Past the Tip of the Israeli Iceberg

I always thought I knew the real “ins” of Israeli culture because I was familiar with words like “sababa” and “achla” and musical artists like HaDag Nachash and Idan Raichel. Well, while I’ve certainly always had a familiarity with the culture here I think it’s fair to say that it was really just the surface of the culture that I knew well. It’s like I could provide a detailed description of the tip of the iceberg yet it was also just the tip of the iceberg. Make sense? I hope so cause it does in my head. Anyway, now that I live here one of the most fun parts of the experience I’m finding is that I'm exposed to this culture on such a much deeper level. I get to see it for it’s beauty, it’s corruption, and everything neutral and in between.

People who know I’m Jewish and have familiarity with Israel often ask: Isn’t it dangerous there? Don’t they ride camels everywhere? And, well, ha, that’s usually all people ever really ask. So, in attempt to dispel the myths, preconceived notions, and in the interest of sharing the beauty and depth of the culture here as I see it,  here’s a list of some of my favorite, most surprising, and most unexpected cultural nuances:

-         Shanti shanti is totally a common term here and I love it!

-         Weekends are Friday and Saturday which still totally confuses me

-         Water conservation is really valued. All toilets have 2 flushers and it’s expected when washing dishes to wash all them with soap before turning on the faucet to rinse. Same goes for brushing teeth – only keep the water on when rinsing.

-         Buses stop on Friday around 3:30 in Jerusalem so you better plan your next 24 hours and all that you’ll need (stores are closed in Jeru) in advance

-         It’s common to wish someone a “shavua tov” (good week) on Saturday evenings

-         Recycling is really encouraged here! Up and down some of the more popular streets you can spot plastic and paper recycling dumpsters

-        The elderly are treated with utmost respect – always invited onto buses before the rest of the crowd rushes on, seats are always given up by the younger passengers, etc.

-         Fresh produce is easy to find and infinitely tastier than produce I've had anywhere else around the world

-         There’s a trend when Israelis finish their military service to travel either to India or South America for several months

-          Iced coffee doesn’t mean coffee with ice but coffee blended with ice

-          Aroma is the Starbucks of Israel only the food at Aroma is much better

-          All the most gorgeous men in the world are concentrated in this country… it’s true :)

-          There’s a push here for many younger people to get involved in politics but there’s so much corruption in the government that younger people are really turned away

-          Already during the month I’ve been here I’ve read several news headlines about terrorist attacks against Israelis and I’ve been disheartened to hear from home that the news hasn’t made it outside Israel (Please take this at face value and don’t look any deeper – I’m making no other political statements or saying anything more other than just simply this.)

-          Many locals assume I’ve made aliya or plan to

-          J-Walking is super illegal—you can and will get a ticket

-          Some of the best sites in the world for bird watching are in Israel

-          While it’s about 3.6 shekels to the dollar the cost of living is just about equal to that in the States

-          Customer service is pretty awful by American standards just about everywhere

-          Tights pants and boots are high fashion

-          Israel serves as an asylum for many African refugees. People who think there’s no such thing as a Black Jew are completely uninformed.

-          It’s always a few degrees cooler in Jerusalem than in Tel Aviv. Jerusalem is also known more for being an academic and religious city while Tel Aviv is where the parties are at

-          Purple is a totally acceptable hair color for Israeli women

-          And… despite popular belief and all the controversy there are actually Jews and Palestinians coexisting peacefully everyday

 

I'm sure the more time I spend here the more I'll learn about the cultural nuances and I promise to keep you all tuned... 

Aside from all that, take a look below at a few pix from some of my highlights here thus far:

Rach and I went to Binyamina for Shabbat last week to visit a long time family friend. We had an amazing visit full of laughs, rest, and wonderful company. Our last hours were spent exploring the beautiful coast of the Mediterranean Sea just 5 minutes from the house.

Me with Jen and her adorable son Ziv

Chag Sameach! It's Purim here this weekend so we went out last night to fulfill the mitzvah of celebrating the holiday... Rach was a cat and I was an aerobics instructor

We've been on a major health kick in the house and this is Exhibit A - Rach's and my breakfast! We've also now had family dinners at home for the last 5 nights with home cooked meals and contributions from all :)

This is what happens when you're in a house with 6 people and no one has a job yet or anything to do all day... you leave your underwear outside on the drying rack and then find it folded in the kitchen cabinets between the plates! We all better start work soon because I can't even imagine what kind of ridiculousness will otherwise ensue...

Getting ready to go out... from left to right we've got the cat, rock star, and aerobics instructor... so totally representative of our individual and totally different personalities... love it!

5 of my 6 sweet and adorable cousins I met this week! (L-R: Ephraim, Mordechai, Chaim, me, Racheli, and Menachem)

        Last thought: This week I've been missing India a lot... Rachel just wrote the most creative blog that so beautifully illustrates all my thoughts of the week. If it's not posted yet it'll be up in the next few days... Check it out here: http://rachgoeseast.blogspot.com/

Israel: Where I'm Meant to Be?

This first week in Israel has been more than I could have asked for - I very spiritually and energetically feel as if at this moment this is really where I'm meant to be. I typically don’t deal with transition too well and while the first few days I was really homesick I can say that things have really turned around, time has flown by, and I feel so at home. In just one short week I’ve already accomplished a ton so here’s a rundown of what I’ve been up to…

Setting into the apartment

Our apartment is in a PERFECT neighborhood called Makor Chaim in the Talpiyot area of Jerusalem. It’s sooooo quiet and yet really centrally located. Rach and I are sharing a room again which we’ve themed Polly Pockets because we have these miniature sized beds and lots of play toys that the landlord left hanging around in our bedroom. The best part of our room though might be the heated floors! I’m pretty much permanently freezing cold so I love waking up with my clothes laid out on the floor overnight and then getting dressed right into their warmth… ahhh :) Those the little things… We also have 2 giant balconies, laundry in our apartment, and best of all is that we don’t have any 14 year old maids!

Living Room

Makor Chaim 14

Our Polly Pocket bedroom and mini sized beds

The view from our living room window

Reconnecting with friends and family

Many family members and friends I grew up with made aaliya (immigrated to Israel) and I’ve been in touch with most of them this week. Coincidentally, I also learned that I live 2 doors down from a friend I grew up with from K-8^th grade and kiddy corner from one of my friend's brothers. One of my other friend’s sisters also lives not too far and so it’s really nice having so many friends who I can get together with who are a) not in my program, and b) familiar from home.

Services at the Gilad Shalit tent

The most moving part of the week… Friday night several of my roommates and I attended Shabbat services at the Gilad Shalit tent. Gilad Shalit was a regular Israeli guy who was serving in the army 4 years ago when he was kidnapped by Hamas and held as a prisoner of war. Since then 1 or 2 videos have been released of him alive, seemingly okay, and reading letters to his family. The last one released I believe was 1 or 2 years ago. There is no proof that Hamas is complying with international law meeting the standards for treatment of POWs and it’s unknown whether or not he’s even still alive. Hamas has agreed to free him so long as the Israeli government complies with particular provisions involving the release of POWs here and since the gov’t refuses to negotiate with terrorists Hamas continues to hold him captive. As a result there’s been a large movement of Israelis who have supported the Shalit family and this cause. There’s a tent now set up outside the Prime Minister’s home where his family spends just about all day every day sitting and waiting. A giant sign reading 1713 (on the day I was visiting) that sits above the tent as a reminder of how many days he’s been gone.

How moving it was to be there and pray with his family. I was struck by the normalcy of how his family and others in my presence treated the situation. It occurred to me how incredibly privileged I am to come from a nation that isn’t culturally infused with trauma. At the same time, with that being the case in Israel the people of this culture have learned such a strong ability to learn how to move forward. People here don’t seem to fixate on much and they also know how to get things done. This is something I think us Americans as a whole culture don’t understand because we’re not in a position of having to learn how to operate that way. Anyway, I hope you’ll take the time to visit www.gilad.org to educate yourself on this matter and the symbol he’s become for the Israeli people.

Ulpan

I started ulpan (Hebrew immersion course) this week! I’m in the 4^th level of 6 which is definitely a good challenge but not too difficult that I can’t understand what’s going on. Most of the other students in my class have made aliya and they’re just about all ages 55+, which is really nice because it reminds me of grad school in that everyone in the room genuinely wants to be there. It creates for a really warm learning environment and a strong sense of community. We’ll be participating for one more month so I’m excited to see how much I learn by the end of it all.

6.5K Race

So after intoxicating my lungs the last 4 months with Indian air, eating tons of oil and fried foods, it’s about time to get back in shape. Rach and I opted this week to participate in a 6.5K race in Jerusalem. It was such a fun way to start getting back into shape and also just practically to run around the city and get a better sense of my surroundings. Since then Rach and I have been running around the neighborhood everyday and I already feel myself losing the weight I gained in India and most importantly just getting back into a healthier way of life.

All in all I’m getting settled in here so well and hopeful and enthusiastic this will continue to be an amazing journey.  For now I’m off to a MASA leadership seminar for the week and will blog again soon.

So so much love to each of you reading this!

~Abby

I Know I'm Not in India Anymore When...

I know I’m not in India anymore when…

-          I got in a taxi today and was asked to put my seat belt on

-          I don’t hear “chalo” anymore but instead hear “yala”

-          I can breathe outside

-          I see green

-          I was instructed where to put my recycling

-          I had a hot shower that lasted more than 2 minutes

-          People speak to me in the native language and expect me to respond in it

-          Fresh veggies have real taste

-          Pita is there

-          Saying “xyz is there” isn’t normal anymore

-          Head bobbles are not there

-          I follow traffic rules

-          There are rules

-          There’s minimal to no honking on the roads

-          I can do my own laundry and not rely on a child laborer

-          My landlord knocks before entering

-          Mosquitoes are gone

-          I can drink from the sink

-          When I see white people I don’t get excited anymore

-          Toilet paper is plentiful

-          The grocery bill from one grocery shopping run equals approximately $40 USD

-          Instead of walking single file down the street I can walk next to others on sidewalks next to the street

-          The security line at the mall isn’t separated by gender

-     I don't have to jump on the bus while it's still in motion - it actually just stops for me

-          No smell of burning garbage

-          I have no goats, hogs, or cows roaming outside my apartment door

-          Billboard advertisements are rarely in English

-          It’s not particularly imperative to check the expiration date on foods I buy at the grocery store

-          It costs money to use a cart at the grocery store

-          I’m wearing four layers of shirts/sweaters and I’m still cold

All that being said it’s definitely bittersweet to have left our Hyderabadi home and to now be settling into our Jerusalem apartment. I’ve wanted to live in Israel for such a long time so it’s really a rewarding experience yet it doesn’t take away from the definite loss I feel from no longer being in India. It seems like just when I got life down to a science there it was time to uproot and head out. My experience there was so up and down and right and left and forward and back and sideways and all over the place that I imagine I’ll be continuing to process all that happened there for quite some time… In the meanwhile, stay tuned for upcoming blogs on my new Israeli life :)

Much love!

~Abby

 

Update from Delhi

Written 2 weeks ago...

So here I am in Delhi sitting at Barista coffee shop just watching the Indian world go by. I’m 3 days out of the India portion of my program and I came to the café here to put final touches on my internship projects. For the first time, maybe since Mysore, I feel like I’ve got some breathing room and space to process the crazy roller coaster that this trip is. Here goes…

The Program Thus Far

            Now that the India portion of the program has come to a close and I’m moved out of my apartment in Hyderabad I can start to look back with a bit more objective insight into my experience. Overall, I’ll say it was an incredibly challenging four months that was resultantly a huuuuuuuuge period of learning and growth. I was stripped of all my coping mechanisms and forced to adapt to my surroundings in ways that had never been required of me before. I now see myself as someone with much more flexibility, much more comfort sitting with the unknown, and an even greater ability to roll with the punches. I have more patience than I did before and I think I’ve become someone who’s able to function better with less structure than I was before.

            Being exposed to the ways that people live in this developing nation has instilled in me even greater perspective of my life, it’s purpose, my values, and what I believe really truly matters. I’m not yet aware of any significant changes, rather just a strengthening of that which I knew before. I am so privileged and with that comes tremendous responsibility. The experiences I’ve had in India have also forced me to beg the question of what ways I can function in society and really create sustainable changes. When a child beggar comes to my window in the auto rickshaw and I don’t give the child money, have I abandoned my responsibility, or, am I being realistic about how much those 5 rupees are likely to actually change the larger systemic issues causing that child to have to beg? Where are my money, energy, and time most likely to make an impact?

            The fact that I’m asking these questions and that I think I’ve grown so tremendously these last several months tells me that this program has been successful and that it was the right choice for me. I struggled many times with practical logistics and have frustrated to the extent of considering alternative options to participating in the program for the next 4 months, but a bit of distance now from it all reassures for me that enrolling in this program for the year was the right personal choice and I’ll benefit most from completing it in Israel.

Internship

            My internship is over! Well, almost… I’m just working on final edits right now so I can submit what are hopefully close to flawless presentations and research. I gave my final presentation last week and while I’m not terribly impressed with the content of the work I would say that in terms of the process it was a success. My 3 program directors, all my roommates, and a friend of mine from Hyderabad attended the presentation along with approximately 15-20 co-workers. I had about an hour to present my research titled “Corporal Punishment and Alternative Teaching Methods.” My job was to highlight teaching methods practiced by teachers who do not practice corporal punishment. What I found was that amongst those teachers (of whom there were approximately 50 who I interviewed and observed from about 10 schools in Hyderabad government schools and surrounding districts) they demonstrated awareness of 4 key elements as evidenced by their teaching methods: a) The importance of building interpersonal relationships with their students, b) Emphasizing rewards as much, or more, than punishments, c) Understanding of child development and various learning styles, and d) Value of empathy and compassion.

            The research paper I’m submitting to them is a more comprehensive view of what I presented in my powerpoint. Both are being submitted to MVF this week and they’ll review them, send editing requests back to me, and then they’ll submit it for publication!!  YAY! I can’t remember the exact name of the journal but it’s something like Social and Political Weekly… something like that.  When there’s movement on this I’ll be sure to keep you all posted J  Needless to say it’s very exciting for me :)

            Finally, and perhaps most excitingly for me, I developed a teacher training program for MVF to use and disseminate to other appropriate NGOs and government agencies. The program is titled “Understanding Corporal Punishment and Developmentally-Nurturing Teaching Methods.” It’s most rewarding because a) it’s what I think they can benefit from the most, and b) it’s been the most formal way I’ve been able to use my degree and experiences with teaching and counseling. It’s also been a fun challenge for me to review my presentation and make sure it’s culturally relevant and appropriate in terms of language, pictures, recommended teaching methods, and even just the way I encourage presenters to deliver the information. Lots of fun for me!

Delhi

            So I’m learning from this trip and my Mysore trip that it’s a good thing I never had an interest in being a travel agent, I’m just not so good at planning vacations… Whomp whomp. I’m in Delhi now with Phil and arrived here two days ago without much of a plan. As a result, we’ve ended up spending more money and not really maximized our time (I’m typically one who maximizes pretty well so I’m gettin a little stir crazy here…). However, lesson learned, AND, I’m still in Delhi and having a great time in the big picture of life so no complaints to be had…

            We’ve done a bit of site seeing around the city Red Fort, the biggest mosque in India, Connaught Place, India Gate, and Old Delhi. Overall this city seems to get a pretty bad rep relative to what we’ve experienced. The people have been nice enough, the metro system is probably the nicest one I’ve ever been on (even beats Europe and NYC), and the weather has even been fine (even though it’s raining a bit now). I’m not sure this is a city I’d be inclined to travel to again but I can certainly see why someone would want to live and work here.

            Without a doubt the best part of our trip so far was the day trip we took yesterday to Agra. We first stopped at Agra Fort, then a little shopping center, then we went to the TAJ MAHAL!!!  The most appropriate word to describe it is breathtaking. Literally breathtaking. I actually had to remind myself to exhale after first glance… As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes I worry that all my fortune and travels have jaded me to life’s beauties but that certainly wasn’t the case yesterday at the Taj. My wish for everyone reading this is that you too have the opportunity one day to be able to treat yourself to visit this site… truly remarkable…

What’s Upcoming…

            So in just a few hours we’ll be heading to the bus station to leave Delhi and head to Pushkar (in Central Rajasthan, Southwest of here). It’s supposedly similar to Hampi in that it caters to tourists, it’s full of rooftop restaurants where you can spend the day just chilling out, and it’s really inexpensive. Our 4 other roommates will be meeting us there at the end of the week so we can all go to a wedding together on Friday and Saturday (Indian wedding are the beeeeeeeeeeest! Can’t wait!) and then Saturday night we’ll take an overnight bus back to Delhi to grab our flight to Goa!!!  We’ll spend all of next week there just beach-ing and safari-ing it up and a few of our friends from Hyderabad are planning on meeting us there for our last few days in India as well. My life is good… no, it’s great… I wouldn’t change a thing.

            We arrive in Israel on Feb 27 and will have a few days to get settled in our apartment and culturally adjusted. We start Ulpan that Monday, which we’ll be doing 12 hours a week for 4 weeks. The second week we’re in Israel we’ll be attending a leadership workshop produced by MASA and then when we return on week 3 we’ll finally be getting started with our new internships. I’m not yet sure what work I’ll be doing but my hope is to work with an organization there that provides support to bereaved families who have lost relatives in military duty. As a Jewish-American I can’t think of much more meaningful work than that.

Soooo…. That’s the long and the short of it for now. I’ve done a pretty good job this past hour procrastinating finishing up my project so it’s probably about time I get back to it.  Much much love to all you at home. I love and miss you all so incredibly much! While I’m really enjoying my time here I look so forward to the day I get back to Chicago (and then Nashville) and can see you each in person and just be together.

Giant hugs and so much love to all of you!

~Abby

Final Week in Hyderabad

The last few weeks have been quite an emotional roller coaster, to say the least. I've experienced high his and low lows much similar to the way I was feeling during my first month of transition after leaving home and starting this adventure. As I've been starting to wrap it up the last few weeks I've been feeling more pressure to really get to doing a lot of the things I've been interested in doing that I just kept putting off. I wish I had the energy and time to write separate blogs about each of them, but, since I don't, here's the outlined version that hopefully I can fill you each in on in person once I get back:

• I went to an AA meeting with one of my roommates to learn more about what the issues of alcoholism and addiction look like in India. It was a fascinating experience, tremendous professional development, and one that I'd love to share more about another time.
• I went to Paradise (the restaurant) with all my roommates and program directors and had an amazing dinner!
• I watched the movie 3 Idiots - a must see film!
• Tonight I'll be going to Syn for Hyderabad's best sushi :)
• I went to Novotel Hotel for Sunday all-you-can-eat brunch and pool  time
• My roommates and I threw a farewell party last night - biiiiiiiiig hit!

Just 2 days ago our program directors from Israel arrived and we're now officially in our closing week here in Hyderabad. Our days are being spent this weekend in meetings and seminars where we're focusing on logistics for the transition from India to Israel, doing a little bit of Torah study, providing lots of feedback, reflecting on our time thus far and brainstorming ways to enhance the next 4 months, and generally just having some really valuable group bonding time.  We're also all going to be giving our final presentations to this week. We'll each be presenting the research we've been working on at our respective NGO's and will do so in front of all the members of our program as well as our co-workers from the organizations. It's a bit nerve-wrecking but it's really very rewarding too... few things feel better than the sentiment that comes with knowing you've been a part of creating positive change :)

It's also been a nice few days as I've been able to sit in this communal, reflective, and structured because I'm really gaining new perspective on these last few months in India. I feel like I was running on a treadmill at a fast pace and only now am starting to slow it down to a speed where I can actually start to process all that's around me. This is really such a whirlwind of an experience and while I have some awareness of the ways it's impacted me I'm really starting to see that the majority of personal growth and lessons learned from this experience won't be brought to consciousness  until several weeks or months after I leave. What a journey this is...

Meanwhile, in addition to transitioning from India to Israel, I'm currently planning my 2 week travel.  Yaaay!!  It looks like I'll be going up North with Phil for a week to Delhi, Agra (just for a day to see the Taj Mahal) and then also possibly with Rachel and Nurit around Rajasthan.  Week 2 Phil, Rach and I are heading down to Goa to relax at the beach and meet up with some of our other friends we've met in Hyderabad who are coming to spend our last few days with us.  Should be a perfect way to wrap things up!

As for now... it's nap time after a long day of meetings and an even longer week of work. I hear this is Super Bowl weekend so I'm looking forward to hearing about the Black Eyed Peas halftime show and any worthwhile commercials :) Enjoy for me!

Much love,
Abby

Araku Valley/Vizag "Vacation"

Day 1 - The Journey Begins...

So my journey out to Araku Valley with Gopal, a friend I made here in Hyderabad, started on Friday morning around 4:30 when we hopped in his car with his driver and headed out for our long trek to Vizag. We anticipated it taking about 12 hours and planned to arrive late afternoon so that we could check into a hotel, grab dinner, and make our schedule for traveling to Araku Valley on Saturday before driving back to Hyderabad on Sunday. The drive was beautiful, we had good tunes playing on my iPod, the company was easy and enjoyable, and everything was smooth sailing... all until about 1 PM...
We were making great timing until about 100 km outside Vizag we heard the car making a funny sound. Trying to ride it out, we kept driving until the noise became louder and louder and then the engine light finally turned out. Pretty confident it wasn't safe to drive the car any longer, the driver pulled over, put on the hazards, and popped the hood.
Fast forward 1 hour... we've now been sitting on the side of the highway, we're waiting for the Ford guy to show up, and my occasional head rest on his shoulder led to discourse amongst the locals who sent a guy by on his bike to address how we were being "public nuisances." Really?? Wow, okay. So... we're waiting waiting waiting, finally we see 2 sedans pull up, both of which are Ford cars, and this guy hops out of one of them - apparently this is the Ford guy there to fix the car. Long story short, he takes a look at it and lets us know it can't be fixed until Tuesday and ready to be returned by Friday. There was a festival over the weekend, Sankaranthi (sp?), so there wasn't anyone working and we had no other options. Awesome. Now we're car-less AND we're stranded in Vizag for a week. Really??
So it turns out the other 2 sedans who were there were being driven by other people who were having car issues as well and had Ford come out to fix their vehicles. One of the cars left and kept driving and the other car then squeezed me, Gops, oh wait AND the Ford car guy in the back of their car with one another person and the two up front. They graciously drove us the next hour to Vizag where even though we were without our stuff or Gops car at least we were each in one piece.
We left his driver back with the car who found a local auto that was willing to tow his car to the Ford dealership in Vizag. Man oh man... this was just Day 1.
So now we find ourselves in this city, without our stuff, without a car, without a hotel reservation or transportation to a hotel, without his driver, without food or water in our systems, and the sun is starting to slowly set. We hopped an auto to the beach, walked around, saw some creepy monkey wearing a dress, and then found a nice hotel and decided to splurge for the evening. The room was worth about a third of what it cost but there was a beautiful restaurant at the hotel right on the beach where we were able to grab some dinner by the water and enjoy some curried fish (shout out to me... I was even adventurous with my food and ate prawns! I'm really venturing out there ;) ). Post dinner we grabbed some coffee, ordered a few drinks, and crashed for the night.

Day 2 - Araku, Where Are You?

So the trek out to Vizag was purely because we wanted to spend time out in Araku Valley. We'd both heard from several friends that it's one of the most beautiful places in Andhra Pradesh and that there are beautiful caves, water falls, and hiking paths for trekking out there. We woke up too late in the morning to catch the AP Tourism bus out to Araku (about 3 hours away) so we needed to a) look into a plan B for getting out there for the day, and b) we needed to make sure that before we left to go anywhere we figured out how we were going to travel back home to Hyderabad to get back to work by Monday.
So, once we were up, grabbed some breakfast, and we were ready to start the day, we checked out of the hotel and walked across the street to a few travel agencies where we were able to hire a car for the day to take us to/from Araku and then get bus tickets for the next day to take us back home. By about noon (maybe a little earlier) we were finally settled, in the car, and aside from the giant holes burnt through my wallet by this point, we were content, excited, and ready make the most of our day.
The drive out to Araku was beautiful! The rolling hills (mountains?), the green, the occasional rural villages and wandering villagers, the clean air, the peaceful energy, and the luxury of seeing it all from a car were just spectacular.

About 3 hours after leaving Vizag we found ourselves at the famous Borra Caves. This is the point where I get stuck and I'm not really sure how to describe what I saw... I'd like to say that they were mystical, batman-like, enigmatic holes in the Earth, but really... whomp whomp. I seriously can't believe Lonely Planet would even consider making mention of this site. The caves honestly just felt like an overcrowded, claustraphobic-inducing attraction at a local amusement park. Within probably about 30 minutes we saw the whole thing and were doing our absolute best to laugh it off and write it off as just another misadventure of the weekend. After all, we still had the waterfall to see and hikes to take around the valley. Or so we thought...We hopped back in the car and the driver continued on his way toward Araku which he said was about 30 minutes away. We continued to be mesmerized by the beautiful scenery and though slightly disappointed by the passing of time and lack of productivity we kept our heads high and fingers crossed that we'd make it to Araku soon enough and with enough time to venture around that it would all be worth it.

From inside the cave looking out

Our half hour passes, we're slowly cruising down what appears to be a main road of Araku Valley and our driver says, "okay, we're done with the tour now." Just like that. That's all. Um, what?! We're done? Hm? Come again? Not possible. "But what about the waterfall?" we asked, to which he speedily replied "oh no, they're all way back by the caves and if we went now it would be too late and dark for you to be there anyway. Ha, uhhhh, okay... "well what else can we see out here?" "There's a garden I can take you to close by." Okay fine, so we went to the garden, which turned out not to be exactly a garden but more like a cemetery for shrubbery and all plants that were once living. Not only were all the plants dead but there was garbage everywhere and even a giant fire of burning trash in the middle of the whole garden area. Really?? Okay...

Dead tree at the "garden" with garbage stuck in the branches

Burning garbage at the "garden"

Hands down the creepiest statue I've ever seen - also at the garden

So we hop back in the car and tried our absolute best to laugh everything off and keep our fingers crossed that maybe we can have just one success of the day - all we wanted was to get to the AP-renown Jungle Bells resort (yeah, that's right... Jungle Bells...), get a room for the night, wake up in the morning for some hiking, see the waterfalls, and be done. The driver swiftly takes us to Jungle Bells and we hadn't even gotten out of the car before the person standing at the reception yelled to us that they were booked for the night. Ahhhhhhhh!!! So at this point we're tired, a little stressed, and super hungry so we decide to hop out of the car, eat at their restaurant and come up with a plan for getting a place in Vizag and spending the night there.

Lucky for our frozen bodies the restaurant was 100% outside. In typical Indian fashion, we decided we'd just do whatever we want until someone told us not to so we walked right into the kitchen and opted to stand by the stove for some heat. No joke...

 

Warming up in the kitchen!

Now I'm not sure what ended up being my favorite part of standing in the kitchen. A) that we were standing in the kitchen and no one said anything, or, B) wait for it... the cook who was making the pasta actually strained it by throwing it on the sewage covering on the ground where he threw the rest of the garbage. Yep, that's right. Then he just picked it back up, threw it in a bowl, and set it up to be served. (That's when we changed our order... no pasta for us).

Starving... believe it or not we ate our food anyway... (hey, we took what we could get), jumped back in the car, trekked back to Vizag, and stayed at the AP Tourism resort across from the beach.

Day 3 - Rushikonda Beach: The Weekend's Saving Grace

The sun rose, it was a new day, we didn't want to have to work, all we wanted was to play. (I couldn't help myself, the rhyme just came to me...) We grabbed some breakfast, hopped in an auto, and made our way about 10 km to Rushikonda Beach (where I went with my roommates when we traveled to Vizag a few months ago). It was the most beautiful day maybe I've had in India just yet, we found a fabulous restaurant (the same one I went to last time) where we sat and spent several hours just basking in the sun, eating good seafood, and having great conversation. After a few hours we went for a walk down on the beach and by the rocks and when it got hot enough we decided to just jump in and go swimming with all our clothes on. As a woman in India I'm typically pretty aware of my behavior in public because things we wouldn't even think twice about in the States could be considered really inappropriate and offensive here - swimming in the ocean certainly felt like one of those things even though I was fully covered so our spontaneous clothed wave jumping adventure was short lived but certainly enough fun that we can't actually deem the entire weekend a complete failure.

 

 

Slowly but surely we headed back up to that same restaurant to sit just one last time for some seafood, dry off under the sinking sun, and then head out around 6 to make our way to the bus. Time flew, 6 PM snuck up on us, and we didn't make it to the main road to catch an auto until about 10/15 after. Well, the final adventure began... few autos were out driving around but finally one stopped for us the only problem was that there were already two people sitting up front with the driver, three people in back, and yes there were 2 people in the trunk. So, he stopped why? Well to see if we needed a ride of course! Such is the Indian way! So without any other options we squeeze the luggage between the 2 men in the trunk and we hop in the back with the three other men. Given all the weight in the auto, and simply just the fact that we were in an auto, the thing could not have possible driven any slower. In fact we might've been able to run the 10K faster. On the way the driver mentioned that he'll do his best to get us to our 6:45 bus on time but it usually takes 45 minutes to get there anyway. Really!? Wow... all I could think is this is not happening... 

Time passed about as slowly as possible and we finally arrived at the bus. We literally got on the bus as it was moving and taking off from the station... no kidding. The good news was that it was a Volvo A/C bus and hands down the most comfortable bus ride I've had yet. They didn't even play a Bollywood movie!!!  Whaaatt?!?! That never happens! It was amazing!

Day 4 - There's No Place Like Home

So the bus arrived back around 6:30 AM and to Hyderabad we returned... ahhhh... I slept for the next few hours that morning and then opted to take the day off work to recover my vacation. You know how those first days back can be...  

All in all this was quite the adventure and series of unfortunate events. Luckily I was in fabulous company and I've learned the invaluable quality of patience while living here in India. It took me a looooong way this trip, I'll say that much.  I hope reading this was more enjoyable than my weekend was... then at least I can say that even though everything else failed I came out with some good stories :)

Mysore Adventure Midweek Turning Point

Finally... THE TURNING POINT!!

Wednesday and Thursday were uuuuunreal days! I had the most amazing yoga classes and felt absolutely fabulous :)  I took classes both days at 6 AM and spent the rest of the morning and afternoon at the Mandala cafe just eating, resting, and talking with other yogis. It's quite an international crowd, each person presenting with a rather unusual and philosophical story. Later in the afternoon on Wednesday I went with one of my roomies, Daniela, to the market place downtown, which continues to be one of my favorite activities when traveling - I just love markets!  Thursday afternoon I went to a second yoga class in the afternoon and had private instruction again - yay!  The pix and video below say it all...

The fruit and veggie market

Kids who work at the market taking their lunch break

Colors! These powders are used as face/skin paints

The cute lil family of kittens that live at the Mandala - how sweet is this?!