a saturday in delhi

laura, julie, kate and i on our way to q'ba

yesterday was an exceptionally fun delhi day. one of those days that you can't plan. it started with a little trip up to connaught place. laura and i were going to check some of our favorite shops, because, afterall, in delhi shopping has become my hobby. we did our buying and moved on to a place in my new "LOVE, DELHI" book. it highlights some of the funkier places that are not to be missed. so, we headed to triveni tea terrace, after about 4 rickshaw drivers that didn't know how to get there i realized i should have brought the map. kate and julie met us there and what was suppsed to be this funky little place where all the "artsy folk." it wasnt actually all that great, but it was a sweet location. the restaurant was apparently closing, which really just answered everyone's desire to go somewhere else. so we headed to q'ba. famous (to us) for it's 1+1=4 Happy Hour equation and shwarma. So, one drink each turns to two, then three, and you guessed it, 4. not wanting the fun to end with came back to my house and sat on the porch for another few rounds. and just like that, saturday was over.
great day in delhi with great gals:)

and life goes on.

my apologies for skipping out on parts 2 and 3 of thailand. things got busy, as things often do, and the stories will have to be told in person. the last few weeks have been a whirlwind. january was filled with musical rehearsal. 20 of my colleagues and i spent the last 4 or so months rehearsing for "once on this island." it was the first time i actually had a role in a production that wasn't very backseat. my character was ti moune...it was magical. we performed in the "theater under the stars" aka 'outside' to a combined 2 night crowd of about 300 people! we raised almost $1000 for a local charity. it was such a great experience, so fun to be a part of something. it gave all of us the opportunity to get to know each other better in a place that is seemingly small, but realistically HUGE.

the day after the musical finished thinh and i went to bombay (mumbai) to see our friends tom and isabelle and their new baby margeaux. i think it was lunch on saturday when i realized what a trip my life has become. i was eating lunch with friends that i made in new delhi on my 3 day holiday in bombay. i love that once i leave here there will people i know (and love) all over the world. amazing how the world has become that much smaller in 1.5 years.
we loved mumbai. it was so much more liveable. but, then again, might we have felt the same about mumbai if we started there instead of delhi? we visited many of the spots that were bombed in november's attacks, bombay is suffering. the people are resilient and are joining together to hold their government accountable for the mistakes they've made. leopold's, below, opened the day after the bombings. it was SO full of life when we went, it embraced all walks of life and had a very special vibe. it was one of the highlights for me. lately so much has been going through my head. i've struggled to put thoughts into words, and sometimes i've avoided the thoughts by using other words. missing christmas at home seems to have made the year seem longer. i didn't get my wfb fix nor did i see my niece and nephew gaga over the excitement of it all. the little things that i've previously held onto seem much more important now, in retrospect. hard to balance the bliss of thailand with the loss of home.

time for bed, and shantaram. becky 630, the book 270. i'm getting there:)

i love thailand part one: chiang mai

there is nothing much more fascinating than arriving at the airport the night winter vacation begins. guaranteed to see fewer than 150 people that you work with or teach. we arrived in bangkok early morning just to board another plane up to chiang mai. we decided to leave bangkok for the end because of all of the fabulous shopping opportunities.
chiang mai was incredible. because of it's location on trade routes, they figured out tourism early on. It's one of the easiest places I've ever travelled, it was a great introduction to thai culture. chiang mai has "walking streets" on saturday and sunday nights in addition to a night bazaar every other night. the shopping possibilities are endless, as are the culinary options. we met up with gene and kendra one night and ate bugs. all sorts of em. we chased them down by sangsom, thai whiskey, which on that ocassion, and a few other throughout the trip, knocked me off my booty. it was so dangerous that eventually we had to declare "no sangsom nights." chiang mai was the adventure sport part of our vacation. we did a one day trek with elephants, rafting and "trekking." the following day we did the "flight of the gibbons," ziplining through the jungle. no gibbons sitings, unfortunately. you might have seen it on Amazing Race....super cool:) 11 lines, 2 bridges. it was def. one of the highlights.
post bug night we had a late start. ended up renting a motor bike and heading up the mountain to check out some wats, palaces a beautiful sites. we ended up visiting a coffee plantation in a hmoung village. it was actually about 3km from there when the tire went flat on our motorbike. and.......since it wasn't a vespa, we were in a pickle. long story short the first car to pass us was a pickup with just enough room in the back for our scooter and us. we were so grateful for the 36km trip back to chiang mai. killer story.
the next day we explored some more, and then jetted off to koh samui to start the beach part of the vacation.
check out pics...http://picasaweb.google.com/rebeccagalvan/Thailand200802?feat=directlink

natural gas.

in delhi, there is always something exciting hiding around the next bend. just so happens that we are in the midst of a natural gas strike. i just talked to laura and we admitted to knowing nothing about how the products in our house run, and what the real impacts for us, the off campus dwellers, will be. school has undergone a series of changes to prolong the efficiency of the gas we do have as well as our generators that run on diesel. at time of print school has enough energy of some sort for about 4-5 more days. this being said, it could get ugly in delhi, lack of food, heat, cooking gas, etc. although the government has declared this strike illegal as it is an essential service, the strike goes on.

friends

have you ever met someone that you thought would be a fabulous person to hang out with? recently i've been thinking a lot about friendship in adulthood. it's one of those things that no one ever told you about or warned you about. up until now every friend has a pretty solid grouping: there are the "grew up together friends," the "went to college together friends (aka got really drunk together friends)," the "portland" friends. and now, i suppose i have my "expat friends." i find myself super blessed because many of my friends (YOU) actually fit into a few of those categories.
so, a little bit more about these "expat friends..."
at this stage in my life i'm suprised at how many people i find myself having a [very platonic] crush on. people who i wish i could be friends with, but really it'd just never work out. instead we pass each other at parties and make the common small talk. They become the "Haven't seen you in ages friends" or the "We ReALLY should hang out sometime friends."

then there are the friends that you'd never, in a million years, think that you would be hanging out with, let's call them the "isn't this funny friends?"and then i also have the "omg, thank god you're here too friends"

friends are truly the vein of my existence (i don't think lays potato chips count here). they've supported me here and in all the steps of getting here beyond what you could ever formulaically produce in some "how to" book. they showed me that no specific friend or friends, especially at this stage in the game, are the end all be all, but together they make up part of that bigger picture, the feeling at the end of the day that you are loved and for lack of better way to say it, that people like you. can you tell i'm nostalgic?

i just spent a fabulous weekend with friends doing random "just friends". i'm truly blessed to be surrounded by such good people this holiday season!

empty nests

i woke up this morning concerned about what my visitors were eating for breakfast. was there enough food? could they find the coffee? but when i modestly put on my nightgown and walked out to the living room my next thought was that no one came home last night. oh my, where could my dad have stayed out all night. It truly took about 3 minutes of walking around to realize that no one was here any more, and i was alone in the nest, again.

i love having visitors, but it truly wipes me out. since living here, i've realized how much i love planning other people's travel, and i love taking care of them. it's particularly useful here in india where everything takes ridiculous loads of effort.

my dad and becky's liking of india far exceeded my expectations. they really came in running and never really stopped. if jet lag affected them, i'd never know...they were probably awake more than i was:) the last few days of their journey they hung out with charlie (eamon's sis) and explored parts of delhi that i have never seen!

we had a great dinner on becky and charlie's last night at a place called Park Beluchi.


the same day they left, my dad went to pushkar with my friends gene and chris. i met him there on saturday morning with my friend kate. we spend 2 very colorful days in pushkar. it was incredible. i keep saying how seamless the trip was, because honestly NO TRIP in india has gone that well for me. perhaps it was because someone else found the hotel? perhaps i was so worried that everyone was ok that i didn't realize it sucked? or maybe just one time in this crazy country the stars alligned for me and my father:) and india just worked....

**kachunk, katchunk. the power just switched over. i have no idea what that means, but that's how is sounds**

pushkar, in midwestern rajhastan, is where teh annual camel fair takes place. people walk there camels from all over in hopes of a sale. the fair coincides with a religious festival as well. pushkar is home to the india's only brahma temple...i've posted some info below if you are intrigued.
here are some pics from the trip.



it's been a great weekend so far (despite this morning's scare). went with some friends to see quatum solice last night. i forgot how nice that ONE mall in delhi is:) was also fascinated by the m.a.c. makeup store's indian line...not that i wear make up or anything. but it had fun packaging. then last night i cleaned my bathroom. amazing how many toilitrees one person can really own.
this morning i vowed to start working out again, so i walked around the hood with my ipod, hit up the grocery store, and came home and was very domestic. i tended to my compost. eew. it's so nasty. there were so many larvae in there, it reminded me of my fruit fly project from 9th grade. but my plants are happy:). then i made some pesto with my garden basil and some gazpacho. i'm pretty impressed with myself.....i've also started packing for FLORIDA! that's right. i saved my professional development money for 2 years and my department and i are heading to orlando for the ACTFL conference. highlights? well surely all the great new teaching tools i'll see, but really the family who i will see on the way! get ready for pictures of mickey mouse, eloise and ian!
xoxo

hasta pronto!






IMPORTANCE: http://www.pushkar-camel-fair.com/about-pushkar.html Pushkar is among the five dhams or pilgrimages that are held in high esteem by Hindus, the others being Badrinath, Puri, Rameswaram, and Dwarka. It is said that in battle lord Brahma killed the demon Vajra Nabh with a lotus flower, whose petals floated down to earth and landed in three places in and around Pushkar where lakes sprang up. According to legends, Pushkar Lake was surrounded by 500 temples and 52 palaces (several rajas and maharajas maintained palaces here for pilgrimage) at one point. The Brahma temple is the most important temple here and is, in fact, the only Brahma temple of India. Pushkar Fair - Rituals and Traditions These five days are a period of relaxation and merry-making for the villagers, despite being the busiest for them, as this is one of the largest cattle fairs in the country. Animals, mainly camels, are brought from miles around. Trading is brisk as several thousand heads of cattle exchange hands. All the camels are cleaned, washed, adorned, some are interestingly shorn to form patterns, and special stalls are set up selling finery and jewelry for the camels. Camels at the Pushkar fair are decorated with great care. They wear jewelry of silver and beads. There are silver bells and bangles around their ankles that jingle-jangle when they walk. An interesting ritual is the piercing of a camel's nose.

amazing.

i half chuckled, half gritted my teeth on my taxi ride to school today reminicing of last night's amazing race. much to my surprise AXN is running the CURRENT programming of the amazing race, one day late of course. survivor too! now, if i could only get grey's.....ah. back to the story.

if you are a watcher- and you saw the amazing race this week-i must tell you- IT'S ALL TRUE. i had to call my buds here and tell them to turn it on so that i would have some people to laugh with. living here is THAT WEIRD. and THAT frustrating. and THAT dirty. so it looks like you got a peak into my life!

keeping my fingers crossed for presidential goodness tomorrow......