Incredible, Extraordinary, Colourful India

Five and a half weeks of new and wonderful experiences are hard to categorize into a blog. So many awesome moments in this country have made me never want to leave. Of course, I had to come back for my second semester at Dankook, but I have plans to go back to India and tour the whole country.

If you asked me to describe the country in one word, it would be colourful. The clothes, the fabrics, the accessories are all made from such colourful materials. But more, the people, the culture, the food, the music; everything about India was so colourful, so vibrant, so full of energy.

I am going to separate my posts about India by experience and not by chronological order.
   1. Learning to grieve
   2. The Patiala School for the Deaf and Blind
   3. Rishikesh and the Himalayan Yog Ashram
   4. The Wedding

I made my way to India after hearing about a volunteer program from a friend. Volunteer Vacation India is a program run by a generous philanthropic family in India who established a school for deaf and blind children, among other initiatives, and offer homestay placements for those who come to volunteer at the school. The Singh family was more than welcoming - they made me a part of their family and I participated in regular daily events with them. They went above and beyond to ensure that I was comfortable, and indeed I was. The family home is a treasure with beautiful trees and gardens located in Patiala, Punjab, in the north west of India.

My room

Super cute spiral staircase leading up to my room - I've always wanted one of these!

Kishan Baran - The 100 year old Family House

My room from the outside

Probably the biggest culture shock was the driving in India. There are no rules! You literally get a license without writing a test. You turn 18, walk in, and walk out with a license! Lane driving is non-existent and the explanation I got about the crazy driving was 'each person will save their own skin'. I saw so many things on the roads in India, including buses, trucks, cars, scooters, rickshaws, autorickshaws, bicycles, pedestrians, tractors, dogs, livestock, horse/oxen/bull drawn carts, a camel, monkeys, and an elephant. Here are some short clips that show life on the road in India!

Monkeys!

Gunji Baba is a cousin and he was very keen on making the volunteers feel welcome and ensuring they made the most of their trip. One evening he took us to see the old palace in Patiala, which has since been converted into a sports training facility.

Gunji wearing the flower I picked for him!

Palace of Mirrors that we *may* have snuck into.

Freedom! (Meet Gremlin)

As is very common when you are an expat living in Korea, a friend of ours recently finished her contract and decided to move on. What is always a sad happening offered JM and I the opportunity to gain some freedom. We purchased her scooter and have been touring around town on two wheels. It's great to have the freedom to go where we want, when we want! Also, with my sporadic work schedule, having transportation to get to and from home is awesome. Biking to work was a great workout, but teaching when you are sweaty is not ideal. I'm very happy to have my own scooter!

Team JMS

Meet Gremlin!

The Inexplicable World of Korea #9 - Driving and Cellphones

In Korea, there are so many distractions for drivers that appear not to be illegal, it's astonishing. If you stand on the street and watch drivers go by, over half of them will be on their cell phone. Talking, texting, watching videos, taking self portraits, checking their hair; you name it, I've seen it. In addition, many cars have GPS screens/screens for the camera on the back of their car that have satellite capabilities. So I've had taxi drivers who are watching TV while they are driving! It's insane.

This particular one made me very uncomfortable. My bus driver was texting while driving a huge bus with lots of people. He was swaying over the lines and approaching cars a little too close. It bothered me, but what could I do?? I don't know how to say 'Please put your cellphone away' in Korean, and while this action is apparently illegal, the police NEVER enforce it and if caught, the penalty is a $50 fine. THAT'S IT. So in a country where everyone and their dog have a cellphone, how does that teach anyone social responsibility?

It doesn't.

PS. After taking this picture, he heard the click of my camera and looked over his shoulder before putting the phone down. In Korea, all cellphones make the 'click' sound when taking a picture so that you cannot sneak a picture of someone (ie: everyone has the right to know a picture is being taken of them). Apparently that's how you get someone to stop texting and driving!

It’s birthday vacation time!

Since our birthdays are 10 days apart (Jennika’s was June 29th and Jean-Marc’s is July 9th), we decided to plan a vacation to celebrate. It started with going to Niagara Falls for 2 nights since Jean-Marc had never been before. Jennika did her undergrad in the area, so we stayed with one of her long-time college friends Larissa for the first night. Larissa is awesome! She is expecting a baby in August and yet she still welcomed us and cooked us an amazing dinner. We cannot rave more about her pollo pesto penne pasta plate that we couldn’t stop eating. Her parents had brought back the pesto and the pasta from Italy and it definitely moved Italy up on Jennika’s list of places to go. Delizioso!

The next morning we headed down to Niagara Falls to board the Maid of the Mist, a boat that goes right up to the falls (American and Canadian!). It’s easy to see that Canada must have won the war of 1812 because we definitely got the better side of the falls, he he. Getting up close to the Horseshoe Falls, you really get to feel how much power the many tonnes of water barrelling over the edge have – the boat would suddenly get pushed to the left or to the right. Later, we stood at the outlook at the edge of the escarpment where all the water falls of the cliff. This is one of Jennika’s favourite spots because you can just get mesmerized by the water speeding up, and suddenly dropping off (see below for a video). Jean-Marc was really surprised by how green the water was, and not the polluted algae green, but Caribbean green and clear. It was breathtaking.

In the afternoon we purchased an adventure pass that included mini-putt, a ferris wheel, the wax museum, and a few other things. It was kind of cool being a tourist – there is sooo much to do on Clifton Hill. Our Niagara adventure was also Canada Day, which we celebrated by watching fireworks down by the falls, just over the Rainbow Bridge. It was a really nice end to the day.

After having breakfast at our B&B in Niagara, it was time to hit the road. We had an 8-hr marathon drive ahead of us because we needed to check into our B&B in Vermont by 7pm. And we only got lost twice! Once right across the border, which we quickly figured out and got back on track, but the second incident lead us 20 miles off course (about 30 mins). That one was a bit of a shock. Here we were following the 9 north, but we were supposed to be on the 9N north. PS. New York, we hate your signage.

So we made it to the B&B, which was recommended to us by my friend Katy, and we are already relaxing. The room we picked is gorgeous, with large wood furniture and luxurious bedding. We will be asleep before 11pm – and it will be most excellent.

Night, night.

Jennika and Jean-Marc

Waiting to get on the Maid of the Mist

A view of Horseshoe falls in the background

A video of water rushing over the edge of Niagara Falls