Friday, March 31, 2006

missing the miss
















(above) mev and matt in goa.
(below) mev and matt in jaipur after holi, the festival of color


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so, after a 36 hour, halfway around the world trip, i arrived in DC wednesday at 2pm. my special lady friend, cath, was waiting for me at the airport with a sign. it felt great to be home after spending time in airports in delhi, mumbia, london and washington. and i'm also looking forward to relaxing in costa rica after strenuous 3.5 week adventure :) it seems like the fenwicks are in a race to see who can slack off the most - dad's retired (!), mev's semi-retired, which makes my 5 week vacation seem insignificant ... of course, mom and will, the busybodies, are picking up the slack for the rest of us.

like heather, i don't regret anything about the trip. it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience and exceeded anything i could have ever imagined. though i was heather's de facto bodyguard during the trip, she was my guide - running the show and taking care of me. i never would have gone on this trip had she not had the courage to follow her dreams ... in my book, my little sister is a bad@ss.

"happy journey", miss, i hope mother india shows you where's she's hiding the yoga :)

pictures from jhawalar















(above) mev with most of the village
(below) matt with the village men/boys

















gonna try to post a bunch of pics in an album, its taking some time as we took over 1,000 :)

Thursday, March 30, 2006

a monkey

on a roof in pushkar.

"india is very nice ... so beautiful"


here's the clipping from a rajastani newspaper about heather and i visiting the town of jhawalar ... as dad put it, there must not be much going on if our visit made the front page :) oh yeah, they made on little typo and said heather was my girlfriend ... i'm considering suing them for libel.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

so long, farewell

matt and i had one heck of a run. it was only 3.5 weeks but it felt like 3.5 months...and it's tough to explain, but that's a great thing!

during and emotional good bye at the airport, my taxi took off with my purse in it (ipod, camera, glasses, journal, among other things). one good thing is that it kept me from hysterics. another good thing is that the taxi came back (they had to do a loop b/c the police wouldn't let them park while matt and i hugged.) so i took the taxi 'home', solo. feeling the wind in my hair brough me back to riding the scooter through the beach-hills of goa, only one of many many highlights in the trip. i wouldn't change a second of the trip for all the rupees in india (althooouugh this would mean unlimited travel....hmmmmmm:)

matt brought with him the love of my family, which i always feel anyway. yeah, old moneybag$/captain redbeard looked out for baby sis right nice. dhanyawad pie, and namaste.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Hello from LA!

Hey Heather and Matt!
I have definitly enjoyed reading all of your posts....I feel like LA might as well be on a different planet than India! There's something to be said for going "off the beaten path" no matter where you are traveling.
Things are great here, but I have to say that I do miss living with Heather (my new roomies are not nearly as clean or fun!). Chris has become a world traveler as well, as his new job requires that he goes to Vancouver, Spain, and England in the next month. He loves it while I wish he was around a little more! I'm still working with the juvenile delinquents, which keeps the job interesting at the very least.
How has the yoga been in India? Is it different and do you feel like you have learned a lot more? I have been going to a great class at my gym every week and have learned some fun new balances that I thought I would never be able to do. Which, I'm sure doesn't even compare to the things that you can probably do by now!

Travel safely!

Love ya, Jen

a goose in my (delhi) belly

my 10 day experimentation with being a vegetarian ends this evening. i've lost about 15 pounds and i wear a constant grimace from headaches like a gun on my hip. not really. the food has been a pleasant surprise but i think i'm maxed out on curry.

to summarize recent events:

- our last day in jhawalar was definitely going to be the denoument of the trip, it turned out to be another wonderful and moving experience (i know - i need some more adjectives). as we walked to breakfast, people started running up to us on the streets. the interview from the previous day was on the front page along with our picture. it would have been a lot cooler if we weren't wearing the exact same clothes from the day before (remember, we were roughing it). haha. yeah, we were celebrities.

we took a rickshaw to the sun temple, built in the 11th century. twas magnificent - intricate carvings in the stone. a man who didn't speak english showed us around and led us to the rooftop. we took pictures and noticed the townspeople taking pictures of us with their mobile phones. the man pointed to a number of other temples (100+ in their town) and insisted we visit them. we knew this man was our friend when he refused a tip upon leaving the temple. off we went (challo!), an english speaking man joined us. they took us to some incredible temples, gurus came out to speak with us, show us around and put holy paint on our foreheads. they were delighted to have american visitors and even moreso when we knew their gods.

the men brought us to their houses and made us tea. we exchanged addresses and promised to keep in touch.

- last night, we took the overnight train back to delhi. we were in the sleeper section ($10 for the 485km ride, combined). it was very gritty. in our room, which measured 10' x 6' x 8'(high), there were 8 foldout beds. no matter, we passed out and woke up in delhi at 6am. we returned to the guest house we'd stayed at a few weeks ago. they greeted us with smiles, remembered our names and gave us the home team treatment.

- tonight, we're having dinner with a retired major general in the india army. i'm delivering a gift from my neighbor, pammie, who is an old friend of the general. we have reason to believe that his house/estate is next to the american embassy. he promised a goose for dinner. i think it will show us how the other half lives. i will buy a collared shirt.

- tomorrow is my last day :(

Sunday, March 26, 2006

jhawalar, continued

[note: this is heather's post, please read part 1 before this]

so matt had complained in his last blog entry that he had the task of describing the most indescribable event yet…but this one definitely takes that prize. the only way to ensure that you would capture a fraction of the experience, you'd need a wormhole. truly. anyone got any wormholes handy? so, pie has laid the background. we were weary, hot, tired, had very little water, and stopped at this place to buy candy for some kids. i was so exhausted that i tripped over my bike when i tried to get the kickstand down. the people at the store chuckled at me, which did nothing to help my mood…but then they set out a chair for me in the shade and it was an offer i couldn't refuse. they asked if we wanted chai, and we said yes. really i just wanted a shady place to sit for a minute. first the tailor came over and started talking to us – in very broken english. but many smiles were exchanged and we were enjoying each other's company…when people started to come out of the woodwork. first people would be peekingout from behind a fence, and then they would come out and look at us and smile and giggle. then pie decided it would be a good time to start taking pictures –these digital cameras are like magical boxes – they get such a kickout of seeing their faces on the little screen! it was all the rage. a beatles-mania-type frenzy even! we then decided to buy candy for everyone. and from then on it was just a flurry of activity! i think a crowd of over 30 people must have accumulated – i sat down and giggled with the girls while all the boys crowded around matt. i was so happy to have some female companionship after the misogyny i had faced in town. we just had a crowd around us, holding our hands, taking pictures, laughing…but hardly any words were exchanged. they asked if we were hungry and brought us to a home where one of the moms made us (more) chai and biscuits. we were told to "please come" back to storefront where they had made parantha(like a wheat tortilla from scratch and hot off the griddle) and mango chutney and this fried spicy egg stuff that was delectable! once again, dozens of people crowded around and watched us eat.

then it was time to go, we had to get our bikes back. standing in the doorway of the shop, i remember thinking how sad i was to leave thesepeople. hardly any words had been effectively communicated, but there was a tangible love. an exchange of feelings of this magnitude would happen in america between family, an intimate/romantic relationship, or the best of friends. these people opened their homes and their hearts to us. literally, not a minute went by where each face wasn'tsmiling. and matt's experience (with the guys) was totally separate from mine with the gals – that's how it usually goes down in india. so standing in the doorway ready to leave, we were both thinking the same thing – i had tears in my eyes and matt was losing it – when one man looked at us and asked what we were thinking….broken verbal communication ensued, but it didn't matter. we exchanged part of hearts with those people – they were so happy to have american guests! and we took away, i would say, the best experience in india so far (if it's possible to pick one, which it 's not:)

we skipped the taj mahal to go off the tourist circuit and hit up this jhalawar place – and it would have just been another city if we hadn't met these people, if we hadn't rented bikes, gotten tired, and stopped at that shop. but mother india's hand once again played a part when we least expected it – and i wonder if we weren't the lucky ones in that exchange.

jhalawar, part 1

though we've avoided setting a schedule, when mev and looked at the calendar last week, we realized the trip was winding down and some decisions had to be made. in the 2 months prior to my arrival, mev had had some mind-blowing experiences. as we compared notes, we found that the happiest and most memorable times had been interacting with the indian people (see last entry). we chafed at the tourist spots, as tourists attract "touts", or men hawking items. [i'm not judging these people, its just circumstances. if the situation was reversed, i'd be getting every rupee i could off tourists].

given that, we flirted with scrapping the taj mahal and go "off the lonely planet (LP)" ... the taj mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world, its also the biggest tourist attraction in india. its city, agra, is not especially nice, so it'd take 2-3 days to see the taj. LP is what travellers use to map things out. its like a safety net. new places are disorienting enough, but if you can name a hotel , know its a decent spot, and have a rickshaw driver take you there, you have you bearings and thats half-way to figuring the place out (as a tourists, anyway).

this was a tough decision esp for a pampered wimp like myself. i like patterns, i like hot showers, i like some structure. mev was all for it, but she's a more robust traveller than myself. and, dare i say, tougher than her brother. at least when it comes to this, i could still bench, like, 4 times more than her :)

the wheels were in motion and we came to the town of kota 2 days ago as its a stop on the delhi-mumbai main rail line. also, it had multiple highways connecting it to other cities. after getting to kota and looking around, we realized kota was an industrial town with very little to offer. the decision was made, we were definitely doing it. over a few south african beers, which, after hanging out in holy towns that ban alcohol, tasted as good as any i've ever had, we picked a spot 70km south of kota called jhalawar.

we went to bed that night a bit apprehensive, not knowing what to expect. we were ready for anything and, accordingly, packed only a few things, ("take ONLY what you need to survive") and stowed the rest at our hotel in kota. less luggage meant more mobility and reduced the chances of us getting stuck in a hellhole. the bus ride would take 4 hours and 98 Rupee ($2.20). as we passed by towns, we scanned each one for signs of what lay ahead. the signs, frankly, weren't much help as they were all in hindi. exhilirating, yet also intimidating. we'd talked a lot about the friendliness of the indian people, and so, in a way, the next few days were in their hands.

other than the millions of flies, the bus station in jhalawar was nondescript. no hotels were visible. we sat down next a kind-looking man (seriously, thats how we picked who to talk to), and started a conversation (where do we stay; what is there to do in this town; i'm scared, please hold me). after a few minutes, we discerned that there was a hotel across the street. we walked through the crowd that had gathered to stare at us and walked into the streets through the crowds that were staring at us.

we checked into the hotel and bounded out for some adventure. it was around noon and the desert sun was kicking. across from our hotel was a stand of shops - oranges, bread, flowers. we walked over, got some oranges and tried to ignore the stares. we found it unnerving as these were not your friendly, curious stares. i would call them "why in God's name are you here" stares. heather went to talk to a man about renting bikes, he basically shoo'd her away and the crowd started to laugh.

another bike shop across the street hooked us up and off we went, on our way to a fort 2 or 7 or 10 kilometers away, depending on whose version you believed. the staring continued, still not friendly. 2 men on a motorcyle came up next to me ... through broken English, he asked us to stop. since there was no outrunning them on our old-man, 1950s-era bikes, we obliged. he said he was from a newspaper and started asking me questions. again, not terribly friendly, nor was the crowd of 20 young men that gathered. after a short interview and some pictures. ("what do you think of india?" "please dance for us, american") we peddled on to the town center, which presented mev with a shop-op.

again, she found that some men shoo'd her away, others wouldn't listen to her or bargain with her. meanwhile, i was naming prices we'd pay for stuff, well below what mev had negotiated and they happily accepted. also, i was "strong" and "smart". so, maybe not the friendliest folk, but quite intuitive, i'd say.

mev wasn't feeling it, i couldn't blame her. we rode on to the fort, passing slums (people living in makeshift tents) along the way. riding in the sun was crushing our bodies and the landscape was crushing our spirits. after 45 minutes of biking/walking up hills in the blazing afternoon sun, we reached the fort's entrance. a mosque stood before us. we sought a place to sit in the shade. burning up, i converted my pants into shorts by zipping off the legs. a man appeared. shouting not-English, he directed me to put my leggings back on. he stood very close as i did so. just then, a herd of cattle came through the gates and passed between us. i was looking at the cows but stole a glance at him to see that he was staring a hole in my head. he basically ordered us to see the mosque, but it had no longer held any appeal, nor did the fort. the vibe of this guy was so negative that we opted to head back to town, low on water and smiles.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

werd from the MPLS

smashing blog entry pie, most interesting. the cricket match escapade and meeting all the locals sounds like a great way to end your trip. miss what is next for you now that your travel partner is leaving? things in mpls are well, still cold, still gray, but it's getting warmer. charece and i went condo hunting on thursday, the new construction is pure crap around here. we're looking at a townhome in southwest mpls, near a part of town called uptown, which is pretty vibrant and a little more residential, albeit city residential. been kicking around lots of biz ideas, can't way for this term to be over so i can do some more research into it. i have an accounting project due on wednesday that is sucking up my free time this weekend like a huggies diaper around an infant who consumed taco bell for three weeks. you get the picture. charece and i are meeting some friends for sushi in st paul, that could be the title of a really boring movie. only 1 and half more weeks until this term is over. i've started running again, so far so good, gotta get in shape for OCS this summer. well back to the grind with this accounting project. stay safe and enjoy the rest of your trip together. love and prayers, will

Friday, March 24, 2006

a new McGrath is in the house

Greeting coozes, many thanks for the bevvy of blogs of your travels. You seem to have grabbed India by the .............and having the time of your lives. Excellent, EXCELLENT to hear. I will write more on the goings on over here soon, but I wanted to give you some wonderful news from this side, Ireland to be precise.......coozin Jason and SallyAnn had a little son, Charlie. Dad, mom and son are very well. barring the severe change in sleep patterns. Take care. love, cooz.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

real india

i'm afraid i really can't do it justice - my cricket skills, that is. i'm glad heather left me the task of describing the most indescribable event we've experienced here.

it took us a few minutes to get outside of bundi proper on our sweet one-speed cruisers outfitted with handy bells to get people, cows and dogs out of the way. the change was nearly immediate. people were staring, moreso than usual. some kids would yell 'HELL-OH". they laughed or waved when we called back. we came upon a school with 30-40 kids sitting under a tree. as we slowly pedaled by, someone spotted us, a murmur went up and soon the entire class was looking. we waved and they all waved back, yelling "Hell-oh", some even started running next to us ...

a man riding next to us asked us where we were going, we told him the train station and he told us to follow him. after a few minutes of stunted conversation (there is a huge communication barrier despite the fact that indians and americans both speak English), he said "please come to my house". if it sounds strange, thats bc it was. still, heather and i were in the mood for an adventure ...

we passed a few boys on the way to his house, they, of course stared. we came in to his house, more like an 8x10 room with a bed and table in it. his father was there, he invited us to sit down and, a few minutes later, we were chatting, drinking chai and eating cookies. also, about 15 people had joined us, mostly kids from the neighborhood. it was great fun, they were fascinated by us. the kids were great - the boys staring and talking excitedly amongst themselves, the girls stayed in the background, giggling, the men led the conversation. funny, i can't remember anyone's name. (if i'm to remember anyone's name here, i must have them write it down), but the father looked like an indian billy dee williams.

they loved the digital camera and kept asking me to take pictures of them. i did, charging a few rupees for each magical click (not really). one of the girls showed us her artwork and gave one to mev as a gift. billy dee then insisted heather take them all :)

they accompanied us to the train station and helped us book our tix, which was nice bc booking tix here is always a pain. they insisted we come back for dinner later that night.

dinner: instead of 15 people in the 8x10 room, there were 25-30, all shapes and sizes. word had spread that americans were coming so the whole neighborhood turned out. we were stuffed - with bread, crackers, chai, some salty stuff to cure constipation (?), more chai, oranges - and led from house to house as they proudly showed off their posters and rooms and TVs. it was great, we were celebrities, the crowd followed us everywhere and the kids would translate if we didn't understand (always). unfortunately, they all tried to translate at once . i think, during our 2 hour visit, an average of 3.6 people were talking to us at once. i think i ate the entire time, too. mom, we definitely thought of you :) then came dinner, so good, the women of the household made everything from scratch. heather, i, and two of the elder men ate, the rest watched and smiled at us. they tried to teach us hindi and we all laughed when heather and/or i butchered it. one of the kids had us sign his cricket paddle. the men took pictures with their cell phones. another had me talk on the phone to the president of the railway association.

thats what happened, but i can't adequately explain the feeling. such warmth, happiness and generosity. after seeing palaces, bustling cities, fortresses, bazaars and beautiful beaches, i felt like we had seen the best india has to offer. they all came into the street and waved good bye when a boy named jamal (sp?) gave us a ride back to town on his scooter.

i accepted the boys invitation to play cricket this morning. i'm terrible, but it was grand. we played for a few hours but had to stop bc the beat-up tennis ball they use cracked. no one cared.

we're off to kota today with a bounce in our step.

oooh, the suspense is killing - um, you actually!

matt and i are currently in bundi, the 'less touristy' town as per the lonely planet.

yesterday we rolled out of bed and grabbed some breakfast at a hostel's rooftop restaurant. we were talking with a german couple about how we wanted to have an adventure in india, so we were thinking of going off the map and just finding a place not in the lonely planet and exploring and experiencing the real india. we told them that our plans for that day were just to get bikes and go to the train station to book tickets. matt said something to the effect of, 'yeah, real adventurous there!' to which i replied, 'you never know...!'

i will leave you guys in suspense until matt's next blog entry. but i will tell you that right now, he's playing cricket with some locals!

love and namaste,
mev and pie

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

derrrr....

feeling a little out of it as i haven't slept well the past couple of nights, followed by a 5 hour bumpy bus ride wherein my head got rattled about considerably. it's looking like a 9pm bedtime tonight if i can make it that long...

so we spent 5 days in pushkar, which was a most excellent time! beaucoup shopping - our load is considerably heavier, but pushkar has some durn good shopping! i got a bunch of rings at $2 a pop, real silver too!

we are now in a little town called bundi, which is in the lonely planet as 'rarely visited by tourists'. that was 3 years ago and now there are a handful of tourists all looking to not be around other tourists - the irony of it all. this is a great spot though; tomorrow i have a 5am yoga date with the girl at our guest house and matt and i will get bikes to check out the area.

we have a date set up with the general in delhi to deliver The Dictionary next week, which promises to make for an interesting evening.

joanne, to answer your question about communicating with people - people in cities and educated people do speak english. india has between 15 - 56 languages and hundreds if not thousands of dialects. i'm becoming an expert at tailoring my words and gestures to make myself understood. for example, instead of asking, 'how long does it take to get there?' you say 'how many minutes walking? 5 minutes walking? 10 minutes walking?' also, when asking directions, they consistently confuse right and left, and straight for that matter! tonight i was looking for cotton balls, which i asked for 3 times. then i asked for 'koh-tone' and he produced some cotton!

that's all the news that's fit to print from my fuzzy head...namaste bloggers!

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

I'm with stupid




Will may durnk blog but I have proof of St. Patty's Day debauchery. Here are some of the tame ones.....

Monday, March 20, 2006

the files are in the computer?

first day of spring here in minnesota, rang it in with a balmy 31F. also, about a week ago my computer crashed and burned at work. just got a new one fixed today, i was utterly paralyzed at work without a computer. it just registered with me that i have desk job now. reliance on a computer is no way to go through life.

i started running last week, so far so good, i've been taking it easy. ran on the indoor track this morning with the air force and army cadets. i'm running slow to get back into it after taking 5 months off from running, and i was getting lapped by every size, shape, color and creed of army and air force person, i finally said enough and sped up to not lose total face for the marine corps.
i've resigned myself this year to quit putting off my triathlon career and make my debut in july at the lifetime fitness sprint triathlon. should be a dandy!

all your talks of aruveyic massages and drinking tea makes me crave a vacation. charece and i were a mouse click away from booking a 4 day to jamaica, but rachel schooled me on vacation rates and the 3000 we were going to pay was a litte ridiculous, so we'll continue to search for that gem for easter weekend so i can fully recharge my depleted winter batteries.

only 3 weeks left of this term thank God. grad school is not fun with a full time job, not fun at all. matt d proposed to shannan last weekend and is threatening a fall marriage, that was the bombshell for this week. looking forward to the bachelor part-AY!

hope you all are continuing to enjoy your adventures, always good to hear about the tales.......and the monkeys. stay safe and stay catholic. love, will

Sunday, March 19, 2006

showering is optional.

very optional. another reason i love india ... actually, its not as bad as i anticipated. we've had hot showers at more than half the places we've been and, mind you, these are lonely planet selections, not fodor's. (digression: fodor's was the travel guide i bought, i thought they were all the same and was too lazy to look into the matter. fodor's did us a grave injustice with one of their recommendations in jaipur, it was like a shabby amusement park for rich indians with kids and older americans. go with lonely planet, apparently everyone knows this.) its also sort of an analogy to mev's travelling style and mine. she's pretty hardcore, i'll give her that. but i've worn the same pants for about a week so i won't take guff from anyone else (about not being a tough traveller, i will take guff for being smelly.)

pushkar is grand, as mev wrote, very chill and a welcome break for jaipur, which, em, got to me. i will spare the details but just another reminder how full-on india is, an all-out "assault on the senses". sometimes you can roll with the punches and sometimes you take it on the chin. so yes, we arrived in pushkar after a train ride and a 12km bus over a mountain. the other great part about the buses is that it cost a combined 16Rupees ($0.33) for the trip. the 5 hour trip to the small village of bundi (tomorrow) will cost the two of us a grand total of $4. in a word: barbgain. pushkar is a holy village - no meat, eggs ,alcohol, holding hands, there are curfews in the town. our hostel has a 10pm curfew which we broke last night.

after a long dinner with some of heather's yoga friends from england (hardly any yanks here, though lots of !sraeli's, french), we went back to this shop where heather had wanted to buy a shirt around 9pm. the three men working were happy to see us again and got me a chair while heather talked to them about making her some clothes. as our curfew approached, the men insisted we have tea. tired and not wanting to be locked out, we demurred, but they were insistent. so, not wanting to offend, we said we'd have tea. the two guys hopped on a motorcycle to fetch tea while the 3rd showed us a photo album of something or other (not sure as he spoke little english and the captions were in hindi). they returned with plastic cups and a bag of chai tea. we sat in their shop, drank tea and talked of our names (most Indian names have good stories behind them) our families, etc. they were so warm and generous. it was 10pm and they still had to drive home on their motorcycles over a mountain on an unlit road. it didn't matter, they had guests ... one of the men ,the tailor who will make heather's clothes, spoke no english, he just smiled at us and laughed when the men translated our conversation. though the guys offered to give us a ride home, we walked back to our hostel before closing, asking about five strangers for directions and never once feeling unsafe (it could've been bc i was flexing the whole time). such is life in a holy town in india.

k, i'm off to get a 1 hour ayurvedic massage for the hefty price of $8 ... life is good!

Saturday, March 18, 2006

pushkar!

helllllo bloggers! greetings from pushkar! some first impressions:

after five days in the sprawling, tangled, noisy (NOISY!!!) trafficky city of jaipur, with touting rickshaw drivers popping up at every turn...after this, a long exhalation is in order. pushkar offers the place to do just that. it's small, manageable, peaceful. it's quiet. there are no automobiles except motorcycles. this alone (after jaipur) qualifies as nirvana on earth.

don't get me wrong, jaipur was incroyable! we saw some really amazing old buildings - palaces, an observatory from the 1700s, took some downright badass photos, saw some amazing sunsets, did 8 hours of shopping that would make mom proud - haggling was so much fun! but now, the serenity of pushkar, a little village with lots of tourists and charm, is just what the doctor ordered.

cyncyn - thailand in maybe august or september?

will - europe is up in the air - i want to make it to paris at the end of sept for g's wedding, but i want to go to thailand to learn thai massage for my potential bidness idear...will keep ya posted. glad to hear you tied one on on st patty's day.

rach - i saw a mcdonald's in delhi the other day and gasped out loud. pizza hut in jaipur too. i usually have stayed away from cities b/c they drain me. the north is very different from the south, too, but that's a whole nother ball o' wax. also, sorry the 'happy holi!' trick didn't go over well in the office. my money belt is still staining my skin pink.

still seeing lots of monkeys jumping from rooftops - the fun never stops!

lots of love,
mev and moneybag$

durnk blogging

hi mev and pie,

happy st paddy's day, i'm sure the rivers are already green thar! i wore my best st paddy's day t-shirt, "Proud to be Awesome" from the Urban "Youtfeeters" as Geoffrey would say. top notch, top notch. went out with some friends from work and some other friends from the football team, that's right fellow bloggers, i play on a football team, no need to mention that it is co-ed and two hand touch, but what do you expect from a 31 year old boy?

i got a ride home from a buddy on the football team. this bloke doesn't see the need to wear a seatbelt despite my durnk explanation of the physics behind a head on collision, didn't seem to register with him at all, it may be because he is a union member in northwest airlines, but who am i to judge?

an enjoyable spring break was had by one william b. i did a whole lot of vegetating. my brain still hurts, only 3 more weeks of the semester left, thank God. i went snowboarding today here in the twin cities. never would i have thought that ski roundtop was a mountain, but compared to the knob hills of twin cities, it is a ski mecca. i was getting dizzy, literally, from the continuous counterclockwise cycle of snowboarding down the hill getting on the skii lift and snowboarding back down the hill, the runs were about 30 seconds long, at X-treme speed they were 25 seconds long. also, i was one of the best snowboarders on the slopes, another indication of severe junior varsity participants. anyways.....

charece is working the st paul women's expo this weekend, she succeeded in getting about $50,000 in corporate donations for gift prizes and raffles, quite impressive indeed, hopefully she gets some clients out of it, things are going well with her job.

hope all is well in inja. spring is right around the corner here in minneapolis, so they tell me, this 6 months of winter is getting ridiculous.

ps, i'll be in vienna from 31 july to 19 august, then hopefully a quick jaunt to visit geoffrey. miss, if you can meet up in that neck of the woods then, lemme know.

stay safe, be vigilant, go GS Rams,

love, will

Thursday, March 16, 2006

hello to our little world travelers!

sounds like india as amazing as hoped...i am glad you are there matt to enjoy this with heather! things in LA are going well. i'm heading to miami for my 6th annual music conference, and am mixing at two great parties...details of the happenings are promised when i return. dance and theater classes have kept me busy as well as my full time adult job at verizon. gotta love responsibility! heather i posted on littlestar to plan our summer trip...keep me updated on your whereabouts so we can make it happen. my time off is approved and my passport is ready. love to you both, be well.

love cyndi

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

First of all, I'd like to thank you, Matt, for two things. Numero uno: apparently, 'holi' is not celebrated in Los Angeles - or at least not in my office. So when I threw toner on my co-worker and yelled "HAPPY HOLI" all I got was bitch slapped. So thanks for the advice on smacking people with color. Numero deux: Will has proven to be no challenge at msn poker. So thanks for abandoning me and my poker addiction with an unworthy opponent.

Second, I would like to say that you must not forget to drink green beer on Friday as it is the sacred holiday of our dear St. Patrick. And no, green tea doesn't count. Don't eat yellow snow but drink green beer - that's my motto. Speaking of mottos, my posse and I (bet you didn't know I had a posse) are making matching shirts to wear out that say "I'm with stupid..." That way, when ever someone rubs me the wrong way, I'll just stand next to them with the arrow pointing in their direction - kind of like a passive aggressive form of belittling my fellow drunk human beings.

Third, do they have McDonald's in India? I was thinking about the whole cow thing and it made me wonder if the golden arches were there or not. Random question, but, I'm just keeping in line with the random thoughts.

Well, that's about it from here. I have another blog to tend to.

Travel safe, be curious and have fun.

Love and miss you both,
Rach

monkey-ing around jaipur

heather and i arrived in jaipur 2 days ago. jaipur is a city in the state of rajastan. we left delhi - after one incredibly hectic and intense day - at 6am to get in a land cruiser for the 5 hr drive ... it was great - just me, the miss and our driver ... in the front seat! there were 7 other passengers for a total of 10. apparently, heather was in a jeep w/ 20 people so i'm still JV.

jaipur is fantastic, so, the city itself is nestled against this beautiful backdrop, its surrounded by these massive fortresses on mountains, which were built by various rulers of jaipur to fend off invading armies (recurring theme in india's history). as with delhi, the traffic is crazy - pedestrians, bike rickshaws, autorickshaws, cars, cows, men with carts, buses, vans - all vie for space. every inch is contested. yet another facet of india that cannot be explained. i thought i was cool bc i could drive in dc. dc is nothing compared. if you can drive here, you can drive anywhere. also, you are probably insane or drunk.

yesterday, we hired a guide named 'lucky' to show us around the city in his autorickshaw. after getting the best lassis ever (like a smoothie but w/ yogurt and cream), we went to temple of hanumon (monkey temple), which is also on a hill overlooking the city. as we entered the area leading up to the temple, we saw monkeys everywhere - eating bananas, hanging out on jeeps - as well as goats, cows, dogs, and the occasional holy man. on the climb up, we tried to feed the monkeys but it didn't go so well - the damn goat and cow kept getting in the way. then a monkey jumped at heather to get the food. we decided not to keep messing around as we were on their turf (monkeys = gods). the temple itself was very cool. the brahmin, or holyman, at the top was impressed with heather's knowledge of their history. he made us tea; heather helped. he also made her wash the dishes. woman are the lesser sex here, by far ...

the elephant festival was one of the main reasons we came to jaipur. it turned out to be a tourist trap. still, we ended up hopping the arena fence and walked in and around the procession pretending to be photographers. we got our pictures taken with the elephants and watched them play elephant polo.

after that, things got weird. the hindi celebrate the coming of spring with a festival called "holi". as we were walking home, the sun was setting and people were piling hay as if to start fires. this was happening on every street and alley. people were carrying around long sticks with dried grass ... then, dudes on motorcyles would zoom by with their sticks on fire, whereupon guys on the street would run after them, light their sticks, then light the bonfires. in a few minutes, the streets were ablaze. so random, but par for the course here.

the other thing w/ holi is that people walk around and put colored powder on everyone ... as we left our hotel this morning, we wondered if we'd see any action (get any color) ... in less than a minute, 6 dudes on 2 motorcyles approached, shouting "happy holi!" and putting the color all over our faces, hair ... we couldn't go 15 yards without someone stopping and drenching us, then wanting to shake our hands or hug ... we bought some of the powder and did the same. the pictures are pricelss, everyone in the street is covered with this powder, even some of the cows. we visited a hindu temple and got lots of looks (we had, by far, the most color as westerners, even one with nascent, horrible beards stick out like sore thumbs here). it took us about an hour each to get the powder out.

enough narrative, time for quick thoughts (as cath advised) :

though i've been here just 9 full days, i have stories to bore friends and family alike for a lifetime (obviously).

we're having a blast, feeling alive as adventure beckons down every street and around each corner.

yoga proves to be elusive. we thought people would be doing downward dogs in the street but yoga teachers are in demand here, esp given india's growing obesity problem.

two more days in jaipur, then off to the small village of pushkar, which is a holy town. no meat here :( but should find some yoga.

keep the posts coming, hopefully the dearth of blog posts is unrelated to my arrival :)

Thursday, March 09, 2006

he said, she said...

today is day five for matt pie in inja; i recently hit my 2 month mark.

i had decided that goa would bea good place for matt to start, since it's them most 'westernized' indian state. indeed, there are many xtian churches, loads of westerners, and meat and fish dishes...the diversity of this country will never cease to amaze me!

so while pie is soaking in the new land of india (cows causing traffic jams, the best chai ever, etc...), i find myself eager to get back to the 'real india': i miss indian food, i miss eating rice with my hand (although that might just be a southern indian thing?), i even miss squat toilets and cold water bucket baths. i think it might be a while before i get back to some of these non-luxuries, as Moneybag$ over here (my new nickname for matt) thinks that $10 is a reasonable price to pay for a fancy hotel room.

one more full day in goa, we're carting around on a motor scooter (WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! it's SO much fun!), maybe do some yoga or thai massage, book a room in delhi...

tomorrow we go to delhi! it promises to me much more...everything, than goa: more stimulation, more traffic, more people, more busy-ness, and i'm looking forward to a big dose of india! quite an adventure ahead, but for now i'll just enjoy the last full day in goa, walking and swimming on the gorgeous beaches, relaxing, and just soaking up some chill before diving into the madness of delhi...

the adventure continues ...

hey friends,

after initially struggling to decipher the mysteries of this ancient and mysterious land, i'm happy to report that i am, in all ways - language, culture, customs, dress - an indian ... this is a bit disappointing as i figured it would take no more than 3 days, alas, it took 4 ...

joking, of course, india let me know who was boss when i first stepped off the plane in mumbai/bombay at midnight on sunday. not really sure of what was happening (show passport, give guy some money, get a stamp) and severely jet-lagged, i found myself wandering the very crowded streets outside the airport looking for the domestic flight terminal so i could get a few hours of sleep before my flight to goa. a very nice indian man was kind enough to lead me to his van, take me to a hotel (if it sounds sketchy, thats bc it was) and charge me $45 to sleep in a room with a cot for 4 hours. too tired to argue, i agreed, slept with the lights on and in my travelling clothes ... in the morning, they woke me and took me to the airport, with everyone demanding a tip along the way. i obliged with tips that, unbeknownst to me, would pay for 3 quality meals here. if you're keeping score, thats india: 1, mjf: 0.

i met up w/ mev at the goa airport at 6am ... it was so great to see her. i couldn't imagine getting here and not having a friendly face waiting for me. i had a lot of respect and admiration that she's doing this, after experiencing it myself, i have even more.

happily, the trip took a sharp turn for the better since then and its been steadily outstanding since. we rented a moped in goa and have been cruising up and down the coast to the different beach towns - some commercial, some very hippie, all very beautiful and w/ there own charm ... dad, know that we're using our turn signals, checking our mirrors often and obeying the speed limit - oh wait, there is no speed limit! ahahaha.

as mev previously wrote, everything is incredibly inexpensive here. our beach hut on a hill overlooking the ocean and the beach town of palalem was $9/night. a full breakfast - eggs, fruit, fresh-squeezed OJ, tea - is less than $3.

since heather and i have slightly different objectives and timetables here, i'm willing to spend a bit more for some conveniences. example: a room at our current place was $3 more for a private bathroom with a hot shower (fr 5-10pm). to me, that is no decision at all. yet, it has earned me the title of "moneybag$". so be it. in my defense, i did agree to take the grittiest form of travel there is - the bus. and i sat with my bagpack on my lap for the entire 1 hour trip. there was no AC on the bus. that, my friends, is gritty.

nonetheless, "barbgains" abound. "barbgains", as some may know, are incredible bargains, named after the greatest bargain hunter of all-time: our mom, barb fenwick. bartering is an art form here and heather and i have developed a good routine - $9 birkenstocks for her.

tomorrow we leave goa for delhi, which i'm pretty sure will blow my mind. after that, we're heading to jaipur for an elephant festival, where hopefully i can snag a ride on one ... k, time to explore ...

News from the US

Aren't you glad you guys are enjoying real culture? Check out this article from today's AP. And no, I'm not kidding. Note to self: Carry plunger for self-protection.

Toilet Paper Brawl Lands Maids in Hospital, Jail
AP


CHARLESTON, S.C. (March 8) - An argument over toilet paper overflowed into a fight, sending one motel maid to the hospital and another to jail.


The maids at the Siesta Motor Lodge in North Charleston armed themselves with a plunger and mop after accusing each other of taking toilet paper from each other's cleaning carts, North Charleston police said.

Deloris Smith, 47, is charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. A magistrate set her bail Friday at $5,000.

The argument began about 9:40 a.m. Thursday in the motel's laundry room. The 52-year-old maid wounded in the scuffle said Smith grabbed a mop and hit her on the arms. She was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, police said.

Smith said she was defending herself from her co-worker's plunger.

Sunday, March 05, 2006

landed!

hello bloggers!

reporting that matt made it to india all in one piece! i met him at the goa airport this morning at 630am, and we took a taxi to palolem in south goa. we are staying in a nice hut about 50 yards from the beach. it's beautiful and relaxing here. plans include yoga, me practicing ayurvedic massage on matt, renting a motorbike, and lots of chilling out before heading out to the big city (delhi) and up north.

lots of love and namaste,
mev and matt

Friday, March 03, 2006

It's 4:30 pm on a Friday

and there is no way i would be caught dead doing work right now. i celebrated friday's arrival with a jaunt to krispy kreme where i got a donut that was hot off the conveyor belt . . . . mmmmm, mmmm. i started off the day with a dental appointment and learned that being militant about my oral hygeine has paid off and i have no cavities, though my top set of wisdom teeth have to go . . . good times.

my visit to ireland was a success. the time spent with keith was excellent. i met most of his friends and all of his immediate family and his nana. i seemed to be well-received, but i have not received confirmation on that. i got to see the mcgraths, including suzanne's little tykes, who were full of energy and held keith captive until it was time to go. we also ate at a super fancy restaurant (it was quite the experience) and visited a local park. i was not ready to leave when it was time to go, but alas . . .

geoffroy's friend (david) is in dc right now and i am supposed to catch the "friday night fever" w/ him and his travel mates tonight, we will see if i can hang with these guys on my own turf after a long week of work. belle and sebastian and the new pornographers will be paying the 930 club a visit on sunday and i will be there to welcome them with open arms and a shaking butt.

i am off to enjoy some martinis at one of dc's snobbiest lounges. love, thoughts and prayers. namaste-@

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

so long kate shaw, travel partner extraordinaire!

just wanted to give a shout out to my buddy kate, who leaves india for scotland tomorrow. she has traveling for 2 years (this is a dangerous influence on me, mom and dad:) - she originally thought she would go for 6 months!

anyway, kate and i had the wonderfullest of times traveling in india from the ashram until about a week ago, including crashing meditation classes and accidentally snoring in them, skipping lecture at the ashram to go to the lake and listen to music and swim, yoga practices on the roof in mysore, and countless encounters with friendly and interesting indians.

thinking of you kate - see you in the western hemisphere, hopefully in 2006!

no that's post buzz-cut!

that photo was taken the day after my haircut.

yes pie, a 41-hour train ride will give you the flavah-flave of mother inja - it'll be fun!!!

right now i'm finishing up my ayurveda course at my friend's house back in kerala, the southernmost state with the tastiest food and friendliest people. i have a plan to come back for monsoon season just so i can see it!

the time here has been amazing - i have thoroughly enjoyed getting a massage and other treatment on a daily basis. although the system of ayurveda aims to concentrate all of the toxins (with the massage, steam baths, etc.) and then RID yourself of the toxins. so today the fun begins with laxatives, induced vomiting, and i'm trying to squirm out of the enema treatment, we'll see if i am successful in avoiding that one!!

long train rides

hi miss and bloggers,

methinks this will be my last stateside posting. saturday, i leave DC for mumbai/bombay, a trip that will take over 22 hours. i am excited. and a bit anxious, in a good way. mevarooski is planning a superb trip, no doubt. the adventure begins in goa, then to delhi where my neighbor tasked me with delivering a dictionary circa 1892 to a friend of hers, who is a retired Indian army general (seriously). at some point we'll head to rishikesh, where i plan on mastering the ancient art of yoga in two-three days.

oh yeah - the trip from goa to delhi will be by train. apparently, when in india, one must take a long train ride to experience the flavor of the country. little did i know that our train ride will be 41 hours! as in, nearly 2 full days.

miss, i think i have about 50 hugs to give you from everyone stateside. i can't wait to see you at monday morning in goa ... finally a monday morning that i can look fwd to!