Continuing....

I'm still really not used to blogging, meaning I still feel like I'm not good at it. Then again how can you really be good or bad at this? I still suck at making titles anyway.

So continuing from where I left off, now I really don't know what to say since there is so much to say.

Walking back to the car after leaving the airport, I had this extremely surreal feeling(which I still have) like I couldn't believe I was really in India, on the OTHER side of the world. The first thing that really caught my attention was in amongst the crowds of people there was a dog, kind of skinny and a bit mangy looking, it wasn't that last one I would see on my journey. So after we got to the car and got all of our luggage loaded up, I got my first taste of Indian driving.

Indian driving is sort of.....crazy. To put it frankly. There are lines on the road but you'll never see a straight line of traffic. People on mopeds will go in between cars with little space to spare. Everybody is cutting everybody else off and everybody has their hand almost glued to the horn. In driving school they teach us defensive driving; in India its mostly offensive driving.

So on the ride home, my intellect was pretty much fried from the jet lag(I don't really remember it) I couldn't really comprehend what I was seeing right away. I always thought that when people referred to "slums" in India, they meant neighborhoods in cities. Along the highway, slums were everywhere. Some were crude shacks made out of corrugated tin, others were made out of old billboards, some where made out of palm branches, and still others were nothing but tarps on a string. It was a sad sight, but what can you do about it?

So another thing that you see a fair amount over here is cows. They pretty much run loose; occasionally you will see cows tied to posts but for the most part they run free. And for those of you wondering if cows are sacred, they are. This is due mostly to the fact that they provide milk for their calves as their mother, and they provide milk for humans as well. Because they provide milk for humans they are seen as mothers to humans as well, which is what makes them sacred.

We had an almost three hour drive from Bangalore to Mysore, and I fell asleep through half of it. Notable things I remember seeing was a flight school which was surrounded by concrete and barbed wire fence, and a riding school. Also, there were many various Hindu temples along the road side, all richly decorated. I also saw a few mosques, including a very large one somewhere near(or in) Bangalore.

When we got to Mysore, I was so tired that everything looked the same, so I can't really describe it. Even now after being around different areas of Mysore a few times I can't describe it, I'm really not used to the city. There are lots of people selling green coconuts on the side of the road; these are for drinking the fresh milk out of them.

So we finally got to Mukthi's parent's house, a very nice little one story abode. All the houses(and most of the houses in the city) are made out of cement and steel and surrounded by a short cement wall on all four sides. They houses are decorated very nicely and are very pretty. Pretty much all of the houses have access to their roof, which they use to dry clothes as well as drying grains in the sunshine. Most houses also have a coconut tree or two either in their enclosure or nearby, which provides them with an ample supply of coconuts throughout the year.

We received a very warm welcome from Mukthi's mother. Lunch was being prepared when we got in, and I was shown around the house and shown the the shower(since that's all I really wanted after going more than 24 hours without one) So they don't really have showers here...or baths. Which is fine with me, they have hot water which is really all I could really ask for. What bathing consists of is filling a bucket with water, and using a good sized cup and pouring water over yourself. Not bad, you get pretty clean actually.

So afterwards I brushed my teeth and since jet-lag effected my judgment, I didn't think anything about using the tap water to brush my teeth instead of water from the reverse osmosis system. I sat down to lunch and I really really did not want to eat; as soon as I sat down I had the biggest wave of homesickness, since in our house we all eat meals together and there's always lively talk. Its like at that moment I finally felt like "wow, this is really real" So before I could start crying, I excused myself saying I was really tired since I didn't sleep at all. So I went to my room and started crying. Then I started to feel sick in my stomach, and I was like oh shit..... Thank goodness for po chai pills, which is pretty much Chinese super pepto bismol. So I took my pills and went to sleep, being woken up three hours later by mosquito attacks. We sleep in mosquito nets at night because the windows don't have screens on them, and they don't have A/C so they keep the windows open all the time for ventilation. Its pretty nice actually.

So ends my current tale, after I woke up I didn't feel any better, ended up crying in front of Mukthi. I hate crying in front of people, I don't know why,I just do. It taken me almost a week to get used to the spicy Indian food, I didn't really eat much at first since I really had no appetite. Once you get used to the spice of Indian food though, spicy food becomes really addicting. More about food later though.

Peace.

The Flight

So I've only been here for I think three days now, and I have so much to tell. Its hard to know what to say and where to start, so I'll split this up into parts and tell it from the beginning starting with......I guess when I said goodbye.

So, I, as a general rule, suck at goodbyes. For me they've always been awkward. My parents drove me to Dekalb to Mukthi's(my chaperon's) house since they were giving me a ride to O'Hare. So I was already tired since I had been up since 4:30, so tiredness and goodbyes are not a good combination. So of course I cried when I said goodbye to my mom and dad, mostly because they hugged me(yes, mom and dad I know its weird) But yeah whatever.

So we got to O'Hare and we were 3 hours early *fist pump* so we ate supper. Mukthi said goodbye to her husband, and we made our way through security. Maybe I'm just an airhead but I didn't think the security checks were that bad. Our flight was delayed 20 minutes so we still had an hour to wait for our flight. Mukthi's daughter, Safayah, really set the mood for me. She loves planes and was soooo excited. Her son, Shayan, wanted to go home, so Mukthi told him that they were going to their Indian home. His prompt reply was: "India is not home, India is India!" He's such a cutie.

So the first leg of the flight was about 7 hours, from Chicago to London. We rode on a Boeing 777, which despite its size the coach section is super cramped, and I managed to get stuck behind an asshole who put his seat back the moment we took off and refused to put it back up even during dinner. I'm not claustrophobic but that I could not stand. So when dinner was served, we hit turbulence, so I REALLY didn't want to eat. I ate some, but not much. Sleep deprivation was starting to hit me, but there were two movies I really wanted to see playing on the TV screen so I stayed up and watched those instead. I dozed off during The Sorcerer's Apprentice, but I got the gist of the movie, which was pretty good. Then there was an interlude inbetween movies where they played these really trippy, sort of disturbing(well very disturbing) Canadian cartoons. They were adult cartoons and not funny at all. So then after those were over I stayed up and watched Eclipse, because even though I'm over my Twilight faze, I'm still morbidly curious about how bad the movies are. It was ok. That is all. So after the movie it was 2:30 CST, so I tried to catch a few Z's before breakfast was to be served. I dozed, but didn't really sleep since it wasn't that comfortable. Breakfast was served, in accordance with turbulence, and I at a bit of a muffin and that was it. The muffin was sickening sweet and from experience sweet+turbulence=puke. Simple equation, I know.

So we landed in London on schedule but we were stuck on the flight-line for nearly 90 minutes since there was no unloader thingy(technical term) available. We finally got off, took a subway ride to another part of the terminal and went through security. Security was stricter in London than it was at Chicago. Since Mukthi had water bottles for the kids, security confiscated them and were going to give them back after they emptied them out. So we waited and I watched people like I do. I've noticed that British 40-something women dress like 20 year olds in tight, low cut tops(with boob jobs), skinny jeans or tights, and stilettos. I don't know how anybody could travel in stilettos. So we finally got our water bottles back and we went to lunch.

London was very foggy by the way, so I didn't see anything. And I really didn't feel like I was in London, which is part 1 of jet-lag. So just as we finished lunch we realized that we were going to be late for our bus. So we made it to the terminal just as the buses were getting there, which was lucky. We rode the bus through the maze of access roads away from the terminal to our plane, a Boeing 747. For being a smaller plane, it had waaaayyy more leg room. Taking off was kind of scary: looking out the window it would be clear, then you'd go through a big block of fog on the ground, then clear, then fog, until they finally got it up.

Part 2 of the trip from London to Bangalore was almost 10 hours. I didn't have the patience or mental capacity(jet-lag part 2) for movies, so I watched part of several movies. I watched all of the new Robin Hood which although it was very good, I really didn't understand what was going on. I didn't eat much supper again(served with turbulence of course) and didn't sleep much at all. I mostly watched the plane on the map of my TV screen trying to figure out which country we were over.

I will say this: although I've never been on a commercial flight before, British Airways is awesome. All the stewards and stewardesses are super nice and helpful, and they talk in British accents which is a plus. But its also infectious since I had a strong inclination to talk in an accent, but I refrained from doing so. My thoughts are in British though.

It was kind of surreal when we finally got over India. I looked out the window, the morning light of dawn was just starting to touch the land. I couldn't see much through the clouds, but I could see the hills and the some rivers than went through the land. We landed in Bangalore two hours late due to delays in London. It was raining but the weather was sooo nice, about 60 degrees. When I got in the terminal the first thing I noticed was the security guards carry really nice AK-47's. We got our baggage and exchanged our American dollars for Indian rupees. $200 translates to approximately 8000 rupees. We got outside and we were met by Mukthi's father, and one of her childhood friends. I received a very warm welcome. Indian people are so nice, and very welcoming to foreigners.

So ends the account of my flight. My next chapter will be about the two hour drive from Bangalore to Mysore, so stick around.

And pardon my writing style, I haven't been able to get my original back yet, hopefully it will come in time. Then again I suck at relating events.

Peace.

We're not in Kansas anymore Dorothy.....

I mean...er...Illinois.

I'm not going to make this post long, my mind is still extremely foggy from jet lag. Jet lag is a very weird thing.

So anyway, I am in India. I've only been here a day and I already have a slew of stories to tell, but later. I'm not typing anything when I can't think.

I miss everybody so much.

Peace.

Look at all those cobwebs......

*cough cough* Damn this place is dusty. I haven't touched it since....January? WTF. Soooo.........

My year has been extremely crazy, fun, sad, thoughtful, the whole nine yards. Its been probably the best year of my life. I snuck out and went to my first concert, yes my first(and probably last) act of rebellion! It was awesome. Flyleaf, Breaking Benjamin and THREE DAYS GRACE! Story coming soon. ;) My parents tore down our old falling down farmhouse and are building a new house and I've fallen in and out of love....and right back in again. But nothing is as epic as the last great event of my 18th year on this earth..........

I'm going to India.

Yep thats right, this little loudmouthed Illinois farm girl is going to the other side of the world. For two months.

Its kind of weird how this all happened(and now its time to learn about a different side of me) We got a new milk customer who is from India who started buying goat milk from us. At the time, my mom, who is the world's biggest health nut, had just discovered Indian cooking, and our customer was giving mom pointers as well as leading her in different directions as far as health and well being goes. That's when she introduced her to Ayurveda, an Indian medicine and way of life that's impossible to put in a nutshell. It's a combination of spirituality, medicine, health, being in tune with nature, and total well-being all in one package.

I've never been the health nut to the extent that my mom is, but I've always been searching for the things that are right in life, the things that belong. Ayurveda belongs. I have been greatly influenced by my mom when it comes to health and thinking outside the box to achieve good health. When I first read about Ayurveda, it all made sense. How spirituality and health are connected.

I've been raised Catholic, and I've been instructed in the Catholic religion quite extensively. And of course, I've been instructed in healthy eating. For whatever reason, separately, neither topic inspired me. Religion has its downfalls and its hard to teach other people about healthy eating when they just don't get it. Because of Ayurveda, I've seen the essential thing that is missing in this society, which is that what I believe to be the all-too-important connection between health and spirituality. In Ayurveda, too be happy in your life, in your body and in your soul brings good health. Many people seem to overlook the importance of keeping your body happy and healthy.

As a Catholic, I've been taught that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and we must not defile these temples by of course sin. Neither are we to defile these temples by bad things such as drugs or alcohol. But what about food? If we eat unhealthily, our bodies suffer. We become obese, we develop heart disease, cancer and diabetes. The more unhealthy and sick we become, the more depressed we get, negative energy spreads throughout the body and makes us sicker.

We live in a society where every desire receives instant gratification. We want a soda? Go grab one out of the fridge. Fried chicken? Pull in the drive thru. Unhealthy foods that years ago were not available are now available at our fingertips. And if these foods were available 50 years ago they were treats. How often have you listened to your grandparents tell you how special it was to go and get a soda? Or a piece of candy?

I'm not saying that its evil to eat unhealthy food, I'm saying that its evil to overeat unhealthy foods. They should be a treat and everything needs to be taken in moderation. Its about balance.

Anyway that's just the tip of the iceberg of whats been going through my head the past couple months. And you don't have to connect this with religion like I am; it should be something that everybody should implement in their lives in some way. Sorry if it doesn't make much sense, I don't have much time to write this.

Anyway to wrap things up and get back on topic, I will be leaving for Mysore, India tomorrow. I will be going for treatments in an Ayurvedic clinic for my allergies and a few other health issues for a month. The other month I will be staying with my chaperon's family on a coconut grove, learning about culture and how to cook. I will try and blog whenever I can get internet, and try to unravel this fascinating topic in a simple form.

Thanks to everybody for the well wishes! I will miss you all very much and I love each and every one of you. I'm sorry I won't be here for Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or my birthday, but I'll be there in spirit. Love you guys, and see you all later.