A self-helping hand to Mother Teresa

DHA GAY THIRIKITU THOONA KA THA

DHA GAY THIRIKITU THOONA THIRIKITU

THEENA GINNA DHA GAY NA DHA

THIRIKITU DHA GAY NA DHA THIRIKITU

THA KAY THIRIKITU THOONA KA THA

THA KAY THIRIKITU THOONA THIRIKITU

THEENA GINNA DHA GAY NA DHA

THIRIKITU DHA GAY NA DHA THIRIKITU

I wish I had something more interesting to tell you than that, but for the last couple of months or so I've done nothing but learn repetitive rhythms on my shiny new tablas. I settled in pretty quickly and comfortably to life at school in a small village in southern Kerala. Meal times were set at 7:30, 1:00, and 7:30, with classes spread out between… a far cry from the life I've been living for the last year, and a welcome change at that. At least for the short term. hehe.

I shared a house with Kim and 3 other people which was really nice after staying in so many hotels and lodges. The houses and the rest of the school were a little spread out through the village, which made it feel more as if we were living in the village than in a school compound. While our house was pretty large and comfortable and equipped with TV, DVD player, etc, I also was woken by the elephants next door most mornings making whatever sound it is that elephants make… and close enough that I could throw a stone at them from my window (but didn't… or at least won't admit it). They would also occasionally walk through the village to go and collect their food, or head to the river for a bath. One of them is blind. We sat and watched them eat one day. They seem only to eat the branches from the palm trees, but with quite a routine. After picking it up in their trunk they would first use it to fan themselves for a minute, then use it to scratch their back and sides, and finally devour it. [End of random elephant stories]. And most nights I had one or two fireflies in my room. I thought they only existed in the fake-form that you find in Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. Nope, they were real.

We also lived across the street from the Toddy shop, which is about as close as you're going to get to a bar in this little village. Toddy is a nasty drink made from coconut, but apparently this place just uses harsh chemicals and calls it toddy. Kim tried it anyway and she's still alive. But it was pretty seedy, and a few men were seen on occasion passed out in their underwear on the roadside out front. Apparently people die from it once in a while so the toddy shop has to close for a while, but manages to open again after a few months and a little police bribe. Oh well.

The monsoon was supposedly coming as well which I thought we would drown in, or at least get to take some pictures of people in water up to their nipples, but after a week of rain it subsided and the heat resumed. Another couple rainy days in Calcutta and that's all we saw of it.

Anyway, I mainly studied tabla there, which is my first instrument, and one of the more difficult. According to my teacher it takes about 16 years to master it. Hhhhmmmmm. For my first month I was mostly studying with his assistant, who is 16 years old, only been playing for 3 years, and fairly incredible. I can't imagine my fingers will ever move as fast as his, but can't blame me for trying now can you.

I also studied south Indian cooking, Kollam (sidewalk chalk designs, basically), traditional singing, and a few weeks of Hindi classes. But my main subject was eating. We ate a ridiculous amount of food, which was so so so good, and basically over-ate every meal leaving me with a stomachache almost daily, but was highly worth it.

It was hard to pry myself out of the stability and routine, but all things must pass, right? So I find myself with a sore ass once again, having traveled thousands of kilometers, the last few hundred sitting behind a clucking chicken, and writing to you from Kathmandu. While I'm one of the luckier few with a 10 year Indian visa, I can still only stay 6 months at a time without crossing a border, and stayed at the school in Kerala until nearly the last minute, so our journey from there to here was quick and direct (well, by overland standards). One night in Bangalore and a couple in Calcutta, which unfortunately deserves more time and exploration that will have to come at another time.

Calcutta also yielded the highest number of penis sightings, I think I counted 4 in one day. They're a free people I tell ya. So conservative in some respects, and at other times so open and willing to share. One guy offered to give us directions to Mother Teresa's place, but seemed more interested in giving us directions to his penis that he was holding in his hand. We politely declined. We did manage to get to Mother Teresa's charity headquarters, which was really friendly and peaceful. It turns out she's dead, so we didn't get to meet her, but we visited her tomb and payed our respects. They asked us to come back if we ever have time to volunteer. I told them as long as we get to wear those sexy nun uniforms to count us in.

Passing through the Nepali border was easy and simple, and an immediate relief from the rush to get there. We've been calmly moving in Nepal since then, taking our time getting to Kathmandu. First we stopped at Chitwan Nat'l Park in the south, which was beautiful, but ridiculously humid and hot at this time of year. Nepal may have freezing cold mountain tops, but the valley is far from that reality and was even worse than the heat we thought we were escaping from in south India. We did a couple of really nice bike rides, and avoided spending the money to go into the park itself, instead exploring the surrounding area which was beautiful in it's own right.

We made our next stop in Daman, which is a summit town in the southern Mahabarat mountain range. It was cool and misty and raining for most of the time we were there, which was exactly what we were looking for. A little less rain would've been nice, but hey, can't have it all. The main reason to come to Daman is for supposedly one of the best views of the Himalayas, but sadly we're in Nepal off-season and catching a glimpse between the clouds is a rare event. Our 3 days in Daman yielded about a 20 minute descending of the fog where a few peaks were visible above the clouds. It was a stunning view indeed, but unfortunately the clouds still obscured Everest, so we had to settle for a few of it's slightly less stunning neighbors.

I spent so long in India and was so spoiled by it's train system that I actually forgot how much I had begun to loathe buses, but was quickly reminded after crossing into Nepal. We arrived in Kathmandu yesterday on a bus full of the old usual pukers and smelly children, and my tailbone is indeed still nearly broken. Or something. We don't really have a plan yet for Nepal, as I said we're here out of season for the most part, trekking will be wet and muddy at the moment, and the valleys pretty hot. But there's lot's to see around Kathmandu, so we'll likely be renting bicycles soon and heading out to explore some temples and countryside.

Otherwise it's been a pretty calm and eventless couple of months, so not much to tell you about! So far the best thing about Nepal is that I found Almond Roca today of all things. I could've eaten all meals for a week for the amount I just paid for it, but who could pass that up?

Well, hopefully the best is yet to come and I'll have the most awesomest update for you next time, but for now, life is relaxed and easy and simple! But actually I suspect it will stay that way. Things aren't the way they were last year. It's not a crazy exciting adventure, if it ever was to begin with. I'm comfortable everywhere, seem to know more or less what to expect, and seem to be just floating on a conveyor belt watching it all go by. It's no less enjoyable, just easier and more relaxing than before. Maybe the newness and the not knowing what to expect was leading to more exciting situations, or at least being excited by what I now see as normal situations. But now it just is as it is. Last year I saw the differences between my country and these one's, and now I'm seeing the similarities. Last year I thought I was taking a step back in time coming from my country to some of these places. But the things that mattered to me then are far from important now. And who was I to decide that we were more advanced anyway? Advanced in what? I'll take the calm pace of life in Nepal any day. That and a freakin' DSL connection, what's up with this crappy dial-up that's being shared between 14 ancient computers? And a decaf chai latte from the Coffee Bean. And some plump juicy raisins. And a crunchy apple (only had one in the last year). And some corn on the cob. And a burrito. A little guacamole. Lemonade. Cheesecake. Cheesecake. Cheesecake. Shit, 2 steps forward and 3 steps back. Oooh, Paula Abdul! Hey, what's happening on American Idol these days anyway?