The End

Made it home safe and sound! The first few days back were a bit challenging due to stomach issues...left over or just getting used to fruits and veggies again! Glad to be back but is taking a little adjusting after living in such a different world. I will attempt to figure out how to post a link to all 1,000 pictures if anyone is actually interested! Pics from the last week are posted below.
For now, thanks for reading and stay tuned for my next adventure...which will hopefully be sooner rather than later!
SK.

Just to Finish Up...

What a week! I realize I've been neglectful of my blog but we really have been going non-stop since I left CRHP over a week ago. I will try to do a quick summary of the week but of course its hard to get everything in!

We got to Mumbai on Tuesday night and we had dinner in Colaba, which is the main tourist area. Wednesday we just hung out and enjoyed being back in city life. I went to breakfast with my friend Chantal at the Taj Mahal (a couple of the group people were staying there) and had the best $20 breakfast ever. While it merely consisted of coffee, crepe, and fruit salad, the fact that I got a FULL cup of coffee in an actual mug was a very exciting thing. Ah, its the little things one can appreciate in life :)

On Wednesday night after getting Kelly, we headed to Lonalava (me, Kelly, Chantal from CRHP, and her friend James that had flown in from London). Lonalava is a hill town about an hour outside of Mumbai that is great to visit Monsoon. Its high up in the hills (more like small mountains) and the clouds and mist surrounding the area of so beautiful. We toured around and just enjoyed the scenery. On Friday we headed back into Mumbai for a few days. Mumbai is a great city! It is very metropolitan and much easier to manage than Delhi. We did some shopping, went to a Bollywood movie, did a walking tour of British Mumbai, and took a boat out to an island to see some caves. We also went to a "real" dinner out at a fancy restaurant, definitely the best meal I've had in India! It was fun to get dressed up and see how the other half of India lives (meaning the wealthy side). Chantal and I did a "tasting menu" of about 800 courses and it was to die for. It made for a really fun night!

Sunday we flew up to Udaipur, definitely one of my favorite places in India. It is so beautiful and really indescribeable. Its a mixture of being in a small Italian town and in India at the same time. I will post pictures as soon as I can. We were met by my tour leader (G) who is from Udaipur. It was so great to have him there to be our guide. Our hotel there was amazing, and we got there just in time to enjoy a drink on our roof top overlooking Lake Pichola. We then headed to a Rajasthani culture show which was very interesting. After that G took us to his family's art shop where they specialize in "melawari" style which is really intricate painting. They painted little figures on our fingernails that were so detailed--it was quite amazing. We got to meet some of G's family and everyone was very nice. After we headed to dinner and just had a great time. Monday we headed to some touristy spots in Udaipur and did a little shopping. We also visited Monsoon Palace (James Bond Octopussy was filmed in Udaipur) which is high up on a hill overlooking the mountains and Udaipur- SO beautiful. That night we went to a palm reader, lots of fun and everything is looking okay for me so that's good to know :)

Tuesday Kelly and I said goodbye to James and Chanti and headed to Jaipur. Again, had a very busy couple of days! Right away we find Abu, who works at our hotel and became our rickshaw driver for the next two days. He's a young guy of like 22 who actually has a stereo in his rickshaw...so funny and very sweet. Really we would not have had such a smooth visit without him. He took us around to all the sightseeing spots but also to some "hidden" stores/warehouses where we were able to do some shopping hassle free (of course he got something out of it to in commission but totally worth it to us). Attempting to shop here is an experience in itself and takes A LOT of patience. You walk down the street and every shop owner gets in front of you trying to sell you something then when you like it you have to spend time bargaining down to a reasonable price, can be very exhausting. Yesterday Abu took us to some out of the way sightseeing places we hadn't planned on visiting so it was great that we had him. We also got to ride an elephant!! Something I had wanted to do since arriving and was happy to finally get too (although the excitement didn't last all that long once I realized its really not all that comfortable riding an elephant...).

The only slight hitch in the Abu story is that last night on our way back after an exhausting afternoon he knew we were starving so he pulled off the road and bought us each this cold sweet thing. The main rule in India: do not eat street food. Well, we couldn't refuse so we ate up (it was delicious...) but we are both waiting for the shoe to drop on that one...luckily Kelly is in a nice hotel tonight but I will be on an airplane...hmmm. If we make it 24 hours then we should be in the clear. The past two days have been a challange for us in that department anyway so hopefully it won't get worse. Today we flew to Delhi and are now hanging out in Kelly's fabulous hotel. A real bed! Wow. I have a couple hours left and will have a chance to shower, etc before heading to the airport.

I cannot believe I leave India tonight! It is so strange that my time here is over. Of course I'm excited to come back to the states but also sad that its all ending! It has been such a great experience for me and I can't wait to share it with everyone when I get back! I have a ton of great pictures and will post them when I'm back at a REAL computer with fast internet. That's it for now, next (and final) post will be from the good ole' US of A!

Goodbye to CRHP

The above pictures are of Tai...a little girl who has been hanging around the hospital since we have been here because her brother has been suffering from malnutrition. She is always so happy despite all the pain in her life, from the pictures you can see a little deeper...I really love these.

While the last 48 hours at CRHP have not been the best yet, its hard to believe its already my last day! I had another stomach attack over the weekend (I will leave out the gory gory details), this time seemed worst than the first with the addition of churning stomach knots…luckily Cipro came to the rescue once again. I spent most of yesterday sleeping and feel a ton better today. I’m not sure what the culprit was, could have been eating the local food at the Wedding we went to…maybe not the best idea. Anyway, these types of experiences are ones I will not miss once home again.

We usually stay after dinner and play cards for a while in the Mess, the past two nights we have spotted a mouse running along the wall. Last night we asked Revi (one of the Aroles) what they would do and he simply responded they would let a few Indian Rat Snakes loose overnight and that should take care of it…gotta love that Indian solution. Ick.

So today we presented our final projects and had a “graduation” ceremony. It was really amazing. First it was great to see us all applying the principles we learned to another city. I really liked our plan and if only we had ½ million in funding, I think we could totally do it in DC.

The ceremony was very nice. They presented us each with a flower garland, a shawl (representing knowledge), and a candlestick (representing us spreading the “light” of what we have learned). The Aroles each spoke and said some amazing words, I think there were more than a few tears in the room. They basically spoke about all that we have learned and their hopes for us as we begin our careers and that we remember our experiences and our time in Jamkhed. They said that when many of us could have done other things with our summers, we chose to come to a rural village in India (without really knowing what we were getting into, without entertainment, etc) and learn about another way of life and how to help those who need help the most. It really puts the last 4 weeks into perspective (or at least begin too…I think the real perspective will begin to come once we leave). Anyway, it was a very nice way to end the course.

I just finished packing and luckily everything was squeezed in! Tonight we have a final dinner and goodbye party. Off to Mumbai in the morning. It is definitely emotional to be ending this but am excited for my last bit of traveling in India and to meet Kelly in 2 days!

Time is a Flyin'

Its been quite a week here! The days are going fast and its hard to believe we are working on final projects. Anyway, its been a great week. We've been having class presentations which have been interesting but also doing a good bit of personal development. Today we had an open forum with the Drs. Arole where we got to ask any questions. They talked a lot about motivation and balance. Doing development work can be such a challenge but they both say they haven't felt like they have made any sacrifices. We also did a very cool meditation today where you had to picture your own funeral and what people where there, what your friends and family would say about you and what you would want them to say. Then we had to write our "life" mission statement. Really a neat thing to do and makes you think about where you are and where you want to be.

Speaking of life, had an amazing experience this week of getting to see a live birth. Tuesday night we had another poker game (I won this time!) and were just all hanging out because we knew there were two women in labor. I was set-up to see the 2am birth - bad prediction because 2am turned into 3am turned into 4am...you get the idea. But it was fun because a few of us just stayed up talking. Finally around 6am we went to the hospital. Unfortunately it was a very hard labor and the woman (20 yrs old...) was in a lot of pain. She kept wanting to walk around and the contractions were horrible. We tried to comfort her but by the end she was saying she didn't want the baby anymore...oops, too late for that! Finally she was fully dialated. By this time though she was so exhausted that the doctor had to push for her. Soon enough though a brand new baby boy emerged! Definitely one of the most amazing things I've seen. He was healthy and the mother is now fine. After a good rest she decided she would keep him :) I went and saw her the next day and she was in much better condition. Wednesday was a long, exhausting day but definitely worth it! (by the way, the first thing I did was call my mom and thank her profusly for going through that...)

Yesterday we got to attend a Wedding Reception! It was so neat. We went in the afternoon, basically with the whole village. We didn't really understand the customs but it was very cool to see. We are now working on "action plans" which is applying the principles we've learned to real-life. My team is doing young women in inner-city DC and I'm really enjoying the exercise. This weekend we have a final dinner and work on our projects which we present Monday morning and then have a "graduation" ceremony. Tuesday we head out! Crazy. Once I'm out traveling again not sure of the internet situation but hopefully I'll get that chance.

Monkeys and Bats

First off- A few people have asked about donating to CRHP. Absolutely! Just go to their website (you can just type in Jamkhed into Google) and I think it’s the first cite that comes up. They have an online donation link. I promise your money will be used very well and help the good work they do here.

I think I left off about a week ago prior to the snake charmer….it was quite interesting. He had 2 cobras, an Indian rat snake (they bite, but don’t worry, not poisonous) and then 2 other snakes that both look alike (don’t worry, only one is poisonous…you just better know which one). He did some magic tricks and then brought out the cobras – SCARY, especially when they loose their grip and the snakes go a flying. Anyway, we all survived.

On Wednesday we went to CRHP’s farm. They grow food (most of what we eat comes directly from there) and have livestock but also use it as a training area for villagers wanting to get more into farming. It was neat to see and its been a pretty successful venture, in the past 2 years they have started making some profit and are now using some of the acres for more high-tech farming like cotton. After a tour we had the opportunity to ride a tractor or bullock-cart. Due to the fact that I am well-versed in driving a tractor thanks to our place in the country, I choose the bullock-cart (cart pulled by ox). It was a lot of fun and those ox actually go pretty fast! After we sat for snack and tea and heard from one of the women who works the farm. Quite an amazing story. She was married at 15, her husband had AIDS and died when she was 18 but not before giving her AIDS. She did not know until she was pregnant. Then her baby died because she could not support it. After all this she attempted suicide. It was at this point that someone brought her to CRHP. They treated her with medicine and gave her a job. 6 years later she is thriving, basically running the farm, and raising her sister’s daughter. She is so beautiful and tells her story so non-challantly considering what she has been through. She is only 24. Incredible that she has lived such a hard life and is still so young. It really puts your own life and hardships (or lack thereof…) into perspective. Really a moving experience.

Friday I gave my presentation on living with physical disabilities in a rural village and that night in celebration of the 4th of July we had a party! Apple crumble and great food (almost like Thanksgiving, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey). We even sang the National Anthem in honor. They also had a little fireworks show which was great, plus we had our own little dance party through people’s i-pods (side note: I didn’t realize before I left that my i-pod is in fact BROKEN and no longer runs on charge, only works when plugged into speakers which is how I had been using it at home…sad).

This weekend we went to Aurangabad to visit the Ellora Caves and an awesome fort, amazing. Its about a 4 hour drive from Jamkhed. The Caves were all built between 600 – 1000 AD by different religions (Jain, Buddhism, and Hindu). One of the caves has the World’s largest monolithic sculpture that was made from the rock over 150 years. The next day we went for a hike up to the top of the hilltop fortress – Daulatabad. So cool, the best way to describe is that I felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie. Draw bridges, dark caves led by torch-light, tons of bats, secret passage ways to stop invaders. Plus it had amazing views of the surrounding area. There was a hilarious (and terrifying) incident with a red-faced monkey. We had been warned that they are mean and were shown that first hand when one of the guys in our group tried to get next to it for a picture and it came after him. Then it saw another person with a plastic bag…went up to the guy, ripped open the bag, growled at the guy, took out a bag of chips, and proceeded to go to a tree and eat the bag. It was quite funny except that he was running in my direction and I was a bit scared. Anyway, it was truly a great weekend ending last night in me watching my first Cricket game on TV. It was the Asia Finals, India against Sri Lanka, unfortunately India lost. I think I got the basics finally so I can join in some of the games we have been playing with the local guys.

Hard to believe I leave Jamkhed a week from tomorrow! The time has gone so fast and meant so much. We have most of our travel plans set for after so I’m getting very excited about being back on the road (a little more well-versed in “Indian Travel” this time around). After meeting Kelly in Mumbai we are heading with a Brit gal from my group (and her friend she’s meeting) to a “hill town” outside the city for a couple of days. A hill town is basically what it sounds like and is said to be really pretty during monsoon time. Then we are back in Mumbai for a few days before heading north to Rajasthan. We have 2 days in Udaipur and 2 days in Jaipur (one of the places I was supposed to visit on my original tour but did not get to because of the protests).