So I'm really not so good at this whole blogging thing and I'm too lazy to write a whole bunch of stuff now, but I just got back from a ten-day excursion so it's okay, right?
A couple of weekends before the excursion I went to Shimla which was SO BEAUTIFUL and amazing, and I'm going back there for most of November for my independent study!!! I'm thrilled. It's a city in the clouds, like something out of a Miyazaki film. Here's a picture which will describe it better than I can.
So that was really awesome. We took a train to a different hill station and then had to take a 3-hour car ride to Shimla which was absolutely stunning but also a little sickening due to the windy and narrow mountain roads all the way up. Luckily no one vomited! Here's the group in the car:
So then for the last ten days the whole program traveled across India from Delhi all the way to Kolkata in the eastern state Bengal! We traveled to four cities other than Delhi, including Khajuraho (my favorite), Varanasi/Banares, Bodhgaya, and Kolkata. We took a total of three overnight trains, one plane, and one long car trip. I unfortunately got rather sick somewhere around Varanasi (overnight trains are really not the best for staying healthy...) so that was unfortunate but luckily I was up and at 'em for at least one day in each city so I didn't completely miss anything :D
So in overnight trains you are packed like sardines into three tiers of bunks, generally in a little compartment (sectioned off by curtains, but only sometimes--on our way to Varanasi there were none...) of six. The middle bunk is folded up and used as a back to the bottom bunk to make it a seat until around 11PM-ish. On our first ride we had 5/6 of the bunks in the compartment reserved by the program and the 6th guy hadn't come yet, so we had a nice pow-wow and told some jokes with one of the staff members, Arjun-ji, who is hilarious. We're working on a handshake. Anyways here's a nice photo pre-bedtime:
It was a fun time. I was on the bottom-most bunk that night, which I think is the worst because it's the bumpiest and you here everyone walking around right next to you/getting down to pee. Not much sleep that night. The best part about the overnight trains/not sleeping is that you can watch the sunrise from the space in between cars where the bathroom is. The door to the outside is often open, and there are handles on either side so you can sort of hang out the side of the train in the fresh morning, which is absolutely delightful. Fresh air blasting across your face is the best wake-up call!
In Khajuraho we saw lots of temples, most notably tantric temples. Tantrism as my program director describes it is the "sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll" of Indian religion. Very sexual (and elaborate) temple sculptures! See what I'm talking about?
From Khajuraho we went to Varanasi and saw the Ganga (though I missed the sunset boatride because of sickness :c). Then we drove to Bodhgaya (where the Buddha reached enlightenment) and sat under a bodhi tree and talked about the Bodhicharyavatara, which is one of the principle Buddhist texts and which we are reading. After Bodhgaya we took another train to Kolkata and visited this crazy marble palace. Then we flew back to Delhi yesterday night!
Today was pretty relaxed. Sunita-ji made another delicious dish for dinner called Gujarati daal, which is similar to yellow daal, but spicier, and you add freshly chopped onions, mint and turmeric chutneys, and freshly squeezed lime juice. It almost tastes Mexican because of the lime and cilantro and onions, but with an Indian twist! Delicious.
Sleepy time, but lots of love to everyone! For the parents: I am recovering!
:D
A couple of weekends before the excursion I went to Shimla which was SO BEAUTIFUL and amazing, and I'm going back there for most of November for my independent study!!! I'm thrilled. It's a city in the clouds, like something out of a Miyazaki film. Here's a picture which will describe it better than I can.
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| Shimla at sunset |
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| Car ride to Shimla! |
So in overnight trains you are packed like sardines into three tiers of bunks, generally in a little compartment (sectioned off by curtains, but only sometimes--on our way to Varanasi there were none...) of six. The middle bunk is folded up and used as a back to the bottom bunk to make it a seat until around 11PM-ish. On our first ride we had 5/6 of the bunks in the compartment reserved by the program and the 6th guy hadn't come yet, so we had a nice pow-wow and told some jokes with one of the staff members, Arjun-ji, who is hilarious. We're working on a handshake. Anyways here's a nice photo pre-bedtime:
 |
| Jokes on the train (left to right: Gordon, Jenna, Kerrie, Arjun-ji) |
In Khajuraho we saw lots of temples, most notably tantric temples. Tantrism as my program director describes it is the "sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll" of Indian religion. Very sexual (and elaborate) temple sculptures! See what I'm talking about?
 |
| Tantric temple at Khajuraho, West Group |
From Khajuraho we went to Varanasi and saw the Ganga (though I missed the sunset boatride because of sickness :c). Then we drove to Bodhgaya (where the Buddha reached enlightenment) and sat under a bodhi tree and talked about the Bodhicharyavatara, which is one of the principle Buddhist texts and which we are reading. After Bodhgaya we took another train to Kolkata and visited this crazy marble palace. Then we flew back to Delhi yesterday night!
Today was pretty relaxed. Sunita-ji made another delicious dish for dinner called Gujarati daal, which is similar to yellow daal, but spicier, and you add freshly chopped onions, mint and turmeric chutneys, and freshly squeezed lime juice. It almost tastes Mexican because of the lime and cilantro and onions, but with an Indian twist! Delicious.
Sleepy time, but lots of love to everyone! For the parents: I am recovering!
:D
