Back From the Himalayas!

Hello friends at home!

Our group of six arrived back in Bangalore after a week long vacation of rives and mountains. Everyone in the program had a full week to basically do whatever seemed exciting (except go to Sri Lanka or something; I think they're having a civil war) and so a group of us flew to Delhi and then bussed to Rishikesh; a town wrapped around the Ganges River. It was pretty touristy, but often that means local folks aren't as excited by our presence and let us blend in a bit more. The Ganges is an incredible river. It's girth is spanned by a large cable bridge (a favorite hang out spot for the local monkeys!) that allows one to view the sprawling pale aquamarine water as it snakes up behind the mountains. The water itself is clean and Lake Superior cold. The whole group went white water rafting down 18 Kms of the mighty river; it was amazing. The rapids completely swamped and hammered the raft with every intent to throw us into the river. We also spent some time lying on the sandy beaches, body surfing, and cliff jumping (not Brendan though!). Best $8 I ever spent.
Bethany and I awoke before sunrise to sit on the windy banks with a hot ginger chai and watch sleepy pilgrims walking down to the banks to bath. Some came with small cups to fill with icy water and wash upon solid ground, others waded into the water while gripping a long chain anchored on the shore for fear of being swept away in the swift stream. Smiling pilgrims would occasionally approach us and invite us to bath with them with a smiling gesture. So on our second day we decided to do just that. After slugging back a ginger chai for warmth (best chai in India thus far), we raced down to the water and immersed ourself in the great Ganga. The Frigid mountain water numbed the skin, but makes one remember how hot our blood is. It was such an invigorating experience, I would highly recommend it next time you're in the Ganges.

The second part of our adventure took us to the foot hills of the Himalayas (the locals pronounce it Him-ALL-ee-ah) in a little place called Mousserie. The town is nestled into the mountain side and can only be reached by a windy mountain road that invites nausea to even the hardiest of stomachs. We spent our days watching beautiful sunsets and trekking along mountain tops. At the peaks we would find hundreds if not thousands of colorful Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags. Each flag has a prayer that reflects its color that pilgrims come to place in high windy places with the belief that the wind will carry the prayer across the entire land and bless the whole community. It's a very lovely sentiment.

We met with a friend of Katies named Nan who has been living and teaching in Mousserie for a while. She was able to point us to good restaurants (Momos are the food here, basically Tibetan pot stickers!) and good hikes. We also visited a small store on top of a mountain run by a guy who traveled to Switzerland to learn cheese making and then came back to India. The cheese was expensive, but after two months of cheese-like food coming from cans, it was greatly appreciated. They also carried nostalgic foods such as chocolate chips and Western candy, which we quickly invested in.

This blog post could be a novel, but the last highlight that jumps to my mind is the human powered ferris wheel. If Facebook was less silly, I'd put some photos up (and a movie!) but basically for 40 cents we could ride on this small ferris wheel powered by a guy who walked around in the center of the machine. It looked a bit like walking up a staircase, except fifteen feet in the air and in a ferris wheel. A visual is much needed; I'll work on that.

Needless to say it was a great vacation! It was very refreshing after two months of intense social justice learning to take a break and be a tourist. It was uncomfortable though. After being so close to poverty and marginalization it was strange to be another group of Western tourists enjoying the beauties of India and taking advantage of the exchange rate. It really was an incredible week and I don't regret it for an instant, but I'm so grateful that white water rafting isn't the only reason we came to India.

Tomorrow at 6:00 AM we'll be leaving Bangalore for a whole month! Internet access will probably be limited, but I wish you all the best and look forward to seeing each of you soon!

Peace