckets of water, pummel with water balloons, and light up their lives with all the colors of the powdered rainbow. End the day by stumbling through the now pink streets singing and laughing. Give a few complete strangers a hug. Wish them happy Holi. Then hug a few more. Congratulations you have now successfully celebrated Holi.

Sadly, I missed the main part of Holi. I was not quite sure when it started. However, I was the victim of a pretty nasty water balloon ambush in an alley. Later in the day I witnessed the aftermath and watched buckets of colors being thrown from rooftops onto mobs of pink, blue, green, and yellow young men. Plenty of drunk guys covered in so many different colors they were dark, dark blue came up to say hi to me. I got a few random hugs. Most of my day was spent walking up and down the streets that were by that time running pink. Seriously, there was so much color and water that it was running pink. All in all a good day. I will have to come here again for it now that I know what it is about. Or I could just celebrate it back in the States. I don't see any reason why not.

Sorry folks I don't have any pictures. I figured carrying a camera around might be a bad idea.

Other things of interest this week, we visited one of Maitri's HIV testing and counseling centers. Good news everyone, I am HIV negative. It was really interesting to see the front lines of our efforts to fight HIV. It is inspiring what the people at Maitri do.

Here Comes the Sun and Other Simple Things

It is starting to get warm here in Delhi. It was well into the 80s today and is only supposed to get hotter next week. It is kind of nice skipping winter.

I did not do any major traveling this week. But too be honest I am getting a little tired of sight seeing. I actually enjoy the simple things the most. Check out the picture of the flower. That was given to me today by one of the girls I help tutor. Since I had no plans today I decided to walk to the train reservation center and book some tickets to Jaipur. On my way I went past the slum where the kids we tutor live by the Maitri office. As I strolled along I suddenly heard the calling of small voices. "Paiya!" (brother). Out of nowhere came the children. They ran with hands waving and with broad smiles on their beautiful faces. I called back to them, "paiya, deedee (sister)!" They came over and shook my hand. We talked together as much as our language barrier allowed us. As I continued on my way they waved and called until I was out of sight. I carried the small flower with me the whole day. Yes, it is the simple things that are the greatest.

I am a firm believer in slack lining. For those of you who do not know what slack lining is just imagine tightrope walking on 1" tubular webbing. I seriously think it could bring peace to the world. Just throw a slack line across the DMZ and soon Koreans from both sides would join in smiling. I try to get out a least once a week and do some slack lining. It always brings a crowd of curious people to see the crazy, bearded, white kid walking 2-3 feet above the ground. After some initial shyness they usually try it out. Smiles and laughter always follow. You should see the kids who in live in the apartment complex line up when I bring out my slack line. Good times.

I should also pay tribute to one of the new boys who comes to our tutoring program. He is one of three brothers. One of the brothers is about as disruptive as they come, but is a wonderful scoundrel. Whenever I give him a math problem he automatically declares "easy!" Even if he does not know how to do it. His brother, however, is as quiet as they come. He sits alone at the end of the table not saying a word. He never fails to wear a red baseball cap. I found out why this week. He has brain cancer and there is a very large depression the size of an orange in the side of his head resulting from surgery. His voice is soft. His words come out like they are a struggle to utter. His legs tremble as he slowly walks up the stairs to go home. But his mind is good, his eyes are honest, and his desire to learn is strong. What a kid. If there is one person that I have met here in India, or anywhere else I have been, that I deeply admire, it is this boy

My New Best Friend

Before I discuss anything else I am going to skip to the best part. Meet my new best friend. A camel. Have you ever been up close to a camel. They are just about the best animals ever. So calm and friendly. They just let you pet them and be their buddy. On our way into a park across the river from the Taj we came across this guy (the camel) and for a few rupees we got to say hi. This picture was actually taken just a few moments before it gave me a huge kiss on the check. Camels don't lick like dogs. Nope. They use those huge, full, camel lips. Camels, they are pretty chill.

This Saturday we took a train into Agra to see the Taj Mahal. I really enjoyed Agra. It has a much more relaxed feel to it compared to the other towns we have been too. That is if you don't mention the many, many people trying to get money from tourists. You really can't blame them, but it can get taxing. Over all it is a beautiful place. The Taj is a lot bigger than I expected it would be. It is massive and really is a stunning building. A piece of art really. Though to be honest, as amazing as it is, it is not my favorite. Part of me feels it is too bad that so much money, and life went into a building for the dead.

There is another marble building in Agra. Its real name is Itmad-ud-Daulah, but some people call it the "baby Taj." It is another marble tomb in a garden. It is a lot smaller but the atmosphere there I liked a lot better than at the Taj. Not many people go there in comparison so it is very peaceful. We chilled in the garden there for an hour or so.

For the remainder of the day we went to a park across the river from the Taj. You can actually see the Taj for free just down the road from it. It is a good place to watch the sun set or rise. It was a nice park to wander around and a lot of people just dropped by to talk to me. I ended up telling stories to a young teacher and her class of school children, became best buds with a bunch of Indian guys, and pulled out my rusty Japanese to talk with some Japanese girls. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Japanese. I am glad that I can still hold what can be loosely described as a conversation. All in all it was a great trip.