Coat Made!

This is NOT an exciting post...but I got a coat made (for the equivalent of $16!) in town, and I love it! I'm thinking about getting some made as Christmas presents, so this is largely a way of letting people see what can be made so they can give me a thumbs up or thumbs down. Here you go girls!

My Favorite Baraadsar Pictures...

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip. Haven't edited any of them (I'm learning how to use GIMP, slowly but surely!), this is the rawness of what we saw! Lots of pictures...hope you enjoy!

Right before starting out...we're all still clean!

BEAUTIFUL trees...

Just hanging in the field with his mama

His mama with her sickle

The first big climb. Everyone was SO tired, so fast!

A very common sight on this trip.

Tired, but happy!

We stopped in villages randomly as we passed through. The first one was SO much fun, and the people were so friendly. The boys of the village were in the middle of a cricket game when we came into the village...so we watched a while, and then our guys joined in. It was a neat commonality. :)

It's harvest time in the village

The architecture was ASTOUNDING. This was a temple built to the hindu god Shiva about 6 years ago, and everything is hand carved. If you look closely, you can see how extremely intricate all the woodwork is. It was really neat to see the pride they took in their work.

At first the kids ran away from the camera, but after I showed them their faces on the LCD screen, they all pushed to get into the picture. They were adorable!

Back on the trail

Our outdoor "kitchen". Our hands FROZE, but we made some pretty good food!

Casey Guenther, our fearless leader

Out of the woods, and onto the mountaintops for the first time!

Sometimes it really felt like we were in heaven on earth.

FREEZING in the morning!

Each student receives a grade for activity week, and part of that grade was to write in a journal about their experience. Not a bad place to journal, huh?!

Coming down from one of our campsites. It was SO steep! The porters (the guys that carried our food) just ran down it, and about 20 minutes later the rest of us inched along. It was scary!

One one of the days there was a "sheep stampede!" We were just about to this pass area, and suddenly hundreds of sheep/goats came through and were ALL AROUND US. It was actually really scary...they were running down above and below us, kicking rocks, baaing SO loud. We all made it in the end, though.

These two guys were especially scared. :)

Contemplating....

Scene from "Pride and Prejudice" anyone?!

I ended up not "summiting" with the group because a girl was sick. BUT, while we were back at camp, the rest of the group was risking their lives up in the snow! You can't see really well here, but the snow is actually covering the path, and sloping right down with the rest of the mountain. I guess it was quite scary. :)

For a lot of the kids, it was their first time seeing snow. They liked it. :)

Our guide, porters, and Casey.

Nellie...

Arsh...

The beautiful "snows".

The whole group :)

Our "down day" was quite interesting. It ended up being a REALLY long day (about 9 hours of hiking in all), and almost all down hill. This spot was interesting, as the waterfall had partially eroded the path. Below the path was straight down, so it was a little scary! I perfected the "one-foot-in-front-of-the-other" mentality.

Wash day! Looks a little different in India than in the states...

Notice anything that just "doesn't belong here?"

A real scarecrow!

Packing up our last camp. It was glorious!

The last day was only about 2 hours of hiking, and almost the whole time we got to hike right next to this BEAUTIFUL river. It was a perfect way to end the trip!

CHEESE! We're done!

Such elation!

Packing up the jeeps.

Smile boys!

Me and Mina, on our way home. :)

It was a WONDERFUL experience, and one that I won't volunteer for again for at least a good month or two. :) Like all hard experiences though, you learn SO much...and when it comes right down to it, you wouldn't trade them for the world!

Recapping the Trip...

is impossible! But, I'll try. :)

- Our group of kids was awesome! We had 13 11th graders...and even though the week was INTENSE, they (almost!) never complained, worked hard, gave their all, and were HILARIOUS! Great group...and it was so fun to be with high schoolers again!

- I couldn't believe the "haze" that came over my body because it was SO COLD! It was like I just stopped functioning for a huge portion of every day! While we were hiking it was okay, but as soon as we stopped and made camp I couldn't think, talk, move, ANYTHING!

- It was SO fun to push myself physically. But, I'm SO SORE right now!

- I missed Chris. A LOT.

- It was really humbling to see how people lived in the villages we went through. They lived SO high up in the mountains, and were so removed from the rest of civilization. They seemed to be
completely self-reliant, and it was really neat to see their daily lives. It did make me sad, though. I realized that I will never be able to understand these people. We can see their lives and work to understand, but the mentality of village life is something they've been entrenched in since birth. I felt a sense of awe, as well as a sadness. I guess all we can do is work to understand as much as we can, and then accept that we'll never truly "get it." It was amazing.

- It feels like I changed this week, but it'll be interesting to see if it lasts. I'm really starting to internalize the fact that our lives as Americans are SO different than the rest of the world. We can't compare! The way we lived this last week was closer to the majority of the world than anything I've ever experienced (at least I imagine it is...I don't even really know!). All I know is, I was SO happy to get into a warm house with a warm shower, warm bed, and easy-to-prepare food. I felt a little wussy. :)

I'm still processing what I can learn from this trip, but in all it was great. I "appreciate" having the experiences I did, but I was definitely happy to get home. Here are some of the things that you'll never be able to appreciate if you haven't experienced it before... :)

1. It was SO COLD (and I just don't like using the outdoor restrooms) that I "held it" for the last four days of the trip. I'm on trip number 6 to the bathroom today!

2. We all wore a different version of the same outfit EVERY DAY, for the last 7 days. Here's what I brought for clothes...

- leggings
- one pair of pants
- one pair of shorts
- one pair of snow pants
- one short-sleeved shirt
- one long-sleeved shirt
- one fleece
- one wind-breaker
- two pairs of underwear
- one bra
- one hat
- one scarf
- one pair of gloves
- three pairs of socks
- hiking shoes.

The list looks pretty long when I see it like that...but it really wasn't very many clothes and I was SO happy to get back to my closet and dresser.

There's so much more I could write, but I think I'll just post pictures and leave it at that. :) Thanks to the group for such a great trip!

I'm Outta Here!

Tomorrow morning I'm leaving for a 7-day hike to Baraadsar Lake with twelve 11/12th graders. WAHOO! So, you won't be hearing from me for a while, but in case you're wondering, here's what I'll be doing...

- Eating crackers and tuna for lunch
- Getting blisters the size of my foot
- Peeing on a bush
- NOT showering!
- Getting to know a bunch of kids that I don't know yet. :) High schoolers...YAY!
- Experiencing God's AWESOMENESS!
- Burning lots of calories
- Trying desperately to keep warm
- Missing Chris :(
- LOVING LIFE!

Here I go! I'll take lots of pretty pictures. :)

A Non-Issue In the States

Yesterday and today we've had a rather comedic volley of e-mails sent back and forth on all-staff e-mails, and I thought I'd share them. I took out names to keep the parties involved anonymous, but thought it was quite interesting. In the states, this issue just simply wouldn't come up...and if it did, the responses would DEFINITELY not be so opinionated. Enjoy!

Original E-Mail

On behalf of Mars and Menu Committee, we ask your voting choice of 'Yes' or 'No', in favor of Buffalo meat included on the menu, as Chicken has become expensive and difficult to purchase within the Mars (food service) budget.

Reply #1. "I don't think the stigma surrounding the killing of cows applies to buffalo's. In fact I'm pretty sure of this. They're viewed as a different species - most importantly, buffalos are dark, cows are white.

Still, it might be best to do a quick survey of the employees."

Reply #2. "As far as I know and believe in, being an Indian and a Hindu by religion, eating of both cows and buffaloes is not accepted. though with time, things might be changing a little bit."

Reply #3. "I completely agree, it will be unacceptable to some staff members, parents and even employees (who will be cooking)."

Reply #4. "The idea of buffalo meat gives the same feeling as the thought of cow meat, and both are considered unpalatable by Hindus living in India. I believe that the community around Woodstock will not appreciate this idea either."

Reply #5. "I do not eat in the school dining room but would certainly vote against the buff meat being served here."

Reply #6. "When we were here from 1995 - 1999, buffalo was regularly served. When we arrived in July, I was quite surprised to find this is no longer the case. Most of the same employees were cooking then as now and I never heard anything negative about buffalo on religious grounds. I'd be interested in knowing when and why this changed."

Reply #7. "I humbly request that we stop the all staff replies, which I must take blame for starting even though only a vote of yes or no was requested. Please, high school students and woodstock all staff do not hit the reply to all button. If you want to vote, please feel free to do so. I also would clearly acknowledge that, having lived in India for 30 years, I am aware of the dietary issues, will speak to the head cook, and will suggest an appropriate decision be made. Thank you."

Reply #8. "I have read many of the responses so far. In the '90s buffalo meat was served regularly in the school. The same employees are cooking now, so why is there such an uproar about it now? I think then as now, many of the staff became vegetarian for that meal, and I guess we can do a survey and figure out how it affects meal numbers.

For me personally, as someone who is from both Hindu and Christian background, and who has in the past been non-veg for several years, it does not matter what the meat is as long as it is from a clean and healthy vendor, you either eat or do not eat meat."

Reply #9. "Dear all,

I want you all to know that this appears to be a budgeting decision but it is not.

This issue (from a budgetary perspective) was never discussed with me nor was it ever initiated by me. This was initiated by some students based on a conversation with the head cook in which he had mentioned that chicken was expensive and could not be a part of a specific Menu that they were proposing. This was interpreted to mean that chicken will no longer be served since it is expensive. This assumption is not true.

I am meeting with the appropriate people and will take care of this issue. They are as surprised by all of this as me.

We will not be serving buffalo meat in the Woodstock kitchen.

Thank you for reading and please consider this discussion closed."

And that, non-buffalo eaters, is that!