tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464423876247027832024-03-13T03:15:45.862-07:00A Turtle in IndiaThe Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-60023874735243986252008-04-14T07:03:00.000-07:002008-04-14T12:19:24.100-07:00TODAYI made it home safely after being in transit for over 40 hours. Our flight from Mumbai to Heathrow was delayed and we didn't end up leaving until around 4:00 AM. By the time we arrived in London, we'd missed our connecting flight to New York. This actually turned out to be a blessing because it gave us a chance to stretch our legs a bit. The airline put us on the next available flight and gave us cash vouchers to get food and stuff. I spent mine on my favorite British <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digestive_biscuit">digestives</a>.<br /><br />After three hours in the airport, we finally boarded, but then sat on the runway for over an hour due to that damn English fog. During the 10-hour flight I watched lots of movies and read one of the great books I'd picked up in India. We landed at JFK around 3:00PM - four hours later than we were supposed to. And naturally, with all the flight confusion, my luggage didn't arrive with us. But it was all good. British Airways promised to have someone deliver it to my house the next morning (which they did!) and it was one less thing to load into the car.<br /><br />Elizabeth's husband, Adam, met us and we all piled into his station wagon just as the snow began to fall. Apparently it did not snow once the whole time we were gone. Traffic was horrific and it took nearly two hours to get to their house. Wolf made his way down and met us there, but because of all the snow and ice, it took us over an hour to get back home.<br /><br />When we finally did arrive, it was well after 8:00 PM. I don't think I've ever been happier to be home! Wolf had gotten me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a card letting me know that: <span style="font-style:italic;">From now on, Valentine's Day will be February 12 - the day my Love came home to me.</span><br /><br />Sigh. He truly <span style="font-style:italic;">is</span> a keeper.<br /><br />I took a 45-minute shower. Then we ordered Chinese food and cuddled on the couch. It was a perfect evening. I was home.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />The following week, I met up with the team for a reunion at <a href="http://www.chandpalace.com/">Chand Palace</a> where we swapped photos on DVD and reminisced about our life-changing journey. Rajiv had a great time in Goa and took a train trip up to Mumbai a couple days later. Bernie made it to the Taj Mahal but had his shoes stolen outside of a temple. We laughed a lot and promised to stay in touch.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZb0Kl6D3zPSAdVP6r5GmqYjnUHeSp7AFK1PGNsEzhcWkSN5ASUwb7QdCHrtOn3XEe-Ck0OSKD6XCJlVNeLFcZRJdxye6yF-etAQeLcp9WzSikUq-P_h3uNpf8aDnAq25pckfxa15jak/s1600-h/Back+Home.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZb0Kl6D3zPSAdVP6r5GmqYjnUHeSp7AFK1PGNsEzhcWkSN5ASUwb7QdCHrtOn3XEe-Ck0OSKD6XCJlVNeLFcZRJdxye6yF-etAQeLcp9WzSikUq-P_h3uNpf8aDnAq25pckfxa15jak/s320/Back+Home.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189114404426244738" /></a><br /><br />Three months later, I find myself settled back into my life and familiar routines. I've been in touch with many of the friends I made in India. Poonam and I exchange old-fashioned letters by mail, and have spoken on the phone a couple times. I called Gadag on March 12 for Mohan's birthday, and Wolf got a chance to "meet" them as well.<br /><br />Alpana and Sujit made their first journey to the U.S. at the end of February to visit Sujit's sister in Boston. They phoned me a couple times while they were here, and sent me photos upon their return. They found it to be terribly cold!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZg4mc2qTRkfIE9_6G50NnVB5bKTiZP61JsTu_ujoJ7nvdVXLsUZPDBlewTgcaCLjYaqDGu53Lx3KxGVRp_oQenFmTkaeB_GYdBTNdGeBhWZo-unrkRqiTVMDI0lA81Sdx6I5gVxRLZOc/s1600-h/S&Aboston.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZg4mc2qTRkfIE9_6G50NnVB5bKTiZP61JsTu_ujoJ7nvdVXLsUZPDBlewTgcaCLjYaqDGu53Lx3KxGVRp_oQenFmTkaeB_GYdBTNdGeBhWZo-unrkRqiTVMDI0lA81Sdx6I5gVxRLZOc/s320/S&Aboston.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189114567635002002" /></a><br /><br />I've received lots of emails from host families all along the way. They've all invited me to come back and to stay with them longer. I have a very good feeling I will return to India!<br /><br />Last Monday, the GSE team from India arrived at Newark airport and Bernie, Rajiv and I were among the group of Rotarians waiting to meet them. They're spending their first couple weeks in the western area of New Jersey, and will arrive by me on Monday, April 21. <br /><br />And as a newly-inducted member of the Parsippany Rotary Club, I get the honor of hosting the lovely Rajani for a week! I'm hoping I can be <span style="font-style:italic;">half</span> as gracious as my hosts were to me.<br /><br />India was an amazing adventure. The experience changed my life and opened my eyes. Despite the differences in language, dress, religion and cooking, I found that we're all very similar on the inside. I think if everyone in the world had the opportunity to spend a month in a different country, there would be a lot more tolerance and a lot less war. There'd be a lot less "us and them" and a lot more "we."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yM0iM3QegSF2d1VfjcgxlXngX2iImQlIU2_KcTeZ1txUoWKMyTTleMw1t-n0IdBtIvNxjPcccQ7ep0R7e_3tp_cdDfKJWXY9sgqXKJn6MjXc9T-D6jLsMmnmupWrhe9jJuUNr3VbaXw/s1600-h/ohm.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yM0iM3QegSF2d1VfjcgxlXngX2iImQlIU2_KcTeZ1txUoWKMyTTleMw1t-n0IdBtIvNxjPcccQ7ep0R7e_3tp_cdDfKJWXY9sgqXKJn6MjXc9T-D6jLsMmnmupWrhe9jJuUNr3VbaXw/s200/ohm.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189113931979842162" /></a>As I said in my speech at the district conference in Hubli, "On January 14, I arrived as an American in India. And it is my honor to return to America as an Indian."<br /><br />I will do my very best to keep India a part of me. And I know that one day I will return to the land that holds a piece of my heart. Not to get it back -- but to leave a little bit more of it there.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-65271010499719976242008-04-11T09:02:00.000-07:002008-04-11T11:13:10.585-07:00Monday, 11 February - 11:45 PMWe've finally arrived at the Mumbai airport after a very long day. We're all checked in and have nearly three hours to wait until we take off.<br /><br />I got up this morning and had breakfast with my hosts. Around 10 AM we went to visit a school for special-needs kids. DGs Elizabeth and Bazil were there and it was nice to have one last chance to thank them and say our goodbyes. After that, Misty, Elizabeth, Bernie and I went to the Goa airport. Rajiv is planning to spend a little more time in Goa (I'm sure it has <span style="font-style:italic;">nothing</span> to do with the lovely Rajani!) <br /><br />Our flight to Mumbai was delayed, and as we were sitting and waiting, I had a great conversation with an older British couple.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiof_GR0BfJcYLc3slw5DYbBKrGnITK7cAVFgBfcCXaSuMw8-nRSEGqg6MWHQCXtdQHX64FJFEYwjC2nF93Bn6RmFbRW0RdbwHCkbAnFjRJtUxE9NAGkEF4llb7cxobcwdNkLTKVIBOMmU/s1600-h/goa.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiof_GR0BfJcYLc3slw5DYbBKrGnITK7cAVFgBfcCXaSuMw8-nRSEGqg6MWHQCXtdQHX64FJFEYwjC2nF93Bn6RmFbRW0RdbwHCkbAnFjRJtUxE9NAGkEF4llb7cxobcwdNkLTKVIBOMmU/s320/goa.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188050360664544418" /></a><br />Waiting to leave Goa.<br /><br />When we landed in Mumbai, we girls said our goodbyes to Bernie. He was off to board a plane to New Delhi and had plans to visit Agra and the Taj Mahal. Now we were three. One of the Indian GSE team members, Koustubh, met us after we claimed all our luggage. We loaded everything into his tiny car and squeezed ourselves into the back seat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5AlNTeb6gItQP5EhuvuyIKT0DyQHvmTuGvHXhyIQylxE-MvbTFFPLtCPvQdv662XkRfdTRLsrmdAMqt90mL6hbctXDE0ny-5AF6SJG9zjr5UxZfFSnqtDNmQ3yRbdgyhyF8PtlXGt30/s1600-h/car.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5AlNTeb6gItQP5EhuvuyIKT0DyQHvmTuGvHXhyIQylxE-MvbTFFPLtCPvQdv662XkRfdTRLsrmdAMqt90mL6hbctXDE0ny-5AF6SJG9zjr5UxZfFSnqtDNmQ3yRbdgyhyF8PtlXGt30/s320/car.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188050493808530610" /></a><br />"How many Americans can you fit <br />in the back of an Indian car?"<br /><br />After leaving all our bags at his apartment, Koustubh took us around Mumbai. We went to a book and music store, and then we met up with his brother and sat in a pub, killing time. We had about five hours until we needed to check in at the airport and because of the unbelievable traffic, we really couldn't go anywhere too far without the risk of missing our flight. So we just sat and talked and had a nice, mellow time.<br /><br />We went back and picked up our stuff from Koustubh's apartment, and made it to the airport by 10:30 PM. It was an absolute mob scene. Koustubh and his friend literally bribed one of the airport workers to let us cut in front of about 300 people and check in. <br /><br />"What just happened?" I asked him.<br />"Ah, no worries. Please come." Standard reply.<br /><br />I was stopped at the security scanner and asked to open my suitcase (which was so full, I was praying it would not burst open) Apparently they thought my <a href="http://www.steripen.com/steripen_products.html">Steri-Pen</a> was a bomb! We went through immigration and are now all settled in chairs. We can't even go to our gate until 1:00 AM.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvqHJhn-vB9anbciYugQH_vdUJMEeeT9yqF46AHVrlI7ItEOcCrmijulpTfQJdHAbryxRgyDzQhIyJE_2qg_Lm-AnLOAI4rhWKhofp_hNPNL_iG1DPOk7C9yzyczXnJW9-f2V8zYqq2qU/s1600-h/sleeping.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvqHJhn-vB9anbciYugQH_vdUJMEeeT9yqF46AHVrlI7ItEOcCrmijulpTfQJdHAbryxRgyDzQhIyJE_2qg_Lm-AnLOAI4rhWKhofp_hNPNL_iG1DPOk7C9yzyczXnJW9-f2V8zYqq2qU/s320/sleeping.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188051017794540738" /></a><br />Comfy chairs at Mumbai airport.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wGKrl3ywGmxpM0gPg6lrbNJl7gllXB-rQXoKYGsZ9qoNH_bjiQcGzF3PC5i2tdOlj2T28AsiEThV6bUG2-C7kMSyEJeLKQYwNro4GQxEwh0WGCldppgj8V6rwOdp3Xy3VUTB3O9RXxk/s1600-h/yoga-sleeping.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wGKrl3ywGmxpM0gPg6lrbNJl7gllXB-rQXoKYGsZ9qoNH_bjiQcGzF3PC5i2tdOlj2T28AsiEThV6bUG2-C7kMSyEJeLKQYwNro4GQxEwh0WGCldppgj8V6rwOdp3Xy3VUTB3O9RXxk/s320/yoga-sleeping.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188051181003298002" /></a><br />"Yoga-Sleeping" 3:00 AM<br /><br />I'm tired and ready to go home. I wanna see Wolf. I'm excited to see all the pictures I've taken along the way. Each time my memory card fills up, I've been dumping them onto Rajiv's laptop. I think I am going to miss my teammates more than I realize. I can't believe I have spent just about every waking second of the past 30 days with these once-strangers. I can't believe we got along as well as we did.<br /><br />What a month it's been. What a trip. What an amazing country. India, you have my heart.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-15089286473338622112008-04-08T13:06:00.000-07:002008-04-08T13:17:05.332-07:00Monday, 11 February - 8:30 AMI'm all packed. I slept like a log last night and I guess I am ready to roll. I'm looking forward to being home. It'll be neat to go through my duffel bag and uncover all the treasures I've acquired along the way. Each will surely remind me of a town - a family - a friend.<br /><br />When I left Sedona that first time back in 2003, I was scared to death to return to my own life. I had felt such an energy and a peace out there, and although my guides assured me that the feelings were <span style="font-style:italic;">inside</span> of me, I didn't get it.<br /><br />Leaving India though, I realize that I am changed. I also know what I would like to do when I get back to my own life this time. I know the person I'd like to become... <br /><br />That person lives in the moment. She realizes the value of family, and has gained a new appreciation for spending time with loved ones.<br /><br />She appreciates the value of fresh, whole food. The impact that good nutrition has on the body and, in turn, the mind.<br /><br />She understands the value of service to the community. That giving really is the greatest gift. Giving to those who are truly in need.<br /><br />This trip was indeed good for me. I'm so excited to share my adventures and realizations with my loved ones. This place - these people... magical. I am truly, <span style="font-weight:bold;">truly</span> blessed.<br /><br />We're leaving in a little while to visit one more school and then are heading to the Vasco airport. We fly to Mumbai and have a 12-hour layover. Not sure what we're gonna do, but as always, we'll take it as it comes.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-31534485075791779482008-04-06T09:01:00.000-07:002008-04-06T12:51:10.708-07:00Sunday 10, February - 12:00 MidnightWhat an amazing day! Long, but amazing. After lunch, I met up with Misty and we spent about an hour at the beach. We wandered around some shops, looking for a small, round Ganesha statue. My last couple hosts have had these in their cars and they're really neat. Different from the traditional ones I've seen, and I thought one might look neat in my Beetle.<br /><br />No luck, but we did get to catch another glorious sunset.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFqqqbLZeaArBeQ9-UGMvKTyLeZL8wr1wVwgxwFG6yTX5n_F7IqQdgwtX8JKojexD6myMPc9cuyNBi-6w4L1QQEKiXnOAYMUj1ThuN1OCW8Gi7puQGCiqI0ieLD9K7axrs9fotwNH8-Y/s1600-h/beach.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFqqqbLZeaArBeQ9-UGMvKTyLeZL8wr1wVwgxwFG6yTX5n_F7IqQdgwtX8JKojexD6myMPc9cuyNBi-6w4L1QQEKiXnOAYMUj1ThuN1OCW8Gi7puQGCiqI0ieLD9K7axrs9fotwNH8-Y/s320/beach.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186167569707880370" /></a><br /><br />Then I went home and changed, and went out with my host's daughter-in-law, Charuta. First she took me to a neighbor's house to visit for a little bit. They were having some sort of women's-only get-together. The hostess gave me some sweets and a bag of vermicelli which were significant (though I don't quite remember why).<br /><br />Afterwards, we went into town to a hall where they were having a <a href="http://festivals.iloveindia.com/rituals/naamkaran.html">naming ceremony</a> for the baby of one of her friends.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivA4zFOshtJZ6b-MV7x0YIT9s2-B8JtMKAZjzmFMG_dVG4XeABDBqtayA3rNUHb8QOaI8Nxc4JLFtTFK160tqYUvq-z9E_bIexmRoXRTgQva85YPF-ls_YJ8j1OPmfLmc9AAetTCyzGI8/s1600-h/naming.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivA4zFOshtJZ6b-MV7x0YIT9s2-B8JtMKAZjzmFMG_dVG4XeABDBqtayA3rNUHb8QOaI8Nxc4JLFtTFK160tqYUvq-z9E_bIexmRoXRTgQva85YPF-ls_YJ8j1OPmfLmc9AAetTCyzGI8/s320/naming.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186218877387198434" /></a><br />"Vedant's" naming ceremony.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTLWCpHbDgru1JTqnlQx23bXRl3cEBgxKbru9Sf8KFUODS64sO3IYGLfELteRquvglIoxiplzvUNBBPc02nw8f0jZ5HWL1km0Bgxkui4qtP55fn62xzgVV5f0cUQqod0LzJrRV0HdTBU/s1600-h/naming2.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTLWCpHbDgru1JTqnlQx23bXRl3cEBgxKbru9Sf8KFUODS64sO3IYGLfELteRquvglIoxiplzvUNBBPc02nw8f0jZ5HWL1km0Bgxkui4qtP55fn62xzgVV5f0cUQqod0LzJrRV0HdTBU/s320/naming2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186219096430530546" /></a><br /><br />Finally, we stopped at Charuta's parents' house before heading to the send-off. Her family is great. They live in a huge house attached to a public temple. Her father told me the history of how that came to be. And before I left, he presented me with two small, round Ganesha statues - just like the one I had been looking for! He said he is a collector and that he was glad to be able to give me them as a gift. Unbelievable.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCebDCuBxbE8zNkyOhg724bARhgvI6LQlx9G8pXbrWtURA7xs8fMtZDWUUFNr5_yUaqkgLN6-y9QKIorSFdefi8MhXFnT4BQ7AC7ZxMNGNr7n2QKEJ3MGKSCxtoFqlMnMi_OE33WtZW0/s1600-h/parents.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCebDCuBxbE8zNkyOhg724bARhgvI6LQlx9G8pXbrWtURA7xs8fMtZDWUUFNr5_yUaqkgLN6-y9QKIorSFdefi8MhXFnT4BQ7AC7ZxMNGNr7n2QKEJ3MGKSCxtoFqlMnMi_OE33WtZW0/s320/parents.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186219491567521794" /></a><br />Parag, me, and Charuta's parents.<br /><br />Just got back from our send-off. It was really very lovely - lots of beautiful speeches from amazing people: DG Bazil, Radhika, DG Elizabeth (from B.C.) The team all made great speeches as well. My host from Margao, Audhut, and his family came. Rajani was there. Earlier in the evening I spoke on the phone with Mohan and Poonam. Just an awesome day.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOQqgM7hY68ap7HPVyCbkNP1XlERYSylXEy-IlfgS_AO1pMYSkN4h-DtdX3z1fqShaozATJNmEWMrxx9ma9g0qDsQu8PnE8WbapDMyH2kdT_QV3cPxlyJB_-75V6AkP0nLu4wGWDZZRo/s1600-h/friends.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOQqgM7hY68ap7HPVyCbkNP1XlERYSylXEy-IlfgS_AO1pMYSkN4h-DtdX3z1fqShaozATJNmEWMrxx9ma9g0qDsQu8PnE8WbapDMyH2kdT_QV3cPxlyJB_-75V6AkP0nLu4wGWDZZRo/s320/friends.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186218443595501522" /></a><br />Radhika, Ajay, DG Elizabeth and husband, Victor.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEhAyVUwO9UGbKP4EXOb2_rsxFzioTYW20VkEMb04McxB2UM4ZEn_nZHv2MaAk9qumrcrEVeRHtj6i418KGmPd7547GEbKZZbmq8b4J8-DNn75NgGWlP9vkndFVDlAH7h5YKeAkNyYAU/s1600-h/vascohosts.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEhAyVUwO9UGbKP4EXOb2_rsxFzioTYW20VkEMb04McxB2UM4ZEn_nZHv2MaAk9qumrcrEVeRHtj6i418KGmPd7547GEbKZZbmq8b4J8-DNn75NgGWlP9vkndFVDlAH7h5YKeAkNyYAU/s320/vascohosts.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186220002668630050" /></a><br />My wonderful Vasco hosts, the Mehtas.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPKw81Z2p1AcKR4b50yjtzDcRaGT5yOPIDpo0SGQLUwCVATAoZNX9joHEuME9i-JVbXXeDlx7wX0ADXjo4WIe9Ziryjc5FZh_rV1Mi0734yk7j8HDH8_6R01stXTbX4kKewLrj7fZyds/s1600-h/sendoff.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPKw81Z2p1AcKR4b50yjtzDcRaGT5yOPIDpo0SGQLUwCVATAoZNX9joHEuME9i-JVbXXeDlx7wX0ADXjo4WIe9Ziryjc5FZh_rV1Mi0734yk7j8HDH8_6R01stXTbX4kKewLrj7fZyds/s320/sendoff.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186219873819611154" /></a><br /><br />I'm tired tonight. Looking forward to a good night's sleep, because tomorrow we leave. I miss India and I haven't even left yet.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-66774013539386800952008-04-04T12:27:00.000-07:002008-04-04T12:51:48.324-07:00Sunday 10, February - 2:30 PMMan did I sleep AWESOME last night! This mattress is fantastic. Add that to the list of things to never take for granted. The list which grows longer by the minute. It's been a very mellow day today. I had a nice breakfast with my hosts and around 10:00 AM, went over to one of the polio booths.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYdYzS8FInjGD_qgewEEM6lodceR8ixRvgNGh6GdoVTLke_l_xp8TiZ9T2OkRNk3yvL59OO3zWEtL8QICJEjEKagoSjzLzn_fhJlDIDjzFnZzXxoE8D_Xi7Wazq0anmSZcKkXMAh8gZM/s1600-h/sign.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYdYzS8FInjGD_qgewEEM6lodceR8ixRvgNGh6GdoVTLke_l_xp8TiZ9T2OkRNk3yvL59OO3zWEtL8QICJEjEKagoSjzLzn_fhJlDIDjzFnZzXxoE8D_Xi7Wazq0anmSZcKkXMAh8gZM/s320/sign.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185479056385560402" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBK773kckphtQcpw0U3GjDmftlsClo6Zg0VahViVzqhF3re9X9A66vMgPxE8sg38lI8HnHuxrPo2io0HS0Rf99Sxx9Mxy_6F1SJxfIyMji1l4UbtKGJ3oCoO8DvFZofTggiV2nHL-AGy8/s1600-h/booth.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBK773kckphtQcpw0U3GjDmftlsClo6Zg0VahViVzqhF3re9X9A66vMgPxE8sg38lI8HnHuxrPo2io0HS0Rf99Sxx9Mxy_6F1SJxfIyMji1l4UbtKGJ3oCoO8DvFZofTggiV2nHL-AGy8/s320/booth.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185479180939612002" /></a><br /><br />I've learned that Rotary International is responsible for eradicating polio in India. They have done so by collecting funds worldwide and setting up several Sundays a year where children under the age of 6 are vaccinated for free. It's absolutely amazing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMSrYabybODPb3BzRmcF3VpCyadQgrXtAozWKstDdYkZGNG7b84Nvclz0mHXg8dGUEgzfZPUUg-I2Tb-PB0tZyxixWenMi0Q4HcCwqXZN3eSMvkoSEqmGLRG8QwK6SMARaPwvyLZwJhRc/s1600-h/rajiv.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMSrYabybODPb3BzRmcF3VpCyadQgrXtAozWKstDdYkZGNG7b84Nvclz0mHXg8dGUEgzfZPUUg-I2Tb-PB0tZyxixWenMi0Q4HcCwqXZN3eSMvkoSEqmGLRG8QwK6SMARaPwvyLZwJhRc/s320/rajiv.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185479421457780594" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCnP66ks2PXiJIciBx0MNX6uvnX7WnpqpQC0aTj0rpx-YXP4-RV5bXkAtZpqIbdgWz2nk5Z2XTyTDp9Cn17hDD8pm_jn9VL3itd9evCel3Qx2UcdYnPgOI73o_BKN2hDQS5aH3sg4D7s/s1600-h/jen.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCnP66ks2PXiJIciBx0MNX6uvnX7WnpqpQC0aTj0rpx-YXP4-RV5bXkAtZpqIbdgWz2nk5Z2XTyTDp9Cn17hDD8pm_jn9VL3itd9evCel3Qx2UcdYnPgOI73o_BKN2hDQS5aH3sg4D7s/s320/jen.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185479550306799490" /></a><br /><br />I'm really looking forward to becoming a Rotarian when I return home. It's just such an amazing organization and I have really seen, firsthand, the good that they do in the world. I want to do good things in my life. I want to take more trips like this one, and to get to know people all over the world.<br /><br />When I wasn't vaccinating children, I was sitting and talking with a girl named Kavita. She is the daughter of one of the Vasco Rotarians, and is planning to come to the U.S. to do her graduate work. She's trying to decide between schools in Buffalo, NY and in Arizona. A no-brainer, in my biased opinion!<br /><br />After the polio booth, my host's son and daughter came and picked me and Misty up. They took us sight-seeing around the harbor.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-U78cCROjwpAURkLEQ0pSpll8wuph45GOsAj2md_6VitqXFN9IUbWyAzNoLPzy5eJeRF0tJl7rae5frrNAYgWF0pptfccsPkCZTMSQefYnUDOM0JbiWQZBZGnA9rFPGbuA4WtzFEWc8/s1600-h/harbor.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-U78cCROjwpAURkLEQ0pSpll8wuph45GOsAj2md_6VitqXFN9IUbWyAzNoLPzy5eJeRF0tJl7rae5frrNAYgWF0pptfccsPkCZTMSQefYnUDOM0JbiWQZBZGnA9rFPGbuA4WtzFEWc8/s320/harbor.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185479743580327826" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWRWv4qWnfGLyybODcJJHvtx5zdaR7qz3PupD5TXFTWVVbTXYgPqD8s-ylODZSQQd0qtDkn_BcuZm_y1vmhmfkKJ2vPmGeb6QYHS7BVma8vBZfoWuTsbxb7jPaYn2QWuFVMCEkyhZtI8/s1600-h/hosts.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWRWv4qWnfGLyybODcJJHvtx5zdaR7qz3PupD5TXFTWVVbTXYgPqD8s-ylODZSQQd0qtDkn_BcuZm_y1vmhmfkKJ2vPmGeb6QYHS7BVma8vBZfoWuTsbxb7jPaYn2QWuFVMCEkyhZtI8/s320/hosts.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185479863839412130" /></a><br />Charuta, Parag and Arrov.<br /><br />I've just come back and had some lunch. I got some huge mosquito bites in Margao on my arm and they're driving me nuts! I took an allergy pill and am now feeling a wee bit drowsy.<br /><br />I'm getting more and more eager to get home. I think this trip has somehow made me a little less self-involved. I think getting involved with Rotary and other charity organizations will be good. I think being a little less concerned with <span style="font-style:italic;">me</span> will make me feel a whole lot better about my life.<br /><br />Around 3:30, I am set to go check out a beach with Misty and some hosts. Tonight is our big send-off and then tomorrow we fly back to Mumbai. Not sure how we'll spend our 12-hour layover there. See a movie? Do some shopping? I dunno. I guess we'll take it as it comes.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-35814342667499824412008-03-31T13:47:00.000-07:002008-04-03T14:07:02.725-07:00Saturday, 9 February - 11:00 PMWe've made it to Vasco and - contrary to what everyone has told us about it - it <span style="font-style:italic;">doesn't</span> suck! In fact, right now I am in the most comfortable bed I've been in all month. My hosts are great too - an older couple - and also in the house are their son, his wife and <span style="font-style:italic;">their</span> 1 year-old son, Arrov. Very nice people!<br /><br />This morning our Margao hosts took us to a temple on top of a huge hill. We climbed lots of steps...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Mqoc27ZpbJEgncppA-O1-EkXKrRB1u2lA5s04erRx_6lK_3Y8ihQhjvz-GYMt3RFzYtIAmZ-MfuCKtpiyn38l0icGF0QlEwHawwNK-S5Pbzzfc2u7y6Gtcc6z6Q46vC-qDKm491_tjw/s1600-h/steps.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Mqoc27ZpbJEgncppA-O1-EkXKrRB1u2lA5s04erRx_6lK_3Y8ihQhjvz-GYMt3RFzYtIAmZ-MfuCKtpiyn38l0icGF0QlEwHawwNK-S5Pbzzfc2u7y6Gtcc6z6Q46vC-qDKm491_tjw/s320/steps.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185127448887873282" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvX1EFD26ZfjMljhbshvWTouE9ZQpnuZ6MdjAC9fPcqc2CmQQHz-j7Mz9Z9qGnJNZKHq2xWZv-4iN2EAjHaMvN-70nwoOYy2HhDSdzPcnsCQvYqcM3ohf1XllGW7cBk6OeJ2Uo8bOjx0A/s1600-h/temple.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvX1EFD26ZfjMljhbshvWTouE9ZQpnuZ6MdjAC9fPcqc2CmQQHz-j7Mz9Z9qGnJNZKHq2xWZv-4iN2EAjHaMvN-70nwoOYy2HhDSdzPcnsCQvYqcM3ohf1XllGW7cBk6OeJ2Uo8bOjx0A/s320/temple.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185127594916761362" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB03DU2X4CXqc0Cy5VHF35VKF8rzvl7dJ2zgip78KRuX29DldHEYz8yPQqXzHcV25tSuAFjxTKeUw7ExY8Ti30glCohLc58fOmFkcIN8tWyaAqgaboXwhBDPOvZ-bJFI3FE4qjNNVw1tI/s1600-h/rock.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB03DU2X4CXqc0Cy5VHF35VKF8rzvl7dJ2zgip78KRuX29DldHEYz8yPQqXzHcV25tSuAFjxTKeUw7ExY8Ti30glCohLc58fOmFkcIN8tWyaAqgaboXwhBDPOvZ-bJFI3FE4qjNNVw1tI/s320/rock.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185127745240616738" /></a><br /><br />... but it was really cool. After checking out some of the local sites, we had lunch at the same <span style="font-style:italic;">Canapé</span> and then headed to Vasco. I chilled out a bit here with the family and we shared photos. Their eldest son lives in San Francisco where he is a classical guitar major. He used to be an engineering major (surprise!) at a very good school in India, and it's a pretty huge deal that his father allowed him to give that up to pursue a music degree.<br /><br />I met up with the rest of the team at the Three Kings church where we watched a breathtaking sunset. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp80p_YQLATtVdMZi7sSGaEUYMZzfRnhcsz5bRNdzMoOmJbhTnJ0LIuIwReeECnK7VAdQtlxujPzC86dTM8LCiQFQeB9kjDGn91XJ6puhMhZrM9A2TXFj8qnLoW_G0b3FKPNx0O8HQ_TI/s1600-h/sunset.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp80p_YQLATtVdMZi7sSGaEUYMZzfRnhcsz5bRNdzMoOmJbhTnJ0LIuIwReeECnK7VAdQtlxujPzC86dTM8LCiQFQeB9kjDGn91XJ6puhMhZrM9A2TXFj8qnLoW_G0b3FKPNx0O8HQ_TI/s320/sunset.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185127964283948850" /></a><br /><br />District Governor, Bazil D'Souza joined us up there and it was nice to get a chance to talk with him. I didn't realize he had been a high school teacher for 25 years. While talking to him about my experience in India, I got all teary. He said, "Jenny, you are always a welcome guest. Please come back any time."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Np9JOsTp9tnI_raschrwEQntEd9Q-ColCUpx_RpogDGGeRVabviv6SAYmwHb5LzRE53L6dYb5MRrIYWuDeu6Hh9es9TZW1qY4TDP8JuzaWfprZ09Qy1Wgf7Ko-GcZ2mcGsZyst4u178/s1600-h/bazil.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Np9JOsTp9tnI_raschrwEQntEd9Q-ColCUpx_RpogDGGeRVabviv6SAYmwHb5LzRE53L6dYb5MRrIYWuDeu6Hh9es9TZW1qY4TDP8JuzaWfprZ09Qy1Wgf7Ko-GcZ2mcGsZyst4u178/s320/bazil.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185128084543033154" /></a><br /><br />We all went out for an awesome dinner at a place called Sinatra's (ha!) I talked a lot with a woman named Elizabeth, a District Governor visiting from British Columbia.<br /><br />Now I'm tired and need to sleep. Tomorrow is "Polio Sunday!"The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-67949428494621083762008-03-26T07:44:00.000-07:002008-03-26T18:44:16.759-07:00Saturday, 9 February - 8:00 AMJust two days left. I can't believe we've been here for a month. I'm definitely ready to go home, though. It's funny. All along, people have been saying that once I got to Goa, I wouldn't wanna leave. And for as beautiful as it is, it's just a little too <span style="font-style:italic;">Western</span> for me. If anything, it's been a great transition place. If we had left directly from the district conference, I think it would have broken my heart.<br /><br />Yesterday was good. We stopped at Audhut's office and I was able to check my email before meeting up with the rest of the group around 10:00 AM. Our first stop was to this place nicknamed "<a href="http://www.ancestralgoa.com/">Bigfoot</a>" - a replica of an ancestral Goan village. It kind of reminded me of one of those museum witch tours in Salem, MA. Interesting, but a little too hokey.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMAMUEhWq2cNGhHCq_p3sJm8V4YCbLn3wTjuYrwXYYa3RIvFQS4URJtO1S4bIweamWtgOEkrYhkJrk88da-jC5sggGhKez906sjMmVN8o9sdVsWvMuymmLAasJ4Cs7E4BW6AGXGlPOClc/s1600-h/fake.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMAMUEhWq2cNGhHCq_p3sJm8V4YCbLn3wTjuYrwXYYa3RIvFQS4URJtO1S4bIweamWtgOEkrYhkJrk88da-jC5sggGhKez906sjMmVN8o9sdVsWvMuymmLAasJ4Cs7E4BW6AGXGlPOClc/s320/fake.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182069363453644338" /></a><br />Fake villagers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmvLIfLZ2kKrMW3JtHppMq8qVW9oWSODWIWivgypcyck0hMkaxk3Rdf6qlnxuxNfXCtg5SiN9kzdPkmKwoy6x3Vc6H4sUvMhbpw6uRx5MilxRz6T26KNzO9x8Cew2AVm31r5uQp2JMxg/s1600-h/host.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmvLIfLZ2kKrMW3JtHppMq8qVW9oWSODWIWivgypcyck0hMkaxk3Rdf6qlnxuxNfXCtg5SiN9kzdPkmKwoy6x3Vc6H4sUvMhbpw6uRx5MilxRz6T26KNzO9x8Cew2AVm31r5uQp2JMxg/s320/host.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182069505187565122" /></a><br />Real Goan host (he rocked!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOe2MqcE_D682SYmT6_RKaGGbnxD2vj0kjz8SUINOB9TWVy8-jz7EcSPWU5FPit9j60vpFW8xOacoDHNO3EkGKYA_Um3SI0ib4l_dCaVVqu9Q1SZvqZueeTsMdsTc7WMPztPXFg5bzPo/s1600-h/chariot.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOe2MqcE_D682SYmT6_RKaGGbnxD2vj0kjz8SUINOB9TWVy8-jz7EcSPWU5FPit9j60vpFW8xOacoDHNO3EkGKYA_Um3SI0ib4l_dCaVVqu9Q1SZvqZueeTsMdsTc7WMPztPXFg5bzPo/s320/chariot.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182069698461093458" /></a><br />Traveling in style.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiz9DnERV3oqK2eAUOmBbrTc84vh6NocYYzMTHbHR8c32a9jZ8vEMZUyNP4RFu_-uV43frKrw9ycyb7vDRzDpmIWwt3hxgP3O3lQQoibh8CevxyfVvDu-sT_h5aJpQma-48D2rnC0eAcM/s1600-h/music+school.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiz9DnERV3oqK2eAUOmBbrTc84vh6NocYYzMTHbHR8c32a9jZ8vEMZUyNP4RFu_-uV43frKrw9ycyb7vDRzDpmIWwt3hxgP3O3lQQoibh8CevxyfVvDu-sT_h5aJpQma-48D2rnC0eAcM/s320/music+school.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182069865964818018" /></a><br />Applying for a job.<br /><br />At the end of the tour, you can pay five rupees to buy some incense, say a prayer and make a wish while touching the big footprint...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QMzM0QNTHepjhyphenhyphenso9DVNlwshiqL2xNfUjbsjfqvBRCcFvQBfvf5Rc81hzf9-nsvwxcWRS8mL12D_mtFKKmNDCk4mUPTNtjOQ3FEVPu_dUhxI06EV4Jms6aVArt1-x1_vL9_n1SVGWqc/s1600-h/praying.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QMzM0QNTHepjhyphenhyphenso9DVNlwshiqL2xNfUjbsjfqvBRCcFvQBfvf5Rc81hzf9-nsvwxcWRS8mL12D_mtFKKmNDCk4mUPTNtjOQ3FEVPu_dUhxI06EV4Jms6aVArt1-x1_vL9_n1SVGWqc/s320/praying.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182070059238346354" /></a><br />Misty lights her incense.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJq4DvUMOXCPjt49c4vxT_7iFxtVRhiOZfBlS2UBUqZBaIe-Gf1Vq3YBQDSPMRp3EEd5jgirSkrs6qbIbCDQkJa7eryNfs5vQSfg6kbpNC_nOB3BeUK0uw28yoa889PkKrxfOlV95Nsk/s1600-h/footprint.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJq4DvUMOXCPjt49c4vxT_7iFxtVRhiOZfBlS2UBUqZBaIe-Gf1Vq3YBQDSPMRp3EEd5jgirSkrs6qbIbCDQkJa7eryNfs5vQSfg6kbpNC_nOB3BeUK0uw28yoa889PkKrxfOlV95Nsk/s320/footprint.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182070209562201730" /></a><br />Bigfootprint.<br /><br />... my wish was that I could live my life with an Indian perspective when I return home. That I not forget all I have learned while on this trip.<br /><br />After Bigfoot, we stopped at a little chain café called <span style="font-style:italic;">Canapé</span>. It was the first chain restaurant we'd been in all month. I ordered a small vegetable pizza. It did not disappoint.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr06vIXs3etqJu7HNXREnDWU7XtozE04NBYPelKinB0T1obfXf4MsJ5XFBy_UErTj5yqH_GlrP3R_t6mqTNqidcMrZk1Hr1bZSyzZXoY2IiRnUOVtixGSNKnxKzhHIoD6DKPP21XYkilk/s1600-h/canape.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr06vIXs3etqJu7HNXREnDWU7XtozE04NBYPelKinB0T1obfXf4MsJ5XFBy_UErTj5yqH_GlrP3R_t6mqTNqidcMrZk1Hr1bZSyzZXoY2IiRnUOVtixGSNKnxKzhHIoD6DKPP21XYkilk/s320/canape.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182070467260239506" /></a><br /><br />Our hosts then dropped us off at this amazing resort called <a href="http://www.travelmasti.com/resorts/nanutel_goa.htm">Nanu</a> - right on the beach. It was, of course, owned by a Rotarian. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxUgv_JEzrQ4f3m8UloYjC_yK80qn8ZAsz8gvNAKNZMrVtPFQokH73qDvdS63UqAnxIpRVnWyl-YSaWn_0ZbZEcuZuRcedOYFP6XBDp2jEoq9rWhWBi7wwetog3sYX4QGbNa3iuiXHHM/s1600-h/nanu.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxUgv_JEzrQ4f3m8UloYjC_yK80qn8ZAsz8gvNAKNZMrVtPFQokH73qDvdS63UqAnxIpRVnWyl-YSaWn_0ZbZEcuZuRcedOYFP6XBDp2jEoq9rWhWBi7wwetog3sYX4QGbNa3iuiXHHM/s320/nanu.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182070673418669730" /></a><br />"Toto, we're no longer in Bijapur."<br /><br />We spent four hours there, free to use the pool or the beach. I walked up and down Betalbatim beach, collecting shells and wading in the Indian ocean. Perfect.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTDKuU4w2RJNV7JmqZwBb1KE_DTTFF8is8I61HFdz8g0m3T0Ker26HRjqpOX2rLaeC0Y_gWZul2bZVx7KVClg4ak1-DVU35JYgNs-VPjNbHemzDuwEiwzbcHFZmIjvUEXXGHkglivKuOo/s1600-h/beach.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTDKuU4w2RJNV7JmqZwBb1KE_DTTFF8is8I61HFdz8g0m3T0Ker26HRjqpOX2rLaeC0Y_gWZul2bZVx7KVClg4ak1-DVU35JYgNs-VPjNbHemzDuwEiwzbcHFZmIjvUEXXGHkglivKuOo/s320/beach.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182119863679110834" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlzic-fAPSu3thYW3AGzpKRQReXlYZAqRzUT6M53G69VJ2FtiyT0mU6NVFuyQcCCPis9xjOLgbv71tA01w996rtMC3hZ3wJsPP-znex1xYF-o9GMNeFnNEePSj77PZdkn6L3_y_Zl4nE4/s1600-h/ocean.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlzic-fAPSu3thYW3AGzpKRQReXlYZAqRzUT6M53G69VJ2FtiyT0mU6NVFuyQcCCPis9xjOLgbv71tA01w996rtMC3hZ3wJsPP-znex1xYF-o9GMNeFnNEePSj77PZdkn6L3_y_Zl4nE4/s320/ocean.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182120735557471954" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDeYLaRSzcOzkbXfqP3DZhsZkAnHfWtmaY47KrdJj9sIze8YpqFQWJ7hapZOtIQoWP03a3IL__pzH73lf1Xiy119Z8bTedmYxbq0LznZCQC4qr-ynL4mXAE1NxMCOrfxzVLAxuHO1J3ac/s1600-h/sand.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDeYLaRSzcOzkbXfqP3DZhsZkAnHfWtmaY47KrdJj9sIze8YpqFQWJ7hapZOtIQoWP03a3IL__pzH73lf1Xiy119Z8bTedmYxbq0LznZCQC4qr-ynL4mXAE1NxMCOrfxzVLAxuHO1J3ac/s320/sand.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182122015457726194" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7YG6AelUa_-gu9nhlM7f0OVn1iW-FXfhf5J6wcAqOlSlGV9nQW_Z4SmK9BQwkiz_t0p7MFFloQamfFHsDZhcSanSzIAXqbA8N19FDet2idnzzzuxiPPzuV7KsI5KJyJYm0bBm0IQSdc/s1600-h/sand+art.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7YG6AelUa_-gu9nhlM7f0OVn1iW-FXfhf5J6wcAqOlSlGV9nQW_Z4SmK9BQwkiz_t0p7MFFloQamfFHsDZhcSanSzIAXqbA8N19FDet2idnzzzuxiPPzuV7KsI5KJyJYm0bBm0IQSdc/s320/sand+art.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182120576643681986" /></a><br /><br />We made a good presentation at the evening Rotary meeting and they had a fun dinner at their hall. They even hired a DJ! As I recall from the district conference, the Goans really like to party. I ducked out a little early with my host's wife and daughters. When we got home, the eldest daughter did some awesome Mehendi on my other hand. I hope this one lasts until I get home.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEmohzr0YmzNKIL662o_fMacMVZEJegFaaTZDVRfPYHJ5i-BudincOZDVNNGC2ob9yWUsIcPuTMiFk-aA-AzEACGqtZo_jXDIEMANW6nF-60ISun-x3ZNpON4tQiv-5NHS9eA85p-kYVE/s1600-h/mehendi.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEmohzr0YmzNKIL662o_fMacMVZEJegFaaTZDVRfPYHJ5i-BudincOZDVNNGC2ob9yWUsIcPuTMiFk-aA-AzEACGqtZo_jXDIEMANW6nF-60ISun-x3ZNpON4tQiv-5NHS9eA85p-kYVE/s320/mehendi.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182120937420934882" /></a><br /><br />Today we're leaving for our final destination in Goa: Vasco.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-12500366304026058722008-03-25T10:25:00.000-07:002008-03-25T10:35:29.617-07:00Thursday, 7 February - 10:00 PMJust had dinner with my hosts and then they took me for a drive around Margao. The husband, Audhut, spent a year and a half in the U.S. for college. Mostly in Michigan, but also a little bit in Texas.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZ-iEB9yFE8GMKKNYTSuRFEFgXZRy_knO_i0BOgZr3HTu0wgKsEJ-CH9SscsD-79IibqXi6mGi82hg3CV-EYSuXmn27iN3Wjw75TlStFG5Sd_xj2IYiWMAPAuNzCgfW-odHzJ5Ms32_w/s1600-h/DSCN0217.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZ-iEB9yFE8GMKKNYTSuRFEFgXZRy_knO_i0BOgZr3HTu0wgKsEJ-CH9SscsD-79IibqXi6mGi82hg3CV-EYSuXmn27iN3Wjw75TlStFG5Sd_xj2IYiWMAPAuNzCgfW-odHzJ5Ms32_w/s320/DSCN0217.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181734124076322338" /></a><br />New hosts in Margao.<br /><br />At dinner, he kept trying to get me to use a fork. I assured him I was doing quite well with my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etiquette_of_Indian_dining#Right_hand">right hand</a> - just as his wife and daughters were - but he himself used a fork. I am trying to figure out if he is really pro-America or if he thinks we are all a bunch of retards. Hell, at this point even <span style="font-style:italic;">I</span> don't know if we Americans suck or not! I guess it's a little bit of both.<br /><br />I'm finally starting to get a little eager to go home. I think it's because we're in a different place. During the earlier weeks, our environment was so drastically different from what we were used to. I loved the adventure of it all, even if the conditions sometimes were not so comfortable. <br /><br />While we were out driving around tonight, Rajani called to see how I was feeling. She really is awesome and I hope we get to see her again before we leave.<br /><br />I can't believe I am actually in bed by 10:00 - this is truly a first!The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-89567984315051121222008-03-24T10:07:00.000-07:002008-03-24T10:40:12.469-07:00Thursday, 7 February - 7:30 PMToday was good. We left Mapusa around 10:00 AM and headed off to a town called Bicholim. We visited a Rotary school for like five seconds...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJFBObO9fGkPRh0q84b85xk5UgB9bXnXJR5EYDNHmOmYUtomp_M9Bw-IZjHLagRWaxNvlj2LwnVPMVEGaCJdj9sqoMLtjDcSFZu5GQhEJYQMvXYfHo4ZwmoDtFuzVjhixQrABHv5QQ-I/s1600-h/kids.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJFBObO9fGkPRh0q84b85xk5UgB9bXnXJR5EYDNHmOmYUtomp_M9Bw-IZjHLagRWaxNvlj2LwnVPMVEGaCJdj9sqoMLtjDcSFZu5GQhEJYQMvXYfHo4ZwmoDtFuzVjhixQrABHv5QQ-I/s320/kids.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181362510620970466" /></a><br /><br />... a church with a cool fresco ceiling...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGM7pIWdt1kf8Jx8mUmasN-fFZuAKI8MBUX9P8t6kofD1oyY-19Qp2niOexjh4LGOaLdrAkp_gr6Gs_53y-_pWQ1RJvn38jyBQzTmpmqHwJKPKk0yHegDLuaJiNO0A_PSpcyGlvpcE_Kw/s1600-h/church.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGM7pIWdt1kf8Jx8mUmasN-fFZuAKI8MBUX9P8t6kofD1oyY-19Qp2niOexjh4LGOaLdrAkp_gr6Gs_53y-_pWQ1RJvn38jyBQzTmpmqHwJKPKk0yHegDLuaJiNO0A_PSpcyGlvpcE_Kw/s320/church.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181362291577638354" /></a><br /><br />... and then stopped at an artist colony where we went to two different pottery places. I found an awesome, handmade Ganesha wall mount.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYC02iEVjbI8O1NzE90BBZZ1A34us1pXMLJTP2PTDSAGU2JPUxwbiOafRngOfD4TCLMTk18iyHefK10eZPfe_TIEaGwm51SwsQJKbM03rgd7cx7HpyI1oSqE4voM2UT9O4rFpcEnlOZQ/s1600-h/potter.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYC02iEVjbI8O1NzE90BBZZ1A34us1pXMLJTP2PTDSAGU2JPUxwbiOafRngOfD4TCLMTk18iyHefK10eZPfe_TIEaGwm51SwsQJKbM03rgd7cx7HpyI1oSqE4voM2UT9O4rFpcEnlOZQ/s320/potter.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181361806246333874" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRfGPF1sJpP-DPqX68vy2pRx2gFznk4yD9QXq8QoPfMhK6C2-69npzYig_zqFJQiSCnWz5ml9T2DBFd6CZ6Fli7tegOeK3C-aMQ7Cy9w25FSOcYJb0D3LhfofG9z8M2Z9wHbII-noiDc/s1600-h/potters.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRfGPF1sJpP-DPqX68vy2pRx2gFznk4yD9QXq8QoPfMhK6C2-69npzYig_zqFJQiSCnWz5ml9T2DBFd6CZ6Fli7tegOeK3C-aMQ7Cy9w25FSOcYJb0D3LhfofG9z8M2Z9wHbII-noiDc/s320/potters.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181361935095352770" /></a><br /><br />After the pottery stops, we drove out to a huge farm that grows produce and plants for pharmaceutical supplies. We toured the farm and then hung out, played drums and ate food.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sGjBCbmC34A-hSk7qTEplGRLTmBSK6_QmEhgm2QLxghQsBuS9wjini-6TMCHL7lYJs4RYZRnaleYh30hNcLmjsKT9QPcsHqJZcAi9zMoi-r2khyphenhyphenRitgdMRJr-zoKzGioj0r0MyiaLac/s1600-h/bananas.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sGjBCbmC34A-hSk7qTEplGRLTmBSK6_QmEhgm2QLxghQsBuS9wjini-6TMCHL7lYJs4RYZRnaleYh30hNcLmjsKT9QPcsHqJZcAi9zMoi-r2khyphenhyphenRitgdMRJr-zoKzGioj0r0MyiaLac/s320/bananas.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181362695304564210" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkSsTgpSI8mgHSepLZtJm4mrVqGc_ymn8RLHrL2N6N9dW_JCVX0kz0pI4h55vE7rHlcMdCSVf87Os09_ye414RPq366g52T6PgBAqW1jxRBqzMo41pqqfju37mViSWlcRxB-8ge_n7fE/s1600-h/drums.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkSsTgpSI8mgHSepLZtJm4mrVqGc_ymn8RLHrL2N6N9dW_JCVX0kz0pI4h55vE7rHlcMdCSVf87Os09_ye414RPq366g52T6PgBAqW1jxRBqzMo41pqqfju37mViSWlcRxB-8ge_n7fE/s320/drums.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181362914347896322" /></a><br />"... I just wanna bang on the drum all day"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkANNre4mwWvY1ilPgiZE9l6Dd-EQxwUHsb-tZ4IhZmPrB7HXWU_MJuB0e7LB0fvoLOLxIPNjSpuGVECo8tTkr87ZXOL-UPymjAUTMFNobRhf-favIMRMGb7_ezMCyNeaWF4hLhsyuOk/s1600-h/bicholim.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkANNre4mwWvY1ilPgiZE9l6Dd-EQxwUHsb-tZ4IhZmPrB7HXWU_MJuB0e7LB0fvoLOLxIPNjSpuGVECo8tTkr87ZXOL-UPymjAUTMFNobRhf-favIMRMGb7_ezMCyNeaWF4hLhsyuOk/s320/bicholim.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181363064671751698" /></a><br /><br />Misty finally rejoined us after three days in the hospital. She looks great and it's good to have her back. I'm just sorry she missed Mapusa and the elephants.<br /><br />It was tough saying goodbye to Alpana, Sujit and the rest of my Mapusa hosts. They were really awesome. Little Anuj gave me a rose, and Sujit laughed and said that "My son will have no problems with the ladies when he grows up!"<br /><br />After Bicholim, we made our way to Margao and met our current hosts for tea at a hotel. We also met up with Radhika (our original Mumbai host and GSE coordinator). My current hosts seem very nice. They have a huge, modern house and two daughters, ages 11 and 15.<br /><br />I think we are gradually being eased back into our own culture by visiting Goa last. I just came up to find my first shower curtain! Once again, I realize how much I take for granted back home.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdS8pwe6bxFOLPnIgLlayYH30jO2G_loPitdUDZNFhqI6dRJgi21bIiSx9qzn65gAq_DR8mtGpXZ8H_kYJuMbHhtl0C8VyzYJhxPkYfRoQEYd0VEZ9N3lqN_rtIRaQTXfuqd8CDqV7_Y/s1600-h/shower.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdS8pwe6bxFOLPnIgLlayYH30jO2G_loPitdUDZNFhqI6dRJgi21bIiSx9qzn65gAq_DR8mtGpXZ8H_kYJuMbHhtl0C8VyzYJhxPkYfRoQEYd0VEZ9N3lqN_rtIRaQTXfuqd8CDqV7_Y/s320/shower.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181361625857707426" /></a><br />Hallelujah!<br /><br />Things in Goa seem so Westernized. I think back to places like Dharwad and Ilkal - all the women and kids wearing Indian clothes. Here they're wearing jeans! They have A/C and normal toilets and showers. On the way back to the house, my host said that even he experiences a little culture shock when he has to do business outside of Goa.<br /><br />I guess it's pretty much like me calling certain areas of New Jersey "the sticks." I've never been to any really remote areas of the U.S. I think I ought to make that my next priority: seeing more of my own country and not just the pretty parts.<br /><br />Hey, you know what I haven't seen in India? Wall-to-wall carpeting. One more thing to stop taking for granted.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-86835226894328110802008-03-20T10:32:00.000-07:002008-03-20T11:00:07.739-07:00Thursday, 7 February - 12:40 AMHad a very cool day today. We met up with one of our original escorts, Ajay, and he spent the day with us in <a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Old_Goa">Old Goa</a>. We visited some more Catholic churches and then tried to do some bird-watching, but there were no birds to be seen. We had lunch at an awesome restaurant owned by a Rotarian.<br /><br />After lunch we headed to a spice farm where we got to ride a camel and an elephant!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Ia_eekicVTKzbnr0rA0asElaFsOEs49uF1wT_VGVVvgDkFShne3hTgtROvZXnQGZUiALxPqlJhKjKYOkjUJ8Kxv7wIwjyzBOfwWukUk9s-uSn673SC6XWL1pa-WVOCgzaG5t-raCo3c/s1600-h/camel+(2).JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Ia_eekicVTKzbnr0rA0asElaFsOEs49uF1wT_VGVVvgDkFShne3hTgtROvZXnQGZUiALxPqlJhKjKYOkjUJ8Kxv7wIwjyzBOfwWukUk9s-uSn673SC6XWL1pa-WVOCgzaG5t-raCo3c/s320/camel+(2).JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179883534337625378" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cTTDBt1OpE0vEaUbvAbI97QoQ81Wp4e08ecwMd9tB8k8tQU0DSkVsPLzBRhyphenhyphenuDySedkUfL3ftsKklDLJdoI3pEjhTOKpg6oSZ8f9BPLoHmAiHtHY8dRNJ4E2VnlFUINWA0EwI_NiJ30/s1600-h/elephant.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cTTDBt1OpE0vEaUbvAbI97QoQ81Wp4e08ecwMd9tB8k8tQU0DSkVsPLzBRhyphenhyphenuDySedkUfL3ftsKklDLJdoI3pEjhTOKpg6oSZ8f9BPLoHmAiHtHY8dRNJ4E2VnlFUINWA0EwI_NiJ30/s320/elephant.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179883667481611570" /></a><br /><br />Elizabeth and I gave an elephant a bath...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwDdIT46qR5Kp0Vw3pfszyadoaOjGwr-XiKGDwIWLkOajkOjDIJSi6v4YuUM0zYcrfAG1dGtUWradyZeogGpDL7RPk3d20EeR-jI6jRO2ZIlqTeyeOZMRhjb3NCax6idDeaM687BjjTw/s1600-h/bath+(2).JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwDdIT46qR5Kp0Vw3pfszyadoaOjGwr-XiKGDwIWLkOajkOjDIJSi6v4YuUM0zYcrfAG1dGtUWradyZeogGpDL7RPk3d20EeR-jI6jRO2ZIlqTeyeOZMRhjb3NCax6idDeaM687BjjTw/s320/bath+(2).JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179883774855793986" /></a><br /><br />... and then the elephant gave <span style="font-style:italic;">me</span> a bath!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5RWAdG7Gduk-n_jflD4KBV9naXvCeVhRuEu9MWZkrlJq-zQboG02lbFlKqZiqWj4sW7A9qLyhDmSXtsgI6QKUaFG1vKouSZMHc-QkXpaW_DSTdLSKN_M5L4N8XKryhGAzigtQfaS3aI/s1600-h/shower+(2).JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5RWAdG7Gduk-n_jflD4KBV9naXvCeVhRuEu9MWZkrlJq-zQboG02lbFlKqZiqWj4sW7A9qLyhDmSXtsgI6QKUaFG1vKouSZMHc-QkXpaW_DSTdLSKN_M5L4N8XKryhGAzigtQfaS3aI/s320/shower+(2).JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179883916589714770" /></a><br /><br />After a long (wet) ride home, we all stopped in to visit Misty at the hospital. She is doing better and is able to eat solid food again. She's had it really rough this trip. It sucks, too, because she is the only one who never gets cranky or complains about anything. She's always so positive - even when she misses three days of Goa, stuck in a hospital bed.<br /><br />We made a presentation to the Mapusa club tonight and it was really a lot of fun. Anuj loaned me his <span style="font-style:italic;">Mighty Morphin Power Rangers</span> bracelet (the green one, because it's my favorite color) for good luck.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5vM4oBp8zaq0CQCaYpGJQ9Ju6uFoIkSh-9t-yzGY70N9akjgJZvJBh3ndy-yhoZlUlsC1DSAUN8McyfUyTPrt4ZIOrV0bpkbv_ZSo627wK8BxE1PrIb098w170pR37ron8fRfgZ4-iI/s1600-h/bracelet.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5vM4oBp8zaq0CQCaYpGJQ9Ju6uFoIkSh-9t-yzGY70N9akjgJZvJBh3ndy-yhoZlUlsC1DSAUN8McyfUyTPrt4ZIOrV0bpkbv_ZSo627wK8BxE1PrIb098w170pR37ron8fRfgZ4-iI/s320/bracelet.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179884045438733666" /></a><br />I have the power!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzEKhgbBpMGSPpM5u5-mR7wDTitGMpKlEJzX48o5OhGYfsBT8kVM1BnapPq9g-2DdUrQsgUMR3Zhlq2udsdGVq6UVpqWNzrg3-oDENj0sUVv4SrUUMfY8PRq1GQJMedRGxAurThpEMPBY/s1600-h/hosts.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzEKhgbBpMGSPpM5u5-mR7wDTitGMpKlEJzX48o5OhGYfsBT8kVM1BnapPq9g-2DdUrQsgUMR3Zhlq2udsdGVq6UVpqWNzrg3-oDENj0sUVv4SrUUMfY8PRq1GQJMedRGxAurThpEMPBY/s320/hosts.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179884191467621746" /></a><br />My AWESOME Mapusa hosts!<br /><br />They had a great dinner for us afterwards.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX5wqEx2cpUWgMPSPfWtCuCeNbu91T5i1HptfBES7UztnA6NqidKgbgRlEkASkBT7sHb9sP8AcSVuRt1pbrtimZptgpYd5dQY9-uvLrzWVHQfAJIsdyBy7m5dfAtEMQCrLPqsilEZST6w/s1600-h/chapati.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX5wqEx2cpUWgMPSPfWtCuCeNbu91T5i1HptfBES7UztnA6NqidKgbgRlEkASkBT7sHb9sP8AcSVuRt1pbrtimZptgpYd5dQY9-uvLrzWVHQfAJIsdyBy7m5dfAtEMQCrLPqsilEZST6w/s320/chapati.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179884719748599186" /></a><br />I heart <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapati">chapati</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWBTAsDcI0l0V-VgYTvicjMlAc6ozyh03l1B0tEda_em8Z1Yke-kfmICAH_7Nv6hXLm6xEHghJhrt6WU188saUo713QwmP2KVLGcMl4-W_zI-nYrsJ7DUIocElvOAxjIdjVXegKPSWkwA/s1600-h/inner+wheel.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWBTAsDcI0l0V-VgYTvicjMlAc6ozyh03l1B0tEda_em8Z1Yke-kfmICAH_7Nv6hXLm6xEHghJhrt6WU188saUo713QwmP2KVLGcMl4-W_zI-nYrsJ7DUIocElvOAxjIdjVXegKPSWkwA/s320/inner+wheel.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179884358971346306" /></a><br />Mapusa's beautiful <span style="font-style:italic;">Inner Wheel</span>.<br /><br />I packed all my stuff when I got back home, as we are leaving tomorrow morning for Margao. Unfortunately, I am wide awake. Must have been all the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thums_Up">Thums Up</a> I drank. [Buuurrpp]The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-17069216583200076222008-03-19T11:42:00.000-07:002008-03-20T07:40:04.537-07:00Wednesday, 6 February - 6:30 AMWow! Yesterday turned out to be another of the most amazing days on the trip!<br /><br />I woke up feeling weak and wobbly, but got steadily better throughout the day. I had breakfast with my hosts, Sujit and Alpana, and Sujit recommended that I skip the team's activities for the day and rest up until I felt better. So I went back and chilled in my room for a couple hours.<br /><br /> It turns out that Misty and I have the same thing, although I have a considerably milder case. She came down with the fever the same night as me, but has been so sick that her hosts took her to the hospital. They diagnosed her with an intestinal infection and also gave her a chest X-ray, as her bronchitis is still pretty bad. <br /><br />So I'm thinking it was something we both ate or drank at the conference. Misty does not drink alcohol, so perhaps it wasn't the crappy wine I drank Sunday after all. In fact, the booze may have <span style="font-style:italic;">saved</span> me from getting sicker by killing off the bugs. Yay, alcohol!!<br /><br />Around 11:00 AM, Sujit took me to their family farm (lots of people here seem to have family farms) where they grow bananas, mangoes, cashews and all kinds of other stuff. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMeisiWhk3Fwlp4DO4btmQ8_8zwgMLZPULfIrMdUMkV6C7QmndPzprV7ydddPwNgvqoZgxsJglo5mxcbGPfjnpz-XPKU6aPqVkzXcjnW3uga_e6p3J8S7y7yZmq46GFSSmuPQq1Ph1rfU/s1600-h/banana+trees.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMeisiWhk3Fwlp4DO4btmQ8_8zwgMLZPULfIrMdUMkV6C7QmndPzprV7ydddPwNgvqoZgxsJglo5mxcbGPfjnpz-XPKU6aPqVkzXcjnW3uga_e6p3J8S7y7yZmq46GFSSmuPQq1Ph1rfU/s320/banana+trees.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179535672051420258" /></a><br />Coconut trees.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8NLKS3gBl5JsdoYMwKnPOaMb7KtrgH1l8Tl2Z4rDeWwuDtSSkK2LfmIgR0jkLv3Jg0GiQ5T7OpQsYgDt0bGH3GZEYZ19c5vfjubYd93NFgISSHl5F8aBm2Ey92MYUBMeRAiv6QNqH7eY/s1600-h/cashew.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8NLKS3gBl5JsdoYMwKnPOaMb7KtrgH1l8Tl2Z4rDeWwuDtSSkK2LfmIgR0jkLv3Jg0GiQ5T7OpQsYgDt0bGH3GZEYZ19c5vfjubYd93NFgISSHl5F8aBm2Ey92MYUBMeRAiv6QNqH7eY/s320/cashew.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179535813785341042" /></a><br />Future cashew nut.<br /><br />We ran a couple errands and stopped to visit Misty at the hospital. She was so dehydrated that she took <span style="font-weight:bold;">14</span> IV bags! We came back to the house around 12:30 and I took a small nap. Alpana came in around 1:30 and we sat and chatted for a while. She's really nice!<br /><br />I had lunch with Alpana and her in-laws, who also live with them. They're in their 70's and very active. They also speak very good English. Their daughter lives in Boston, so they have been to the U.S. several times. I enjoyed talking with them, and had a very nice afternoon at home.<br /><br />Around 4:00, Sujit took me to the bank to try and get my ATM card back. Once again, it was retained so they had to keep it and send it to some main branch for investigation or something. I don't know what or why it happened, and the beautiful thing is... I really don't care! It's out of my hands so it's not worth worrying about.<br /><br />Sujit apologized, and I just smiled and said, "No problem!" He laughed and said he was glad to see I had adopted an Indian perspective on the situation.<br /><br />After the bank, we got to see the entire <a href="http://www.festivalsofindia.in/Goa/">Carnival</a> parade... by walking down the inside of the parade route! It was quite memorable! As we were walking, Sujit turned to me and said, "I do not think we are supposed to be here. But no one has stopped us so they must think we belong here!" It was pretty funny.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXN4IGmg1acIpkA8qZbFWlLbEyGmadJv8E3grFr_LpWqtcaVTr_18Y8F6CaybWA-jP2AJevTw3_vml5oSDgpWu6-1Pb9-chraAQTAzVe_ArR-IoBY1_nFkQhqTrodZEG12P_DW9LdHLEQ/s1600-h/parade.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXN4IGmg1acIpkA8qZbFWlLbEyGmadJv8E3grFr_LpWqtcaVTr_18Y8F6CaybWA-jP2AJevTw3_vml5oSDgpWu6-1Pb9-chraAQTAzVe_ArR-IoBY1_nFkQhqTrodZEG12P_DW9LdHLEQ/s320/parade.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179536041418607746" /></a><br />Watching the parade...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcaLvIVmcC8Zh_xEJ3zk4ceycah1bm0MUDKzX1HEh928AIOR7FYczKFjJlBGztMe8_x_UeUGDja820DMDVvgoC62J3PR85NoIOOmiaL5GSq-j2HzvLo8kkkqSwpPPJIr6tqiaZy1SjDQ/s1600-h/parade2.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcaLvIVmcC8Zh_xEJ3zk4ceycah1bm0MUDKzX1HEh928AIOR7FYczKFjJlBGztMe8_x_UeUGDja820DMDVvgoC62J3PR85NoIOOmiaL5GSq-j2HzvLo8kkkqSwpPPJIr6tqiaZy1SjDQ/s320/parade2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179536191742463122" /></a><br />... from the inside!<br /><br />We bought some fruit at the market (mangoes and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapodilla">chickoo</a>) <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihWVBP2UcdEbjpNvC9ajmwzX8f6drJauwrJLVsyNX8SVG_MoE81wPCXFDs3ffROa2WRckwFgPJBOxoof6TRhofKSz3DeFKbIbBZgxg8JYOIyTjGPrAo-0V09OSg7q9oBGNWW_Vas36NI/s1600-h/market.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihWVBP2UcdEbjpNvC9ajmwzX8f6drJauwrJLVsyNX8SVG_MoE81wPCXFDs3ffROa2WRckwFgPJBOxoof6TRhofKSz3DeFKbIbBZgxg8JYOIyTjGPrAo-0V09OSg7q9oBGNWW_Vas36NI/s320/market.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179536367836122274" /></a><br /><br />and then went over to Baga Beach and walked for a while. We talked about all sorts of great things - from religion and marriage, to morals and karma. Sujit is a very laid back, awesome guy. Very open, and he has a great laugh.<br /><br />After talking with him about the GSE program, my thoughts were confirmed. It's not supposed to be a <span style="font-weight:bold;">vacation</span> - the whole point is to understand a different culture from the true, inside family point of view. All along on this trip, my favorite times have been spent getting to know my host families. It's not about shopping or sightseeing or clubbing at the beach.<br /><br />All of a sudden, my JOY returned and I was back in India!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIin1uWFKrjHLN3KAmOVVyBfFRmBvryzOIzBODge99vF7FmEEa-H4FAHlmMP3UB5Yxf9DV6EnVlMBELezEsHqlJtOUYWNzuaz8PUEaVXat_a5byqT6vthbVT1VY-JcdF0d2u_glJtzvA/s1600-h/baga.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIin1uWFKrjHLN3KAmOVVyBfFRmBvryzOIzBODge99vF7FmEEa-H4FAHlmMP3UB5Yxf9DV6EnVlMBELezEsHqlJtOUYWNzuaz8PUEaVXat_a5byqT6vthbVT1VY-JcdF0d2u_glJtzvA/s320/baga.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179536509570043058" /></a><br />Sunset at Baga Beach.<br /><br />When we got back home, Alpana taught me how to make <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paneer">paneer</a> and it actually seems pretty easy! I am totally gonna try it when I get home. It's one of my new favorite foods.<br /><br />I hung out a bunch with their kids. They have a 12 year-old daughter named Rujuta who is absolutely brilliant. She's a dancer and an artist. She also writes poetry and devours college-level literature, and her command of language and emotion is eons beyond any 12 year-old I have ever met.<br /><br />They also have a 5 year-old son named Anuj, and he is hilarious. He reminds me of my nephew, Nick. And for as quiet and studious as Rujuta is, Anuj is goofy and rambunctious. He did sit and read me the story of T<span style="font-style:italic;">he Elves and the Shoemaker</span>, which was pretty awesome.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEFeKpb1_qv9ViuCkCbrcwA6LRHo5Kno9Ai475vYn4w0tq3-Br54KX6VZx2hpvPSVrJaggbjkLqKb_j9z70hmgexq9k4bPYkhkX1vc2wWZazOU32_JcbgOQLO99lnjRmszWiVrNww0v8/s1600-h/reading.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEFeKpb1_qv9ViuCkCbrcwA6LRHo5Kno9Ai475vYn4w0tq3-Br54KX6VZx2hpvPSVrJaggbjkLqKb_j9z70hmgexq9k4bPYkhkX1vc2wWZazOU32_JcbgOQLO99lnjRmszWiVrNww0v8/s320/reading.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179536793037884610" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfg9KmbKFuoBbIwo0ZAt87eilr4HKSowCSw6-F7BdpnlUEHuY07KeDL77Yowt9rycYwJg1ylOwVLAvYxqQFt9xbgVxv8CQ4rST6N4B9x4k2OHUusQPkqeWdmKiBYEwbuJhWrGQmyg8IU/s1600-h/R&A.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfg9KmbKFuoBbIwo0ZAt87eilr4HKSowCSw6-F7BdpnlUEHuY07KeDL77Yowt9rycYwJg1ylOwVLAvYxqQFt9xbgVxv8CQ4rST6N4B9x4k2OHUusQPkqeWdmKiBYEwbuJhWrGQmyg8IU/s320/R&A.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179537037851020498" /></a><br />Rujuta and Anuj.<br /><br />We all had dinner together and then later in the evening, Alpana did some incredible <a href="http://www.mehendiworld.com/whatismehendi.htm">Mehendi</a> on me. She said she loves to do it and has been practicing since she was a little girl.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiYAXnDZ8w0AU-ESELwlSz7W06HNodkEhCFsznQP9kugdP47VdW8zhVCkY9f94_EHHJPaHeA7TLimbh5kaLIetky-nERJuxtqhYQM_o1IScpQGDdeywsbkhQy9WtIrwlZWFa0H2RpvXXA/s1600-h/alpana.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiYAXnDZ8w0AU-ESELwlSz7W06HNodkEhCFsznQP9kugdP47VdW8zhVCkY9f94_EHHJPaHeA7TLimbh5kaLIetky-nERJuxtqhYQM_o1IScpQGDdeywsbkhQy9WtIrwlZWFa0H2RpvXXA/s320/alpana.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179537523182324978" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-z9WdCUVN3kgLsfk9cd1Kp5ON0GUUgIXgSYyELjloGSbZi7Or4fZnuiauVNT5LpD0zoB2ZmqmSmayAerngzCRvT6Smet5GYUQNHBF3heeZmrfysYk7UQRuiC1CMsJw095q6VcRGQIAIM/s1600-h/mehendi.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-z9WdCUVN3kgLsfk9cd1Kp5ON0GUUgIXgSYyELjloGSbZi7Or4fZnuiauVNT5LpD0zoB2ZmqmSmayAerngzCRvT6Smet5GYUQNHBF3heeZmrfysYk7UQRuiC1CMsJw095q6VcRGQIAIM/s320/mehendi.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179537892549512450" /></a><br /><br />When she finished, she let me do some on her, such a brave woman! Mine wasn't quite as good as hers, and it seemed to evolve from a sea monster, to a turkey and then a peacock. Alpana was a very good sport.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8qtcotLTtBK5Q8jakNat7bfMDrcla15p3G5sd62yX6vdiw4kHltDkWVnKHnwrKSHF3d8tsnLKfTKwb-MqvQU_QWuzwIgnkoDW5r4wF8egER9MBT40jzsW-QHdteJJ2nD450Xz35-Pao/s1600-h/hands.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8qtcotLTtBK5Q8jakNat7bfMDrcla15p3G5sd62yX6vdiw4kHltDkWVnKHnwrKSHF3d8tsnLKfTKwb-MqvQU_QWuzwIgnkoDW5r4wF8egER9MBT40jzsW-QHdteJJ2nD450Xz35-Pao/s320/hands.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179538107297877266" /></a><br />Guess who's who?<br /><br />I finally got to bed around midnight, but it was so worth it. And for the first time in over a week, I slept through the night. Yesterday was the first day in over three weeks that I didn't see any of my team members (except for when we visited Misty) and the best part is, I felt totally safe, content and happy... surrounded by my newest family.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqTPdT1vzqRIZ-baU0LfMwHz19Mc3BQ9LUjBB1zTkLW3qxhW0UlE35dI8aX_NdHQ1wGvG_AWdAN9rCH9DU43ObTMN2vo0hEIxuDbmpHFw6Y-6Mksq7dZpGMsU9r_m5csvintvjEAehfI/s1600-h/dinner.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqTPdT1vzqRIZ-baU0LfMwHz19Mc3BQ9LUjBB1zTkLW3qxhW0UlE35dI8aX_NdHQ1wGvG_AWdAN9rCH9DU43ObTMN2vo0hEIxuDbmpHFw6Y-6Mksq7dZpGMsU9r_m5csvintvjEAehfI/s320/dinner.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179537295549058274" /></a>The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-66505165740638612502008-03-18T11:30:00.000-07:002008-03-18T11:40:46.001-07:00Tuesday, 5 February - 7:30 AMWell, I had my first bout of India illness for sure. I could feel the "fever chills" when we set out for the evening's events. Fortunately, the driver was able to bring me back to my host's house around 6:00 PM, and I climbed into bed. A couple hours later, Alpana (my host's wife) came in and took my temperature. It was 101° and the diarrhea was non-stop.<br /><br />As if she somehow knew, Poonam called me from Gadag to see how I was doing, so we chatted for a bit and I told her I was sick. She said she wished I could get back to Gadag so they could take care of me. I tossed and turned all night, with horrible chills and bizarre fever dreams. My hosts actually have a TV here in the bedroom, so I watched a little TV. I woke up this morning covered in sweat, so I think my fever has finally broken.<br /><br />Just took a shower and am feeling weak and wobbly - probably pretty dehydrated. I'm actually feeling hungry for the first time in a couple days, so I guess that's a good sign. Not sure what's on the agenda for today... maybe visiting some Rotary projects? I suppose if I had to be sick, I picked a pretty good time. Souvenir shopping, clubbing and lounging on the beach really don't interest me too much. Ah well.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-22330625271957589172008-03-17T11:21:00.000-07:002008-03-17T12:20:31.872-07:00Monday, 4 February - 4:00 PMJust got back after our first bout of sight-seeing in Goa. Rajani, one of the Indian GSE team members took us all around. She's really awesome. A gorgeous, 30-year old lawyer with a super-bubbly personality. Rajiv has a huge crush on her but sadly, she's engaged and will be moving to Australia with her new husband this summer.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYHgEQFovBvzFwtUnGHG2axovVbV4pkYCTpAFvrOVWTDcbC3iRA3fzN1IA9ZCHHabiM49N3PThI5js-JLfvXsqjk-kL9jElT-Lfm49T8-1TlCduSECHw1rMVDBq8y3sNAZsgpPxNkkmiw/s1600-h/R&R.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYHgEQFovBvzFwtUnGHG2axovVbV4pkYCTpAFvrOVWTDcbC3iRA3fzN1IA9ZCHHabiM49N3PThI5js-JLfvXsqjk-kL9jElT-Lfm49T8-1TlCduSECHw1rMVDBq8y3sNAZsgpPxNkkmiw/s320/R&R.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178788320309295266" /></a><br />Rajani and Rajiv (in his glory)<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa">Goa</a> is the only state in India that wasn't settled by the British. It was settled by the Portuguese and so there is a lot of Portuguese influence in the architecture, music and religion - hence the large population of Roman Catholics and their cathedrals. Our first stop was to one such cathedral,<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgKQotVriFQPu3uJswhT32DtV3Z31E-S_x6AItwTnSYmVupJwExATcpBxmYde1BqTJ10iTa01mOGk8Xiknzl0SxNvNPdSeUAmkJqWiKuSnOGzbd8rdsLHzSgWR0vLxPId8mgIipVGHXo/s1600-h/church.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgKQotVriFQPu3uJswhT32DtV3Z31E-S_x6AItwTnSYmVupJwExATcpBxmYde1BqTJ10iTa01mOGk8Xiknzl0SxNvNPdSeUAmkJqWiKuSnOGzbd8rdsLHzSgWR0vLxPId8mgIipVGHXo/s320/church.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178788655316744370" /></a><br /><br />and then we went to the High Court of Bombay where Rajani practices law.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_HUxLhD3ddjzgyNloGRg3fd3wVYWo2opJlh3Hume88rYqMu19xN9AJgwgN4Mx8CSnYKXp5ncZ-4hPYkSYIMh4QyIIdckwXkQPYgl3kPO9pluReaepHA40xhbPSc3J0XqdGtgQKD2jXI/s1600-h/High+Court,+Panaji,+Goa+2.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_HUxLhD3ddjzgyNloGRg3fd3wVYWo2opJlh3Hume88rYqMu19xN9AJgwgN4Mx8CSnYKXp5ncZ-4hPYkSYIMh4QyIIdckwXkQPYgl3kPO9pluReaepHA40xhbPSc3J0XqdGtgQKD2jXI/s320/High+Court,+Panaji,+Goa+2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178788775575828674" /></a><br /><br />After that, we went up to this beautiful overlook called Dona Paula and absorbed the beauty of the Indian Ocean.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjWe3UJmFyvcQW6kRHLclI0h9ov77JHQo4JUgog033eLjMvQlafL1Yqt4U7wZTXWovGbpLODxBAEnK77gQwST1ZLf7w1VGWTiDckA9GKsIoNsLHR2tIvkiTOzUlfweq4WGp5AyOLdPdg/s1600-h/palms.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjWe3UJmFyvcQW6kRHLclI0h9ov77JHQo4JUgog033eLjMvQlafL1Yqt4U7wZTXWovGbpLODxBAEnK77gQwST1ZLf7w1VGWTiDckA9GKsIoNsLHR2tIvkiTOzUlfweq4WGp5AyOLdPdg/s320/palms.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178790115605625074" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CpaqFISxxY7yiljBUaD7JpWvFWoL1F6SYrHXlpcR5DnCWmW6VjI8eM1KgBiryARh6-fWlsMakPq4AMMoK975yY-oC6xcefs_loPJnYZjpAsG_INg4O6BlirRSMIHAS7RNhVb9K1uWgE/s1600-h/boats.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CpaqFISxxY7yiljBUaD7JpWvFWoL1F6SYrHXlpcR5DnCWmW6VjI8eM1KgBiryARh6-fWlsMakPq4AMMoK975yY-oC6xcefs_loPJnYZjpAsG_INg4O6BlirRSMIHAS7RNhVb9K1uWgE/s320/boats.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178790248749611266" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6E1rEaPXVOTbBnP5NIitWHgqzRl_71vfFVyNOL0HFiEKKE6X9gzDrfI1tcdEIGypqa8FXJhMM5rHw_9C8rEqJechfAxj8H-rbgSc0IkQe52NeFi9FMGRr1mJ9WMipaggm0WAfFSUGsU/s1600-h/overlook.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6E1rEaPXVOTbBnP5NIitWHgqzRl_71vfFVyNOL0HFiEKKE6X9gzDrfI1tcdEIGypqa8FXJhMM5rHw_9C8rEqJechfAxj8H-rbgSc0IkQe52NeFi9FMGRr1mJ9WMipaggm0WAfFSUGsU/s320/overlook.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178788913014782162" /></a><br /><br />On our way back to the car, we saw a tiny, starving street puppy. Rajani - the animal lover - stopped and bought some biscuits to feed it. She's really the first person I've seen even acknowledge the street dogs.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiL_ZtVN8Sets5xvhwA8Z0tPqBjdzO70_2MI3Hk_H7U4e6WqTpFQQVSXRXDKqNm2QTHC65hj6UoWKpsqy9kdVNr9N_TNWgq8gdtvUGg3l28oLCJeF0bksjaCLLpoQbFkvFivqn68m2k0U/s1600-h/puppy.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiL_ZtVN8Sets5xvhwA8Z0tPqBjdzO70_2MI3Hk_H7U4e6WqTpFQQVSXRXDKqNm2QTHC65hj6UoWKpsqy9kdVNr9N_TNWgq8gdtvUGg3l28oLCJeF0bksjaCLLpoQbFkvFivqn68m2k0U/s320/puppy.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178789037568833762" /></a><br /><br />We stopped at an ATM to get some cash and for some reason, my card was retained. It wasn't supposed to have expired until March 1. I have to go back to the bank tomorrow and can hopefully recover it.<br /><br />We met up with some of the Goa Rotarians for lunch and I just had a little bit of rice. My stomach is still quite queasy from yesterday's escapades. In fact, I had my first bout of diarrhea since I got here. It probably was the Gobi Manchurian. And the booze.<br /><br />I think we're leaving again around 5:30 to do more sight-seeing and to visit a beach. Rajani wants to take us to a club tonight, but I think I will skip it. Clubs aren't really my scene and I just don't feel 100%<br /><br />I dunno. Goa is definitely beautiful, but it feels like when we left Hubli - we left <span style="font-style:italic;">India</span>. I really feel like I'm in another country. Which is okay. But for me, it's been more about the beauty and the hearts of the people in India and less about the <span style="font-style:italic;">vacation</span> aspect. It's cool though. It was kind of like my first trip to Sedona: even though I went on to Tucson and California afterwards, for me, the trip seemed to end when I left the beautiful people I met in Sedona. <br /><br />If I could, I think I would go back and spend the remaining days here in Gadag. I got a text message from Mohan this morning via Rajiv's phone. He wanted to let me know that I was always welcome to come back to India and stay with his family. God, I would love to come back with Wolf someday.<br /><br />I can't believe I'm homesick for a place I've only just been to! I dunno... maybe I <span style="font-style:italic;">haven't</span> just been there this one time. Maybe Poonam was right the very first time we met, when she said she felt like she already knew me. I can't explain this - it's like Sedona all over again. That <span style="font-style:italic;">familiarity</span>... as if I'd been there before. I miss my "family" so much it's tearing my heart out. What the hell?<br /><br />Man, my stomach feels really crappy. Maybe I'll try to sleep for a little bit.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-18982321553909594492008-03-15T07:21:00.000-07:002008-03-15T08:09:15.079-07:00Monday, 4 February - 7:30 AMSomehow I've ended up in Goa... but I don't really remember too much of the journey.<br /><br />We made our presentation at the conference yesterday morning and, although scheduled for 9:00, it didn't commence until around 11:00 (ah, that <span style="font-style:italic;">Indian Standard Time</span>!) The place was packed - there had to be over 1,500 Rotarians there - and I was so glad I got the chance to read my speech.<br /><br />I had written about my experiences along the way: the people I'd met, the projects we'd seen. I wrote about the spiritual transformation that had taken place (and was still taking place) inside of me. My change of perspective, my change in priorities. I closed saying, "Three weeks ago I came to India as an American. And in ten days, I'll be honored to return to America as an Indian."<br /><br />After our presentation, the guys from Gadag kind of kidnapped us (quite literally - they got us into the car and wouldn't tell us where they were taking us) and we ended up at the Cotton County Club - basically the equivalent to a country club in the U.S.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5DKsp9Whwv-xwwKv5abTqgVRD1sXrcc-JdkZWRVP8LXvzqsBBNz-SwMPj2454XzLfEAcyfk2dJcPqyZVJYQWYtrqmVcf3sIPJ9xwHDQ5BzafCFilXkg2xEdiMAkPSvSL_znMEuG3i2c/s1600-h/ccc.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5DKsp9Whwv-xwwKv5abTqgVRD1sXrcc-JdkZWRVP8LXvzqsBBNz-SwMPj2454XzLfEAcyfk2dJcPqyZVJYQWYtrqmVcf3sIPJ9xwHDQ5BzafCFilXkg2xEdiMAkPSvSL_znMEuG3i2c/s320/ccc.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177981553652414498" /></a><br /><br />It had a swimming pool, squash courts and a big restaurant. We all sat at this big table overlooking the pool and commenced drinking.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtwNbmviBl4rF7-qdTrKgfPQSEW6lfwVqUumbiRWN5dsljArG4lSQ1jJauiwqXVRXm9RMLMxFRhcVQWfDjTtT4PWMnZA96JjK5JYHa6AHpMLk5fsOUdUgz-wMogt2WURUAaaKXN9JWn38/s1600-h/toast.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtwNbmviBl4rF7-qdTrKgfPQSEW6lfwVqUumbiRWN5dsljArG4lSQ1jJauiwqXVRXm9RMLMxFRhcVQWfDjTtT4PWMnZA96JjK5JYHa6AHpMLk5fsOUdUgz-wMogt2WURUAaaKXN9JWn38/s320/toast.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177981781285681202" /></a><br /><br />I had about four-too many glasses of wine and a bit too much <a href="http://recipejunction.blogspot.com/2006/12/gobi-manchurian.html">Gobi Manchurian</a>. I vaguely remember having awesome philosophical discussions with Mohan about many different topics ranging from the meaning of life, to how people make arranged marriages work. It was just a really great time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BqKiI2Pm-Z4bOhHCBhwRgGTgr1HVK_olIvrFTrOExNLAfBO9dXSLgcsBezttoDO6D43Br2jwdyJAyymolgZCD1i2kDnJDe_9Qjf8w2v7pmA61eyzrjwAODSPhoVUI2rcWlmb2a2dmG8/s1600-h/mohan.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BqKiI2Pm-Z4bOhHCBhwRgGTgr1HVK_olIvrFTrOExNLAfBO9dXSLgcsBezttoDO6D43Br2jwdyJAyymolgZCD1i2kDnJDe_9Qjf8w2v7pmA61eyzrjwAODSPhoVUI2rcWlmb2a2dmG8/s320/mohan.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177982481365350482" /></a><br />My philosophical buddy.<br /><br />At some point, we made our way back to the conference hall and met up with our hosts. I somehow managed to pack all my stuff (though I don't remember the actual packing procedure) and Ashwin's wife, Neeta, took me back to the hall. I remember stopping at a lake with her for some reason (although only after seeing the picture on my camera!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZFBCCRoj3EzpKuBi7e-zhUiuCES4v_bUKe8fIQDo-8c6UTKEkEzMmDg0vPzQ44XZq2krFfU9Sbd2LyuHTdljZ6F5Mg8Biy5DVMsjilqdshA18fySu7JQ_hTt4is5-bIPogvwXi9ryJY/s1600-h/lake%3F.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZFBCCRoj3EzpKuBi7e-zhUiuCES4v_bUKe8fIQDo-8c6UTKEkEzMmDg0vPzQ44XZq2krFfU9Sbd2LyuHTdljZ6F5Mg8Biy5DVMsjilqdshA18fySu7JQ_hTt4is5-bIPogvwXi9ryJY/s320/lake%3F.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177982318156593218" /></a><br />Umm... lake?<br /><br />We all piled into two separate vehicles - Misty, Elizabeth and Rajiv in one, me and Bernie in the other - and set sail for Goa.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAB05cuqHDOOAuao_7F3B78fSBJmZ05uNN904fynd3OwVBt5TetHGxY0lxF1q5JivvHyfomTgCrhNFcJ7Y7TdfUgH7hyLluqHFp6bcZ3xA2BeGkrIU7G0X2qFgmQ9glWDag3wQIRvwgqY/s1600-h/r&e.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAB05cuqHDOOAuao_7F3B78fSBJmZ05uNN904fynd3OwVBt5TetHGxY0lxF1q5JivvHyfomTgCrhNFcJ7Y7TdfUgH7hyLluqHFp6bcZ3xA2BeGkrIU7G0X2qFgmQ9glWDag3wQIRvwgqY/s320/r&e.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177983688251160722" /></a><br />"What the..?"<br /><br />The roads were terrible and I started feeling sicker and sicker. I vaguely remember stopping while the drivers fixed a flat tire from the bumps in the road...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PkPH1dZo-eqO3Dob3jGN_SZvnmiqi8ElNxkaxExqQhu0q0A2YuVeG9OxGeNm59fKRKYqquWGgXstJFGvRSv2hd5DRSWx6lOxQnxCtrelXq4Pv_4X3stBNVBShHlwRxQn3j-YoaTn3vM/s1600-h/tire.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PkPH1dZo-eqO3Dob3jGN_SZvnmiqi8ElNxkaxExqQhu0q0A2YuVeG9OxGeNm59fKRKYqquWGgXstJFGvRSv2hd5DRSWx6lOxQnxCtrelXq4Pv_4X3stBNVBShHlwRxQn3j-YoaTn3vM/s320/tire.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177982816372799586" /></a><br /><br />... and then stopping in Belgaum. This is where the Gobi Manchurian came back to haunt me.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReWNDrKt2hVvpM-0DuMt26OTkOXs31B8Vp-v8T6iSZv3A479bIfP8LTnzoDQvvXKwrCdhZ0YErzbIYy1TuqHRztmF_QgfghGGEQZ-aOGOn-K05_nlrFzt6r3eb_5npILZA5YjbUkCEp8/s1600-h/toilets.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReWNDrKt2hVvpM-0DuMt26OTkOXs31B8Vp-v8T6iSZv3A479bIfP8LTnzoDQvvXKwrCdhZ0YErzbIYy1TuqHRztmF_QgfghGGEQZ-aOGOn-K05_nlrFzt6r3eb_5npILZA5YjbUkCEp8/s320/toilets.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177982983876524146" /></a><br />Door #1 - Hole in the floor.<br />Door #2 - Gobi Manchurian reprise.<br />(Thanks for the photo, Misty!!)<br /><br />So now I am officially done drinking for the rest of the trip. While it was a lot of fun hanging out, I feel like I missed an entire day. And India is just too good to miss.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT5bhMgyjFTQf5Z-0qiDXwUaU1ctIOodQDyQpGaQ4g7W6K_GAg4hU8bGj3MKU__cOO8Yhyphenhyphenl3glds-DWSRbnJU2cAOg0Q8ouT6E6zvzcM0jY3V3O90LLiatcfWwBFmJIxmZ7CPx2XW6l4/s1600-h/wine.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT5bhMgyjFTQf5Z-0qiDXwUaU1ctIOodQDyQpGaQ4g7W6K_GAg4hU8bGj3MKU__cOO8Yhyphenhyphenl3glds-DWSRbnJU2cAOg0Q8ouT6E6zvzcM0jY3V3O90LLiatcfWwBFmJIxmZ7CPx2XW6l4/s320/wine.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177983473502795906" /></a><br />Evil in a bottle. No more for me.<br /><br />I'm in Mapusa, Goa now. It's amazingly beautiful!! Goa is on the southwest coast of India and is a big tourist destination for Indians and Europeans. The weather is a little more humid and there are palm trees everywhere. It's as if, during my drunken stupor, I left India and woke up in some other country.<br /><br />Not sure what our plans are for today. I still feel a little crappy. I think I met my host family last night but I don't remember too much about them. I guess I ought to go and meet them again.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-91244525008571667382008-03-14T10:31:00.000-07:002008-03-14T11:29:22.169-07:00Sunday 3, February - 6:30 AMDay #2 of the conference was pretty good. I went over with my host around 10 AM, but first we stopped at his textile shop and I got to check my email. Yay email!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzq_y0TDVh14L9R6VpwdjStYUP3WincUKwiG_njk05EnLlqYA9QLXHXKDFofLavtlTwN1qx6KKB4zJ5ELZprM8vmTObOFPyvnXWACI_9eqmSCaSd59IE62enCPZStka7KnMB0xWu7bvY/s1600-h/tea.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzq_y0TDVh14L9R6VpwdjStYUP3WincUKwiG_njk05EnLlqYA9QLXHXKDFofLavtlTwN1qx6KKB4zJ5ELZprM8vmTObOFPyvnXWACI_9eqmSCaSd59IE62enCPZStka7KnMB0xWu7bvY/s400/tea.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177662862784083986" /></a>At the conference, I met up with the team and a couple of the hosts took us shopping at <span style="font-style:italic;">SuperSaver</span> - which was like the Indian-equivalent of WalMart. I finally found the Brooke Bond Natural Care tea powder and bought a couple boxes to take home.<br /><br />Lunch back at the conference was a neat experience. Everyone was seated in this big tent, and the food was served on giant banana leaves by shirtless boys. Hmm.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFs_pkikRPFuQDPsi5BBICcnbMWzzF2T-nipK9BwvSz3fEYIxLPuxW-s0lGdSYxv_olMVI-s3Z3TJal6JmhTu-0AMGgurHBFcwBmv9eUllFHxFM1liIu57MiP006_vq8Mhc-ryQLhsXI4/s1600-h/lunch.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFs_pkikRPFuQDPsi5BBICcnbMWzzF2T-nipK9BwvSz3fEYIxLPuxW-s0lGdSYxv_olMVI-s3Z3TJal6JmhTu-0AMGgurHBFcwBmv9eUllFHxFM1liIu57MiP006_vq8Mhc-ryQLhsXI4/s320/lunch.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177660539206776786" /></a><br /><br />After lunch we went back to the house for some rest and then got cleaned up for the evening. I dressed in the salwar kameez that Poonam had given me and we went back to the conference at 6 PM.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggBGrafnbDsDVCM29-he21D4thD_eqBMNZ2zpHSd10qdSErI2eaOh2IeQjZJnY5BT-uip5rLWYosXWz_usLnPfrba4LC7T9G39piIG3wXLISTkTQOdMMm1r6VKmcWlQj2YVc10yfiRZ0I/s1600-h/s.k..JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggBGrafnbDsDVCM29-he21D4thD_eqBMNZ2zpHSd10qdSErI2eaOh2IeQjZJnY5BT-uip5rLWYosXWz_usLnPfrba4LC7T9G39piIG3wXLISTkTQOdMMm1r6VKmcWlQj2YVc10yfiRZ0I/s320/s.k..JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177661295121020898" /></a><br /><br />I got to catch a great session by a woman named <a href="http://www.vedantavision.com/jaya_row.html">Jaya Row</a>, who talked about the Vedantic Vision. It's all about the concept of "oneness" and draws on texts from the vedas of the Bhagavad Gita (Indian sacred scripture). I bought one of her books - I know Wolf will love reading about something so similar to his own writings and philosophies.<br /><br />After the session, a 20-something Rotarian came up and introduced himself and we talked for a little while. He was a little bit of a close-talker and I got a creepy vibe. He asked if I wanted to go with him to hear one of his friends play music today but (fortunately!) we have no time, as we are leaving for Goa in the afternoon.<br /><br />Elizabeth, Rajiv and I were having some dinner, when Rajiv received a phone call from the Gadag guys. They were in the fellowship hall and were wondering where we were. As we were heading towards the tent, the creepy guy found me and made me go to the cultural program with him.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTWR5RvRgmCYsoUhEMwynwrhSePBPvVCHW4M8rFUx5Px4uXLfxiPsTFlgxu_t0OSTXL4e55qUJyaewo_pkiX-ln-uuvRgVU9CTWrFT7lgP6ExJ8Z8_my1T2YtBWLCnBAARt9NKYRLwTw/s1600-h/dancers.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTWR5RvRgmCYsoUhEMwynwrhSePBPvVCHW4M8rFUx5Px4uXLfxiPsTFlgxu_t0OSTXL4e55qUJyaewo_pkiX-ln-uuvRgVU9CTWrFT7lgP6ExJ8Z8_my1T2YtBWLCnBAARt9NKYRLwTw/s320/dancers.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177661471214680050" /></a><br />Posing with cultural dancers.<br /><br />I got to see my host and his wife take part in a traditional folk dance, which was pretty neat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39cbMhLmBQLe1_cSz7XvZ_M0wGjBLY9dYvOCN699-ZnXn5DMdRVNFwjmJIwASXZdSeYAL4KdAhjRCAi67FyoglBwuUaqtxzYVwcYPhWM1e3JsP74jTOIpBTwF0ux_gM1mQIZyKF2tP_Q/s1600-h/hosts.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39cbMhLmBQLe1_cSz7XvZ_M0wGjBLY9dYvOCN699-ZnXn5DMdRVNFwjmJIwASXZdSeYAL4KdAhjRCAi67FyoglBwuUaqtxzYVwcYPhWM1e3JsP74jTOIpBTwF0ux_gM1mQIZyKF2tP_Q/s320/hosts.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177661651603306498" /></a><br />Ashwin and Neeta.<br /><br />Then, Creepy Guy's mobile phone rang. When he excused himself to go take the call, I seized the opportunity to make my get-away! I made it safely to the beer tent where everyone was already having a good time. We chatted and danced a bit, but by that time, most of the Rotarians were already quite drunk. All the different clubs were trying to get us to come over to their tables, until finally the Gadag guys helped us find our hosts to go home. I think they were a little embarrassed by the rowdiness.<br /><br />It's weird how people have treated us so differently here - like we're from another planet or something (I guess technically we <span style="font-style:italic;">are</span> aliens) - but especially at the conference. Complete strangers wanted to take pictures with us, and when we went onto the dance floor, we were mobbed. It's weird... but perhaps a little flattering, too!<br /><br />I found my hosts and - lo and behold - Creepy Guy was also there. He asked, "Where did you go?" Umm...<br /><br />On the way back to the house, Ashwin pulled the car over and stopped by a gang of young guys hanging out on a street corner. One of the guys came over to the window and my host handed him some rupees. I wondered what the hell was going on, when Ashwin turned around and asked, "Jenny -- do you want some <a href="http://www.paan.com/index.html">paan</a>?" <br /><br />Ack! I respectfully declined, telling him I had tried it once and wasn't a big fan of the paan. The young guy came back and handed him a couple paans and we drove off. It was just like a drug deal or something. What the hell is it about paan?!<br /><br />I went to sleep around midnight and slept very soundly. There's been a cricket singing outside my window the entire night. It's really quite soothing. I'm supposed to meet the team around 8:30 this morning. Our presentation is scheduled for 9:00 (which means at least 10:30, Indian Standard Time). The Gadag guys said something last night about taking us out afterwards, so we'll see. I'm a little sad that the conference is already almost over. Soon we'll be in Goa.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-58493565794303148592008-03-13T09:32:00.000-07:002008-03-13T09:57:47.131-07:00Saturday, 2 February - 8:00 AMWell the conference hath begun! We arrived yesterday around 4:00, all dressed in our Indian clothes. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qQ-lpSR4CoPK-Zwv05MBt44t_GzTMtSVVBHJLzbEuiE5oOjCmp5NVkqLC0JIJLL2Ca0SEm_bgTZoZuM067iaK3iOwvsDKYMSjPVml3qasgZDy3uSuQbHBHYqVvD_KoQPRjw9LsYQcqI/s1600-h/team.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qQ-lpSR4CoPK-Zwv05MBt44t_GzTMtSVVBHJLzbEuiE5oOjCmp5NVkqLC0JIJLL2Ca0SEm_bgTZoZuM067iaK3iOwvsDKYMSjPVml3qasgZDy3uSuQbHBHYqVvD_KoQPRjw9LsYQcqI/s320/team.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177268825304479618" /></a><br /><br />It was so cool seeing familiar faces from the past few weeks! We sat in the big, main tent for the first two hours listening to opening speeches. Then we went out for a break and met up with the members of the Indian GSE team (who are coming to the U.S. in April) and hung with them for a while.<br /><br />The Rotarians from Gadag were there and Mohan had brought me a beautiful letter from Poonam, as well as a gift: a gorgeous salwar kameez. He called her on his mobile and I talked with her for a bit. I was hoping she'd make it out to the conference, but it doesn't look promising.<br /><br />Misty, Elizabeth, Rajiv and I wandered around Gokul Garden, checking out the cultural show and the expo. They were setting up for a big dinner in a separate tent and around the back, we found the "Fellowship Hall" (aka: Beer Tent). Much to our surprise [not] we found Team Leader Bernie sitting at a table, drinking beer and whiskey with the guys from Gadag. We joined them and ended up having an awesome time for the rest of the evening.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihEFUZ0KjG6s8hXmw7wNRzG5EUjh3VWuU_pZi4KeHI2vW2c1vytwNvlm7oQKwnt-hKETIVEcdzn-_-f9MOndpcWHJAXYkz-oa6-D4i6MMmIDW7P2OhJk6BOPc7NfuhQddV43-u52-27eM/s1600-h/table.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihEFUZ0KjG6s8hXmw7wNRzG5EUjh3VWuU_pZi4KeHI2vW2c1vytwNvlm7oQKwnt-hKETIVEcdzn-_-f9MOndpcWHJAXYkz-oa6-D4i6MMmIDW7P2OhJk6BOPc7NfuhQddV43-u52-27eM/s320/table.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177269001398138770" /></a><br />Enjoying the <span style="font-style:italic;">fellowship</span>.<br /><br />At one point, I looked around and realized the three of us were the only women in the tent. I don't think women are supposed to <span style="font-style:italic;">take alcohol</span>, but I confess: I did take a little bit of wine.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTTQSHg2asXjJ5HnVc8_kxxflkpchg8oqkbHCL7Rh7ATjVt5uGwAs6Ulv2uagKMrAdvOF7E5Mh8UwdBYSr8WaISm1LoF2RBXiTxxPy3z65Mpl7EDB5qRux8pCEKK-8wyVK_8tnxJI-c38/s1600-h/pants.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTTQSHg2asXjJ5HnVc8_kxxflkpchg8oqkbHCL7Rh7ATjVt5uGwAs6Ulv2uagKMrAdvOF7E5Mh8UwdBYSr8WaISm1LoF2RBXiTxxPy3z65Mpl7EDB5qRux8pCEKK-8wyVK_8tnxJI-c38/s320/pants.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177269357880424354" /></a><br />Mohan makes sure Bernie doesn't lose his pants.<br /><br />It was so much fun meeting all these crazy Indian Rotarians and dancing around like a goofball with them on the dance floor. Somehow Bernie ended up in a turban... <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTa9QGg_Va1TMXVK5u5rdKd2M7bxPjAza4GUlJ6XGwEn8VCekZlvFp7-oMOSyM5OQjGTki-3lP9Liy8ed083_5UoMMumwa0KYnQP7Gn93OXrIXG4oAMnzKR9idYsU8u7_ZIvQ8oGzylI/s1600-h/turban.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTa9QGg_Va1TMXVK5u5rdKd2M7bxPjAza4GUlJ6XGwEn8VCekZlvFp7-oMOSyM5OQjGTki-3lP9Liy8ed083_5UoMMumwa0KYnQP7Gn93OXrIXG4oAMnzKR9idYsU8u7_ZIvQ8oGzylI/s320/turban.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177271011442833346" /></a><br /><br />... and then I did too.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLK7qPduZY55G3B72QvS8mv9TsT7-EO3KOMllOWZN3K_xTAHBIEFbTR33A-WjCGCAKeEB4bVcJwMHN3Wo8kOxbZoLWKzZFnThX-1Hymil4pQHjuvWOJJqMvEd1PCWMbu_meJciC94f_LU/s1600-h/turbans.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLK7qPduZY55G3B72QvS8mv9TsT7-EO3KOMllOWZN3K_xTAHBIEFbTR33A-WjCGCAKeEB4bVcJwMHN3Wo8kOxbZoLWKzZFnThX-1Hymil4pQHjuvWOJJqMvEd1PCWMbu_meJciC94f_LU/s320/turbans.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177269946290943922" /></a><br /><br />What an awesome evening it was. I think I'm supposed to go back to the conference this morning with my host, return home for some rest, and then go back again in the evening. This trip just keeps getting better and better!The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-75236885597455839152008-03-12T13:13:00.000-07:002008-03-12T16:58:51.727-07:00Friday, 1 February - 2:00 PMWow. This is the first bit of down-time I've had since Kolhapur!<br /><br />After an easy breakfast of tea and toast, my host, Ashwin, brought me to the conference site, at a place called Gokul Garden. Ashwin is the president of one of the Hubli Rotary clubs, so I think he is feeling really stressed out. I imagine that hosting 1,600 Rotarians in your hometown can be a little daunting. He's nice though. He doesn't talk a whole lot, but when he does, it is with authority and what he says is usually pretty interesting.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08L1eYqB4wCX5EBnW2tRSgRWqa7hWIcvSiz7bMTcLoWxQwpTRRsjJZiKQ0K3MkCjDGQwrsH2zsTgE6yj2aOz5Il5vQwCuoMoV-RutlQTyK3gl8YJfdLt_Ywqpr3P5tD7Yw1kdREhLgwU/s1600-h/DSCN0038.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08L1eYqB4wCX5EBnW2tRSgRWqa7hWIcvSiz7bMTcLoWxQwpTRRsjJZiKQ0K3MkCjDGQwrsH2zsTgE6yj2aOz5Il5vQwCuoMoV-RutlQTyK3gl8YJfdLt_Ywqpr3P5tD7Yw1kdREhLgwU/s320/DSCN0038.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177008180919154546" /></a><br />Counting down to a full house.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mO3i6YdISuXEtwWwKhyphenhyphenvFsj82QGQS5KHeawhK_-u5DxBhAwHd7FD4_87T-6JHz61HTnKMJteHFsVZgAn1sIAW6FbRCgUyCuOGkLAu22Efj5gBEeDIPHIew9JwlbDn71wyGa1pOtL8ic/s1600-h/DSCN0039.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mO3i6YdISuXEtwWwKhyphenhyphenvFsj82QGQS5KHeawhK_-u5DxBhAwHd7FD4_87T-6JHz61HTnKMJteHFsVZgAn1sIAW6FbRCgUyCuOGkLAu22Efj5gBEeDIPHIew9JwlbDn71wyGa1pOtL8ic/s320/DSCN0039.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177007944695953250" /></a><br /><br />On the way to the Gokul Garden, we stopped at a temple so Ashwin could pray. Then he actually explained to me why he prayed to that particular deity. We talked about pranayama, music therapy and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiki">Reiki</a>, and I learned that his wife, like my fiancé, is a Reiki master.<br /><br />The team finally met together around 11:00, and we decided to each write our presentation speeches about how the trip to India has affected us personally. Around noon, my host took me back home where I finished writing my speech and I'm pretty content with it.<br /><br />We just had an awesome lunch. Ashwin explained all the different foods, the best order in which to eat them, and how they all affect digestion. I learned that the spicy pickles and chutneys generate digestive juices. And Indians typically eat the rice <span style="font-style:italic;">after</span> the meal with curd or ghee because it settles the stomach and calms the mind. It all makes a lot of sense. I'm looking forward to sharing this with my friends back home -- teaching them the right way to eat Indian food!<br /><br />So now I'm resting. I can hear Ashwin's cell phone ringing (the theme from <span style="font-style:italic;">Carmen</span>) upstairs every five minutes. Poor guy. I just reorganized my luggage a little bit and feel okay about the amount of stuff I am lugging. I've acquired so many gifts from hosts and Rotary clubs that I have to be careful about shopping. I think I'll only be buying very small souvenirs so I don't run out of space!<br /><br />I keep thinking of what a great day I had yesterday. How much I loved being around my host family and how I wish I could have stayed longer. I can't wait to be in touch with them again. My heart's eye will always carry that glimpse of heaven, walking past those banana trees in the late afternoon sun. I was whole.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-37298825955470163462008-03-11T11:41:00.000-07:002008-03-11T13:03:01.271-07:00Friday, 1 February - 7:00 AMYesterday was one of the best days of my entire life. <br /><br />In the morning, Poonam took me and Elizabeth to visit the school where she teaches. It's a Jaycees school and is actually right next to their house. She works there a couple hours each day as an 8th grade teacher.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRza5_kbVNGUCj-yIA9tKqdbfZDYYAhyWrQCJfztFzFc2GJp6sorh6HfRDwDqwZmKeC4iXBLTYJYSEkrD840-HTos7W1DuX-_YJFUU8FvA76FBzPAGprYolzcO-Fqb1o4a8VZpruBYSE/s1600-h/staff.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRza5_kbVNGUCj-yIA9tKqdbfZDYYAhyWrQCJfztFzFc2GJp6sorh6HfRDwDqwZmKeC4iXBLTYJYSEkrD840-HTos7W1DuX-_YJFUU8FvA76FBzPAGprYolzcO-Fqb1o4a8VZpruBYSE/s320/staff.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176570051305289378" /></a><br />Sitting with the teachers from the Jaycees school.<br /><br />The rest of the team met us around 11:00 AM and we went to visit another Ayurvedic hospital. This one was a million times better than the creepy one we saw in Dharwad. We got to see their herb garden and visit the actual pharmaceutical lab where they turn the herbs into medicine.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCPCZj4xdJtfDv1cI5q3XyVZ7WQXvlEJt8OF5TLFDa5uNgPoU9GeMBbNom1LbMc2BjAfpnnuMaeKhVb15Xzp-57Hg7Dm4tU7sw8-73qEP9rS1XxdSN259VNVhA4TOdBQyqfSViSfOA6s/s1600-h/herbs.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCPCZj4xdJtfDv1cI5q3XyVZ7WQXvlEJt8OF5TLFDa5uNgPoU9GeMBbNom1LbMc2BjAfpnnuMaeKhVb15Xzp-57Hg7Dm4tU7sw8-73qEP9rS1XxdSN259VNVhA4TOdBQyqfSViSfOA6s/s320/herbs.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176571073507505842" /></a><br />Herbs = medicine.<br /><br />I got to sit and talk with one of the doctors and learn a little bit about Ayurvedic medicine (which is actually really interesting!) and then we got to sit and talk to a roomful of medical students.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrGP7SIFYsunHFHiXxSc5pZeAdN4k3tjQ3L_MJijL8WUjfY3OFYkUPxWljnFQce-mSg8SW4sMrXbtTvWl4Jeju0Kv7DpoMztvbj5Gs1PXqSsqK4rw1iEVxTcKfkm56c07xY53rbUUm2A/s1600-h/ayur.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrGP7SIFYsunHFHiXxSc5pZeAdN4k3tjQ3L_MJijL8WUjfY3OFYkUPxWljnFQce-mSg8SW4sMrXbtTvWl4Jeju0Kv7DpoMztvbj5Gs1PXqSsqK4rw1iEVxTcKfkm56c07xY53rbUUm2A/s320/ayur.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176571399925020354" /></a><br />"Well, at least you have a pulse..."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMot0Sr5UC4aTMOmmBRaP9j_jv2lijxHI3c3ndG47n-XL1SWbJdKqvLWUMYlxKflbRB8KUw_lAivqjuXHdRwU_iZaRb_T02iVjP-ZlKoMy8_iQSTwtLDmerpZmuZ0DNYYW0ilEc0bBWmc/s1600-h/medstus.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMot0Sr5UC4aTMOmmBRaP9j_jv2lijxHI3c3ndG47n-XL1SWbJdKqvLWUMYlxKflbRB8KUw_lAivqjuXHdRwU_iZaRb_T02iVjP-ZlKoMy8_iQSTwtLDmerpZmuZ0DNYYW0ilEc0bBWmc/s320/medstus.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176571618968352466" /></a><br />Future Ayurvedic doctors.<br /><br />Afterwards, the Gadag <span style="font-style:italic;">Inner Wheel</span> ladies took us to a couple historical spots. The first was a temple to meet a Guru who had only recently begun speaking after a 38-year vow of silence. Apparently he was silent in order to pray for world healing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsvq5gTVb8u3uoXrHkm7RoiOsdFui2dNSzdNjFOdX35JH2x4ZYoPzsVD-hh1P4fRgFGIZCcmz3R4dvUH9XityhzuG5CZosBBVRUKkm4lGUwpiEsqx-xQb11dozbWIELzDb9WKKlSP2Ww/s1600-h/guru.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsvq5gTVb8u3uoXrHkm7RoiOsdFui2dNSzdNjFOdX35JH2x4ZYoPzsVD-hh1P4fRgFGIZCcmz3R4dvUH9XityhzuG5CZosBBVRUKkm4lGUwpiEsqx-xQb11dozbWIELzDb9WKKlSP2Ww/s320/guru.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176571782177109730" /></a><br />Did not speak for 38 years!<br /><br />Then they took us to a couple more temples, but we were all a little templed-out from Hampi. The team was invited back to Poonam and Mohan's for an incredible lunch. There were lots of great family and friends and we all just hung out having a great time. <br /><br />Mohan brought out a bottle of vodka that he'd had in his closet for a really long time. They don't really drink any alcohol in their home, but he served it to the men in the living room while we ladies hung out at the dining room table.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgWZl3cFY4kSEX766UGHqZo9mJ_NSsJo3LKmTuW4fSybEVWxn9UJkI3fNs3S_47df9rqNsIP1xJe2W3srhvrWUdDKlYT_ksa2JzG8mvBSSeJbHin3w6QjkY9mWSLpjKdrEPI7gtUxDU8/s1600-h/bernie.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgWZl3cFY4kSEX766UGHqZo9mJ_NSsJo3LKmTuW4fSybEVWxn9UJkI3fNs3S_47df9rqNsIP1xJe2W3srhvrWUdDKlYT_ksa2JzG8mvBSSeJbHin3w6QjkY9mWSLpjKdrEPI7gtUxDU8/s320/bernie.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176572069939918578" /></a><br />After copious amounts of vodka,<br />Bernie attempts some yoga.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAWaOmNROnAa-pfrfnmUyQ6IsUcC7ACYAbsZ1FllHQzKhVEtMvVJdQw8K6-WU4W0qL-RbePL6gVrC9xgZvfwgfRV-65bmmiRg6psnnxJyyq9YfO6c-hvKIOLtH-pTGAoJGO4ToK2U1MU/s1600-h/family.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAWaOmNROnAa-pfrfnmUyQ6IsUcC7ACYAbsZ1FllHQzKhVEtMvVJdQw8K6-WU4W0qL-RbePL6gVrC9xgZvfwgfRV-65bmmiRg6psnnxJyyq9YfO6c-hvKIOLtH-pTGAoJGO4ToK2U1MU/s320/family.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176572396357433090" /></a><br />The best of times.<br /><br />I can't explain this awesome bond I feel with this family. It was like I knew them all so well. I hung out a little with their son, Mayur, kicking a soccer ball in the driveway. I also met Poonam's niece, Sneha, who is studying textile engineering. It was just such a great afternoon, I didn't want to leave!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-MLXByKr-m0fJ8x22HMbLNodsFUoIoi-1JEdOW_7iKLQevRSmky68lnhS3d7vEU1ocIJZuNkQO9_qOv4F24j0quEz-fLuJGIj-EzPrBtgXc2_kM0TFENUzaIKl8unc7w04uUsJIhshw/s1600-h/prayer.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-MLXByKr-m0fJ8x22HMbLNodsFUoIoi-1JEdOW_7iKLQevRSmky68lnhS3d7vEU1ocIJZuNkQO9_qOv4F24j0quEz-fLuJGIj-EzPrBtgXc2_kM0TFENUzaIKl8unc7w04uUsJIhshw/s320/prayer.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176573014832723746" /></a><br />A prayer in the puja room for safe journeys.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYrqLGxl6DUCbBSX23aQKwC0A9TgHPIumFEOZVcd-BrU4g2Ff_EqREIq8-CKqGa9wVgI9hsOhRZY-VzL4pRj5HWYpTpUUmhkGH8MC8vLhu8eNNRf_qeUwq7nolCEwbXn3_Sh5Y2GeMJY/s1600-h/j&p.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYrqLGxl6DUCbBSX23aQKwC0A9TgHPIumFEOZVcd-BrU4g2Ff_EqREIq8-CKqGa9wVgI9hsOhRZY-VzL4pRj5HWYpTpUUmhkGH8MC8vLhu8eNNRf_qeUwq7nolCEwbXn3_Sh5Y2GeMJY/s320/j&p.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176573242465990450" /></a><br />A new friend I've known forever.<br /><br />But when we finally did, we took a ride to visit their family farm before leaving to Hubli. The team took the party van and I got to ride with Sneha, Poonam and her sister. The four of us stopped off at this <span style="font-weight:bold;">HUGE</span> old house where their family stays and where Mohan grew up. Then we met up with everyone else at the farm.<br /><br />Ever have a moment when you feel as if you're experiencing heaven? I think the memory of walking through the banana fields next to Poonam and Sneha, with the sun beaming down on our faces, will stay in my mind as one of those moments. I really don't have the words to express how full my heart was (and is). It was heaven.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpHcSfei55NHsQGYOwOOtOu113mgZw2GkEK_DnTpvuSZJ9Z5oy5UuXLl7Qk8vLNE1gykk0-vBk5EsGX9t8YTr7d_pKX0ND0cP9ym3DDs-XnoAsx_db0UZOrz0tJatuDKP6aVs-VRpPAMM/s1600-h/heaven.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpHcSfei55NHsQGYOwOOtOu113mgZw2GkEK_DnTpvuSZJ9Z5oy5UuXLl7Qk8vLNE1gykk0-vBk5EsGX9t8YTr7d_pKX0ND0cP9ym3DDs-XnoAsx_db0UZOrz0tJatuDKP6aVs-VRpPAMM/s320/heaven.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176573478689191746" /></a><br />Heaven.<br /><br />We stayed longer than we probably should have. We were meant to arrive in Hubli by 5:00 and it was already 6:30 and we still hadn't left Gadag. We made one more quick stop at a yoga retreat center and then set off for Hubli.<br /><br />Our new hosts met us at this huge, beautiful hotel. I think they were a little pissed that we were three hours late! It was so hard to say goodbye to Mohan and the rest of the Gadag hosts who took us to Hubli. Hopefully we'll see them at some point during the conference.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJ-yedpemddndTSxCLQpAbxuKiAwmREC0OQZ71E-LLqOeZke0ufPHhvh5BcsBVmxNwjWUKyWeEzt2SgtEhpRRiPe7Stk_mXjxYVC5T6b01PdvfP1CCN5qaArCW6vsmJS8Ga65a1_x0FU/s1600-h/31FWVPsULOL._AA280_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJ-yedpemddndTSxCLQpAbxuKiAwmREC0OQZ71E-LLqOeZke0ufPHhvh5BcsBVmxNwjWUKyWeEzt2SgtEhpRRiPe7Stk_mXjxYVC5T6b01PdvfP1CCN5qaArCW6vsmJS8Ga65a1_x0FU/s200/31FWVPsULOL._AA280_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176576927547930450" /></a>My new hosts here in Hubli have a very nice home. I'm staying in a quiet room downstairs with a mosquito net and a nice, big bathroom. I even got to play "Whack-A-Bug" with this great gizmo... a bug-zapping tennis racket!!<br /><br />We met back up at the hotel around 9:00 PM last night for the opening meeting of the conference. There was a huge room full of Rotarians - mostly club presidents and their wives - and were introduced. District Governor, Bazil D'Souza was there and so were many of the people we'd met along the way. It was so cool to recognize all the faces and feel like we were in a room full of friends.<br /><br />I think we'll really enjoy the district conference, even if it is just a bunch of speeches and food for three days. I really think it will be nice to see so many great people and hear about all the great projects they're doing.<br /><br />I slept soundly last night. This morning, the team is supposed to meet up to work on a new presentation for Sunday. I know I have some great ideas and am looking forward to putting something together.<br /><br />Damn, I just feel so frigging <span style="font-weight:bold;">GOOD</span>!The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-21721246015338483782008-03-10T08:59:00.000-07:002008-03-10T09:09:41.382-07:00Thursday, 31 January - 6:30 AMSo I'm feeling much better today that I did last night. I slept soundly for about 7 hours - a much needed rest. Yesterday actually was a very good day. Hampi was so cool and our tour guide and Rotarian escorts were a lot of fun. Excellent company.<br /><br />I had excellent chats with Elizabeth and Misty in the van on the way to Hampi. I can't believe how easy it is to get along with the team. I can't believe that after spending 19 straight days together, we're not at each others' throats. They're a great support system - all 4 of them - and I cannot imagine a better chemistry. We seem to balance one another, especially when one of us is having a meltdown.<br /><br />Yesterday's talks also really taught me a lot about myself. I think I came to a lot of realizations about why and how my life has turned out as it has. How I ended up doing what I do and the roads that have led me to who I am. This trip is proving to be the best <span style="font-style:italic;">therapy</span> I could have ever received.<br /><br />Every day, with every new adventure, I am learning more about the person that I am and the person I would like to become. I also feel a new sense of direction - of purpose - and I look forward to starting down this new path when I return home.<br /><br />Not quite sure what our plans are for today. I'm hoping to get a chance to hang out with my hosts for a little bit. This afternoon we leave for Hubli and tomorrow is Day #1 of the Rotary district conference. I can only imagine what kind of crazy schedule we're in for over the next three days. But feeling fresh and renewed, I can handle just about anything. I think...The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-48302085340226825392008-03-08T15:09:00.000-08:002008-03-08T15:45:48.988-08:00Wednesday, 30 January - 11:00 PMToday was one of the best days so far... up until about two hours ago.<br /><br />I got up this morning and had breakfast and great chats with my family, then we left to spend the day in <a href="http://www.hampi.in/">Hampi</a>. It was really very amazing, but also very hot! It took about two hours to get there, we spent about six hours walking around, and then two hours to get back to Gadag. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXIruM8985uEpGty4eZaZmS05iiInIibupUUDCa3GheSLMYPAWzkcZAUNWFCLKq62XwdqEZwmqxxSNMZnmiCRO4LlYzld41VpP8G2Au-5S7Gf_G5heZm3NW6namBzX4brPuo_mZYWqOWo/s1600-h/statue.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXIruM8985uEpGty4eZaZmS05iiInIibupUUDCa3GheSLMYPAWzkcZAUNWFCLKq62XwdqEZwmqxxSNMZnmiCRO4LlYzld41VpP8G2Au-5S7Gf_G5heZm3NW6namBzX4brPuo_mZYWqOWo/s320/statue.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175517560979469810" /></a><br />Big statue at Hampi.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtMO0YSokOk-VVqqnYrmChOtabgqGWWYz36RvGo0dz14hca5Fpx29cxvPZACBK7jNJ0aCuEvoWAlgrfSHGTt9tKaQ2LhPv6ihNueKnxP_o6nAJU2nw_dE6RS44lyIV1FQyGT3KPiwkeqU/s1600-h/temple.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtMO0YSokOk-VVqqnYrmChOtabgqGWWYz36RvGo0dz14hca5Fpx29cxvPZACBK7jNJ0aCuEvoWAlgrfSHGTt9tKaQ2LhPv6ihNueKnxP_o6nAJU2nw_dE6RS44lyIV1FQyGT3KPiwkeqU/s320/temple.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175517728483194370" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Really</span> big temple at Hampi.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTvv2tDRm1RHzSDikmZ6DIJXhZbD6VtM8wcDrLD2bSVpft1uoItzRvXvRDIEcNQHBFQ6nli613jgT_xlmeTdaYmIaHgWXK5_gcrzzsdE1o4Ex5b0QSlVlX6eMv4pumPHbPMLqVOsXyIA/s1600-h/monkeydude.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTvv2tDRm1RHzSDikmZ6DIJXhZbD6VtM8wcDrLD2bSVpft1uoItzRvXvRDIEcNQHBFQ6nli613jgT_xlmeTdaYmIaHgWXK5_gcrzzsdE1o4Ex5b0QSlVlX6eMv4pumPHbPMLqVOsXyIA/s320/monkeydude.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175517938936591890" /></a><br />I want one!!<br /><br />I was really looking forward to taking a shower and having a relaxing dinner with my hosts, but instead we were dragged to the president of the Rotary club's house for dinner.<br /><br />It was 9:00 PM, we were sweaty, tired and just gross. And everyone at the dinner wanted to talk with us and they were all taking photos and feeding us a tremendous amount of food. I tried to be smiley - had a good conversation with a Rotarian who is a science teacher. He wanted to know all about the education system in the U.S. and how we deal with students' individual differences in large classes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRP5ivMxBQxkIkIscctmquA9wWz5USKPi7SJIWWie87l3wiq8dUk55iIZN1iGgoch5pAFOQHfUgIVFEVz-U55JfDH0uMON05KFQp5B3H-tzFn0IEppLsW3ZNqeUaJCAvZiH1rTqFsfiqE/s1600-h/dinner.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRP5ivMxBQxkIkIscctmquA9wWz5USKPi7SJIWWie87l3wiq8dUk55iIZN1iGgoch5pAFOQHfUgIVFEVz-U55JfDH0uMON05KFQp5B3H-tzFn0IEppLsW3ZNqeUaJCAvZiH1rTqFsfiqE/s320/dinner.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175518299713844786" /></a><br />Angst-filled dinner.<br /><br />By about 10:45 I started to get a little cranky. The president owns an Ayurvedic pharmacy and he was showing us all his little bottles of medicines. It was a little bit creepy, so finally I just asked outright if we could please go home. So they took us home! When I got to the house, Poonam and her daughter Mrinal were there waiting and asked how my day went. I guess they could tell from my face that I was a little worn out and a little bummed. They're so nice. I really wish I could have spent more time at home today.<br /><br />Poonam teaches English at a school nearby which we're supposed to visit tomorrow. I think the Rotarians have plans for us that involve visiting another hospital, but I am a little burnt on hospitals. I kind of wish we had more of a say in the places we visit.<br /><br />On a <span style="font-style:italic;">very</span> positive note, I got to see monkeys at Hampi and feed them bananas!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAxpNCRpwiS06_JkvDSWhq3ZjaAbKjpWSXuxNa6xctU8gU7xainyYBw8wHWcQjVJVKUhsSZZkfeU5esc8CfVh1QY-8KCdv0EC6TFcpKaewgUamnGVdRXbIxAzPaezSDI4-lmbzaxTqvW0/s1600-h/monkeys!.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAxpNCRpwiS06_JkvDSWhq3ZjaAbKjpWSXuxNa6xctU8gU7xainyYBw8wHWcQjVJVKUhsSZZkfeU5esc8CfVh1QY-8KCdv0EC6TFcpKaewgUamnGVdRXbIxAzPaezSDI4-lmbzaxTqvW0/s320/monkeys!.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175519330505995858" /></a><br />"Oh my God... MONKEYS!!!"<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gkyOUnTW6gE"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gkyOUnTW6gE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />Hell, any day that includes feeding bananas to monkeys is pretty darn awesome in my book. I'm guess I'm just tired, that's all. Tomorrow is a new day -- and God only knows what it will bring!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5hcQL3w_DCttmPjJjKMt9N2JUgW7cA4CChKZgUd99UvWkhkKq5joWjXnZ43ZLPg7M7Z6N_igHD329RheSTYwMAqIyhdOD7h2y7LifO8f4ODkXhVdRjjlHkD0ulaZkB1WvZB8e3R8-3Nk/s1600-h/nanners.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5hcQL3w_DCttmPjJjKMt9N2JUgW7cA4CChKZgUd99UvWkhkKq5joWjXnZ43ZLPg7M7Z6N_igHD329RheSTYwMAqIyhdOD7h2y7LifO8f4ODkXhVdRjjlHkD0ulaZkB1WvZB8e3R8-3Nk/s320/nanners.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175519661218477698" /></a>The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-21371077805171404422008-03-07T11:52:00.000-08:002008-03-07T13:11:53.504-08:00Tuesday, 29 January 11:00 PMI appear to be on a lucky streak! <br /><br />We arrived in Gadag after a very bumpy ride. I didn't sleep much last night at the hotel - I guess I just wasn't used to having other people in the room. When we arrived in Gadag, they immediately took us to another temple and the photo "snaps" started up again. We hadn't had anything for breakfast this morning except for some biscuits in the van so I was feeling a little cranky.<br /><br />After the temple and introductions to the Gadag club, our respective hosts claimed us and took us back to their houses. My family is <span style="font-weight:bold;">AWESOME</span>!!! Totally the best so far. As soon as I got in their car, they told me to consider myself part of their family. And they're just so easy and comfortable to be around -- it's almost weird! It's like I've known them for longer than just a few hours.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0dTz8Srq1g4dDcyzyegXtRjpCODecrKfstIcan0RnEeGXuHWdeIYuez8DL_VtlsqIkNjrR5zBZ1lqQcaDpKf-aTDs66QsQeiEiY_12sMPdqSAgESaRifM-m4cpXsqHXlKvh1oPGt0HU/s1600-h/family.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0dTz8Srq1g4dDcyzyegXtRjpCODecrKfstIcan0RnEeGXuHWdeIYuez8DL_VtlsqIkNjrR5zBZ1lqQcaDpKf-aTDs66QsQeiEiY_12sMPdqSAgESaRifM-m4cpXsqHXlKvh1oPGt0HU/s320/family.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175099987079083378" /></a><br />Awesome Gadag hosts: Poonam, Mohan,<br />me and Grandma.<br /><br />Mohan and Poonam (my host and his wife) took me back to their house and we had an amazing lunch and just sat around chatting. They have two kids, Mayur and Mrinal, and Mohan's Mom also lives with them. Around 3:00 we left to see some Rotary projects. The first one we visited was a music school for the blind.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj5bU7BZmEiywoLj3rFy8fb5QgU29YoHKbhcbfUszEALoGVwzXCe-ntGYHzg3NG6WpuRTkJRKppME1wRww1TlI4nH-6rdUPh-0YbR3dmadIv8dX2GsOcxc2nEWJS_Urcwotzye5aWryuk/s1600-h/school+sign.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj5bU7BZmEiywoLj3rFy8fb5QgU29YoHKbhcbfUszEALoGVwzXCe-ntGYHzg3NG6WpuRTkJRKppME1wRww1TlI4nH-6rdUPh-0YbR3dmadIv8dX2GsOcxc2nEWJS_Urcwotzye5aWryuk/s320/school+sign.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175100219007317378" /></a><br /><br />This was absolutely amazing. A free education for underprivileged, blind students. A school that offers them a chance to develop their aural sense and may allow them to find vocations as musicians. Brilliant. This was, by far, my personal favorite of the projects we've visited. And ironically, the matching grant club in the U.S. is Paramus, NJ. Wow.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG282Oq_6q-R1zlXdhN083Jy7B2_hehZ2vChgNRxyoAWyka5V1IR7elAKFezkPF0LOReldpq9MNkPDCYDMc1pKAuq6CTQs5iPd2YJ9v4DMKjzx9UdxEaRhDZTPrZfk9wKhyI8hzMHx-84/s1600-h/blind.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG282Oq_6q-R1zlXdhN083Jy7B2_hehZ2vChgNRxyoAWyka5V1IR7elAKFezkPF0LOReldpq9MNkPDCYDMc1pKAuq6CTQs5iPd2YJ9v4DMKjzx9UdxEaRhDZTPrZfk9wKhyI8hzMHx-84/s320/blind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175100390806009234" /></a><br /><br />Afterwards, we went and saw a clinic that performs free cataract surgeries:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1NC_5v6sDvcg5aCn6nWSmDimDRDSUg8z9VIhA1P7YKqAO0efG6vH7ZVrpP4oNc3mwvdH-YevY6-mNrxGou0sT-F0NdQ2EqiXj4Esz8bc1B4D3Ka4qo6eUcDlmVdrOzQvZIuWNYFMMHo/s1600-h/eye+sign.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1NC_5v6sDvcg5aCn6nWSmDimDRDSUg8z9VIhA1P7YKqAO0efG6vH7ZVrpP4oNc3mwvdH-YevY6-mNrxGou0sT-F0NdQ2EqiXj4Esz8bc1B4D3Ka4qo6eUcDlmVdrOzQvZIuWNYFMMHo/s320/eye+sign.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175100657093981602" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWII4HxmaNouwaV_Y5QH3zBQKnIk18zeyO69SPvM7eLasiyPlu81yzs9oa4_8Rcej0trGszwqWoDcnp65NfUhUbIjIF4ugjD7L4NxyAhbARNqSr9IS_SgBwxcSCbBtXZC_e24w0qn16U4/s1600-h/eye+chair.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWII4HxmaNouwaV_Y5QH3zBQKnIk18zeyO69SPvM7eLasiyPlu81yzs9oa4_8Rcej0trGszwqWoDcnp65NfUhUbIjIF4ugjD7L4NxyAhbARNqSr9IS_SgBwxcSCbBtXZC_e24w0qn16U4/s320/eye+chair.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175100785943000498" /></a><br /><br />And then a Rotary-sponsored, English-medium school for the poor. This is unique in that most poor kids who do get to go to school end up studying in Kannada-medium schools (the state language). If kids are given the opportunity to learn English, it gives them a much better chance to be able to go on to college.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyXEk3abcu-Ze36Pe0zsB8F_eXwa7O_ouDZ-qMpOPHtl_mZDZQScDU1t8RPDGY2PHDaLoH35y1pTPGQvOSpvZM55dczrWBR6asHMXD5flk_PDNIA9juLfq1mkwijsLvR5_5d_U4iFluX0/s1600-h/kids.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyXEk3abcu-Ze36Pe0zsB8F_eXwa7O_ouDZ-qMpOPHtl_mZDZQScDU1t8RPDGY2PHDaLoH35y1pTPGQvOSpvZM55dczrWBR6asHMXD5flk_PDNIA9juLfq1mkwijsLvR5_5d_U4iFluX0/s320/kids.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175100936266855874" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfYWn2RJh-1toCxs_As5CJcldeFoGwCtq7i_i8_l6aBRBRVM4aAuB1pIB79H4ztvERiBP_9jN5vcZ8Z3bLdy2lxqo3w-oTrOBkJ4HCRu7xslfVN3u0GmK9oAFTRRX-f8-qscbe21snlGM/s1600-h/desk.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfYWn2RJh-1toCxs_As5CJcldeFoGwCtq7i_i8_l6aBRBRVM4aAuB1pIB79H4ztvERiBP_9jN5vcZ8Z3bLdy2lxqo3w-oTrOBkJ4HCRu7xslfVN3u0GmK9oAFTRRX-f8-qscbe21snlGM/s320/desk.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175101065115874770" /></a><br /><br />Of course we visited another textile factory and a few more temples, but there's a much better vibe for me here in Gadag. I was considerably less cranky! By 7:00, we went back home to freshen up and change clothes. Grandma made me some nice strong tea and we were on our way to the Rotary club meeting. It started a little after 8:00 and we had some dinner around 10:00.<br /><br />On the way home, Mohan, Poonam and I chatted very easily about all kinds of things. I really love them and wish I could just spend the day tomorrow hanging out with them but we're finally going to visit <a href="http://www.hampi.in/">Hampi</a>. I've heard that it will be 6+ hours worth of temples -- it may be the death of me. But fortunately, they've cancelled our plans to go to Yellapur and we get to stay an extra night in Gadag.<br /><br />It's funny how I have these highs and lows. Just when it feels like things couldn't possibly get worse (like in Bijapur) they somehow turn 180° and I'm on top of the world. I suppose that Guru at the ashram in Belgaum was right: there must be a balance between good and bad. Savor the good and know that the bad will pass. Besides, without the bad, how else would we appreciate the good?<br /><br />And here's a quote that was painted on the wall at the school we visited today:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxckec8_y93-O6LKq1KtRnJFxZY-tauuXgLjO8jaYqfC2ABemOVBqO5AO_HKfvZBHifCTKkcb0amhq8WeWr53OjjbzgHapSGp8vP35cdCL8nF8uwnijXgOsXT-aq_W1MiUPcofxsR8yM/s1600-h/patience.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxckec8_y93-O6LKq1KtRnJFxZY-tauuXgLjO8jaYqfC2ABemOVBqO5AO_HKfvZBHifCTKkcb0amhq8WeWr53OjjbzgHapSGp8vP35cdCL8nF8uwnijXgOsXT-aq_W1MiUPcofxsR8yM/s320/patience.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175101224029664738" /></a><br /><br />True dat. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a mosquito net to sleep under!The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-68125380875382920702008-03-06T17:11:00.000-08:002008-03-06T17:37:05.258-08:00Monday, 28 January - 11:00 PMWow, what a day! It started off fine in Bagalkot. After practicing some pranayama with my host's wife and daughter, they presented me with a beautiful salwar kameez and I had a great breakfast of <span style="font-style:italic;">real</span> coffee and fresh fruit. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFlpZrQ6_CITmXs5WAq5Xz5_ZT5B45jZe_Fs_VABMTyoHyThtlZpMBZ29DxCYaNL4Yp_x1JGjg_B3VjqkhcqCXZwnvHGhWFc-GBgaHbE7fKJxEJLgF4bjGHdIsPKJsITcb5a6RWIa5Ugw/s1600-h/hosts.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFlpZrQ6_CITmXs5WAq5Xz5_ZT5B45jZe_Fs_VABMTyoHyThtlZpMBZ29DxCYaNL4Yp_x1JGjg_B3VjqkhcqCXZwnvHGhWFc-GBgaHbE7fKJxEJLgF4bjGHdIsPKJsITcb5a6RWIa5Ugw/s320/hosts.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174805869049288754" /></a><br /><br />But as the day wore on, I became a miserable wretch. We were supposed to go to <a href="http://www.hampi.in/">Hampi</a> but ended up in the Podunk town of Ilkal after driving all over God's creation, not knowing where the hell we were going. We went and saw some more ruins and to an underwater temple.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWLFR-0Lv36NW3STc3MpaPjiDm2MlVcI4U9HMv9XzTJI74WslmLUn9_NbURh6dJB_0g0EFAeu7LrDcIZZw_wpA9bIvRLOnYCYOow3OgGU67qd4oc2hxCR2s9K-YP3ykzXlvsW5a9gDV0/s1600-h/sign.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWLFR-0Lv36NW3STc3MpaPjiDm2MlVcI4U9HMv9XzTJI74WslmLUn9_NbURh6dJB_0g0EFAeu7LrDcIZZw_wpA9bIvRLOnYCYOow3OgGU67qd4oc2hxCR2s9K-YP3ykzXlvsW5a9gDV0/s320/sign.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174806457459808322" /></a><br />Great signage at the underwater temple.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0FZX4qHu-gtqTu8aMsvZ80M_Aoe6sS2ndlGP-BZ2jEhKwyQP_uqwv37YqbWtE2IVaR77o-_ENTGVRhNBL8Nz53CUF_J-yHqVl7Gtz2x1juCRbnwQNHqS5f9a0K36UAhQKsz7ZqA2Ejc/s1600-h/underwater.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0FZX4qHu-gtqTu8aMsvZ80M_Aoe6sS2ndlGP-BZ2jEhKwyQP_uqwv37YqbWtE2IVaR77o-_ENTGVRhNBL8Nz53CUF_J-yHqVl7Gtz2x1juCRbnwQNHqS5f9a0K36UAhQKsz7ZqA2Ejc/s320/underwater.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174806689388042322" /></a><br />250 stairs to... another temple.<br /><br />I was such a grump all day and I just couldn't snap out of it. I was sick of being swarmed by kids asking, "What is your name?" and being jostled around the party van for hours on end. We had no break except for a quick lunch, and our escorts barely spoke English except for, "No problem, no problem."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqwIAIOmUGbbVHYf-ID5ghBjuk_0Y5_CnEWhyphenhyphenZ17W0EnKTv4WuNDSq-JjBkzSA5T_kO-Pkj-qwv8JQcvVjWwlTXKwDz-_JemySlu8A35j3Ml8mIRP1IBAbjuNCmJoKS0ukO1if98Qj8U/s1600-h/misery.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqwIAIOmUGbbVHYf-ID5ghBjuk_0Y5_CnEWhyphenhyphenZ17W0EnKTv4WuNDSq-JjBkzSA5T_kO-Pkj-qwv8JQcvVjWwlTXKwDz-_JemySlu8A35j3Ml8mIRP1IBAbjuNCmJoKS0ukO1if98Qj8U/s320/misery.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174806874071636066" /></a><br />There I am, all smiles!<br /><br />In the evening, we ended up at one of the Rotarian's houses to freshen up and wait to make our presentation. I was just so miserable. All I have to say is, thank God for Misty. I don't know how she stays so positive. She has this terrible case of bronchitis and fought two days of a fever, and she still manages to be upbeat. I think she is pure goodness and I really need to take a lesson from her. Maybe that in itself is a lesson.<br /><br />Then suddenly - miraculously - everything changed! The Rotarians ended up taking us to this really decent hotel to stay. The three of us girls are sharing a room with three beds and a shower!! And the Rotary meeting ended up being awesome too!<br /><br />We all met this guy's tiny apartment and climbed up lots of stairs to the roof where the meeting was held. We did our presentation and then had this amazing feast afterwards. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WKnkymdf6KCazlg14Smsjmkg9ao-2QTmHQmHk-9fGnckhDnUDgrDif3kaJZuE-KB3bTSKsoxpm4on803rH0MvCmzKj5nK3_HRgMTHuobp4Nh_ArizpGui-QzRyaZjV0EINKzuM4WjJY/s1600-h/feast.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WKnkymdf6KCazlg14Smsjmkg9ao-2QTmHQmHk-9fGnckhDnUDgrDif3kaJZuE-KB3bTSKsoxpm4on803rH0MvCmzKj5nK3_HRgMTHuobp4Nh_ArizpGui-QzRyaZjV0EINKzuM4WjJY/s320/feast.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174807088820000882" /></a><br />Rooftop feast with the awesome Ilkal Rotarians.<br /><br />Everyone had a great time and, as Bernie says, "Every cloud has a silver lining."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrSs5D_hLtaXgMNlNiioIOMpXJ-02jDVZ_3d4jc6kh7IOi0uv47tOSEVrS7wl9Uj5in14GS0jYTNtNBPKIs4MreaWVVtiEsEqJEYXW2kiy-TY3lJqLvaO-JP4VxVIVN-0PELomPXrN74/s1600-h/cloud.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrSs5D_hLtaXgMNlNiioIOMpXJ-02jDVZ_3d4jc6kh7IOi0uv47tOSEVrS7wl9Uj5in14GS0jYTNtNBPKIs4MreaWVVtiEsEqJEYXW2kiy-TY3lJqLvaO-JP4VxVIVN-0PELomPXrN74/s320/cloud.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174807307863332994" /></a><br /><br />Indeed. And it's all about perspective. Tomorrow... Gadag.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-12060641680168527372008-03-06T17:04:00.001-08:002008-03-06T17:38:14.546-08:00Monday, 28 January - 6:30 AMI did manage to sleep last night. I took the last "mind-easing" pill from Belgaum. I wonder if I can snag some more from another doctor -- they were great! I'm supposed to do some yoga with my host's eldest daughter this morning.<br /><br />I'm not really sure where it is we're going today. I think it starts with an 'I' and I'm fairly certain it's about three hours away. We've been traveling in the party van and our driver has a tiny little head. We've aptly nicknamed him "Little Head."<br /><br />It's fun being able to all travel together. I really love the team. We're such an odd combination of people, but somehow we all balance each other out. I just feel really comfortable with all of them. I hope we stay in touch when we get back to real life.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWRh_WubQY_gFQrF7ZQnQM6kUlkpQGvZCHLH6JKD_9b-5Kd72YXywfmIqrog2Vl4bav6dq2TOLi14-hjI7C7ByPqugEMNPQIeWq4Uk5RAZ8TRAguSbw7HG6lXXfwH_10u7y5zgFXVKFQ/s1600-h/van.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWRh_WubQY_gFQrF7ZQnQM6kUlkpQGvZCHLH6JKD_9b-5Kd72YXywfmIqrog2Vl4bav6dq2TOLi14-hjI7C7ByPqugEMNPQIeWq4Uk5RAZ8TRAguSbw7HG6lXXfwH_10u7y5zgFXVKFQ/s320/van.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174807896273852562" /></a><br /><br />Tomorrow we're supposed to go to some historical place called Humpty (or something like that) to see some ancient ruins. Not really my cup of tea, but I'll be okay.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-61646914719230180192008-03-04T11:45:00.000-08:002008-03-04T12:25:06.991-08:00Sunday 27, January - 11:00 PMOh thank you, <a href="http://www.punditravi.com/dasavtar__the_10_incarnations_of.htm">Lord Vishnu and all of your ten incarnations</a>!!<br /><br />I have landed in Bagalkot with an <span style="font-weight:bold;">awesome</span> family -- the president of the Rotary club here!!<br /><br />Tonight's presentation went very well. The crowd had a good sense of humor and we had some great food. It was actually the first real meal I'd had all day. We left Bijapur around 10:00 AM and made some stops and saw some ruins.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QaJw5mtiAX9Cawuj7yFf9ASwxTSO1lKcaHhoHphADyDJGrZrBfgebxzL0EeMJAQa5r33GxIXOLLn65R-qCc4PJtAw4aCpWEg3AtDD2eraRHHFR61m1pXjAr5vdlVL-3LNOTfSe7mqlc/s1600-h/rock.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QaJw5mtiAX9Cawuj7yFf9ASwxTSO1lKcaHhoHphADyDJGrZrBfgebxzL0EeMJAQa5r33GxIXOLLn65R-qCc4PJtAw4aCpWEg3AtDD2eraRHHFR61m1pXjAr5vdlVL-3LNOTfSe7mqlc/s320/rock.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173981660530218914" /></a><br />Temple carved into a rock.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcb70_SwBaYuxd5IDwcF_g9SItdhN0tZIBpwJzKcNVAbcTTGB1bLdTYQrmjNpoOi5BC5EoRR0GjIFaf7bLT1jwvMsxulzk4IJ6ehjckd0nlsl_SyWXrBiGDBTNlqqObh8VDgvN5CFmabs/s1600-h/vishnu.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcb70_SwBaYuxd5IDwcF_g9SItdhN0tZIBpwJzKcNVAbcTTGB1bLdTYQrmjNpoOi5BC5EoRR0GjIFaf7bLT1jwvMsxulzk4IJ6ehjckd0nlsl_SyWXrBiGDBTNlqqObh8VDgvN5CFmabs/s320/vishnu.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173982072847079346" /></a><br /><br />I don't know why it is but I am not super-interested in seeing all the historical sites and temples. I'm kind of that way with museums too. Yeah, I get it - it's all old and amazing that they carved these big, impressive buildings out of rocks and stuff. Cool. Neat-o. Can we go somewhere else now?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPudcZSbAXsvLccY6x-srImqqaGSqOQmG8mT4gN9DHAVNjUDQ6CbjIAMZS_7etLJ_Hck6s6eEbBZ8NKokwHYLterfMqqZJFojm8xbUr6tHsPTkKnOK5rPAWRL8YmJZjYX9qOML_MuaZPY/s1600-h/bored.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPudcZSbAXsvLccY6x-srImqqaGSqOQmG8mT4gN9DHAVNjUDQ6CbjIAMZS_7etLJ_Hck6s6eEbBZ8NKokwHYLterfMqqZJFojm8xbUr6tHsPTkKnOK5rPAWRL8YmJZjYX9qOML_MuaZPY/s320/bored.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173982210286032834" /></a><br />"Oh goodie... <span style="font-style:italic;">more</span> temples."<br /><br />I thought this was pretty funny. At the sites, they charge foreigners 25 times more admission than citizens:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqtnHetBAjXmIHpbgRGWq-L2_Rvp6azF3w4aby3Ai-WAk6VSr54OqjK80kOqDFWI85siK_ZYArdBPfiSuh1Rq2CinQbtZI1uUnPTLYVX7MwrYA6TvCJ0tHmaXGAwFUPn1R5Dfo4ovBugY/s1600-h/sign.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqtnHetBAjXmIHpbgRGWq-L2_Rvp6azF3w4aby3Ai-WAk6VSr54OqjK80kOqDFWI85siK_ZYArdBPfiSuh1Rq2CinQbtZI1uUnPTLYVX7MwrYA6TvCJ0tHmaXGAwFUPn1R5Dfo4ovBugY/s320/sign.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173983713524586498" /></a><br /><br />At least I did get to see some monkeys today. They were really funny and cute! One went after this guy who was carrying a bag full of fruit. The guy screamed like a little girl and ran away, dropping his bag (which the monkey ran off with.) I'll take monkeys over monuments any day.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLICJLzwRsaxb94EEIPRgDCSSiMvUvjOcSy7ov16MZu-GkJAtDGYWKcYfq0LdgOPPCGdMw0zXzGh3hadgNlsxBrDj_UyNdIS2ktyvu3hGbxMcuBLUZ4TXAbl_s586vcISAVFu_Mgh04k/s1600-h/menace.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLICJLzwRsaxb94EEIPRgDCSSiMvUvjOcSy7ov16MZu-GkJAtDGYWKcYfq0LdgOPPCGdMw0zXzGh3hadgNlsxBrDj_UyNdIS2ktyvu3hGbxMcuBLUZ4TXAbl_s586vcISAVFu_Mgh04k/s320/menace.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173982515228710866" /></a><br />Consider yourself warned.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPEKhIXiNK8baUfjggpC9-ZbKGAzofMobSH3ru_OAa5ktR4vjhef9wloH3fpI8A7-JW-eTy4zLMR6V5nmceiPcjv75OFaHlo_ZueaJzS6VR-5rUuDthvkJWiKeE7DTeyNitj1azNxCgiM/s1600-h/monkeys.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPEKhIXiNK8baUfjggpC9-ZbKGAzofMobSH3ru_OAa5ktR4vjhef9wloH3fpI8A7-JW-eTy4zLMR6V5nmceiPcjv75OFaHlo_ZueaJzS6VR-5rUuDthvkJWiKeE7DTeyNitj1azNxCgiM/s320/monkeys.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173982918955636706" /></a><br />Monkeys!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYC-Gl-OI4zGhIqlIlje2n5ISF-Vidj_TrL9CeWCNlboRf2yQcy0zlg-Z1cLp4A7vfnQEi7fiYeowZ2FnCGYUfdun20wYCnLXXXGqnInejIvuy_1vy1f2jsWacjH9HHBEdfR2f6JWbWKA/s1600-h/monkey.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYC-Gl-OI4zGhIqlIlje2n5ISF-Vidj_TrL9CeWCNlboRf2yQcy0zlg-Z1cLp4A7vfnQEi7fiYeowZ2FnCGYUfdun20wYCnLXXXGqnInejIvuy_1vy1f2jsWacjH9HHBEdfR2f6JWbWKA/s320/monkey.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173983060689557490" /></a><br />"I love you, Monkey!"<br /><br />On the way to Bagalkot tonight, we stopped off at this little farm which was <span style="font-style:italic;">way</span> off the beaten path. We turned down this desolate road into a place which turned out to be the herbal garden of a holistic medicine man. The sun had already gone down so it was pretty dark and we couldn't see too much, but this skinny guy in an orange turban took us all around his yard, naming the herbs and trees, and telling us what each one was used for.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaviEE5YDQz05AhKFvdNlvENZaXdN7Y-XcUiQ9VhynyD_adx1JGhUxEh2pOgp8BBaWJ_PKMaQTsLbvEhArnLQg33pg2ZLyA7x-xkdb2mwGm5YCzP4cH3q8a4cuGqR7tu8mELuQioXQurE/s1600-h/turban.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaviEE5YDQz05AhKFvdNlvENZaXdN7Y-XcUiQ9VhynyD_adx1JGhUxEh2pOgp8BBaWJ_PKMaQTsLbvEhArnLQg33pg2ZLyA7x-xkdb2mwGm5YCzP4cH3q8a4cuGqR7tu8mELuQioXQurE/s320/turban.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173984254690465810" /></a><br /><br />I asked him if they had something that cures cancer and he said practicing yoga and eating a raw diet will heal the body of just about everything - including cancer. I found that interesting and wonder how difficult it is to eat a raw diet.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0BXr0JOIzJgvNNAzxnOYuspzVJwPXsAfG45HO_sCERxZ1kzFj3uUvF5-Hv3nP_UJWsZmRKSCoakg3gTstdT6w-c4Gfd0R3yhG6XvEP2u5hE9ZmBdhXBjBrSqCcFkE481R7Ofr1bPB-HI/s1600-h/herbs.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0BXr0JOIzJgvNNAzxnOYuspzVJwPXsAfG45HO_sCERxZ1kzFj3uUvF5-Hv3nP_UJWsZmRKSCoakg3gTstdT6w-c4Gfd0R3yhG6XvEP2u5hE9ZmBdhXBjBrSqCcFkE481R7Ofr1bPB-HI/s320/herbs.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173984482323732514" /></a><br />Possible cure for gout?<br /><br />I also wonder if I will be able to continue being vegetarian when I get home. I suppose I will miss chicken, turkey and fish to an extent. It's definitely easier to be veg here because they make such a great variety of food and you never even miss meat. Maybe I can learn how to cook some Indian food while I'm here. I've definitely felt better - cleaner - since I've been eating veg. I think I'll fold and put away my wet laundry... which hopefully is dry now.The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-746442387624702783.post-75234067323021877652008-03-03T11:18:00.001-08:002008-03-03T11:47:14.120-08:00Sunday 27, January - 7:00 AMI slept great last night. Elizabeth's host in Belgaum was a doctor (one of about 10,000 that we've already met so far on this trip) and he had given me a few pills "to ease my mind." I have been hoarding them like gold and I figured that after yesterday morning's cockroach ordeal, my mind needed to be eased.<br /><br />We made our presentation last night to the four Rotary clubs of Bijapur. There was no LCD projector so we had to kind of wing it without photos. It went fine. Prior to the presentation, my host's wife and mother dressed me up in one of their saris. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8XHeobqr_dHRADaswXuA7xUBItk-FQ1KJA7qVirJhIB1m9qxQB-wcs2gxFZSKPlxZ6DC2FdCeBNqHJLFtlyLQsjyOPqKimrqf9xJrrwAQqBnEO4S-16tno5bKuhWx25hG3OOhI8k5Og/s1600-h/saris.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8XHeobqr_dHRADaswXuA7xUBItk-FQ1KJA7qVirJhIB1m9qxQB-wcs2gxFZSKPlxZ6DC2FdCeBNqHJLFtlyLQsjyOPqKimrqf9xJrrwAQqBnEO4S-16tno5bKuhWx25hG3OOhI8k5Og/s320/saris.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173602744104349522" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sOmRqYrdu9v4d4h_DJg5PgmDHy6gQVFHSKVPIYzFVoMInM_bx_5vfi-EVsvuAU95zbwozuNWp4ladn2wUeVUnQp-nr-qHNtPbM5Drb5NWnyPwDrKKK-qMkG9G2izkrZKFRPEJeJk6y0/s1600-h/hosts.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sOmRqYrdu9v4d4h_DJg5PgmDHy6gQVFHSKVPIYzFVoMInM_bx_5vfi-EVsvuAU95zbwozuNWp4ladn2wUeVUnQp-nr-qHNtPbM5Drb5NWnyPwDrKKK-qMkG9G2izkrZKFRPEJeJk6y0/s320/hosts.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173602877248335714" /></a><br />My Bijapur host, his wife and parents.<br /><br />My host taught me a <span style="font-style:italic;">Ganapathi Sloka</span> - a prayer in the state language of Kannada. I read it at the presentation:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"Vakratunda Mahakaaya, Suryakoti Samaprabha<br />Nirvighnam Kuru Mey Deva, Sarva Kaaryeshu Sarvada"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Meaning: Lord Ganesha has a curved trunk with a powerful body. He has the brilliance of a million suns. May the Lord remove all the problems from the actions I aim to achieve.</span><br /><br />As I had mentioned, my host doesn't have a car. So we took his motorcycle to the Rotary meeting. As I was riding (side-saddle... while wearing the sari) a pig went running by and I just had to laugh. In my wildest dreams, could I have ever imagined myself in this situation?!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqGcM4vFnaZJ70hBsqMmx_2BWGiltRdwDXTZLXEDDnBV7IDveOmBQxRB2hUrpUNztx_00Hu7AI3QdXZzXWxFFymPzfBye5kVCoXgsUn12unSzlSAhrz-Zjvl-sExw7XYp2oPN_y8FbOk/s1600-h/sari.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqGcM4vFnaZJ70hBsqMmx_2BWGiltRdwDXTZLXEDDnBV7IDveOmBQxRB2hUrpUNztx_00Hu7AI3QdXZzXWxFFymPzfBye5kVCoXgsUn12unSzlSAhrz-Zjvl-sExw7XYp2oPN_y8FbOk/s320/sari.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173603083406765938" /></a><br />Not actually me, but the way I traveled to the meeting!<br /><br />This morning I just feel gross and totally need a <span style="font-style:italic;">real</span> shower. We were supposed to stay another day in Bijapur but instead are leaving for a town called Bagalkot which is more than fine with me. I hope it's a nice place.<br /><br />Misty's still pretty sick. She missed out on all of yesterday, but we've assured her that she's picked a pretty good time to get sick. She's in very good spirits though, and I find her to be pretty inspirational. She never complains, even though she's so sick.<br /><br />Only 16 more days here in India - I wonder what each will bring? I truly do keep flip-flopping from being miserable to ecstatic, and I think it really is all about my own perspective. I'm trying to be a lot more positive about it all - to just kind of go with the flow and put aside my fears and expectations. It makes life a lot easier and more enjoyable when you're not constantly trying to fight against it.<br /><br />So on that positive note, I'm off to start another day!The Pensive Turtlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09204847524308572246noreply@blogger.com1