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!