Tuesday, 29 January 11:00 PM

I appear to be on a lucky streak!

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.

After the temple and introductions to the Gadag club, our respective hosts claimed us and took us back to their houses. My family is AWESOME!!! 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.


Awesome Gadag hosts: Poonam, Mohan,
me and Grandma.

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.



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.



Afterwards, we went and saw a clinic that performs free cataract surgeries:





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.





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.

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 Hampi. 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.

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?

And here's a quote that was painted on the wall at the school we visited today:



True dat. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a mosquito net to sleep under!

Monday, 28 January - 11:00 PM

Wow, 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 real coffee and fresh fruit.



But as the day wore on, I became a miserable wretch. We were supposed to go to Hampi 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.


Great signage at the underwater temple.


250 stairs to... another temple.

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."


There I am, all smiles!

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.

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!

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.


Rooftop feast with the awesome Ilkal Rotarians.

Everyone had a great time and, as Bernie says, "Every cloud has a silver lining."



Indeed. And it's all about perspective. Tomorrow... Gadag.

Monday, 28 January - 6:30 AM

I 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.

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."

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.



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.

Sunday 27, January - 11:00 PM

Oh thank you, Lord Vishnu and all of your ten incarnations!!

I have landed in Bagalkot with an awesome family -- the president of the Rotary club here!!

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.


Temple carved into a rock.



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?


"Oh goodie... more temples."

I thought this was pretty funny. At the sites, they charge foreigners 25 times more admission than citizens:



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.


Consider yourself warned.


Monkeys!!


"I love you, Monkey!"

On the way to Bagalkot tonight, we stopped off at this little farm which was way 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.



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.


Possible cure for gout?

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.

Sunday 27, January - 7:00 AM

I 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.

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.




My Bijapur host, his wife and parents.

My host taught me a Ganapathi Sloka - a prayer in the state language of Kannada. I read it at the presentation:

"Vakratunda Mahakaaya, Suryakoti Samaprabha
Nirvighnam Kuru Mey Deva, Sarva Kaaryeshu Sarvada"

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.

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?!


Not actually me, but the way I traveled to the meeting!

This morning I just feel gross and totally need a real 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.

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.

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.

So on that positive note, I'm off to start another day!

Saturday, 26 January - 4:00 PM

I'm not really digging Bijapur. This morning I did battle with a cockroach that was easily three inches long. I was sitting on the toilet when I noticed him in the corner of the bathroom, trying to scoot under the door into my bedroom. So I got up, grabbed a shoe and smashed him. I picked him up into a cup and dropped him in the toilet and flushed. But of course the toilet would not flush. And um, not to be gross, but I had just gone to the bathroom too.

As I was trying to figure out how to make the damn toilet flush, the cockroach came back to life and started paddling around in the water! So I closed the lid, took my bucket bath and got dressed. Afterwards, I very cautiously lifted the lid to find that he had become completely reanimated and was now swimming frantically, trying to get out of the toilet! Agh!!

I slammed the lid back down and went into the living room to tell my host that I couldn't flush the toilet. He went into the bathroom for a few minutes and then came back out. When I checked the toilet again, it was clear that he had not had much luck flushing it either, but the cockroach was gone. I'm not sure where it went. And I don't ever want to find out.

Breakfast was not good. I had two bites of something sweet and a greasy little doughball. Our hosts took us to see the Ibrahim Rauza, or Black Taj Mahal...





... and the Gol Gumbaz - a huge dome so acoustically amazing that even a whisper echoes seven times.



It's hot and dry and dusty. My host family is okay, but I get the feeling they're laughing quite a bit at my expense. I'm actually getting a little tired of being stared at. Everywhere we go, people look at us. Little kids run up and ask, "What is your name?" and want to shake our hands.


"Excuse me, Madam? Madam?"


"What is your name? Madam?"

I know I should just relax and enjoy the experience. After all, if it was like being home it wouldn't be an adventure, right? But for some reason, I keep expecting to come to the next town and it being more like my own. Where toilets flush and people have shower curtains and Kleenex. And there aren't cows and pigs walking down the street.


How does one get used to this?

I miss Wolf and our house. It's bad today. On a positive note, I did have my first Indian motorcycle ride this morning. That was pretty fun. My host doesn't have a car so he drove me to meet the others on his bike. So yeah, that was a good thing. I guess it could certainly be worse, I know.

Saturday, 26 January - 6:30 AM

Yesterday was definitely my least favorite day so far.

I had a nice send-off from my host family. We were supposed to leave around 9:00 but we were delayed by over an hour because the zipper on Elizabeth's suitcase broke. While we were waiting, one of the hosts took Bernie, Rajiv and me to the post office so we could buy stamps and mail postcards. The host was laughing because he didn't understand why we would want to send postcards when we could just send email. We tried to explain that it's kind of sentimental.

When we met back up, we all piled into this huge 12-passenger van and set sail for Bijapur. En route, we stopped at a town called Nipani. It's a small town and we did a mini-presentation for their mini-Rotary club. Nipani is famous for its tobacco crops and so our gift from the Nipani Rotary Club was a carton of beedies.

"None of us smoke," we told the Rotarian with the gray beard. "It's bad for you."
"Bad? I have been smoking for forty years and I am very healthy!" he replied, coughing black phlegm into his handkerchief. He henceforth became known to us as Smokey.

Smokey and a few other Rotarians took us to a school that they sponsor and then back to their club, where all the men proceeded to drink beer and smoke beedies. The women were inside preparing lunch, and us three girls were pretty much left to wonder what we were supposed to do. After lunch we toured their Rotary blood bank, and then left again to visit another fort. I guess we finally left Nipani around 5:00 PM.


Kids from the Nipani Rotary school.


Smokey says, "Come on Bernie, all the cool kids are doing it!"


Bag o' blood, anyone?

We drove for a couple more hours, playing with fruit and getting punchier by the minute. Then Misty came down with a fever.


Playing with "Agent Orange"...


... while Misty gets sicker and sicker.

We stopped off in this really crappy town so that Bernie and one of the hosts could take her to a hospital. The rest of us ended up sitting in this little dive of a restaurant being stared at by patrons. It must have been the equivalent of a greasy spoon diner. We sat around being miserable until it was time to leave.


No Happy Waitresses at the Indian diner.


"Quit it Smokey, cows do not smoke beedies!"

So we drove for an hour and then stopped again at some strange little village where these poor people were making sandals to export to Germany. It was pretty late at night, we were all tired, confused and cranky. We finally arrived in Bijapur after 11:00 PM and we were taken to our new hosts. I was totally exhausted.

My new family seems cool. It's a young guy, his pregnant wife and his parents. They were a little bummed that I didn't want to eat dinner at 11:00 at night. We sat around in their living room staring at one another until my host's brother and nephew came over. Then we all stared at one another some more until I finally excused myself to go to bed.

The room is tiny and it's gonna be another bucket bath for me this morning. Fortunately we're only here for two nights. The house is really small and my room is right next to the living room so I can hear all the commotion, both inside and out. Right now, for instance, I hear outside some loud trucks, a Muslim mosque calling people to prayer, a dog, a goat, and some guy coughing and hocking loogies really loudly. Lovely.

I think we're all reaching out tipping points. Elizabeth had a meltdown yesterday and it feels like it's all getting to be a bit too much. I try to remain positive - it's just a couple more weeks - but sometimes it really tests the strength. We chug along...