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July 25th 2014
Published: July 25th 2014
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Let’s see. So the last update I made was about 2 weeks back. So I have gathered all of my thoughts to try and write down as much as I could about what has happened in that time! First thing first is I took a really fun trip out to the village. During the day a little seminar was being run for the local school kids in the village. You have likely seen the pics on my facebook and the video. But first the young kids walked through the village carrying signs in regards to preserving traditional medicines, then many gunis were there to talk and teach them. It was a lot of fun. When we first got there and saw all the kids I wasn’t really sure what was happening. As we took off down the dirt road and I was still unclear what we were doing I just thought, “Well just go with it!” I feel like I say that to myself a lot in India haha.

Also at the village I got to taste this remedy that I guess is for fevers. I don’t know exactly what went into it. It was a bubbling yellow substance that looked fairly thick. When I drank it there was a very bitter taste, and it was kind of like a very watery tea. I don’t recommend it unless you use it as a hangover cure. While we were there for lunch I also got a strong taste of buttermilk. Here in india buttermilk is kind of common as a counter to all of the strongly heated and spicy foods. I had always assumed that indian people are just really used to eating spicy foods. But it turns out they incorporate many things into their meals like buttermilk, sugar, and sweets in order to counter all the spicy foods they have. But the problem is that the butter milk is kind of like water with a bunch of curds rolling around inside of it. Not only is this a terrible texture to try and swallow (similar to chunks of meat in kool aid) but it is VERY sour. I take one sip and I can barely hold it down. So my host family learned quickly not to give me any. But out in the village I did my best to be polite because it is much more severe to not finish your meal in the village. Alas I just couldn’t do it.

Later in the week we had our first weekend without any big plans or trips. For our project we hosted a short volunteer day to help us clean out the area of JJVS where we would put our garden. Basically I wore a sleeveless shirt and moved really heavy logs for a few hours. I’ll let you enjoy that imagery for a few moments. Then the day was ours to do with as we pleased. What ended up happening was four of us to went to a friend’s house and ended up just talking for many hours. Almost 80% of that conversation was just about food. We miss it. I also learned that many of us eat differently. Some of my fellow Americans have host families that feed them amazing food and they don’t really miss it back home. And some of us eat much worse off and have begun considering how long it would take for a pizza guy to get from America to India.

That night we all got together and went to this really nice Italian restaurant. We were craving something outside of our usual indian food and this restaurant was actually very non-indian. I had a delicious ravioli with spinach and mushrooms. They even served chicken! It was a nice little break from the diet I am on now. The next day was Sunday, everyone’s day off in India. So we decided to spend it going to City Palace! This is basically an old palace for the rulers of this area from five or six centuries back. It is turned into a museum now. Unlike most museums where you go from exhibit to exhibit, in this palace you had to walk in a circle around the whole thing. It took about 2-3 hours but we saw a lot of really cool things. Pictures of great princes, tapestries of wars, old rooms and beddings, and also many great views of the city.

The rest of this past week has been spent a lot at work. I will dedicate my next blog to all the work on our project for those interested. For now just know it takes a lot of writing, planning, traveling, and talking in broken English. For now we are on track to finish in time and our budget is good enough that we should have plenty of money by the end.

One thing I want to discuss is that a lot of people I have had conversations with back home have brought up the question similar to “You probably want to stay forever” or “You probably want to come home right now.” The answer is a little complicated. For one thing I have only been in India for 5 weeks, and have 3 to go. I have seen a lot of great things about Udaipur and the culture. I have experienced a lot and done a lot. But in this time frame you only get about 1% of India. Many people I have talked to said you need to be here for a number of years to really get it. A girl I know who is from America and has been here for 4 years says even she feels she hasn’t really experienced it all (even though she speaks fluent Hindi). Just like anywhere in the world there is good and bad in India. I have seen things that I will never forget. But I have also seen things that I will never un-see even though I want to.

So for now I will say that I think of India like a really great camping trip. I loved coming out here, seeing the sights, doing my best to live here, and trying to integrate myself. I have tried to learn about the culture as much as I can and will continue to do so as much as I can. But at the end of the day I always dream of home. So when I get on that big plane heading home I will be sad to leave behind this beautiful land, but I will be equally filled with join to return to the beautiful land back home.



Right now I am getting on a train to Jaipur then Agra. It should be a nice weekend of acting like tourists. When I return it’s the final stretch to get everything done. I hope everyone back home is doing well. Keep on rocking!


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