Twyla's reflection on 6 months living in India

Next week is the official six month mark of living in India. Hard to believe it’s been that long and, of course, at times it feels like we’ve been here much longer. So, time for some reflections! I’ve started part time work at the school in the counseling department, so the past two weeks have been more busy and have made me appreciate how lucky I was to have the free time to explore. I’ve gotten to know the Bandra area, where we live, fairly well and I’m pleased with the exploration I’ve gotten to do in the rest of the city. Coming back from Rajasthan, I felt relief to be back in Mumbai where things are familiar and I know what to expect. Our flat is shaping into a more lived in space (except for one of the bathrooms which is being ripped up due to bad plumbing). I was excited this week to take photos and some art to have frames made – all custom made and none over 300rs a piece. Accomplishments like that are wonderful and make me feel more settled.

Greg and I have been training for the half and full marathon since the summer and our efforts paid off last weekend. It was very wonderful to have a goal to focus on in the fitness department and I think it has helped us both in our transition here. Moving from GJ, when we were playing in the mountains or desert almost every weekend for the past two and a half years, to then move to the biggest city in the world, we were worried about how we would continue getting the exercise we crave. Training for this running event was a great idea. We both did well too, meeting or exceeding our goals. And now that it’s over, we can start taking advantage of some of the city life on the weekends, i.e. enjoying the night life, since we don’t have to be up at 5am to run.

One pleasant surprise with moving to Mumbai through ASB, is the amazing community that has just been plopped into our laps. Moving to both Oregon and Grand Junction, it took us about a year in both places to start to find our niche and feel like we belonged to a community. Here, we have had the fortune to have too many opportunities and having to constantly choose between what we want to do and with whom. It’s one of the reasons time has flown by so quickly. We really couldn’t of asked for much more!

I did hit a lull, which I was waiting to happen, right as all of our guests arrived for the holidays. Since we had a trip planned and people to share our experience with, I couldn’t wallow in it. For me, trying to figure out what to do employment-wise while in India, the initial newness of everything having worn off, and the fact that some things in India can be SOOOO frustrating to deal with at times, led to a typical new expat lull.

India is a country with the most number of trained IT people in the world, yet the infrastructure is not in place to support sufficient development. Also, the times when you want to find something and you have no idea what type of store to look at, just sent me into a place of “why bother.” The traffic and noise at times can become so overwhelming that getting myself to walk out of our apartment feels nearly impossible. Or course, once I cross the thresh hold, I’m just fine, but getting there can be so hard some days. Picture frames are a great example. I went to some of the department stores nearby and they had like two frames to choose from. Alright, so now what. So, I spoke to some of our friends who have been here a while and found out you just get frames made. Then it’s researching where others have gone and how much they have paid. Finally, I hear of one that sounds like how much I should pay here in India, I motivate to take everything down to the shop, and I end up having a great time getting to choose what matting and what frame I want to be use. India opens up this creative side of myself I never knew was there. I’ve bought most of my clothes at boutiques around Bandra, which has been a lot of fun. Then, three weeks ago, Alison and I venture out to find the fabric bazaar and a whole new world opens up! There are SO MANY choices and my brain is going crazy with all the thoughts of what could be done with the fabric. There were even stalls filled with only dupattas (the long scarf worn with most Indian outfits)! Fun! Anyone one who loves to look at and feel fabric would be in heaven. One moment life feels so frustrating and the next it’s an excited experience.

India is a paradox. There are so many opposites occurring all the time that at first it only feels like chaos. Then, weekly, sometimes daily, little things click and something makes a little more sense or at least I learn how to navigate the chaos slightly better. I’ve realized I need to be kind to myself when I reach those moments of exhaustion and allow myself to relax for a little before heading out again to learn a little bit more. One lesson I continually have to remind myself lately is that even though my skin color makes me stick out like a sore thumb (as does blonde hair and blue eyes), people’s behaviors aren’t solely based on this fact. When I’m trying to get a rickshaw during rush hour and empty ones pass me by, I look around to see the same thing happening to Indians. The driver isn’t singling me out, he’s got other reasons for “being a jerk” at that moment.:)

Being a woman here can, and probably always will be, trying at times. Whether it’s being stared at so intensely you feel like something is grotesquely wrong and rickshaw drivers adjusting their mirrors just so they can get a better look, to being addressed as “Mr” when making reservations over email because why would a woman be making reservations. It’s been a balance of figuring out when to ignore and when to be confident and stand my ground. It will be interesting when we make our first trip back to the US and we melt back into the landscape. I wonder how that will feel after two years here. Our other question is how will our driving will be after witnessing such horrid driving, on the wrong side of the road for two years and then getting behind the wheel of the Cavalier for the first time. We’ll let you all know when that happens so you can make sure to stay off the roads at that time.

Finally, thank you for all the emails, FB posts and Skyping. One of the hardest things about transitioning is always leaving such wonderful people behind. Greg and I continuously reflect on how lucky we have been to meet such amazing people in our lives and then to be able to continue hearing about how each of your lives continues to change and grow. We are truly a part of a global community, more so now than ever.

Throwing it out – we are in the beginnings of planning our summer trekking around the Himalayas and there’s an open invitation to anyone who would like to join! Cheers to the next six months!

Rajasthan

As I’m sitting here, tired of reading my book, still feeling too sick to go out and do something, I realize how difficult starting this blog on our trip to Rajasthan is for me. I’m not sure why since it was a good trip. For me, though, it was shadowed by a head cold that kept rearing its head and two days ago became much worse. Along with that, trying to be a good tour guide for our group, an expectation I had put onto myself. The end of our trip it was rainy and cold in Jodhpur and Jaipur. When I saw our pictures I was surprised by the sunny days we had the majority of the trip. My stuffed up head had forgotten about that warmth. When we landed in Mumbai, I noticed my body relax and the air penetrate my weary bones. I was happy to be back. I think this a sign of settling into this chaotic city. With this said, Greg and I have already had thoughts about our next trip back to Rajasthan. I think I’ll do this blog in a more bulleted format.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Havelis, guesthouses and roof tops. The faithful Lonely Planet, along with suggestions from friends who visited Rajasthan over Diwali, came through in the sleeping category. In Jaipur, our first accommodation had a wonderful back yard with peacocks frequently stopping by, wonderful painted interior including the ceiling and a computerized check-out system. In Pushkar, again, the décor was wonderfully unique and bright. Small balconies over looked the town and the roof top restaurant provided splendid views. The rood top was serene and peaceful compared to the hawkers and pushy Brahmins wanting money for their “blessings.” In Udaipur…oh, Udaipur. We all liked Udaipur and wished we had more time there. The rooms at Dream Heaven all over looked the lake and its beautiful reflections of the white city. So did the restaurant…ahhh, the lake. We were lucky since this monsoon was long and wet. In drought years, the lake can be dried up, the island where the Lake View Hotel (where the James Bond flick, Octopussy, was filmed) stands on rock overlooking dried mud. In Jodhpur, we stayed in an old haveli within the old city’s walls. A haveli is an old mansion of the wealthy. Some have been turned into guest houses in order for the families to keep them. Greg and I walked around one that had been abandoned and was crumbling down. This haveli had fun décor with fabric, though our room had a nasty stench that did not go away. Our last hotel in Jaipur felt like we were in the US at a Motel 6. Bland, but clean.

Castles and forts. Rajasthan is famous for its old castles and many forts during the time of the Maharajas and Maharanis. Some cities still have royalty, much like England. They have opened and preserved palaces and forts to help earn money to keep their history alive. We also discovered the audio tour, which the Agra Fort, Udaipur and Jodhpur have done an excellent job with. So, all of pictures with us in those places have headphones making a cameo appearance. All of the castles and forts were maze like, with each ruler adding their own style and defense ideas. So rooms were elaborately decorated with mirrors, stained glass, and paintings. Others, a simple, but regal marble. I loved trying to imagine what it was like during the time when the walls were filled with the royal family and court. The book called “The Far Pavillions,” which I read during my Dengue stupor in college while in my Jamaica study abroad, took place in Rajasthan, so it was wonderful to see in real life what my mind had conjured up.

Taj Mahal Check, did it. Two out of the six of us had seen the Taj Mahal, but it still is a beautiful structure and hard to take a bad picture there. The adventure to Agra was the train ride. We caught a 6:10am train in Jaipur, which dropped us off about four and a half hours later in Agra. We had lunch, saw the Taj, saw the Agra Fort, had some dinner and then took another train back at 8:10am. The first train, we had AC Chair Car seats. Very nice and food delivered to us. On the way back we had sleep Car seats. This means we each had a seat and a bunk, but the windows were opened allow natural breeze to cool the car. Lesson learned: always carry bedding. I failed to realize how cold it would be in December on the train ride. Luckily it was only 4 and a half hours, so we all lived through it. That was the big adventure part of the trip.

Surprises. Ranakpur! Wow!! Really, the reason I even had us travel by car was to see these Jain temples between Udaipur and Jodhpur and we agreed that this was THE highlight of the trip. The Taj or Ranakpur – Ranakpur hands down. It was in the middle of nowhere, among beautiful hills. The ride there was through small villages and farm land. Water is irrigated by a series of water wheels that are run by oxen and drawn up with many tin cans on a loop. They use one until the water hole is dry for the season and start on another. Simple, yet effective. The Jain Temples were very detailed and ornate. The main temple had 1444 pillars made of marble. Spectacular.

Animals. Holy Cows!!! Peacocks and peahens. Monkeys. Parrots. Camels. Elephants. Cobras. You aren’t in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. Ryan made his goal of riding on a camel in Pushkar. He was about to pass on fulfilling this goal (he was promptly accused of being all talk and no walk), when Suzy said she’d go with him. The look on Suzy’s face when the camel stood up made it worthwhile for Ryan. My goal of seeing a cobra became a reality. When we went to have lunch on the back side of the Jaipur Palace, I heard the unmistakable sound of the snake charmers’ instrument, wailing close by. Rounding a corner, there they were, two of them, sticking straight up, facing the snake charmer. Sweeeeeet! (The wailing flute does get to be a bit much after awhile).

Lost in Translation? Mmmmm, nope. Over all we liked our driver. He was safe and cautious, which was welcomed. He was on time and would have rather been driving us the entire trip, but there were three days when he did not need to. At the end of the trip, we figured out how much in tip we would give him. After unloading our luggage, we thanked him and Greg gave him 1000 rupees. He looked offended and we couldn’t figure out why. He wouldn’t take the money. I called the travel agent who booked the driver and he said “you can give him a tip or not. It’s up to you. If he won’t take it then that’s his choice.” Greg went to try again. The issue was the driver wanted 500 Rs per person, well above the 100 Rs per day guidebooks and people had told us was typical. The driver called his boss and Greg told him what was going on. The bossman said, give him 1000 Rs, that’s what you are giving him. So, that’s what we did. Very strange.

Shopping. I should say SHOPPING!!! There was a lot of this. Greg and I had some ideas about some decorations we wanted to buy, but for those of us living here and those of us visiting, it’s a whole different ballgame. Rajasthan is known for its fabrics, clothing, miniature paintings, and much more. Suzy and Ryan left with a fair more than they came with and my dad and Alison have begun their India goods stockpile.

Sickness. Okay, this isn’t a highlight, but neither was the driver. But it was a part of the trip nonetheless. Sadly, this tour guide was sick the entire trip. Some days better than others. At the end I was fed up and just wanted some beer, so I decided for a few days I didn’t care if I was sick. Now, I’m on antibiotics. Alison caught the head cold about day two into the trip, so she could guess a little about what would be in store for her the next day. At dinner in Pushkar, with Alison staying to rest in the guest house, my dad suddenly said he needed to leave. I walked after him and he turned red and hot. But, he never threw up. He spent the night and next day feeling nauseous. Luckily, it was a day of driving, so he stretched out in the back of the van and slept for 8 hours. Suzy was next. In Jodhpur, she didn’t join us for dinner our first night. After a yummy dinner, we went up to bed after a long day (including Ranakpur!). As I was brushing my teeth, I could hear someone vomiting. “Oooo,”I thought, “That doesn’t sound good.” For a fleeting moment I thought about Suzy. Ten minutes later, Ryan shows up at our door to tell us about Suzy’s state. Suzy had about 24hours of the bug and then seemed well enough the rest of the trip. Ryan and Greg were unscathed…so far.

There it is in a nutshell. At least my version. There was so much that happened in ten days! Thanks to our four visitors for celebrating the holidays with us!

First week with Dad and Alison

Our first guests have survived their first week with no major incidents! My dad and Alison arrived last Friday at 5am, greeted by myself and Darshan, a driver for the school. I decided to be "nice" and ease them into their Indian experience with a pick up at their airport in a spacious a/c van and driver. All went smooth at the pick up and we were back in time to see Greg before he headed off to work. Since they had the luxury of a business class seats, aka being able to lie horizontally and thus avoiding cankles, so they were not afforded much of a down time before I took them around Bandra. Helping them to stretch their legs and get the blood flowing, we walked close to five miles through side streets, up along Mount Mary, down to Lands End Fort, back up Bandstand, through the fishing village near jogger's park and up to Pali Market. Finally I was tired and begged to stop for a fresh lime soda and bagel. (I don't know if I've mentioned, or given the fresh lime soda the attention on this blog that it deserves. It's a wonderfully refreshing drink made with fresh lime juice, soda water and you can get "sweet, "salty" or "mixed." I'm a fan of the mixed variety. It's a must for any day that is hot or if you are exerting a lot of energy. Yuuuuummmmy! I think our guests agree on this matter as well.) After we got home, I talked them into a rickshaw ride to the school, where there was a holiday festival going on. They were good sports with cramming three of us in the rickshaw and then being introduced to many teachers and parents as we toured the booths. Greg joined us for the ride home and poor Alison was able to experience Greg's bad luck with rickshaws. Their driver didn't totally understand where to go, so they ended up getting out and walking the last bit. It ended up okay with a stop for some beer to have at home. I was impressed that both my dad and Alison made it until 6:30pm with only a 30 minute nap.

Day two: Your in Mumbai, so you might as well go to the largest slum in Asia, Duravi, for a tour! I had this on my list of things to see in Mumbai, so I was glad to have my dad and Alison come along for the trial run. This is a tour put on by Reality Tours and Travel. They actually started out as an agency providing early childhood education and IT training for adults in the slum. Since then, they have expanded to giving tours of the slum to give a more realistic look of what the slum is in India. The Dhuravi slum is a community that is on government land, so people build buildings, but the government can decide to get rid of those buildings at any time. This slum has sewers and running water, and an amazing industrial area. One million people are estimated to live in this slum, but that is just an estimation. The reality is probably much higher. The Dhuravi slum has numerous recycling industries, such as plastic, metal oil containers, and radiator filters. There are also leather and textile industries within the slum. We were all surprised at the lack of people begging. Actually no one was. Children were into saying hello and shaking our hands, and adults watching us. The last half of the tour was walking through a residential area which was a maze of narrow passages between buildings that barely allowed people to pass each other. It was fascinating. We all agreed it was an excellent experience and I hope to arrange this opportunities for as many of you who visit!

The rest of the week was spent walking around Bandra, many shopping excursions, a trip to Chor Bazaar (thieves market), and preparing for our holiday cocktail party on Friday night. The party went well, complete with Reid motivating us all to sing Twelves Days of Christmas. I was excited about our bright, multi-colored Christmas lights that dominated the decorating scheme. Very India.

Suzy and Ryan are arriving tonight and we all head off to Rajasthan on Monday for ten days.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

A Charlie's Choclate Factory experience.

Last night was the elementary school's Tree Lighting Festival. For over a month, staff members have been telling Greg and I, "You've got to go. The food is amazing. It's wonderful." We agreed we had to check out what the hype was all about. So, we found ourselves at the Hyatt last night, waiting with excited children running around and through adult legs, eagerly awaiting. At 6:20pm, we were allowed into the court yard that housed the gigantic Christmas Tree. This part of the evening would be filled with the tree lighting and then elementary school choirs performing. As the first group of kids took the stage, the count down was started and at zero the tree and other parts of the lobby blazed brightly. Each choir did well with their performances and at the end there was a sing along for the audience. At the end of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," gasps went up in the crowd. We had to reposition ourselves to see that Santa was rappelling down one of the walls. (Later on, some of Greg's students said they first thought it was him since Santa was rappelling). As Santa made his was to his red velvet couch, doors to the side of us opened up into a banquet hall.

(Let me take this moment to remind all that this is a school sponsored function).

There was a pause as those of us near the door peered into the room. The large hall was outlined in food stations carrying Thai, American, Continental, Japanese, and Chinese fare. There were also several bar areas placed in strategic places. In the center of it all was the desert station which looked like one of the counters in the cosmetic stations at a department store. We looked at each other, grabbed a glass of wine that was waiting as we broke the threshold and we began our exploration of what taste to first test with our palate. Santa was a great distraction for many people, so I was into my second tasting as the room became more crowded. I was delighted at the bar when they said they had eggnog. Yes! I then ran over to Greg and said, "Look what I have!" "What?" "I have eggnog!" Greg exclaimed, "Where!" Nothing beats the Tibboel family recipe, but it was pretty good, especially for India.

I think I started out with a Thai Green curry, which was spicy hot and one of the better I've had outside of Thailand. Then I marched over to the cheese area. "Ohhhhhh!" (Cheese is really expensive here. For those of you who know how much cheese is a part of my diet, it's been a struggle to resist the cheese cravings). Here were huge rounds of Parmesan, Brie, white cheddar, Blue Cheese, Swiss, and several more. I said, screw the crackers, and filled my plate with cheese and olives. My taste buds were in heaven. Next I stood firm in the long line for the sushi station. The salmon and tuna were yummy. Then I headed over for some prawns and a lox creation. My belly was becoming full...and I STILL had the dessert station.

I started walking around the center counter and first my eyes rested on some chocolate truffles. I choose three when a layered cake caught my eye. I had that added to my plate. Oooo, an array of custards and mousses. I added the chocolate one to my hand. As I rounded the corner there was ice cream! I grabbed a scoop of chocolate with chocolate flakes. Then the assortment of eclairs. I decided I needed something to cleanse my palate from all the chocolate, so I responsibly choose a vanilla one. I took my bounty back to our table with a big smile spread across my face. I dug in and it was delicious. About half way through I could feel my stomach beginning to ache and my body going into sugar overload. I enlisted others at the table to help me. Oh, what an amazing gorge fest. Luckily I didn't turn into a block of cheese or loose my way into the chocolate syrup vault. I live to tell the story of adults turning into children as the smells and tastes overwhelm them of sooooo much good food.

One of my favorite moments was while waiting for another eggnog, a group of kids were waiting for 7up to appear so that the server would pour it into the glass with the electric blue syrup in the bottom of their glasses. The 7up arrived and as the glass filled up to the rim, a brilliant blue, more kids eyes lighted up as they chirped, "I want on, I want one!" The server smiled and lined up another four glasses. It was a wonderful sight.

Again, this was a school function. Why would we ever leave?

A Festive Weekend

Our weekend turned out to be centered on the upcoming Christmas holiday. It's hard to believe it's the Christmas season when it's 80 plus degrees out. Saturday, the German Chamber of Commerce hosted a Christmas Festival at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Central Mumbai. The festival had a lot activities for the kiddies including Santa. Greg has not been on his best behavior, so I decided to skip Santa for fear of his sadness in what Santa would be telling him. We arrived around 6:30pm in time to buy a couple of GERMAN beers (yes!!! Good beer, no Kingfisher for the evening) and a brat for Greg before the German band started up. We were there with our friends, Marc and Toni and later joined by Barbara and Mike and then Reid, Rory, and Wacuima. Marc, who is Belgium and speaks German, helped us with the singing and cheers. It was a fun filled night of dancing, merry making, eating and enjoying great company. A highlight was getting to stand in the back of the refrigerated container where the beer was being stored. Greg and I dreamed of snowy slopes and pretending to make a few telemark turns.

Sunday, we were treated with the Dutch celebration of St. Nicholas. Marc had the honor of being St. Nicholas. We went down to South Mumbai with Toni to witness this honor. Marc boarded a boat, along with four "black men," boated around the Gateway of India, and then met a group of eagerly awaiting children and parents of many nationalities. While we were waiting for Marc to arrive, we were spectacles in our own right. While standing the shade, many Indians were taking our pictures, without asking. I asked them to stop and said they should ask first. A few minutes later, a group of young Indian men regrouped and asked us for our picture. We agreed and they were respectful when we said enough. I did get a good picture of them taking pictures of us and their friends. It was just too funny.

Finally I spotted a tall, red pope hat bobbing along the street. Yes!! We quickly walked over and saw St. Nick and his four black women board the boat. I was wondering how Marc was surviving the heat in such an outfit. After taking his picture, we walked to the other side of the harbor to photograph the crowd greeting St. Nick. It was wonderful to see all the Indians curiously looking on. We heard one woman explaining, in Hindi, to her child about Santa Claus and Christmas. A lot of the Dutch children were dressed up as well. We walked with the group to the Dutch Residency, where St. Nick would get to meet with each child and give out gifts. After satisfying our curiosity and photo documenting to occasion, we headed to Cafe Indigo for lunch and to wait for St. Nick to transform back to Marc.

We enjoyed having some other cultural experiences with Christmas! Happy holidays!

A Goan Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving afternoon, after Greg and others finished their professional development half day, we, along with three friends - Rachel and Reid Wixson, and Wacuima, - jumped in some rickshaws and headed to the airport. Greg and I had a little side adventure with the rickshaw we chose. Half way to their airport, the rickshaw ran out of gas. The funny thing was earlier that day when I took a rickshaw to the school, a cool cab (A/C cab) was being pushed by several men down the road. Presumably it had run out of gas. My thought, "How often does that happen and are their gas gauges? I wonder when that will happen when I'm in one." The answer: 4 hours later. We hopped out and the first rickshaw wanted 100 rupees which was more than the full ride should cost, let alone half the trip. We shook our heads in disgust and waved another. He turned the meter on and off we went. When we arrived, he asked for 50 rupees. I pulled out my rickshaw price sheet, pointed at the meter, and then the sheet and told him "no, 34 rupees." He wagged his head and conceded. I've decided Greg must have some look about him that the Indians think, "sucker!" For as much as I ride rickshaws, I've had only 3-4 incidences. Greg has had many more issues and rarely takes rickshaws.

At the airport, along with half the staff at ASB, we boarded our JetLite plane for the one hour flight to Goa. In the 60s, Goa was hippie central and it's reputation for relaxation continues to this day. It's really one of the only places in all of India where I would wear my western two-piece swimsuit. Not entirely comfortable as all the hords of single Indian men traveling in packs just stare, but there's plenty of western tourists wearing the same thing. We went to Calangute, which is more of a touristy area, but we wanted to see some tourist sights. The further south you go, the less inhabited and more serene things become, so we are told. Calangute, surprisingly, attracts a high volume of Russian tourists and many signs and menus were translated into Russian.

We stayed at the Indian Kitchen guest house, a colorful, family run establishment that was very clean and welcoming. We were sad to hear that a family member had passed away and they did not have their dinning area open. The food was highly recommended in the Lonely Planet. After dropping our belongings off, we headed down the road, toward the beach, and had Thanksgiving dinner at Lazy Days restaurant. Upon looking around once we were seated, we noticed we were surrounded by retired European couples that were living it up. It was a funny sight. The food was excellent and my indulgence into the Goan fish curry began. Due to the seven mile dead zone around Mumbai and the tanker that spilled oil into the bay in August, I've pretty much decided I can't bring myself to eat seafood in Mumbai. (Having foreign fish again seems environmentally detrimental since we live next to an ocean. My exception has been a wonderful food stand in the market on Linking Road. So tasty, I try not to think about where the prawns are coming from). The two kinds of fish curry that we had we delicious! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Our first day, we hired a driver, Daya, to take us to Old Goa. The drive was a nice scenery of tropical farm areas, fields filled with some water buffalo and egrets, and in general still felt relaxing to me. The Portuguese colonized Goa in the early 1500s and I think finally gave it independence in 1961, so their presence is still felt. Old Goa was the first capital, until it had to be moved after the town was wiped out from the plague. What has been restored are all of these churches in the area. Huge churches. My favorite was the the ruins of St. Augustine. It has not been restored and was fun to wander around through the maze of what is left. In the Basilica de Bom Jesus, the remains of St. Xavier are kept and once a year, December 2nd, his remains are shown. Being there right before this occurred, we saw then huge tents set up to welcome all the visitors expected - thousands.

The second day we had Daya take us to the Tropical Spice Plantation. We had a great tour, our guide very knowledgeable about all the different spices they had growing. We saw pepper, cardamon, turmeric, cloves, vanilla, betel nut, tulsi, cinnamon, bay leaves, nutmeg, and ginger plants. At the end, one of the harvesters showed us how he climbed the betel nut tree and swung from one to the next to harvest the betel nut. Once he came down, Greg, Wacuima, and I tried it to climb a short way up a tree. There was a rope loop that fit around our feet and helped "cam" our feet around the tree. It was really quite secure. Just beefing up calluses on my feet where the rope was would be the training needed, as well was arm strength. At least I know of a job I could do if the counseling thing doesn't work out! After our "lesson" we were purified by water being poured down our backs and then invited to a wonderful lunch using fresh spices. Delicious!

The rest of our time was spent relaxing on the beach, playing in the water, reading, and eating. It was a marvelous break from Mumbai, aside from the hawkers, and my arm won't have to be twisted very hard to make it our Thanksgiving tradition while in India.