Memories in Montana

My posts are going to be slightly out of order but I want to back track a little to share about our family trip to Montana. My parents generously invite any of us that are free to join them for a week in Big Sky Montana. This year I decided to join them and my sister, brother and their families were able to come as well. We also stole my niece away for the week so I had almost all my niece and nephews with me. It was a special week filled with swimming, hiking, games, lake activities and great fireworks on the 4th. While the resort is beautiful and provides lots to do, part of the purpose is also to get into Yellowstone National Park and look for wildlife. My parents are expert nature/wildlife hunters and we caravan around the lower and upper loops of this gorgeous untouched environment.

During the week, we all choose to do stuff together or apart sometimes opting for alone time or the parents often sending their children with Aunt Shell haha. But I love it, there's nothing more fun than playing with kids. I hope it helps create lasting memories for them like the many wonderful childhood ones I have. We usually have each "condo" cook one dinner and other times go out to eat. It's only the second time I've been able to come on this annual trip and it was extra special for me. My favorite day was the 4th of July. After a fun morning of cheering on my dad, brother in law and brother in a 3 on 3 basketball tournament, we hit the pool to cool down. We all decided to go to a BBQ place for dinner which was delicious, then we headed to lower big Sky for a concert outside before the fireworks display.

The weather was perfect, managed to get a hot coffee and surrounded by those I love, I thanked God for this incredible country and for the blessing of such a summer. The fireworks were really incredible and my sweet nephew turned to me during the finale and said, "those just made my heart explode". I smiled back and asked, "Are you so happy?" He nodded and I said, "me too."

Some of the other highlights were giving my niece countless back scratches, bonding with a new nephew that recently joined our family, citing a mama and baby bear, hiking with my Dad, and game nights with my siblings. It was an incredible week and I think we all felt a little sad when we parted and went our separate ways. I am so grateful for my family and especially my parents for making this trip possible. 💖

What Milk do You Prefer?

It's fairly surreal to be back in Calicut because I wasn't quite sure this would actually ever happen. But here I am...sweating once again, loving the endless flow of noise mixed with chaotic movements, ocean breezes and calling kingfisher birds. I had decided to book 3 nights in my dear "auntie" and "uncle's" guesthouse, where I spent my first month in India. They welcomed me in with an open umbrella and loving arms as I piled in at 6:30 am after an all night bus during early morning monsoons. I went straight to sleep and got a few hours of uninterrupted slumber before coming down for a late lunch and great catch up with dear Thankamma. We spent some good time together and around 3 I felt settled in enough to head out and see the city again.

I met my Arizona friends for a coffee and dropped by the school they established. Had many warm hugs from staff and kids as they asked questions about my journey. Friday was a special day as my very dear friend came to visit me. We ate and talked most of the day. He was kind enough to help me with a favor. I had lost track of my favorite auto driver and so we went on a hunt for him. I knew where his auto stand was and his name and practically nothing else. But he was my guy so i wanted to see him and hopefully give him some business while in town. We went to his stand and the local shop keeper remembered me and knew who I was looking for. We drew a crowd as many men decided to insert themselves into helping haha. My local friend gave his number and the shop owner promised he'd pass it to Lijith. Sure enough about an hour later, we got a call! Only in India 😆

After tracking down the driver,  we went for a cold drink and when I asked for the bill, the server must have thought I wanted milk. A manager approached and said, "Madam, you are wanting milk?" "You want goat milk, camel,  sheep..?" I started cracking up and said that no, we wanted the bill. He said, "oh, bill!" And laughed as well. 😂😂 I knew I had to remember that one lol.

During the next few days, I caught up on rest, spent time with some friends and enjoyed chicken biriyani to the full. After the weekend, I felt ready to begin some volunteering at school, conducting observations of some staff who teach young children. It was amazing to see how far they've come with this school to make it so child centered and focused on exploration. It made my heart happy to see it in action. ❤

It's All Coming Back to Me Now

Here I am...back in India once again. It's been so nice to come back after such a long wait. My heart is happy. I arrived on the 18TH of July into Bangalore and a friend picked me up and hosted me for a day. I spent the afternoon fighting sleep so that I could get so I could acclimate to the timezone and she took me on a scooter ride around the city. The weather was perfect and we stopped at a coffee shop and sat outdoors. While she went to some other appointments, I read and watched TV until we could go to dinner. Had some delicious chicken biriyani and topped it off with mango ice cream. My fav! Then I crawled into bed and had an excellent night sleep. The next morning I went with her to some shops that had beautiful hand stitched items made by women that are at risk for exploitation. I got several for myself and as souvenirs for home. Then we grabbed a delicious chicken tikka lunch and went home for a short while. We decided to visit an art gallery and park in the center of the city and I loved the artist's work. He painted scenes of India from the 1970s and they were somewhat cartoon-ish in style. I got a small print to take home. After we walked around the park, we headed back to her house so I could pack and catch an overnight bus to Calicut. 

I knew the bus was bound to be adventurous and had used this tour company once before and it did not disappoint. I reached my pick up point and was informed we needed to be transported by car to another location. We hopped in a car and drove 20 mins or so. Now I had no idea where we were and could only hope this was legit. After a couple minutes in the car, the driver put on some music and Timber came pumping through the speakers. I stifled my laughter and enjoyed the random pop music selection for my drive through town. Finally we arrived just to be told that we needed to board another bus to take us to the "real" overnight bus. So once again I lugged my 50lb suitcase and climbed aboard. After another 20 mins we made it. I was given a bus number to watch for and I never moved my attention away fearful after all this, I could miss it! I climbed on and to my great surprise, the bus was more like an RV and I had my own bed with privacy curtains, outlet, blanket and AC vents. Sweet! I thought, I may actually sleep on this ride. As we stopped to pick up more people I had a momentary panic as I wondered if I would have to share my space (which was a double bed) with another random ticket holder. I could not imagine the tour company putting me with a strange man but still was on edge until we finished all the pick ups. I put in my head phones and listened to music trying to relax and get into sleepy mode. As I wiggled down under the blanket watching the city pass by, I realized that sleeping was not actually going to be possible. I assumed it would be like the train, which is dumb lol, it was actually just like an Indian bus. As soon as I laid down I was shot back and forth like a pinball machine, side to side and sliding to the front every time he braked. Think trying to sleep while riding a roller coaster hahaha! I also had not allowed myself any liquids cause I knew there would be no toilet for 8 or 9 hours. So when I finally got to Calicut, I was anxious for a immobile bed, a drink and a bathroom. Which is just what was waiting for me. Thankful for amazing friends! 

The Beach is Calling and I Must Go

I've only been off work for a couple weeks so far but it's been a whirlwind of travel, catching up with friends, seeing family and pack/laundry/repack/repeat! I spent the first couple days in Tucson visiting with my brother and his family. Had a chance to take my nephew to one of those indoor jumping parks and he wore me out completely. It's no joke! I made the mistake of jumping into a pile of foam blocks and I swear to you that my legs turned to lead. I could not move them to get of the pit...it was like I was in quicksand. I am not lying when I say that it took almost a solid 5 minutes to climb out of that pit, basically dug myself out, foam block by block. I was sincerely afraid I was going to have to ask the teenager attendants for a ladder or something haha!

After a couple of days hanging out, I drove back to Phoenix and helped my sister and her family move to a new house. It was about 100 degrees and 25 trips up and down the stairs...my sister has a bit of the family "can't get rid of stuff" gene and my brother in law commented, "Wow, she's really got a lot of special papers" lol 😂 Needless to say after that day, I was beyond exhausted and thrilled I was heading to beautiful Flagstaff next.

I spent four days up in Flagstaff enjoying the cooler weather, chatting with my parents and sleeping in every day! It was really relaxing and I enjoyed hearing all about my parents recent trip to Europe complete with several Russian history lessons haha. My dad basically could work as a tour guide for any historical site. He's quite passionate. I asked him about the ABBA museum in Stockholm, which was the number one thing he looked forward to before leaving the U.S. His reply was surprisingly unimpressive as the museum didn't quite live up to his expectations. My step-mom joked, "I think Dad expected to actually meet ABBA." 😂

After spending time with my aunt and parents, I left Flagstaff and packed up for a weekend getaway in Rocky Point, MX with my sister and brother in law. They are big fans of Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers and look forward to this yearly summer concert venue. I was mostly along for the ride enjoying a chance to be at my favorite place in the world...the beach! My brother in law's parents have a gorgeous beach house that we spent the weekend in. We ate our weight in street tacos quesadillas, and french fries, while putting away some XX Equis, and margaritas. The beach was lovely with warm water and a few waves here and there. I enjoyed the concert overall despite not knowing the music and the weather was just beautiful. The last day we were there, we headed to a local favorite bar and listened to live music, people watching while drinking our last rounds of cerveza. 🍻

After Rocky Point, I was home for a week running errands, meeting up with friends and repacking for the next adventure. I drove to San Diego with my friend Chris to meet up with a couple other friends for a few days at the beach. I know...shocking. Gotta soak it up while I can! We spent a day at La Jolla, another at Coronado Beach and then Balboa Park. The water was not as friendly as it had been in Rocky Point, however, I was not deterred. I boogie boarded with the best of them, till hypothermia starting setting in! JK But it was cold! We ate some good food in Little Italy, a great local organic restaurant called Farmer's Table and finished it off with the best dessert from Extraordinary Desserts. Yum! 😋 We brought games to play at the airbnb during down time but we were so tired every night that we basically all sat in front of the TV and then crashed. No intense games of Settlers of Catan were had that trip! Next time!

I've been home a couple days finishing last minute errands and repacking for what's to come. I head to Portland to see friends and then will be in Montana over the 4th of July with family. And then Indian adventures begin once more. I can't wait to see what's in store~

Stay tuned!

Travel- It Calls Me!

Well friends,

It's been a bit since I've posted, for multiple reasons, but that's all about to change in the next few weeks. For most of 2016, I thought I was headed back to India but sadly that was not meant to be the case. I went back to work in October for the same non-profit agency and have slowly built regular routines and stability back into my life in AZ. The beginning of 2017 seemed to be a turning point and things that I'd been struggling with started to look up and I have many things to be thankful for about to head into a fantastic summer of travel!

1. My work is amazing and allowing me to take a 3 month leave of absence.
2. I finally got a visa to go back to India! Will take a 6 week journey back in July!
3. My housing situation could not be better and I've been given much favor in that this year.
4. My best friend is moving back to Arizona after 4 years of being in the mid-West. She will be here waiting for me when I get back! Yay!
5. I've had lots of quality family time with my niece and nephews and grown in my appreciation for how amazing my family has been during this journey.
6. I've started a couple new ventures including country two step dancing and building a business with an amazing company called Life Vantage.

This is not a complete list but I just have to share a little of what I'm grateful for. I so look forward to sharing my summer adventures with you. I'm sure there will be plenty of funny cultural mistakes, awkward moments and challenges along the way but thank you for coming along for the ride!

When I woke up today to get ready for my last day of work, the power went off in my condo and I laughed at the irony of it all. It was as if God was saying, "Welcome back! Off to India we go." I got ready in the semi dark and just paused to say thank you for all the days on end I've had with complete power, running water, reliable transportation and the many things I try not to take for granted here in the U.S.

The theme song from "Moana"has often run through my mind over the past couple months and as she is called to the sea, I am also called for adventure! Here we go! :) First stop Tucson!

How Lucky I am to Have Something That Makes Saying Goodbye so Hard!

If you would have told me that I would be sad to leave India for about the first 7 months of my journey, I would have laughed and thought, "Yeah right." But over the last few months of my time in this colorful, unique, chaotic, beautiful and adventurous country, I have begun to see what all the other writers and travelers talked about when they said that it will grow on you. It has...amazing huh? I made some incredible friendships that I will miss terribly, I created entertaining and special relationships with my students, I battled the daily heat, exhaustion, ants, traffic, noise, pollution, mosquitoes, language barriers and finished victoriously and most of all, I realized the good things that India had to offer and teach me. Valuable life lessons about caring for the innocent, the impoverished, the deformed, the challenging, in new and tangible ways. I learned what it's like to live among a people that rarely, if ever, complain about their circumstances and know how to change the course of their plans without any warning with a smile on their face.

 I began to appreciate the little things that made India special, how they value and fight to uphold their cultural and religious traditions, the chaos of walking down the street that bothers no one except the foreigner, the gorgeous sunsets over the ocean, the lushness of the jungle, fresh fruit juice stands on every corner and the ease and convenience of transportation. I learned about religious viewpoints different from my own and watched my students from all different backgrounds embrace friendship with one another. I tasted the most delectable foods such as fish mango curry, paratha, chicken tikka masala, cauliflower curry, butter chicken, and countless orders of biriyani! I was privileged to sight see at a variety of places during my year, including the Taj Mahal, gorgeous mountain areas like Munnar and Ooty, the jungles of Wayanad and the desert areas of Jaipur. I learned that my favorite fruit shake is called chikku, something I've never even heard of before coming to India and that you can make about 10 different food items with jackfruit! I lived in a small haven tucked away at the top of Mango Park where I could walk outside and watch the sun come down over the water. This small piece of space became my own way to cope and have peace when the chaos of the city got to be too much. I will miss my little Breeze Palace :) Walking through my neighborhood was always a treat, to see the different plants, fruits, bugs, colorful houses with clothes hung on every corner, motor bikes whizzing past me on the narrow little streets and new discoveries like random Baskin Robbins ice cream in a small shop along the way.

Some of my favorite moments were when my students got my jokes, when I gathered the courage to kill the giant life sized spiders in my apt, learning how to access Netflix from every country, (Woohoo Netflix Argentina! You got me through quite a few down days :) and learning what I liked to wear and how to buy my own material and get it made just as I wanted. Those were successes! I loved going for a tender coconut or mango ice cream cone and for the doctors that showed me all kinds of fun treats on the side of the road like fresh jalebi. These are the memories I will cherish. I have now realized that I am going to miss this place. Despite its frustrations, challenges and "India" days, I learned a great deal about where I seek comfort and how to cope in environments that are not exactly what I'm used to. I am incredibly grateful for this year and to you dear India, I say THANK YOU! I don't doubt that one day my path will lead me back to you. Thanks for the memories! 

For the Love of Coconut Oil

Most people have heard all the amazing benefits that there are to using coconut oil. If you haven't, here's a few.

-restores dry hair
-helps nourish skin
-removes bags under eyes
-helps nails grow stronger
-improves digestion
-boosts immunity against illness
-delays wrinkles
-helps heal skin irritations such as eczema
-expedites weight loss
-stress relief
-prevents tooth decay

Since India is a country that uses coconut oil in all things, skin care, hair care, cooking etc. I decided to test the benefits and have found it to be quite as amazing as people claim. The biggest difference I saw was in my skin. Moving from a completely dry climate to a very humid one caused my skin to freak out a bit and I constantly developed a heat rash. Once I started applying coconut oil to my skin, it not only healed these rash breakouts but it also made my skin feel so soft. I have started using it for my hair as well and will begin to substitute coconut oil for most of my other cooking oils. It has been fun learning about this wonder oil during my time in India and before I left I got to visit a factory that produces this oil for local companies and businesses. The manager was kind enough to show a friend and I around and tell us the process that the coconut goes through before it becomes oil. Here are a few pictures of the process. Try it out if you haven't yet!