picture from mev (pre-buzz cut)

heather wrote:

"me and the nice family from guntur (kindness of strangers blog entry)"

No Indian Mail - Just Bills

Well, I've been standing by my mail box for the past week with no avail. Weird. I keep receiving free address labels from all the charities but nothing from a land far, far away. LOL.

Just kidding. I've only been standing there three days.

Actually, fun times rolling my way and I wish wish wish that you could be here. Jill (my sis) is flying in tomorrow morning for a week. Tomorrow night, in her honor as well as to honor all the flashers before us, I am throwing a Mardi Gras party at my pad. What started off as a 10ish person gig has exploded into over 40 - um - where am I going to put everyone?

The theme for the party (besides Mardi Gras - duh) is "Going Back to College". We all have to wear our old letters or college shirts and we bought a keg, some porch punch and beer bongs. I can't wait to see some of my 30-something friends taking beer bongs like champs. It's so fun to be immature sometimes. I'm sure that you are maintaining PRISTINE ladylike behavior over there in Inja. The San Diego ladies can't make it and neither can any of your in-country family members. Woo has some school thing going on and Matt is going to PA for some unknown reason. Pffft. Whatevs. :) Amesters is still recovering from her trip to Ireland - so, I'm floating the crew on my own. But, I promise to give it 110%.

But that's about it from here. Not sure if you're able to access my blog from over there. I don't know, maybe they ban things that are pink.

Ok, I suppose I need to actually get some work done as they don't pay me just to sit here and look cute. I tried that gig, but, it didn't last long - can't keep my mouth shut. :)

Be safe!!

Love you and miss you tons,
Rach

indian mail

hi miss,

got the package you sent me in the circa 1800's packaging with the circa 1600's wax candle seals on it. images of the magna charta were flashing through my mind. i love the t-shirt though, it's rather exotic and the tea smells great, it'll work well in the teacup you gotz me.

it's wednesday night, so i'm pretty dang beat, but classes are over for the week, which is a bonus. i have lotso homework to hit this weekend, but i plan on going out for happy hour with some buds on friday. charece and april are going to see fiddler on the roof on friday night, i'm going to pass since i already saw it in 1992 at trinity high school, the star actor was one, James Curry, and i don't think anyone in minneapolis is capable of topping his award winning performance.

miss bebba is staring at me, trying to bebboozle me into giving her some more treats and my overtures of japanese to gigi are going over like a lead balloon.

we played water polo with my marine option platoon this morning, it was a grand time, i'd never played before. you have to get really creative here in the winter for PT, we are in month 4 of the 5 month winter, so things are getting old with the indoor lifestyle round here. very much unlike the weather you are experiencing.

anyways, i'm tired as can be now, so it's off to bed for me, be safe and be smart. you are in my prayers and on my mind.

love, will

random little whatnots

*first i would like to dispel a some sinead o'connor myths that someone seems to have started...ehhh, i guess that would have been me. my hair's grown out a bit, like 2-3 inches all around. originally it was just short all around including the front. if i can i'll send pics.

*also i forgot to mention that while in hampi and recovering from food poisoning, i took a nap in a restaurant. that's how chilled out it is there. they have these low tables and cushions in the restaurants, and i just laid down and slept while my friends went shopping. and it was cool with the staff!

*kate and i went to this tibetan refugee camp yesterday, to visit this lady i met on a bus when i first got here. she didn't know we were coming but welcomed us in her home. we weren't there very long ,which was good because we didn't know that we had to have a permit to enter. apparently you have to bribe the police if they find out you're there w/o a permit, so we couldn't leave her house during daylight hours. just funny that we innocently wander into this tibetan village and had to act like fugitives of the law!

*while in bangalore's train station (big city) an indian woman caught my eye bc she was wearing bright red lipstick. then i thought 'dang that's an ugly woman'. then i thought 'that ain't no woman!' and there you have it: my first encounter with a transvestite indian. wearing a saree, nose ring, long braided hair, the whole bit. you'd have to see it.

that's all i got for now, om shanti everyone!

hazy in hampi

hi all!

good to see some new posts! thanks for the pics of all the snow and the little ones. i love eva's valentine to uncle pete! erin thanks for the picture of riley - he's even bigger than he was a couple of months ago; i guess babies do that.

hampi right now. it's hot. it's really really hot. the travel book says this place is "chilled out". it's more like a vortex of sloth. i have been here 5 days among some ruins and boulders and i have not seen one temple or really done anything constructive! i've been laying around in this pavillion and gone swimming in a lake. which sounds really nice but it's frustrating not to have any energy to go see these ruins and temples. also there are tons and tons of westerners, which is nice and comfortable and social and all, but when i come to places like this, i feel like i've left india, and i'm looking forward to going back to india!

also both kate and i got sick from some food the other day. she was vomiting and i had it from the other end. so we laid around moaning in bed all day yesterday. today we are determined to see a temple. although a nap sounds really good right now!!

tomorrow we're going to a tibetan settlement. when i was in amaravati (my first stop) a tibetan lady told me i should come visit her town. so i'm going to. after this touristy place, i'm looking forward to seeing a town that's not even listed in the lonely planet!

after that i am the luckiest girl in the world and my friend from the yoga ashram has offered to teach me a ten day intensive course in ayurveda (indian holistic medicine) and ayurvedic massage. there were supposed to be some other people doing it, but they backed out. so i'm going 20 hours south on a train, which is a way to backtrack, but it's also one heck of an opportunity. plus i get to go back to kerala.

kerala, i miss that place. i still think that indians are very warm and friendly people, but am learning that this is much more true in kerala. now i know why people told me it was an easy place to travel! plus the food there is amazing! everything comes with fresh coconut chutney, and i could go on and on.

anyway, that's it for now - keep up the posts, it's so nice to feel connected when i log on to the blog and see your comments and pics!

ps to rach - 1. NICE PICTURE! 2. what is curling? 3. i'm pretty sure i'm going to thailand, just not sure exactly when - maybe june, july.....so keep some vacay time for me!!

werd

hi miss et al - it's officially cold here, wind chill was -38F this morning, a bit ridiculuous if you ask me. now i understand why people walk around in t-shirts when it is 30 out, it's the equivalent of a warm spring day for them....not me.

sounds like you have matt pie's itinerary planned out nicely, i have a smashing weekend of school projects and banging my head against a wall to understand addition and subtraction aka accounting, only accountants could make such a difficult concept so freaking complex....jerks, no offense dad.

i've been doing a lot of my school work at work which is a nice bonus, although i find myself much more irritable when i do school work here which is not good for the kids running around here. but it does impress upon them that a Marine Officer is a force to reckon, and constantly pissed off at them no matter how hard they try, i think that is a great image to convey, at least right now.

well, i have to get back to work here, i'm off to home in about an hour and i have much to accomplish prior to my departure. hope this finds you well and safe. i pray for you every night.

love, will

New Olympic Champion

Hey Heathbar!!

First of all, I would like to call you as my Valentine. Seeing as no one else has picked up on the fact that it's already the 14th in Inja, I win. You are my Valentine. Now send me presents. LOL. Kidding. Sending me hugs via ESP is also acceptable.

Now, for my big news (Amy gets trip to Ireland, Matt gets trip to Inja, Woo gets showing porn to ROTC guys, I get this). I have decided that I will resume my quest for Olympic gold. I am going to pursue a career in curling. Did you know it's a bonafied Olympic sport where the teams get warm-up swishy suits and everything?! Well, it is and they do.

I figure I will have a leg up on the competition as I am under 60 and have experience with both brooms and large rocks (I used to have a pet one).

So that is my goal. Woo always told me to get a hobby and knitting hasn't hit Olympic prowess yet, so, I'm going for the gold - literally.

2010 Winter Olympics - watch out. Rachel's on a mission. Here is what I'd like to be my Olympic headshot.

Wow. I may possibly have lost my mind from lack of Heather time.

In any case, hope all is well in land of men in skirts and hammocks in bars. Where are you off to next? When are we going to Thailand?

Ok, love you and miss you tons my little Valentine!!

Hugs and kisses,
Rachel :)

PS: 83 and sunny here all weekend. SUCKERS.

brooklyn in da house!

hey cooz. looks like you've got your self quite a bevvy of blogging going on. quite impressive all you bloggers out there.

so. we got dumped on this weekend. 3 feet almost. i'll enclose a pic of our yard that liese took at the end of the note. it was lucy's first time to see snow. i told her the garden was full of milk. i think she got it. we went for a walk in it. she was tasting it as it landed in her mouth. then she fell asleep. i'll pick her up early from day care today so she can see it on the way back home.
it was liese's birthday last monday, the 6th. i baked a cake and cooked a fancy dinner for her. she was quite happy and loved the cake. this down time is certainly helping in my domestication.

U2 won a surprising 5 grammy's this year, including best album.

welcome to johnny and becky if you do join this wonderful blog.

bon voyage coozin amy on the trip to the emerald isle. a fond hello and hug to my family. i hear keith is also joining in the festivities.

excellent news that coozon matt will be making his way to india. that will be an awesome time. i hope, liese lucy and i will get there some day. we're looking forward to seeing himself and cath this weekend. it's been a while.

here's the picture of our garden.




and there you have it. take care, have lots of fun and don't wear red pants in front of elephants. tune in next time for another picture of Lucy. love, cooz

I'm dreaming of a white President's Day

Hey cooz and bloggers,

As most of the stateside folks are aware, the Northeast was blanketed in snow this last weekend, and our nation's capital got a fair share of the white stuff. I have no idea how many inches fell here, maybe 6 (not much compared to further north), but it was enough to make for some excellent sledding, snowball hurling and shoveling. Unfortunately it fell on the weekend and the federal government was open for business come Monday (read-I had to go to work today).

I got my new roommate and while he is nice, he needs a little bit more housebreaking. He is a good guy though.

I am gearing up for my trip to Ireland, I am very excited to see the McGrath clan that is still in Ireland and play with my little cousins again.

Matt sent a link to my parents for the blog so they are now able to see what's shaking, though it may take my mom a while to grasp what a blog is and how it functions. We will see if they remain spectators or if they actually post.

Daniel has finally flown the coop, leaving my parents with just the squirrels and birds to feed and keep them company.

That's about it for me. Hopefully I will have some good stuff to report upon my return fr/ Ireland.

Heaps of love and prayers-@

YIPPEEEEE!!

so excited to have you come visit matt!!! a rockin' good time will surely ensue! we'll start in gokarna, which is south of goa. goa sounds good for a coupla days, but a bit cheesy as well. gokarna's meant to be chilled out and beautiful. i have a recommendation for a shanty with no running water - that's cool right?

after leaving varkala, a gaggle of 4 girls went up to allepe and cochin. we went on a backwaters tour in allepe, the "venice of india". all these little waterways connect the villages and we stayed in an indian family's home. the food was amazing, the hospitality was stupendously superfantastic...we had a wonderful time. we rode around in a canoe all day, staring at the villagers, and they stared at us. it was funny.

the people in cochin were super friendly and it was definitely a "western-friendly" town. i reverted back to childhood with this group of 4 girls and a few local indian guys. shennanigans included (but were not limited to):

playing M.A.S.H.
singing row, row, row your boat (while rowing in a boat)
playing duck, duck goose. (yes, we did)
playing slap-dilly-o-so
making a pinky promise 4 ways (to share our pictures)

now kate and i are in mysore looking for yoga. it's not as abundant as we'd hoped, but i'm still scouring the town.

our place here comes with complimentary pigeons in the bathroom.

oh, i almost forgot about our stopover in kalpetta! we went hiking through the forest and saw bison, deer, and ELEPHANTS!! apparently elephants can get incensed by the color red. this is whey the village men were doubled over laughing when kate and i showed up, both wearing bright red pants. we made it out stampede-free though, phew!

kalpetta was the cutest little town! we were local celebrities. at this restaurant people kept walking by to stare at the white girls. and we went shopping at this one place and before we know it, 12 men were helping us. i then ordered all 12 to line up on a staircase so that i could take their picture, which they were happy to do.

that's all the news that's fit to print for now - hope you're all happy and well! and in the mood to post comments, too!

incoming!

hey miss and fellow bloggers,

exciting news - i just booked my flight to india! since i can't share this news w/ my officemates, which would belie my carefully-crafted reputation as a hard worker, i thought i'd express my joy here (though my shoulder-shaking and strutting may be a giveaway)... i was concerned about my midnight arrival in bombay, but cousin amy assured me i could sleep in the airport, which sounds better than my original plan of roaming the streets during the wee hours with a frightened look on my face ... my visit will last 23 days (3/4 - 3/29), not including the 2 days for travel, which, along with my subsequent trip with cath, constitutes the longest break of my post-college career. i can't wait ...

since i told work i was leaving for 5 weeks, my job has gotten a lot better, a light at the end of the tunnel does wonders for the mood. dad should know what i mean here - 50 days till retirement, huh?

big weekend in DC, a T-high reunion, of sorts, campbell, kieff and tommy are coming into town friday night. we all live within 50 miles of each other but its been ridiculously difficult to find a weekend that works for everyone. should be a rockin good time. saturday, we're throwing a going-away party for doggsnaxx, who accepted a job offer with Macy's in NYC.

next weekend, cath and i are helping dsnx move to the large apple, we'll also get to visit coosins david, liese and lucy. i'm excited to see our youngest cousin, it'll be interesting to see how her mellow attitude matches up against my penchant for making babies cry.

k, hope this finds you well, much love from DC, matt.

they had HAMMOCKS in BARS!!

i think most people have heard me say at one point or another that i wish there were a hammock here or there, particularly when sipping brews with my friends at night, or "getting trashed" as mom likes to call it! anyway, left the ashram to go to varkala, a beach town full of westerners and touristy things. lots of yoga, lots of cute little shops, and people wearing TANK TOPS (gasp!). i was shocked to see meat, cigarette smoking, beer drinking, short skirts. it was great! i got a facial and a pedicure for $10. cushy cushy.

then 4 of us gals went up to allepey to do a backwaters cruise (the venice of italy). we took an hour boat ride to this family's home (no running water). they lived on an island with 9 other houses. it was so beautiful. we took a tour in a canoe and people would just wave at us and stare at us and smile. we made friends with these people and most of them didn't really speak english! they cooked us meals and were so warm and friendly.

now i'm in cochin, which is also super cushy. i took a motorcycle ride down the street to an awesome veg restaurant today with 2 other people. (i have seen families of 5 on motorbikes here!) last night we went out with some locals and had a great time - we crammed 6 people in a rickshaw, which is technically about the size of a smart car - 4' wide in the back and smaller up front! tonight we'll meet up with the same crew - should be a rockin' good time. tomorrow we head to wyanad wildlife preserve, and then on to mysore for some serious yoga (hopefully!!).

diane, i am drinking loads of chai on a daily basis, so yummy! the next one will be 4 u! please post pics of my adorable cousins - or send to matt pie and he'll be happy to do it, right pie;)

merissa - are you able to post to the blog yet? hopefully you don't create a new one again! happy birthday to ang!!

will - yeah, my hair is 1" long all around. it's growing out a bit though!

miss you and love you all! more postings pretty please!

werd from the MPLS

hi miss,

greetings the midwest. i noticed an indian journalist commented on your latest blog entry, seems you are now world famous, just like dad's thunderbird, congratulations. did i understand correctly that you cut your hair 1 inch all around, say it ain't so? charece and i went rock climbing today in st paul at an indoor gym, it was really awesome, great workout, especially when it is 11 degrees outside. we learned the ropes, how to belay, and some primitive methods, can't wait to get Xtreme outside this summer. did i tell you about going to Austria this summer for a 6 credit, 3 week class, that is my kind of class. we'll see if i get accepted, the university of minnesota has an inferiority complex with me about certain things. i'm bringing some of the kids from ROTC to the rock climbing gym this friday, i'll be an expert compared to them after my basic skills class this morning!!! all part of the image. i've included a picture of snow-shoeing on new year's day, hopefully it doesn't plug up your connection over there. i'm off to get some studying done, accounting, yuck. oh yeah, last night charece and i went out for indian food in your honor, i got the channa looopa or some stuff, it was really good, charece got curry chicken, also a winner. stay safe and be smart about going along with strangers there, always have an out!! how is the back pack holding up? what is the best pieces of gear for your trip? matt pie may need to know these things. i love you and i miss you, talkies soon, love, will