rajasthanitimes

we ventured west. far far west to the thar desert of rajasthan.

this was the first time to really be a tourist traveler, if you will, in india. and let me tell you, it was as crazy as you would imagine india to be. we were hooted at, adorned, part of family portraits, hawk eyed by rickshaw drivers, hassled by locals trying to get our last rupee. each night we fell face first completely exhausted into our "bed" though our landing place seldom came in the form of a traditional mattress & sheets. it could have been the overnight train berth, the soft thar desert sand, or the local bus economy seat we took to agra where my feet extended out the window to fully stretch out for the evening.

jaisalmer was magical and an oasis amongst the harsh desert land
jaipur was pink and full of nightly commotion that landed us at a fashion show
agra is the host city for the taj mahal and an obligated venture for any architect

a few shots of jaisalmer
i couldn't let you live without seeing
[and more to come]

-oooooooooooooooo----------some of the local flavor

the camera lens got a bit of sand in it....oops----ooooooooooooooo

i here declare this space: soft & sandy-----ooooooooooooooooooooo

oooooooooo------we survived a year-sandstorm.
this was the first light of the next morning
we drank sand.
i'm not kidding

a jain temple inside the fort with helpful staff :)-------oooooooooooo

ooooooo------jaisalmer fort struck by moonlight and jeeps

goatgiving

a shot from a day-trip to ladour village this past weekend where we gave four goats to the woman in green. she had tears of joy to give us in return.

this one time...

i went to the local hospital.
my tummy was not feeling so great and needed some attention :( i blame the delicious yet new food Annu cooks for us and i've been indulging in each day. though apparently a weak stomach is even common for the local indian. just maybe i am fitting right in, now for the blinding white complexion i've managed, that is a different story.

my first visit to the landour hospital was with ivy and sure glad she accompanied me on this venture. who would have known to go to window #2 promptly? also being sure to leave zero space between you and then next person in '"line" or you would perpetually be between the last and second to last person. if you managed to stand your ground you were awarded with questions in this order:

are you married?
why are you single?
what is your husbands name?
well then, what is your father's name?
don't you have correct change for your visit?

then on to room #5 or #7 depending on ...on...well i'm not sure how they determined that one, perhaps whichever doctor became available first. then back over to window #1 to settle your bill for the 1.5 minute doctor visit and brown bag pills. lastly, over to the pharmacy to pick up said medicine. waaaala! medicine given to cure me until the next time i swallow a drop of unfiltered water or devour an unwashed bunch of grapes.

there was no insurance needed, no background medical history or even a check of the passport to make sure i am who i am. just happy to serve and quite inexpensive. thank you, indian health care.

in total:
one time registration fee------- 200 rupees
plastic cup for testing in the lab-- 75 rupees
3 different prescriptions---------70 rupees
that comes to: $7.67 USD !

photogs

well folks we had a photo contest in the office. all the way with an anonymous vote. the hardest part was choosing just ONE photograph to enter. our amazing in house photographer, anni, won. not such a big surprise as her image was wonderful. plus, i'm a fan of repetition.


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here is the one i picked; taken right after we arrived in bombay.
also included is a haiku description just for you, you're welcome.

open eyes to dark
locals gait, rickshaw hail, horn.
nightscape of Bombay


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take a look at that gentleman [photo by grahamfrank]

for the love of clothes

i don't know that i have experienced in full the relationship that is love/hate. but that all changed when i met the DUPATTA. the dupatta is the scarf, the shawl, the wrap, the long hanging piece of fabric that completes the entire salwar kameez outfit. presenting yourself without the dupatta draped around your neck would be like showing up for an interview without your suit pants on. the salwar kameez is the typical attire for northern indian women while in the south you see more women wearing sari's. the pants [salwar] have room for two, maybe three and are beyond comfortable. plus, you can wear them in any color of the rainbow and not look like a popsicle stick. it's cool if everyone else is doing it, right? and i quote " No respectful lady would go out in public without a Dupatta and silk drawers"...oh my.

the love: this little pieces of cloth is more than amazing in so many ways, it is versatile to the max and it comes in handy when i least expect it to. so far the dupatta has served as:

- a SCARF [duh] to cover what girls have and boys don't - it's the truth.
- a "lights out" mechanism while trying to fall asleep on the overnight train to mumbai -
- a gimmick for carrying too many figs to fit in my palms - exhibit a
- a semi-structural draping to protect my face from the sun -
- towel usage when yours is forgotten at home -
- opened up wide for use as a blanket on a cold ride with the windows down -
- protection device from bugs & grass while napping -

the uses or misuses

the hate: hate is such a stout word. when it comes down to it i suppose there is less animosity towards the dupatta than i thought. the thing is, i associate it with a scarf and a scarf keeps your neck warm in frigid weather. you should want to wear a scarf. the last place anyone wants a long piece of fabric around is their neck. especially when one is hot or tangled or fighting for freedom from a thirty lb. backpack and the dupatta has somehow wrapped itself in knots. yes, then you want to rid yourself of the thing, but alas you put it where it is supposed to be and carry on. maybe it's like someone coming to my home county and taking the laces out of the running shoes. maybe.

cookery.

so much of experiencing the culture is the indulging of the local food.

there is amazing variety you get with each new place you dwell in and curb your appetite. on our project trip our project leader confessed that he gets most excited about the food as he travels throughout this country, and it sure does change from state to state here. i didn't see one chapati [wheat tortilla type bread multi-tasking utensil] while down south in tamil nadu. and ate more mounds of rice than i consume in a year back home, even as i took only moderate portions of the starch. actually, the indian menu was a rather small anxiety that came up when i found out that i would be living here for an extended period of time. indian food has made its way around the block and is relished by many, many i know. now, i would go to moderate lengths to say i am an adventurous eater and will try just about anything once. though upon arriving and eating homemade indian food i just couldn't move myself to go back for seconds, ever. it was the "soft" consistency that got to me, the mushy-ness, if you will. though the flavors and spice were welcomed. with a few months under my belt i've grown accustomed to this style of cooking and have come to love a few dishes. i will no doubt be bringing home some recipes to my american kitchen. however, i do hear that they just "don't quite taste the same" when food is cooked out of it's own home roots. we will see!

...it can be a little odd taking pictures of food, but once you eat a delicious meal and there is nothing but a blank plate you always wish you had snapped a shot of the art that is food...

{plates too large for normal food consumption}

{sauce.sauce.chutney.paper-thin goodness}

{dihe, subjee, dal and poppers!}

{a breakfast schmamwich pre train boarding}

{veggies of too many kinds}


mmm.mmm. delicious.

"There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only
who is foreign."

{women in their saris in front of india gate}

i just returned from a three week journey that took us all across india. the homecoming, as i have discussed before is such a beautiful thing. and for the the to semi-prompt to do list:

respond to the racked up electronic mail
hear familiar voices from across the ocean
stretch the legs with trail runs & yoga
process with words and pictures a plenty
snuggle in my cocoon bed
devour more books
and last but not least-relay a few musing thoughts on this little blog

"god does not call us to ease, but to faithful joy. he is closing in on some of you, smiling and with tears in his eyes, knowing how much of himself he is going to show you--and how much it will cost."

so here in this quaint and worn-in office/home of ours there are books that seem to float all around us. books on architecture. books on engineering [more interesting than you would think as i have flirted with a few], books on restoration, books on others who have gone before us, books on how we can reach the unreachable nations of this world, books on how we should breathe days.

i have been reading a book on the later, one that tells me: don't waste your life. i have had to take many small breaks and often stop only after reading a page to give a quick evaluation if this is how i am living my very own life. there has been wrestling and testing of motives that, to be quite frank, have grown into a few frustrations at the author. even amidst those i pressed on and finished the book in a clean swoop to conquer the mere two-hundred pages of paper. this book begins by describing a story of an early retired couple who moves down to flordia to live out their lives cruising the waves on their 30-foot trawler, playing some leisure softball and collecting sea shells. the picture illustrates that at the end of their time all they have to show is the shells they collected. this is it. a simple nice ending to a life, one might say. the author stops at nothing less than shouting without exclamation points and capitalization to let us know this is not what we are called for. and even larger, what we are made for. not that there is anything to ruin by telling you more, but i suppose you will just have to seek for yourself if you desire.

tonight we are setting out by taxi first, train second, bus third, airplane fourth and feet fifth. setting out on a journey. i can't yet put any description words before the journey but i'm sure will have more than a few words when we return. our team is at work for three weeks and onto all ends of india. departing home in mussoorie, down the mountain to dehradun and on an overnight train to delhi. we will be in lucknow in the north, bombay [present day mumbai] on the western coast and most described as indian's hollywood, or the coined term bollywood. our project site is a dash in indian standards, roughly five hours east of the big city and over to pune [poo-nay]. after this we gather up some more stamina to fly down south to the state of tamil nadu and the city of madurai. okay breath. in and out.

there will be so much to feast my eyes on. taste the deliciousness of in my mouth. hear sweet words of misunderstood languages. false interpretation will abound. my mind will be raw from drawings and meetings of all sorts. my heart will probably explode more than thrice.
and stories will overflow, i'm sure.

| musssoorie housing |

_one day last weekend i ventured around town. the goal was to pick up the traditional indian style clothing i got made for my time here. these are a few images that my eyes caught sight of.



--------------------------:: transportation::

--------------------------:: road cow::

-------------------------------:: architecture ::

---------------------------:: view ::

---------------------------:: street bazaar ::

this is just one day.


before i left i distinctly remember a friend of mine telling me that there would be ordinary days. awhat? you mean every day i spend in this unknown country i'm venturing off to won't be extra-ordinary? well, NO it will not be. no matter where you reside there are the routine days filled with humdrum tasks. you still have to wash your clothes without any electrical devices, and dare i say you still have to take showers or bucket baths depending on where you are seeking refuge [to date i've taken three, i won't do the math]. so here might be the layout for a conventional day around this place:

○ the mornings are precious as things are bright and so fresh in the mountains which seems to creep right into our home-office.
○ though waking up seems to be a bit of a struggle since outside of my cocoon of blankets is much below comfortable temperatures.
○ i make some tea, grab a banana from a bunch of twenty and gather round with all to worship in english & hindi, and to discuss how god is alive in us and this world of his.
○ then not moving very far we are all off to to the daily tasks. work on the computer. work in the kitchen. work around Oaklands. work collaborating for projects and project trips to come. this is mostly all dependent on if we have power for such activities and internet for connection to the world.
○ noon-thirty is lunch time and each day we are greeted with delicious indian food made by our cook, Annu. things are taking an upward swing towards my liking of indian food especially since we enjoy it in the warmth of the sun. this is usually followed by a small stroll around the block.
○ chai time is at three prompt and gives us just the right dosage to finish the work day strong.
○ we end at six pm and i either head off for a run to catch the last glimpse of the winter line sunset that graciously float through the sky or maybe walk to the prakash market at the nearby bazaar.
○ once back at home we all gather around and eat dinner together like one big family. there are kids, we might strum music on guitars or battle out a game of settlers.
○ then we have the rest of the nigh to explore mussoorie, read and read some more, catch up on e-mails or just enjoy each others company around the bukari [our life source of heat]

but like i said, this is just one day and tomorrow could be completely full of newness.