Departing Ranikhet a Day Early

Because of heavy rain last night and more rain in the forecast, we are leaving Ranikhet a day earlier than planned. We will be getting out of the mountains early as a precautionary measure. We have lodgings booked in town near the train station so we can make our departure by train as originally planned. 

Henna

Results from last night's henna party. 

 

Yoga Graduation Today

We will finish our yoga training today with a contemplation walk in the forest. 

Project work - Tatum

Hi everyone, it’s Tatum. It’s Tuesday afternoon over here and we’ve been working on our projects for the past few days. Our group (Rachel, Remy, Dani, Meredith, and I) have been working on sketches for our presentation and are getting ready to present on Friday. We’re really excited about this project and I’m really honored to be able to help plan a national memorial. We’ll be heading home Saturday afternoon. We have a three-hour drive, a six hour train ride, a three hour plane ride, and then a sixteen hour plane ride, excluding layovers. I can’t wait to go home and see the fam and eat familiar food and drink bubble tea. See you all in a few days. Love you.

Tatum

The Day Off - Remy

Hello! It’s Remy again. Yesterday (Sunday), we were able to take a bit of a day off, I got to sleep in until 8 AM and relax until 1 PM. Shay (my roommate), my family, and I were able to finish most of our 1000 piece puzzle by 1 PM, and at that point, Shay and I headed off in separate directions to work on our different projects. My group’s current project is a memorial 200 kilometers away from the landslide that left 50,000 people dead or missing. Dani, Tatum, and I are the design team and we recently finished a birds-eye-view of the site. Rachel and Meredith are helping out with keeping us on task and helping us color the sketches. I’m glad we are able to help make an impact on other peoples’ lives and create an area for people to grieve for their loved ones.

To my family: Please bring 3 double-double In-N-Out burgers for me when you pick me up from the airport. We haven’t had meat in years. I’m also excited to go home and play with Sammy, Casper, and Tabby. I’ve begun to miss my parents a bit but I think I’ll live. <3 Anywhoo, I have to continue work on the project, so I’ll see you all home.

Later,

Remy

Sunday, a Day of Rest

Sunday is a day of rest and a time to be with family. Today, we are all taking a break from our daily yoga practice and project work in order to relax and to be with our host families. 

 

Building a Memorial - Rachel

For the past few days, we have been developing projects in order to give back to the villagers here in the Himalayas. I chose to participate in the project that is building a memorial for the 2013 flood that killed many people in India. So far, my group has visited a site that would be perfect for those who lost their loved ones to grieve and remember. I am so excited to be working on a memorial because I find it very important to honor those who have passed. After visiting the site, we decided that we would draw a design of what we wanted the memorial to look like. We planned on having an entrance that leads to an area filled with fruit trees and benches where people can sit comfortably. We also decided on designing six wall structures where people can write about the people they have lost. Taking a part in this project is quite the experience and I can’t wait until the project is completed. As for me, I am doing okay. I love my homestay family. They are hilarious and a bit crazy. The food is okay but I have had way too much chapati and chai. Anyway, I still can’t believe I am here in the Himalayas.

                                                                                                            - Rachel

Mom: Sorry I haven’t been able to call you and I hope you get this message. I miss you like crazy and there is not a day that I don’t think about you. I can’t wait to get back home so we can have more crazy adventures. By the way, when you pick me up at SFO, make sure to get me a really good burger. And fries. I love you so much Mom. I can’t wait to see you next week. XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Jesse: I know you are probably partying due to my absence, but do not stress my friend because I will be back to taunt you. Tee-hee. P.S. I hope you have been wearing your adorable little sweaters.

Rubino: Rubin, the man, the one and only… You have no idea how much I miss you. You are the light of my life. I miss your stupid jokes and ridiculous humor. You always find a way to make me laugh. And I know you are probably sitting on the couch watching SpongeBob and then when you turn around to comment you shed a tear because I am not there. And I also know you have said I miss Rachel a million times. I have said I miss Rubin a bunch of times. That’s because you are my best friend in the entire world and basically my twin who happens to be 16 months older. Big Rube, (rub) you da man. Honestly. Also, I hope you have eaten well because I have gone vegetarian for the past 2 weeks and I need my red meat, also meat in general. I saw my friend pull out chapati and I thought that it was chicken. But when I get back, we are so going out for burgers and then we are gonna watch a hilarious movie. I love you so much and I miss you. You are honestly the most entertaining person a girl could ever wish to grow up with. I love you.

Love,

Big Rach

P.S. When you pick me up at the airport, you better have bathed. Or else I am getting some water from the Ganges river and I will pour it all over you.

My Body, My Yoga - Natalia

When we think of yoga, we think of young, hip, athletic people walking to class dressed in their Lulu Lemon yoga pants. However, there is so much more to yoga than the looks and exercise. Today we visited a quaint yoga studio nestled in a village hidden behind the trees. Our walk up the hill leading to the complex was an adventure in itself. As we dodged leeches and clung to the hillside, afraid to slip on the wet stones from the rain a couple of days before, I was reminded of one of the biggest motivations for me to come to India. I am infatuated by the different interpretations of what yoga is and why people do it. During our previous visit to the Parmarth Ashram, our instructor told us that we do yoga to remain in the present. Although the yoga instructor we met today still hasn’t given us a clear definition of what yoga is, he helped me understand why yoga is enjoyable. He told us that the class should be carried by the idea that it is “my body, my yoga”, and that we weren’t in competition with anyone. It wasn’t about who could lift their legs the highest or who could remain in tree position; it was the effort that counted. We were not supposed to push our body further than what was natural for us.

 As a competitive person I really struggled with the idea of effort over performance and as a flexible person who enjoys people complimenting me on it, I thought I would lose my motivation to try in class. It was actually the opposite. The lax environment was a relieving place where I didn’t feel pressure to uncomfortably stretch my body just for the approval of my peers. I did what came naturally and as I left the room I felt confident that I wouldn’t have any strained muscles the next day. I had gotten the same emotional results without any physical pain. I learned today that I need to stop thinking about yoga as a form of exercise and more as a form of emotional rehabilitation. My yoga experience allowed me to ponder the issues in my personal life and recover from my chaotic (but wonderful) homestay. I guess I need to throw out my Lulu’s now.

Surviving and thriving,

Natalia

Mom and Dad,

Sorry I didn’t blog earlier, but I want you to know that all the effort it took to get here has been worth it. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to experience this!

Diego and Lucas,

Words cannot describe how much I want you to be here. Please come pick me up at the airport, I miss you guys a lot. Lucas- I’m bringing you back some Parle-G’s, get wrecked, son. Diego- Try not to roll off your bed and if I get back and you’re wearing basketball shorts, I’m calling Mickey rat to eat through your pizza.

M, D, L, Diego,

Love you!

Getting Into the Flow - Meena

Today we brainstormed and launched our Grassroots Projects. This is the main reason why we are visiting India. We decided to split into three groups, each one focusing on a different project that was related to what we learned about within our first two days of being in Ranikhet. One group decided to focus on developing a plan for a memorial site for the victims of the 2013 landslide in Uttarakhand, which killed over 50,000 people. A second group is looking for ways to integrate local artwork with the memorial site and the Umang store where locally produced products are sold by Grassroots. The third group is researching native plant species in Ranikhet and making a pamphlet that will describe health benefits and uses of that plant in a common format. The pamphlet will then be distributed amongst the 1,500 shareholders of the Umang collective and other villagers living in Ranikhet. All three groups have five days to complete their projects and one day to finalize their presentations.

            In addition to our projects, life in Ranikhet has been pretty good. Most of us have become fully integrated with our host families, and we’re getting to know the culture a lot better. I personally live with a family of four, and I have two host siblings who are 16 (Pinky) and 14 (Ravi). I love spending time with them and getting to know them better. In turn, they love learning more about American culture and what my daily life is like at home.

To my peeps at home, I have not found any jackfruit yet. I repeat, no jackfruit.  Lastly, I do miss chocolate milk.