11:20 Hrs. Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India.
Today (June 12th) we leave for Mysore and we're all very excited to get back to civilization. We packed up the boys dorms and joined the field site for breakfast. Then we were back in jeeps again for a hiking excursion. the day before at an overlook, Siddappa asked us which mountain we liked best. Haley was very enthusiastic about a particular hill so Siddappa told us we would climb it. Properly known as Malki Betta, we dubbed it Malki 'Haley' Betta. We took the jeeps the majority of the way up, truly off-roading it and giving us all whiplash.
We hopped out and began the trek to the top. Pointing out trees along the way, Siddappa showed us a fruit that elephants eat essentially as an aphrodesiac. It makes bulls more aggressive and active. Before I could write anything down, much of the group had moved on. "What was it called?" I asked to no one in particular. "I think they said 'Carria Arboria'" Lisa responded. I pressed on. Whatever trail had been present had disappeared. We were fighting a literally uphill battle with the Lantana forest before us. Eventually we reached a small rocky outcrop to rest. Siddappa came up behind us carrying a small plant. "This is a plant commonly used by tribals and is supposed to improve memory when eaten, I'll give it to whoever remembers the name of the elephant tree..."
"Carria Arboria...?" I threw out... "Wonderful!" Siddappa shouted. I won myself a little memory booster (a leaf) to eat. I gave Lisa a head nod. "What was the name of the memory plant?" people asked me later...
I couldn't remember.
Continuing on, we took another few rest stops at beautiful views, held some giant millipedes (been there done that), ate some fresh Amla fruits, caught a glimpse of a sambar poking his head out of tall grass, and sat in some light rain for awhile before finishing the final 30 or so meter hike to the top. We relaxed for awhile at the top and let the clouds pass through us. Siddappa asked us to sing, and upon realizing we had my iPod and Bradley's speakers, we reunited the band and pulled out a long overdue Bohemian Rhapsody from the vaults. Freddie would have given us a 10 out of 10 just for shear passion. After a small tribute to the Beatles as well, we trekked back down. Indo Crew: 1, Lantana: 0.
We returned to where the jeeps were to see only one. So half of us began the incredibly muddy trek back along elephant-made paths. Passing smiling Soligas hard at work along the route, the jeep returned to pick us up at a small village. We returned back to the filed site for our last meal in BRT. Something should be said for this place; a well decorated lush site. Despite the difficult accomodations, I'd love to return to see the true wealth and happiness of the Soliga people.
We loaded the van and were off to Mysore. The halfway point of the program. Congrats readers. Ya made it this far. It became a reminder for all of us of how much we had done, how long 3 weeks had felt like, and how long before I see home again...This time around, we watched all of Ongbok 2. There are no words for that movie. Watch at your own risk.
First impressions of Mysore were favorable. A faint echo of Bangalore but more variety in architecture, more smiling people, and much less pollution. I mean some pollution...just...less... ;) We give it two thumbs up. The drive was only about 3 hours.
After some driving, we spotted a Baskin Robbins. The luxuries of home trumpeted like an elephant out to us in the bus in the liquid form of salivation. It got better. Connected next door was a bakery with pastries, desserts, and interesting foods. Still better. Our lodging was a block away. Dangerously close walking distance. STILL better. Western toilets, closets, soft beds, electricity, even desks. Oh yeah. I think we'll manage. After some ice cream (or frozen heaven), we went to dinner at a place a little walk down called Uncle Lobo's, which served Indian and Chinese. We completely feasted on delicious food and purchased a few boxes of Kingfisher. After the walk back, it was Chi'party' time...With a free day in Mysore the next day, the party continued into the wee hours.
~Straying down familiar paths...
-David
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
After breakfast the next morning, we loaded back into the jeeps to visit some small sacred shrines (a total of 480 in BRT) at a few trees and lakes, and an interesting megalithic burial site, dating from around 800 A.D. Then off to the school. The school was the Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra school adjacent to our (boys) guest houses. After a strange interaction with some American college students from Pennsylvania working here (everybody seemed uneasy and on-edge and lost their smiles, I'm not sure why), we spoke with some school administrators who took us to a grand hall showing off the many awards the school had won as a top of the line tribal school.
We then moved to a classroom where we stood in front of 35 or so 16 year olds, all in what they call 10th Standard, and had a very nice Q&A dialog with the students, exchanging comments on food, sports, occupations, school systems, impressions, etc. We managed to get out of there without singing anything, probably for the benefit of everyone. Before we left the area, we stopped in a small manufacturing center next to the school. Siddapa has started a honey extracting initiative with the Soliga people as a sustainable NTFP. Here we saw a bit of the machinery used to process the honey (which we'd been devouring with every meal). We took a shortcut through the community and walked back to the field site.
After lunch we got a quick ride back to our dorms to change as needed for a more casual, cultural evening, including a visit to an important temple. When we returned the girls came out dressed in beautiful Indian attire. We felt significantly under-dressed as we paled in comparison. Before the temple, we took a quick trip to a second honey production site, this time run by a group of about ten self-help women. Then to a beautiful sacred temple high on a hill where Siddapa made us feel like VIPs, getting us into some sacred sections. Truly a moving experience. We stopped on our way back at another shop surrounded by coffee plants and had some local coffee. There were also tall, thin black pepper plants around the building. It was this that Colombus had been seeking when he left Spain, only to be disappointed by its absence in America. We took a lengthy ride in the van for wildlife and saw quite a few chital, sambar, and gaur.
Upon our return to the field site, we had a delicious dinner that included some chicken! We piled into the office to listen to a PhD student, Samira give a talk on her research with racket-tailed drongos in the area and their elaborate mimicking abilities. Next Siddapa gave a few brief presentations on BRT and his work there with ATREE. Another long day as we draw nearer to the halfway point of this program. I'm liking BRT...
~Living like a tribal...,
- David
We then moved to a classroom where we stood in front of 35 or so 16 year olds, all in what they call 10th Standard, and had a very nice Q&A dialog with the students, exchanging comments on food, sports, occupations, school systems, impressions, etc. We managed to get out of there without singing anything, probably for the benefit of everyone. Before we left the area, we stopped in a small manufacturing center next to the school. Siddapa has started a honey extracting initiative with the Soliga people as a sustainable NTFP. Here we saw a bit of the machinery used to process the honey (which we'd been devouring with every meal). We took a shortcut through the community and walked back to the field site.
After lunch we got a quick ride back to our dorms to change as needed for a more casual, cultural evening, including a visit to an important temple. When we returned the girls came out dressed in beautiful Indian attire. We felt significantly under-dressed as we paled in comparison. Before the temple, we took a quick trip to a second honey production site, this time run by a group of about ten self-help women. Then to a beautiful sacred temple high on a hill where Siddapa made us feel like VIPs, getting us into some sacred sections. Truly a moving experience. We stopped on our way back at another shop surrounded by coffee plants and had some local coffee. There were also tall, thin black pepper plants around the building. It was this that Colombus had been seeking when he left Spain, only to be disappointed by its absence in America. We took a lengthy ride in the van for wildlife and saw quite a few chital, sambar, and gaur.
Upon our return to the field site, we had a delicious dinner that included some chicken! We piled into the office to listen to a PhD student, Samira give a talk on her research with racket-tailed drongos in the area and their elaborate mimicking abilities. Next Siddapa gave a few brief presentations on BRT and his work there with ATREE. Another long day as we draw nearer to the halfway point of this program. I'm liking BRT...
~Living like a tribal...,
- David
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010. - Day 25
16:30 Hrs. City of Mysore, Karnataka, India.
The next morning, June 10th, we had a most terrible time getting out o the boys dorms because the rains had created quite the mudslide. fortunately Manoj seems very experienced and we soon joined the girls for breakfast. Afterwards we finally got a glimpse at some maps from Siddapa and understood our surroundings a little better. Instead of taking the van today (too large to off-road in BRT; very well protected) we loaded into jeeps! True safari style. Squished in the middle of the front seat trying very hard not to get in the way of gear shifting by Madeva, our driver, we headed out.
A brief digression. India has a four-step hierarchy for protected areas. At the bottom is the Reserve Forests. Next follows National Parks such as Bannerghatta. The third level is Wildlife Sanctuary such as BRT, which begins to have much more serious protection, many permits were reluctantly given for foreigners to be here, and even then rarely on foot. The final level is Tiger Reserve, such as Bandipur, our stop after Mysore.
After a beautiful ride through lush forest, though incredibly bumpy (there wasn't really a road), we got off at the beginning of a long staircase down. Siddapa told us to watch for leeches. We were in moist to wet deciduous forest after all, and we knew this tragic day would come. The paranoia set in with everybody. Small inch-worm like critters covered the ground, feeling around for delicious human flesh. After some initial dramatic reactions by most people, Andrew and Bradley decided to self-inflict themselves and hold a friendly competition. In an attempt to see who's could get bigger, they voluntarily placed a leech on one arm each. We trekked down the steps and reached what the locals call 'Doddasampagi', a Mikilia Champaca tree that was around 2,000 years old, and very sacred. Decorated in garlands, stones, and tridents of Shiva, the tree commanded the respect of the entire peaceful, Riparian area. As we climbed the other side of the hill, we passed some Soliga women at a watering hole filling jugs, and methodically setting them on fabric rings on their heads. Beautiful and shy, they are forest dwellers; experts at simple living. As we passed a few huts and Soliga buildings, coffee plants grew rampant around us, and evidence of a village increased. We arrived at the school room (a hut made from sticks that was empty) and the village head spoke through Siddapa to us about his community.
Loading back into the jeeps, we made a few stops at breathtaking overlooks, spotting shola forest and distant mountains, all the while removing the onslaught of leeches from our shoes and legs. A wild boar managed to get stuck on the road in front of our first (of two) jeeps and with thickets of Lantana on either side the boar was forced to keep running like someone running from an oncoming train with no means to jump off the tracks. Entertained, we snapped pictures as the boar ran off, finally finding an exit through the thorny wall. We stopped at a small estate with some beautiful white temple structures which appeared to no longer be in use, and grabbed some bananas from the nearby store.
Another jeep ride and we arrived at Honnamatti Betta (Betta is hill in Kannada), another breathtaking overlook and forest service watch tower. Sitting at the level of the clouds blowing past us, we ate a delicious lunch off biodegradable leaf plates (made from leaves from Butia Monosperma aka 'Flame of the Forest' stitched together with dried plant sticks). There was an enormous monolithic vertical boulder sitting at the edge of the hill. Siddapa told us to take a rock and hit it. I couldn't believe my ears, the boulder made a hollow, metal clang. Truly fascinating. BRT we've noticed is notably cooler and mistier than our previous locations, and up here we certainly felt it.
Another stop for a few more bananas and we began our afternoon travels. Now it was safari time. We traveled through BRT and spotted chital (spotted deer not unlike our white-tailed), an elusive langur that jumped across the road and back into the brush, some massive gaur, and a couple of eagles. As evening approached we returned for some tea, a toilet break at our own quarters, and got more comfortable for a cultural night back at the field site. Shortly after returning, various Soliga arrived, quickly made a fire, changed into tribal attire (body paint and leaf headdresses) and kicked off the musical evening.
After a few numbers, they added dance as they chanted and played (drums and cymbals) around the fire. We did our best to quickly catch on, and having been exposed as dancers after our MM Hills escapade, joined in. An amazing evening. If Geeta doesn't come back to help make a CD of these guys with the next study abroad, I certainly will. An amazing night. During dinner, Geeta told us we'd be visiting another school tomorrow so we should prepare songs to sing. Not wanting a repeat of Old MacDonald at Kanakpura, we went late into the night suggesting and veto-ing song options, settling uneasily on Bohemian Rhapsody, and the Star-Spangled Banner, using my iPod and Bradley's portable speakers as backup.
~Desparate not to disappoint Freddie Mercury...,
- David
The next morning, June 10th, we had a most terrible time getting out o the boys dorms because the rains had created quite the mudslide. fortunately Manoj seems very experienced and we soon joined the girls for breakfast. Afterwards we finally got a glimpse at some maps from Siddapa and understood our surroundings a little better. Instead of taking the van today (too large to off-road in BRT; very well protected) we loaded into jeeps! True safari style. Squished in the middle of the front seat trying very hard not to get in the way of gear shifting by Madeva, our driver, we headed out.
A brief digression. India has a four-step hierarchy for protected areas. At the bottom is the Reserve Forests. Next follows National Parks such as Bannerghatta. The third level is Wildlife Sanctuary such as BRT, which begins to have much more serious protection, many permits were reluctantly given for foreigners to be here, and even then rarely on foot. The final level is Tiger Reserve, such as Bandipur, our stop after Mysore.
After a beautiful ride through lush forest, though incredibly bumpy (there wasn't really a road), we got off at the beginning of a long staircase down. Siddapa told us to watch for leeches. We were in moist to wet deciduous forest after all, and we knew this tragic day would come. The paranoia set in with everybody. Small inch-worm like critters covered the ground, feeling around for delicious human flesh. After some initial dramatic reactions by most people, Andrew and Bradley decided to self-inflict themselves and hold a friendly competition. In an attempt to see who's could get bigger, they voluntarily placed a leech on one arm each. We trekked down the steps and reached what the locals call 'Doddasampagi', a Mikilia Champaca tree that was around 2,000 years old, and very sacred. Decorated in garlands, stones, and tridents of Shiva, the tree commanded the respect of the entire peaceful, Riparian area. As we climbed the other side of the hill, we passed some Soliga women at a watering hole filling jugs, and methodically setting them on fabric rings on their heads. Beautiful and shy, they are forest dwellers; experts at simple living. As we passed a few huts and Soliga buildings, coffee plants grew rampant around us, and evidence of a village increased. We arrived at the school room (a hut made from sticks that was empty) and the village head spoke through Siddapa to us about his community.
Loading back into the jeeps, we made a few stops at breathtaking overlooks, spotting shola forest and distant mountains, all the while removing the onslaught of leeches from our shoes and legs. A wild boar managed to get stuck on the road in front of our first (of two) jeeps and with thickets of Lantana on either side the boar was forced to keep running like someone running from an oncoming train with no means to jump off the tracks. Entertained, we snapped pictures as the boar ran off, finally finding an exit through the thorny wall. We stopped at a small estate with some beautiful white temple structures which appeared to no longer be in use, and grabbed some bananas from the nearby store.
Another jeep ride and we arrived at Honnamatti Betta (Betta is hill in Kannada), another breathtaking overlook and forest service watch tower. Sitting at the level of the clouds blowing past us, we ate a delicious lunch off biodegradable leaf plates (made from leaves from Butia Monosperma aka 'Flame of the Forest' stitched together with dried plant sticks). There was an enormous monolithic vertical boulder sitting at the edge of the hill. Siddapa told us to take a rock and hit it. I couldn't believe my ears, the boulder made a hollow, metal clang. Truly fascinating. BRT we've noticed is notably cooler and mistier than our previous locations, and up here we certainly felt it.
Another stop for a few more bananas and we began our afternoon travels. Now it was safari time. We traveled through BRT and spotted chital (spotted deer not unlike our white-tailed), an elusive langur that jumped across the road and back into the brush, some massive gaur, and a couple of eagles. As evening approached we returned for some tea, a toilet break at our own quarters, and got more comfortable for a cultural night back at the field site. Shortly after returning, various Soliga arrived, quickly made a fire, changed into tribal attire (body paint and leaf headdresses) and kicked off the musical evening.
After a few numbers, they added dance as they chanted and played (drums and cymbals) around the fire. We did our best to quickly catch on, and having been exposed as dancers after our MM Hills escapade, joined in. An amazing evening. If Geeta doesn't come back to help make a CD of these guys with the next study abroad, I certainly will. An amazing night. During dinner, Geeta told us we'd be visiting another school tomorrow so we should prepare songs to sing. Not wanting a repeat of Old MacDonald at Kanakpura, we went late into the night suggesting and veto-ing song options, settling uneasily on Bohemian Rhapsody, and the Star-Spangled Banner, using my iPod and Bradley's portable speakers as backup.
~Desparate not to disappoint Freddie Mercury...,
- David
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 - Day 18
...Perhaps relieved that the engine noise meant we were leaving, or perhaps because a small part of the lake was between the road and the islet they were on, the cow stopped and returned to the others. We drove on.
Our last sighting was a Wild boar in the distance running fast as we returned to the field site. A delicious dinner as usual, and Manoj drove the boys back to our quarters.
First night of some pretty amazing wildlife...,
- David
Our last sighting was a Wild boar in the distance running fast as we returned to the field site. A delicious dinner as usual, and Manoj drove the boys back to our quarters.
First night of some pretty amazing wildlife...,
- David
Monday, June 14, 2010
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010. - Day 18
19:15 Hrs. Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, India.
Our last breakfast at MM Hills. This experience has lost its wide-eyed new feeling. Now it seems we travel from place to place, seeing things that grow more and more beautiful. MM Hills is truly a beautiful place. After a bit of rest, we loaded the bus (with a new driver, Manosh) and headed out around 11:00.
Our trip included a Bollywood film that Brandy had bought at market in the morning, played on the bus' DVD player (tour bus). We stopped at Kollegal, which we had passed on our way to MM. Kollegal has the only route to BRT. We had lunch at a delicious local restaurant, including some Slice mango juice, some Massala Chipati, and who knows what else. There we picked up Siddapa, who is accompanying us to BRT. Upon boarding the bus again, a new movie, Ongbak 2 began playing. Though we didn't see the end of the 'guy has trouble getting girl' Bollywood flick, we took a pretty well educated guess... This new movie we're convinced is the purchase of the bus driver. It lost my attention pretty quickly.
BRT is quite the place. 540 km square of very lush forests, scrubs, and grasslands. It reminds me much of the Smoky Mountains, just with completely more tropical vegetation. We arrived at the ATREE field site and guest house the girls would be staying at. Then quickly to the gents' quarters. Decent accomodations. Again Geeta had us prepared for far worse. 3 pieces of wood on sticks for beds with a mattress the thickness of my finger, but a bed and room nonetheless. A western toilet believe it or not, though its functionability is hardly worthwhile. Anyway the community is very homey and beautiful, a faint reminder of UTC without the surrounding hustle and bustle of Bangalore, merely more lush forest. We are truly in rural INdia. The boys' guest houses are at the school ATREE assists at for Soliga people that live in the forest. 57 total tribal villages, 14 of which refused to leave the sanctuaries boundaries after the request from the Indian Forest Service, and continue to live within to this day. The whole place has a feel of small medieval hamlets or villages in the mountains of Ireland, but for some reason, everything is tropical.
We briefly unloaded, then returned to the girls dorms at the ATREE field site. Another excursion in the van to see wildlife. Seeing anything with a group this size (of boisterous Americans no less), in a noisy tourism van seems and had proved near impossible. Though we'd seen animals before on our excursions, never a true spotting worthy of the work our educators had done. Perhpas a combination of having Siddapa with us (an incredible wildlife exper), the time of day and weather of the outing, and the overall beauty and serenity of the place keeping us quiet, gave us multiple spottings. The first was a beautiful owl of immense stature that there is still much debate over its identification. With similar appearance and coloration to a Great Horned Owl, it flew across the road behind the van with deadly silent accuracy. We drove on. Then we spotted the big guns. This whole trip seems to have been planned by Geeta on the trail of the world's largest terrestrial creature. 'Elephas Maximus' moves south through India in its migrations. Coming from central India, they move through Bannerghatta N.P., Biligiri R.F., Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, B.R. Hills, Bandipur T.R., Mudumalai, and onward. It would seem Geeta planned this trip to line up with the towering veggie-saur. And yet until now we'd only heard a far off trumpet from atop Rock Hill. As we passed a small lake, there they were. Three beautiful female elephants, no more than nine feet tall, about forty feet away. As we turned off the engine and very carefully milled about the van to get a good look and take pictures, we, with the help of Siddapa and Geeta, identified their ages and roles in the herd. Sixteen very large and heavily padded feet...a fourth tail flicked out low to the ground. A baby. No more than two-months old. As the elders sensed our noisy and smelly presence, they began readjusting to encircle and further protect the young calf. The furthest away individual retreated a ways to the brush with her tail elevated and turned back to face us directly. She wanted running room. "Go Manosh!" Geeta shouted in a loud hoarse whisper. The elephant let out a loud warning trumpet and picked up speed straight towards us...
Our last breakfast at MM Hills. This experience has lost its wide-eyed new feeling. Now it seems we travel from place to place, seeing things that grow more and more beautiful. MM Hills is truly a beautiful place. After a bit of rest, we loaded the bus (with a new driver, Manosh) and headed out around 11:00.
Our trip included a Bollywood film that Brandy had bought at market in the morning, played on the bus' DVD player (tour bus). We stopped at Kollegal, which we had passed on our way to MM. Kollegal has the only route to BRT. We had lunch at a delicious local restaurant, including some Slice mango juice, some Massala Chipati, and who knows what else. There we picked up Siddapa, who is accompanying us to BRT. Upon boarding the bus again, a new movie, Ongbak 2 began playing. Though we didn't see the end of the 'guy has trouble getting girl' Bollywood flick, we took a pretty well educated guess... This new movie we're convinced is the purchase of the bus driver. It lost my attention pretty quickly.
BRT is quite the place. 540 km square of very lush forests, scrubs, and grasslands. It reminds me much of the Smoky Mountains, just with completely more tropical vegetation. We arrived at the ATREE field site and guest house the girls would be staying at. Then quickly to the gents' quarters. Decent accomodations. Again Geeta had us prepared for far worse. 3 pieces of wood on sticks for beds with a mattress the thickness of my finger, but a bed and room nonetheless. A western toilet believe it or not, though its functionability is hardly worthwhile. Anyway the community is very homey and beautiful, a faint reminder of UTC without the surrounding hustle and bustle of Bangalore, merely more lush forest. We are truly in rural INdia. The boys' guest houses are at the school ATREE assists at for Soliga people that live in the forest. 57 total tribal villages, 14 of which refused to leave the sanctuaries boundaries after the request from the Indian Forest Service, and continue to live within to this day. The whole place has a feel of small medieval hamlets or villages in the mountains of Ireland, but for some reason, everything is tropical.
We briefly unloaded, then returned to the girls dorms at the ATREE field site. Another excursion in the van to see wildlife. Seeing anything with a group this size (of boisterous Americans no less), in a noisy tourism van seems and had proved near impossible. Though we'd seen animals before on our excursions, never a true spotting worthy of the work our educators had done. Perhpas a combination of having Siddapa with us (an incredible wildlife exper), the time of day and weather of the outing, and the overall beauty and serenity of the place keeping us quiet, gave us multiple spottings. The first was a beautiful owl of immense stature that there is still much debate over its identification. With similar appearance and coloration to a Great Horned Owl, it flew across the road behind the van with deadly silent accuracy. We drove on. Then we spotted the big guns. This whole trip seems to have been planned by Geeta on the trail of the world's largest terrestrial creature. 'Elephas Maximus' moves south through India in its migrations. Coming from central India, they move through Bannerghatta N.P., Biligiri R.F., Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, B.R. Hills, Bandipur T.R., Mudumalai, and onward. It would seem Geeta planned this trip to line up with the towering veggie-saur. And yet until now we'd only heard a far off trumpet from atop Rock Hill. As we passed a small lake, there they were. Three beautiful female elephants, no more than nine feet tall, about forty feet away. As we turned off the engine and very carefully milled about the van to get a good look and take pictures, we, with the help of Siddapa and Geeta, identified their ages and roles in the herd. Sixteen very large and heavily padded feet...a fourth tail flicked out low to the ground. A baby. No more than two-months old. As the elders sensed our noisy and smelly presence, they began readjusting to encircle and further protect the young calf. The furthest away individual retreated a ways to the brush with her tail elevated and turned back to face us directly. She wanted running room. "Go Manosh!" Geeta shouted in a loud hoarse whisper. The elephant let out a loud warning trumpet and picked up speed straight towards us...
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010. - Day 18
09:00 Hrs. Devara Halli, MM Hills, Karnataka, India.
Tuesday was another hiking foray after breakfast. A very long tough hike, but it always ends up being worth it. We reached the peak and could see for miles. The Cauvery River, roaming its way to the reservoir and the bordering state of Tamil Nadu in the distance. BRT to our right and Mysore far off behind us before a very hazy Western Ghats. The view was truly spectacular. That evening we crossed the nearby border into the state of Tamil Nadu and went to an oasis where the Cauvery and Palar Rivers join. No elephants tonight, apparently we'd missed them by a few hours, but the scenery and a conversation with a fisherman floating by laying his net more than made up for it.
Today we leave MM Hills, for Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary at the south-eastern tip of Karnataka where the Western and Eastern Ghats meet (more or less). We have no idea what sort of accomodations await us, but we've been told it's worse than our past ones. We shall see...
~Trying to shake off a prolonged slump,
- David
Tuesday was another hiking foray after breakfast. A very long tough hike, but it always ends up being worth it. We reached the peak and could see for miles. The Cauvery River, roaming its way to the reservoir and the bordering state of Tamil Nadu in the distance. BRT to our right and Mysore far off behind us before a very hazy Western Ghats. The view was truly spectacular. That evening we crossed the nearby border into the state of Tamil Nadu and went to an oasis where the Cauvery and Palar Rivers join. No elephants tonight, apparently we'd missed them by a few hours, but the scenery and a conversation with a fisherman floating by laying his net more than made up for it.
Today we leave MM Hills, for Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary at the south-eastern tip of Karnataka where the Western and Eastern Ghats meet (more or less). We have no idea what sort of accomodations await us, but we've been told it's worse than our past ones. We shall see...
~Trying to shake off a prolonged slump,
- David
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 - Day 17
07:30 Hrs. Devara Halli, MM Hills, Karnataka, India.
I will attempt here to catch up and remain on track. Yesterday we woke up early for yoga on the roof of our guest house. Since we're in a valley there is always quite the strong breeze. After a short walk to the nearby mess hall for breakfast, we boarded the bus with Riaz, and returned back into the mountains from whence we had come.
Once on top, we buddied up and were given assignments of things to monitor as we trekked along a trail. I was to observe chopped trees, identify species and whether it was for firewood or for other purposes with Kristina. An easy task compared to some of the others', we discovered only about five species that were consistently cut..., and we rounded by quite a bit...
Soliga (tribal) people live in this area, and are being taught by ATREE to use the invasive Lantana camera plant (which is EVERYWHERE in India) to weave baskets and furniture to sell. They use the dried bamboo in the forest for much of their home construction. We finished monitoring and continued climbing, first down, down, down into a valley (elephant corridor), then up, up, up onto the next hill. We were told the path we were taking was the old stone path that pilgrims took en route to the holy Halli of Devara we were staying at. The path was about 1000 years old. Each rest stop gave beautiful views, truly stunning scenery. Every time we reach a viewpoint, anywhere in our trip, we have never been let down. I have a bajillion landscape pictures now. The whole region had less than a decade ago, been the domain of Veerapan, a notorious Indian poacher of mostly sandalwood, who often would capture, torture, and/or kill celebrities, trespassers, and foreigners. Fortunately he was poisoned and killed by undercover agents a little while back or we wouldn't have come here.
Finally back at the top of the hill, we snapped a few photos, including one of the whole group I took from atop the bus, and drove back down into the village. We returned to the mess hall for a quick lunch but were soon back out again, this time visiting a small piece of ATREE land, where they are working with the Soligas for agriculture, tree planting, and rain-water harvesting through terraced pits.
As we trekked back to the bus, we had a lovely interaction with some locals, who, upon seeing how excited Papaya trees they owned made us, proceeded to give us four or five, and few pictures as well. We drove just a little ways to the home of a Soliga elder woman, heavily involved in local politics on behalf of her community, to see their homes and be offered delicious jagri-black tea. We 'spoke' with her for awhile and explored their little neighborhood. It very much echoed El Refugio...
Before returning, we stopped at the market outside the gran temple of the city, purchased some knick-knacks and souvenirs, and dropped our shoes off to enter the temple. Personal space truly does not exist in India. Packed like sardines, we herded through the beautiful Hindu Temple, even being blessed with face markings (3 lines and the dot). We've never been more stared at then today. Continuously asked for pictures, I suppose it's a unique experience to see Geeta leading 12 white ducklings with bags and filtered water bottles around. The temple was truly a humbling and spritiual sight. As we exited, a painted elephant was being kept in a barn next door happily chomping away on some bamboo.
Surprisingly, even more people were arriving, as the monks appeared to be preparing a large elaborately decorated chariot. Apparently this is a traditional Monday occurence. As preparations continued the music we had heard the night before, interesting drumming began pounding away nearby. Around 15 or so children were all dancing away surrounded by the crowd. After a long hot rough day where I was even more consistently wondering my purpose on this trip, the lively drum beat was mindless passion and joy. With all the smiles at us, it became impossible to resist. Caution to the wind, I separated from our group and went to join. Pounding my feet and raising my arms embarassingly as I tried to mimic them, I shook out all petty thoughts and aggravations. It wasn't long before I was joined by the majority of the group, as well as more dancers from the crowd, and MANY more spectators eager to see the dancing exotic Americans.
~Exhausted with satisfaction,
- David
I will attempt here to catch up and remain on track. Yesterday we woke up early for yoga on the roof of our guest house. Since we're in a valley there is always quite the strong breeze. After a short walk to the nearby mess hall for breakfast, we boarded the bus with Riaz, and returned back into the mountains from whence we had come.
Once on top, we buddied up and were given assignments of things to monitor as we trekked along a trail. I was to observe chopped trees, identify species and whether it was for firewood or for other purposes with Kristina. An easy task compared to some of the others', we discovered only about five species that were consistently cut..., and we rounded by quite a bit...
Soliga (tribal) people live in this area, and are being taught by ATREE to use the invasive Lantana camera plant (which is EVERYWHERE in India) to weave baskets and furniture to sell. They use the dried bamboo in the forest for much of their home construction. We finished monitoring and continued climbing, first down, down, down into a valley (elephant corridor), then up, up, up onto the next hill. We were told the path we were taking was the old stone path that pilgrims took en route to the holy Halli of Devara we were staying at. The path was about 1000 years old. Each rest stop gave beautiful views, truly stunning scenery. Every time we reach a viewpoint, anywhere in our trip, we have never been let down. I have a bajillion landscape pictures now. The whole region had less than a decade ago, been the domain of Veerapan, a notorious Indian poacher of mostly sandalwood, who often would capture, torture, and/or kill celebrities, trespassers, and foreigners. Fortunately he was poisoned and killed by undercover agents a little while back or we wouldn't have come here.
Finally back at the top of the hill, we snapped a few photos, including one of the whole group I took from atop the bus, and drove back down into the village. We returned to the mess hall for a quick lunch but were soon back out again, this time visiting a small piece of ATREE land, where they are working with the Soligas for agriculture, tree planting, and rain-water harvesting through terraced pits.
As we trekked back to the bus, we had a lovely interaction with some locals, who, upon seeing how excited Papaya trees they owned made us, proceeded to give us four or five, and few pictures as well. We drove just a little ways to the home of a Soliga elder woman, heavily involved in local politics on behalf of her community, to see their homes and be offered delicious jagri-black tea. We 'spoke' with her for awhile and explored their little neighborhood. It very much echoed El Refugio...
Before returning, we stopped at the market outside the gran temple of the city, purchased some knick-knacks and souvenirs, and dropped our shoes off to enter the temple. Personal space truly does not exist in India. Packed like sardines, we herded through the beautiful Hindu Temple, even being blessed with face markings (3 lines and the dot). We've never been more stared at then today. Continuously asked for pictures, I suppose it's a unique experience to see Geeta leading 12 white ducklings with bags and filtered water bottles around. The temple was truly a humbling and spritiual sight. As we exited, a painted elephant was being kept in a barn next door happily chomping away on some bamboo.
Surprisingly, even more people were arriving, as the monks appeared to be preparing a large elaborately decorated chariot. Apparently this is a traditional Monday occurence. As preparations continued the music we had heard the night before, interesting drumming began pounding away nearby. Around 15 or so children were all dancing away surrounded by the crowd. After a long hot rough day where I was even more consistently wondering my purpose on this trip, the lively drum beat was mindless passion and joy. With all the smiles at us, it became impossible to resist. Caution to the wind, I separated from our group and went to join. Pounding my feet and raising my arms embarassingly as I tried to mimic them, I shook out all petty thoughts and aggravations. It wasn't long before I was joined by the majority of the group, as well as more dancers from the crowd, and MANY more spectators eager to see the dancing exotic Americans.
~Exhausted with satisfaction,
- David
Monday, June 7th, 2010 - Day 16
22:00 Hrs. Devara Halli, MM Hills, Karnataka, India.
Saturday was our last day in Forest Trails. We received T-shirts from a staff that was far too amazing to us during our time there. Shoba was the mother of the dancer and mother-in-law of the flautist. Owning and helping Vishnu to run the place, they, along with Nagesh, truly took care of us. We could never repay their kindness. The day was all-day research. Concluding our studies we began the desk work and compiled a scientific paper as well as a presentation with visual aides and everything. Working nearly non-stop through the day, most of our heads began to hurt as we shared our results with Geeta and she indulged in our mistakes. Nonetheless, that evening we all presented our research to the group, satisfied with our findings.
Our final dinner, and Nagesh comes out with YET ANOTHER BOX OF KINGFISHER. This must be how Indians think of American college students, though I suppose he's not far off. After a brief bout between a quickly-drunk bottle of alcohol and my stomach, I stayed up talking with a few people late into the night until all but two of us, 'Harvard' and I, had gone to bed. Another few wonderful hours of venting and sharing, then bed.
Many of us have been going days without showering, as we were encouraged, but one this morning for a lengthy cfar ride ahead sounded great. And felt great for that matter. We left Forest Trails (bittersweet) and drove quite some ways. Our first stop on our way to our next destination was the Cauvery (Kaveri) River. This was India as we had been told. Hundreds of people playing, washing, bathing in the river. We were to cross it. Having been told of the dangers of coming into contact with ANY water body in India, we were all very naturally skeptical. Never failing to keep any future plans from us, Geeta herded us into small bowl-like bamboo and tar rafts that took us half-way across the river. We waded the rest of the way, and boarded a Jitney-esque bus on the other side. We arrived at a stunning gorge 20 minutes later, that the river had carved out. Truly a breath-taking, rocky-cliff filled site.
Back on the Jitney (for lack of a better label...), some Beedi was bought by Geeta and passed around to those who would have it. Beedi is the product of a native plant, rolled in itself, and smoked. Essentially an organic cigarette. Back on the bamboo bowls, and back on the bus and we were off again. Our next stop, after bidding a slightly more serious farewell to Kavitha and Skanda (we'd picked them up earlier, they'll be back later in the trip), was a village known as Kollegal. We had tea, a bathroom (squat of course) break, and bought junk food. My first taste of chocolate in forever it seems (even if it was strangely orange flavored). Back on the bus (I forgot to mention, our new driver is a man named Riaz this time around...), we made the last long stretch of road, up hairpin mountain bends and down into the valley of the MM Hills, arriving late at night to a small holy city (Devara Halli) very late, 'Harvard' half asleep next to me. Not a bad day...
I'd like to mention that Geeta and Lisa had long mentioned that Forest Trials would be the last 'nice' place we'd be in for awhile, and we should be prepared for true roughing it. She could not have lied more. Our accomodations are a beautiful 4th story guest house next to the ATREE office here. Full beds, electricity, bathrooms, the works. I roomed with Deepak this time around. Who knows if we can trust Geeta again...
We had dinner at a nearby mess hall and walked the city after, making our way to a very famous temple in the center. Full of dancing and music and an incredible sight (although there had just been a blackout, typical in India, so there was little 'seeing' done but with our lights).
It's late and I shall have to leave today's events for tomorrow's journal. Sleep beckons me.
~Dreary eyes in a fantasy world,
- David
Saturday was our last day in Forest Trails. We received T-shirts from a staff that was far too amazing to us during our time there. Shoba was the mother of the dancer and mother-in-law of the flautist. Owning and helping Vishnu to run the place, they, along with Nagesh, truly took care of us. We could never repay their kindness. The day was all-day research. Concluding our studies we began the desk work and compiled a scientific paper as well as a presentation with visual aides and everything. Working nearly non-stop through the day, most of our heads began to hurt as we shared our results with Geeta and she indulged in our mistakes. Nonetheless, that evening we all presented our research to the group, satisfied with our findings.
Our final dinner, and Nagesh comes out with YET ANOTHER BOX OF KINGFISHER. This must be how Indians think of American college students, though I suppose he's not far off. After a brief bout between a quickly-drunk bottle of alcohol and my stomach, I stayed up talking with a few people late into the night until all but two of us, 'Harvard' and I, had gone to bed. Another few wonderful hours of venting and sharing, then bed.
Many of us have been going days without showering, as we were encouraged, but one this morning for a lengthy cfar ride ahead sounded great. And felt great for that matter. We left Forest Trails (bittersweet) and drove quite some ways. Our first stop on our way to our next destination was the Cauvery (Kaveri) River. This was India as we had been told. Hundreds of people playing, washing, bathing in the river. We were to cross it. Having been told of the dangers of coming into contact with ANY water body in India, we were all very naturally skeptical. Never failing to keep any future plans from us, Geeta herded us into small bowl-like bamboo and tar rafts that took us half-way across the river. We waded the rest of the way, and boarded a Jitney-esque bus on the other side. We arrived at a stunning gorge 20 minutes later, that the river had carved out. Truly a breath-taking, rocky-cliff filled site.
Back on the Jitney (for lack of a better label...), some Beedi was bought by Geeta and passed around to those who would have it. Beedi is the product of a native plant, rolled in itself, and smoked. Essentially an organic cigarette. Back on the bamboo bowls, and back on the bus and we were off again. Our next stop, after bidding a slightly more serious farewell to Kavitha and Skanda (we'd picked them up earlier, they'll be back later in the trip), was a village known as Kollegal. We had tea, a bathroom (squat of course) break, and bought junk food. My first taste of chocolate in forever it seems (even if it was strangely orange flavored). Back on the bus (I forgot to mention, our new driver is a man named Riaz this time around...), we made the last long stretch of road, up hairpin mountain bends and down into the valley of the MM Hills, arriving late at night to a small holy city (Devara Halli) very late, 'Harvard' half asleep next to me. Not a bad day...
I'd like to mention that Geeta and Lisa had long mentioned that Forest Trials would be the last 'nice' place we'd be in for awhile, and we should be prepared for true roughing it. She could not have lied more. Our accomodations are a beautiful 4th story guest house next to the ATREE office here. Full beds, electricity, bathrooms, the works. I roomed with Deepak this time around. Who knows if we can trust Geeta again...
We had dinner at a nearby mess hall and walked the city after, making our way to a very famous temple in the center. Full of dancing and music and an incredible sight (although there had just been a blackout, typical in India, so there was little 'seeing' done but with our lights).
It's late and I shall have to leave today's events for tomorrow's journal. Sleep beckons me.
~Dreary eyes in a fantasy world,
- David
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Friday, June 4th, 2010 - Day 13
22:00 Hrs. Forest Trails, BNP, Karnataka, India.
Geeta is brilliant. Kavitha, her husband from Bangalore University, whom you may recall from our talk at the biopark, Nagaraja, and their adorable daughter, Pranati, meaning 'light' in Sanskrit arrived. Skanda was with as well, and he bunked the night with Andrew and I, but not before a few more surprises.
While waiting around for dinner, out of nowhere, a birthday cake saying 'Happy Birthday to Andrew' as well as another case of Kingfishers. Not finished yet, Kavitha announced there would still be Chicken Tikka Massala to come. Meat. This night is glorious and I'm convinced Geeta planned this in order to brighten everybody's day and mood. After that and a glorious dinner, we (most of us) went up to the mountain for some data collection. 'Harvard' helped me out and we did some star-spotting (a failed attempt to see Cassiopeia) afterwards.
~Waiting for that change in me,
- David
Geeta is brilliant. Kavitha, her husband from Bangalore University, whom you may recall from our talk at the biopark, Nagaraja, and their adorable daughter, Pranati, meaning 'light' in Sanskrit arrived. Skanda was with as well, and he bunked the night with Andrew and I, but not before a few more surprises.
While waiting around for dinner, out of nowhere, a birthday cake saying 'Happy Birthday to Andrew' as well as another case of Kingfishers. Not finished yet, Kavitha announced there would still be Chicken Tikka Massala to come. Meat. This night is glorious and I'm convinced Geeta planned this in order to brighten everybody's day and mood. After that and a glorious dinner, we (most of us) went up to the mountain for some data collection. 'Harvard' helped me out and we did some star-spotting (a failed attempt to see Cassiopeia) afterwards.
~Waiting for that change in me,
- David
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 - Day 12
16:30 Hrs. Forest Trails, BNP, Karnataka, India.
First signs of attitude degradation amongst the group. We woke up at five-thirty this morning to go bug hunting. It's exactly like it sounds. Underground traps, mosquito nets, and lot of alcohol ("we must kill in order to learn and conserve..."), and we were expert bug-catchers.
Most of us didn't get much sleep last night due to another torrential downpour. At least the clothes I had hanging outside my tent got a free wash. The large majority of us are starting to feel some exhaustion. Mostly due to heat and lack of sleep; I don't think anyone's hit culture shock yet. Nonetheless I'm trying very hard to keep a positive mood. I certainly miss showering everyday away from the peering eyes of insects and frogs.
After lunch we took a trip to the mountain with Mr. Bug and I sat by one of the larger pools of water up there, (there's quite a few) to watch for frogs. My research study here, is going to be an examination of the behavior of calling male frogs. I sat on a rock in the shallow end and patiently waited in the sun. Amazingly, about eight minutes in, a skidder frog croaked and took a jump towards me. Within fifteen minutes, I had five or six male frogs all no more than 2 meters away from me calling. My mind wnadered to education as I watched them floating. If someone could convince children to patiently wait quietly, one truly becomes part of the environment. All manner of things approach and crawl on you...
Over lunch I spoke with Lisa about her desire to travel and her many study abroad experiences both as a student, and as a GTA. Whatever I end up doing with my life I hope it involves substantial travel. Despite my grievances and missing the luxuries of home, I desparately want to see the world. Already I feel as if what I'm doing is incredibly unique and perhaps once-in-a-lifetime, but I don't doubt something will change in me at the end of this trip, even if miniscule.
We said goodbye to our local guide, Shivarudra, who had accompanied us on the trails. Guides with absolutely incredible local knowledge of flora, fauna, and everything in between accompany us everywhere. A new one arrives today. We only have a few more days here. This is the longest stay in one place we have (10 days). There's talk that this is the nicest of our field sites, mostly from Geeta, and that it only goes downhill from here, luxury-wise. I'll reiterate again that we know next to nothing about what happens ahead of time; where we're going, what we're doing, etc. We are certainly learning a lot though, already I have lots of ideas I'm interested in trying from an education standpoint: i.e. herbariums, transects, cultural interactions, human distrubance research. I'm excited to pursue some research I've begun here even back in the states.
Seems so distant.
Many of the others have said that they have mentioned the other students in the group so I've decided that to ease my story-telling, I shall at the very least give names here:
My roommate both at UTC as well as here asleep on our porch in front of me is Andrew. A hiker, hunter, and nature lover, his twenty-second birthday is tomorrow, and I'm sure something interesting will occur. Andrew, Rhea, and I are the three Ecology and Evolutionary Biology majors, the rest being Environmental Studies. The others in that tent with Rhea include Hayley, our resident blonde, and recipient of many Indian stares, and Monica, a chill, sing-song girl of Egyptian heritage. Next we have Deepak, our resident Indian. When Geeta is not nearby, he is often our source for food and culture questions. Deepak is also into education, planning to be a teacher, and already works heavily with young kids. His roommates are Jason, a delve-right-into-the-heart-of-a-culture kind of guy, and Bradley, our very laid-back music lover. In the final tent to have Kristina, with an incredible knowledge of geography and modern journalism, Melissa, a product of the UKanTeach program, and lover of plants and wildlife, and lastly Brandy, who provides much of the group's sense of humor.
All in all, it's a very entertaining group, and I don't doubt this journal will learn a lot more about them as I do. Tonight we relax, and continue our research (mine: frog-calling, is a primarily evening event).
~Joking around with people I see 24/7 and who will soon probably know me better than many of my friends,
- David
First signs of attitude degradation amongst the group. We woke up at five-thirty this morning to go bug hunting. It's exactly like it sounds. Underground traps, mosquito nets, and lot of alcohol ("we must kill in order to learn and conserve..."), and we were expert bug-catchers.
Most of us didn't get much sleep last night due to another torrential downpour. At least the clothes I had hanging outside my tent got a free wash. The large majority of us are starting to feel some exhaustion. Mostly due to heat and lack of sleep; I don't think anyone's hit culture shock yet. Nonetheless I'm trying very hard to keep a positive mood. I certainly miss showering everyday away from the peering eyes of insects and frogs.
After lunch we took a trip to the mountain with Mr. Bug and I sat by one of the larger pools of water up there, (there's quite a few) to watch for frogs. My research study here, is going to be an examination of the behavior of calling male frogs. I sat on a rock in the shallow end and patiently waited in the sun. Amazingly, about eight minutes in, a skidder frog croaked and took a jump towards me. Within fifteen minutes, I had five or six male frogs all no more than 2 meters away from me calling. My mind wnadered to education as I watched them floating. If someone could convince children to patiently wait quietly, one truly becomes part of the environment. All manner of things approach and crawl on you...
Over lunch I spoke with Lisa about her desire to travel and her many study abroad experiences both as a student, and as a GTA. Whatever I end up doing with my life I hope it involves substantial travel. Despite my grievances and missing the luxuries of home, I desparately want to see the world. Already I feel as if what I'm doing is incredibly unique and perhaps once-in-a-lifetime, but I don't doubt something will change in me at the end of this trip, even if miniscule.
We said goodbye to our local guide, Shivarudra, who had accompanied us on the trails. Guides with absolutely incredible local knowledge of flora, fauna, and everything in between accompany us everywhere. A new one arrives today. We only have a few more days here. This is the longest stay in one place we have (10 days). There's talk that this is the nicest of our field sites, mostly from Geeta, and that it only goes downhill from here, luxury-wise. I'll reiterate again that we know next to nothing about what happens ahead of time; where we're going, what we're doing, etc. We are certainly learning a lot though, already I have lots of ideas I'm interested in trying from an education standpoint: i.e. herbariums, transects, cultural interactions, human distrubance research. I'm excited to pursue some research I've begun here even back in the states.
Seems so distant.
Many of the others have said that they have mentioned the other students in the group so I've decided that to ease my story-telling, I shall at the very least give names here:
My roommate both at UTC as well as here asleep on our porch in front of me is Andrew. A hiker, hunter, and nature lover, his twenty-second birthday is tomorrow, and I'm sure something interesting will occur. Andrew, Rhea, and I are the three Ecology and Evolutionary Biology majors, the rest being Environmental Studies. The others in that tent with Rhea include Hayley, our resident blonde, and recipient of many Indian stares, and Monica, a chill, sing-song girl of Egyptian heritage. Next we have Deepak, our resident Indian. When Geeta is not nearby, he is often our source for food and culture questions. Deepak is also into education, planning to be a teacher, and already works heavily with young kids. His roommates are Jason, a delve-right-into-the-heart-of-a-culture kind of guy, and Bradley, our very laid-back music lover. In the final tent to have Kristina, with an incredible knowledge of geography and modern journalism, Melissa, a product of the UKanTeach program, and lover of plants and wildlife, and lastly Brandy, who provides much of the group's sense of humor.
All in all, it's a very entertaining group, and I don't doubt this journal will learn a lot more about them as I do. Tonight we relax, and continue our research (mine: frog-calling, is a primarily evening event).
~Joking around with people I see 24/7 and who will soon probably know me better than many of my friends,
- David
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 - Day 11
14:30 Hrs. Forest Trails, BNP, Karnataka, India.
I could really go for a burger right now. Maybe some cheesecake. Chocolate; something cold. As each day presses on, I start to wonder if I'll have the energy for two more months of this. Still we walk on. I'm shocked to go through each day and find there's still so much more to experience in India.
When we returned to the campsite after a long day of data research and work, our musical guests were preparing. The owner of the campground facility's daughter and son-in-law were a dancer and flautist respectively and had kindly agreed to a cultural performance for us. An incredible experience I couldn't possibly put on this page, the instrumental and dance concert was mystifying. A double-sided drum, flutes, and traditional south Indian dancing, and authentic dress and style made for an evening I will never forget. After purchasing some CDs and bidding goodnight to all, we turned in ready to sleep in.
Yesterday began with the return of Ramu during breakfast. June 1st, as it was, was the first day of classes in much of India. We briefly returned to the field station to reunite with Skanda and Kavitha, and made our way to the school where Kavitha frequently worked. The small primary school (approximately grades pre-5) was a major beneficiary of ATREE's outreach activities. ATREE was helping them and numerous other schools develop sustainable practices. A group of about twenty-five or so school children, all clad in uniform sat patiently while the education system in India and ATREE's role were explained to us. Finally the kids were asked to sing a song for us. A small song and dance ensued, performed by three girls that I'm sure is replicated throughout schools in Karnataka. We took turns singing and dancing to small songs from our respective countries including Old MacDonald, a pretty awful rendition of Lean on Me, and a phrase and half of Day-O. We ended with a joint round of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and bid them farewell. For a group that sings together all the time on our bus rides, we sure weren't prepared for that.
We arrived back at the campsite where our next guest expert, a Dr. Gururaja (herpetologist) was waiting for us. We had a pretty eventful outing to the nearby lake where we caught, indentified, and re-released a few different frogs and returned to Vishnu, an owner of Forest Trails, who had generously provided us with a Unviersity of Kansas-size amount of Kingfisher beer. I think I shall end my description of the ensuing evening here. It is better off forgotten.
More field work the next day, and discussion of research, including a trip to Rock Hill. I haven't seen Scout in a few days...
Gururaj has left us and an entomologist arrives tonight. As my endurance wears thin, so notably too do these journal entries. My sincerest apologies to the reader.
~Why am I here?
- David
I could really go for a burger right now. Maybe some cheesecake. Chocolate; something cold. As each day presses on, I start to wonder if I'll have the energy for two more months of this. Still we walk on. I'm shocked to go through each day and find there's still so much more to experience in India.
When we returned to the campsite after a long day of data research and work, our musical guests were preparing. The owner of the campground facility's daughter and son-in-law were a dancer and flautist respectively and had kindly agreed to a cultural performance for us. An incredible experience I couldn't possibly put on this page, the instrumental and dance concert was mystifying. A double-sided drum, flutes, and traditional south Indian dancing, and authentic dress and style made for an evening I will never forget. After purchasing some CDs and bidding goodnight to all, we turned in ready to sleep in.
Yesterday began with the return of Ramu during breakfast. June 1st, as it was, was the first day of classes in much of India. We briefly returned to the field station to reunite with Skanda and Kavitha, and made our way to the school where Kavitha frequently worked. The small primary school (approximately grades pre-5) was a major beneficiary of ATREE's outreach activities. ATREE was helping them and numerous other schools develop sustainable practices. A group of about twenty-five or so school children, all clad in uniform sat patiently while the education system in India and ATREE's role were explained to us. Finally the kids were asked to sing a song for us. A small song and dance ensued, performed by three girls that I'm sure is replicated throughout schools in Karnataka. We took turns singing and dancing to small songs from our respective countries including Old MacDonald, a pretty awful rendition of Lean on Me, and a phrase and half of Day-O. We ended with a joint round of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and bid them farewell. For a group that sings together all the time on our bus rides, we sure weren't prepared for that.
We arrived back at the campsite where our next guest expert, a Dr. Gururaja (herpetologist) was waiting for us. We had a pretty eventful outing to the nearby lake where we caught, indentified, and re-released a few different frogs and returned to Vishnu, an owner of Forest Trails, who had generously provided us with a Unviersity of Kansas-size amount of Kingfisher beer. I think I shall end my description of the ensuing evening here. It is better off forgotten.
More field work the next day, and discussion of research, including a trip to Rock Hill. I haven't seen Scout in a few days...
Gururaj has left us and an entomologist arrives tonight. As my endurance wears thin, so notably too do these journal entries. My sincerest apologies to the reader.
~Why am I here?
- David
Monday, May 31st, 2010 - Day 9
14:45 Hrs. Forest Trails, BNP, Karnataka, India.
Pre-monsoon is long gone now. As fear of the impending storm rose, we made our way down from 'Rock Hill' (as the mountain spot is now dubbed), the clouds having cheated us out of a sunset. We discussed for awhile our future field projects based on the wealth of new info we had. The goal is for each of us to perform a research project in the area and upon our return, compile them in a professional, scientific manner. Then the notebook can be used by future EVRN-India students to replicate or build from (we are the first; the guinea pigs), creating potential long-term studies.
After dinner our guest arrived, Dr. Ganesh (not the same as from ATREE), an expert botanist and taxonimist. During introductions, the Indian monsoon season kicked in the door and demanded attention. Apparently India wasn't pleased by our scoff at its drizzle Saturday. The wet season had arrived. As we struggled to hear Ganesh over the immense torrent, we pulled out our sweatshirts, ponchos, and umbrellas for the first chilly night. We turned in earlier, trying to sleep to a chorus of frogs, in preparation for another early morning.
During our walks around the hill the next day, we stopped at various viewpoints to see the stunning beauty of India's deciduous tropical forest land and the Ghats shooting up in the distance. As the days press on and the sights, tastes, smells, and experiences become second nature (such as eating with bare right hands and cleaning with the left, gashed though mine may be), I must stress that they never lose their impact. The beauty of this country, both in its land and in its people, is vast and magnificent, and ever present. Every meal we sit down to is an experience in and of itself, as we consume unknown, delicious morsels, struggling to remember the names that Geeta rattles off.
Every member of our group has wonderful traits to bring to our trip and experiences, as well as their own knowledge base, interests, and humor. I'm considering introducing them here in a later chapter perhaps when I know them all better.
~Falling into a pleasant rhythm,
- David
Pre-monsoon is long gone now. As fear of the impending storm rose, we made our way down from 'Rock Hill' (as the mountain spot is now dubbed), the clouds having cheated us out of a sunset. We discussed for awhile our future field projects based on the wealth of new info we had. The goal is for each of us to perform a research project in the area and upon our return, compile them in a professional, scientific manner. Then the notebook can be used by future EVRN-India students to replicate or build from (we are the first; the guinea pigs), creating potential long-term studies.
After dinner our guest arrived, Dr. Ganesh (not the same as from ATREE), an expert botanist and taxonimist. During introductions, the Indian monsoon season kicked in the door and demanded attention. Apparently India wasn't pleased by our scoff at its drizzle Saturday. The wet season had arrived. As we struggled to hear Ganesh over the immense torrent, we pulled out our sweatshirts, ponchos, and umbrellas for the first chilly night. We turned in earlier, trying to sleep to a chorus of frogs, in preparation for another early morning.
During our walks around the hill the next day, we stopped at various viewpoints to see the stunning beauty of India's deciduous tropical forest land and the Ghats shooting up in the distance. As the days press on and the sights, tastes, smells, and experiences become second nature (such as eating with bare right hands and cleaning with the left, gashed though mine may be), I must stress that they never lose their impact. The beauty of this country, both in its land and in its people, is vast and magnificent, and ever present. Every meal we sit down to is an experience in and of itself, as we consume unknown, delicious morsels, struggling to remember the names that Geeta rattles off.
Every member of our group has wonderful traits to bring to our trip and experiences, as well as their own knowledge base, interests, and humor. I'm considering introducing them here in a later chapter perhaps when I know them all better.
~Falling into a pleasant rhythm,
- David
Sunday, May 30th, 2010. - Day 8
15:30 Hrs. Forest Trails, BNP, Karnataka, India.
We decided to go for a bit of bird-watching before our guest, Dr. Krishna, arrived. Armed with binoculars and few bird books we traipsed around pretending to know what we were doing. I truly have a new respect for birders with the skill and patience they must have to retain such a hobby.
While staring through the binocs at nothing in particular, Dr. Krishna arrived. The only way I can think to describe him is as a sixty year old Urkel. In fact I think he solely defined the term 'old geezer'. Nonetheless the man truly is brilliant, with the most profound passion for knowledge I've ever seen. We walked around the area and discussed many a topic, from botany, to behavior, birds, riligion, intelligence, physics, music, monitoring, and so much more. The man truly understood the link between all subjects and matters.
We learned various methods of survey, and even how to trace a leaf rubbing. After a hot day, we turned in early to rest for a very early morning.
We woke up around six in the morning on Saturday to go bird-watching some more. After breakfast with the Doctor, we ventured out once more this time travelling far uphill. A beautiful brown dingo-looking dog had been milling around us for awhile (not that we hadn't encountered many dogs before) and even ran ahead of us on the trail, scouting the way. We made our way with Krishna to the top of the large hill of modified granite to a most beautiful site. The top of the hill was the highest point in the nearby area and allowed a stellar view. Our first sight was the granite quarry on the side of a nearby mountain. It is from here that the booming dynamite blasts that have become a nightly ritual originate from. From there, it is taken and used all over. Granite is everywhere in this place, making it all the more beautiful. As I near the top of the hill, (also capped in granite) the most beautiful sight came into view. Stretching for hundreds of miles in front of us, India's natural beauty reached out to the misty mountains of the Western Ghats in the distance. Scout (the dog had been given a name) led us to a rickety old tower to get a better view. We remained up there for quite some time enjoying the view, until the trumpet of a wild Asian 'elephas maximus' was heard in the valley beneath our feet. The mood instantly shifted as we raced to get down the hill and back to our site before the elephants reached our area.
After bidding farewell to Krishna, we lounged yet again before preparing for the bonfire we had discussed at length. In the process of collecting and breaking firewood, I managed to accquire my first permanent souvenir of India. While breaking a stick, the left side broke and gashed my left hand quite severly. I sit even now with a large piece of gauze taped to my hand. Our next gues, Dr. Arvind, whom you may recall from earlier at ATREE, arrived and began a lecture on monitoring a speicies through the transect method. In addition to an interesting way to gather and analyze diversity, the man was an expert on butterflies and gave many examples of his work with them. Before dinner, we rushed to remove our bonfire preparations, as lightning and thunder was merely a prewview of a twenty minute downpour warning of the monsoons to come. We are definitely seeing more and more cloud cover. Hardly deterred by a brief rain, we enjoyed a decent bonfire anyway, swapping stories late into the night thinking reluctantly about another early start the next day.
Today was data collection and transecting like crazy. Shannon Diversity and Jacard's index, and many other ecological terms later, and we were exhausted. We said bye to Arvind once more and again are enduring the bug-ridden heat of pre-monsoon India. The plan is to return to our 'mountain' spot this evening to watch the sunset and return before our next guest, a botanist I believe, arrives later.
~Already missing family and friends,
- David
We decided to go for a bit of bird-watching before our guest, Dr. Krishna, arrived. Armed with binoculars and few bird books we traipsed around pretending to know what we were doing. I truly have a new respect for birders with the skill and patience they must have to retain such a hobby.
While staring through the binocs at nothing in particular, Dr. Krishna arrived. The only way I can think to describe him is as a sixty year old Urkel. In fact I think he solely defined the term 'old geezer'. Nonetheless the man truly is brilliant, with the most profound passion for knowledge I've ever seen. We walked around the area and discussed many a topic, from botany, to behavior, birds, riligion, intelligence, physics, music, monitoring, and so much more. The man truly understood the link between all subjects and matters.
We learned various methods of survey, and even how to trace a leaf rubbing. After a hot day, we turned in early to rest for a very early morning.
We woke up around six in the morning on Saturday to go bird-watching some more. After breakfast with the Doctor, we ventured out once more this time travelling far uphill. A beautiful brown dingo-looking dog had been milling around us for awhile (not that we hadn't encountered many dogs before) and even ran ahead of us on the trail, scouting the way. We made our way with Krishna to the top of the large hill of modified granite to a most beautiful site. The top of the hill was the highest point in the nearby area and allowed a stellar view. Our first sight was the granite quarry on the side of a nearby mountain. It is from here that the booming dynamite blasts that have become a nightly ritual originate from. From there, it is taken and used all over. Granite is everywhere in this place, making it all the more beautiful. As I near the top of the hill, (also capped in granite) the most beautiful sight came into view. Stretching for hundreds of miles in front of us, India's natural beauty reached out to the misty mountains of the Western Ghats in the distance. Scout (the dog had been given a name) led us to a rickety old tower to get a better view. We remained up there for quite some time enjoying the view, until the trumpet of a wild Asian 'elephas maximus' was heard in the valley beneath our feet. The mood instantly shifted as we raced to get down the hill and back to our site before the elephants reached our area.
After bidding farewell to Krishna, we lounged yet again before preparing for the bonfire we had discussed at length. In the process of collecting and breaking firewood, I managed to accquire my first permanent souvenir of India. While breaking a stick, the left side broke and gashed my left hand quite severly. I sit even now with a large piece of gauze taped to my hand. Our next gues, Dr. Arvind, whom you may recall from earlier at ATREE, arrived and began a lecture on monitoring a speicies through the transect method. In addition to an interesting way to gather and analyze diversity, the man was an expert on butterflies and gave many examples of his work with them. Before dinner, we rushed to remove our bonfire preparations, as lightning and thunder was merely a prewview of a twenty minute downpour warning of the monsoons to come. We are definitely seeing more and more cloud cover. Hardly deterred by a brief rain, we enjoyed a decent bonfire anyway, swapping stories late into the night thinking reluctantly about another early start the next day.
Today was data collection and transecting like crazy. Shannon Diversity and Jacard's index, and many other ecological terms later, and we were exhausted. We said bye to Arvind once more and again are enduring the bug-ridden heat of pre-monsoon India. The plan is to return to our 'mountain' spot this evening to watch the sunset and return before our next guest, a botanist I believe, arrives later.
~Already missing family and friends,
- David
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday, May 28th, 2010 - Day 6
15:00 Hours. Forest Trails, BNP, Karnataka, India.
After a breakfast that easily topped UTC, we got back in the van and traveled to Bannerghatta Biological Park. A zoo! Finally, something I could completely identify with. Well..., identify with. The basic setup appeared quite the same and it was certainly a popular attraction. With primarily Indian animals, the zoos population contained what Geeta told us were mostly wild caught animals.
Lions (Asiatic), tigers, chital, sambar, sloth and black bears all appeared to have decent, yet not great accomodations. We took a speedy bus through a safari route and saw many of the afore-mentioned animals in very natural habitat.
The route back was uneventful. Beautiful scenery to be sure, and conversation amongst us that is making most of us start to miss family, friends, pets, and the luxuries of home. But hey, we're about one-sixth of the way done and already have had so many unforgettable memories.
I must continue to return to asking myself why I'm here. Perhpas I'm become less and less sure. Or, perhaps I need not to ponder it in order to figure it out. I have seventy plus days left in Asia so I'm not too concerned quite yet...
During lunch, Geeta shared a number of life stories and stressed the importance of Indian ideals in her life. We are lounging around for much of the afternoon and plan on discussing our studies and guest lecturer who will visit this evening.
~Wandering nature,
-David
After a breakfast that easily topped UTC, we got back in the van and traveled to Bannerghatta Biological Park. A zoo! Finally, something I could completely identify with. Well..., identify with. The basic setup appeared quite the same and it was certainly a popular attraction. With primarily Indian animals, the zoos population contained what Geeta told us were mostly wild caught animals.
Lions (Asiatic), tigers, chital, sambar, sloth and black bears all appeared to have decent, yet not great accomodations. We took a speedy bus through a safari route and saw many of the afore-mentioned animals in very natural habitat.
The route back was uneventful. Beautiful scenery to be sure, and conversation amongst us that is making most of us start to miss family, friends, pets, and the luxuries of home. But hey, we're about one-sixth of the way done and already have had so many unforgettable memories.
I must continue to return to asking myself why I'm here. Perhpas I'm become less and less sure. Or, perhaps I need not to ponder it in order to figure it out. I have seventy plus days left in Asia so I'm not too concerned quite yet...
During lunch, Geeta shared a number of life stories and stressed the importance of Indian ideals in her life. We are lounging around for much of the afternoon and plan on discussing our studies and guest lecturer who will visit this evening.
~Wandering nature,
-David
Thursday, May 27th, 2010 - Day 5
21:41 Hrs. Forest Trails, Bannerghatta National Park, India.
I couldn't begin to describe this day on this page and do it justice. It was a day I will most certainly never forget.
Our day was to start early this morning and a few of us were delaying breakfast in order to help load the van with our stuff. I waited on the steps of the ERCF guest house as many new Indian arrivals relaxed outside. With them were many children, mostly boys, probably ages 6-13. All smiling and grinning at me as I sat there, I called a young boy over and offered my hand. He shook it gently. His older brother (I assume) did the same. I would later discover that handshakes are meant to be a very gentle thing in India. As a few more boys gathered around, I managed to teach them how to do a high five, with a bunch of 'too slows' mixed in. The boys then proceeded to identify my as Peter Parker, Spiderman. Apparently this is how Indians perceived the Tobey Maguire movies.
As the news passed around the camp that Spiderman was present, I received more and more grins and episodes of laughter, from adults and children alike.
The bus arrived and as we began hauling bags there, the boys became unsatisfied with one handshake, or one high five. Eventually I got roped into a few pictures, including one posing as the web spinner, as well as a few 'autographs' on notecards. When all was said and done, the van was loaded and I had some new penpals...
Our first stop of the day was quite literally in the middle of nowhere. We walked a little ways and arrived at the cusp of a dam. To our left, a beautiful reservoir with a gorgeous background. To our right, as the water poured over the dam, solid, frothy white soap appeared to form like a bathtub filled with far too many bubbles. Pollution. All from Bangalore city, and all serving as the surrouding villages' drinking and irrigiation water. We stood for awhile as our guide Kavitha explained the situation. Skanda, the masters student elaborated that the people knew the water was bad, but were unaware of any means to solve it, or even who to complain to.
We continued on and stopped next at a small rural village. (I think it's safe to say Bangalore with it's lighhts, traffic, and pollution was behind us.) This village had tremendous evidence of the caste system alive and well in India. We had been earlier in the day to an ATREE field station briefly where Kavitha discussed the geopgraphy of the surrounding Bannerghatta National Park, Bilikal Reserve Forest, and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary areas. The whole stretch is now the remnants of a once much wider slephant corridor. We also learned about ATREE's research work in the field, examining demographics and making communities aware of their environment. The village we were now at had large woven panels similar to the concentric circle ball game at many arcades. Inside each level, were many large white silk worms, hard at work crafting cocoons for their hibernation. The cocoons will eventually be boiled, and the silk extracted for weaving.
Our next stop would be at another piece of ATREE land, used for agriculture (sustainable and efficient) for the adjoining village. Trekking down below the plot's bund, we sought shade under a very large tamarind tree (sucking the hydrating sour leaves) and began assisting the locals in preparing day's lunch. Cucumbers, nan, pickle, sambar, rice, curds, Ragi (millet) balls (at which I tried a hand at making myself) were all prepared over an open fire we made ourselves. While lunch cooked, I and a few others got pulled into a game in the field by the kids that had gathered. With everybody in a line facing opposite directions, it is essentially a game of tag, meets a game of duck, duck, goose. After a delicious meal, the freshest of it's kind, and a fairly successful attempt to teach these kids OUR duck, duck, goose as well as many pictures (at the children's request), we climbed the bund and were taught and showed the manual plow and growing process used in most rural villages. And of course, each tried a row ourselves, including Lisa and Geeta! If that doesn't get us on the cover of the KU website, I don't know what would. Exhausted after a 'hard day's work' cooking and farming, we loaded back up and returned to the field station for a short rest. Well that was the plan anyway. The roads became far more narrow in the country and a large bus was headed our way...We began to pull over the the left (that's where they drive) but apparently not slow enough. A flat. Out of the van everybody. Fortunately we had a spare and Ramu went right to work replacing it.
After our rest, we continued through granite country for over an hour, through the national park, to the forest trails campground. This place knocks the socks off of UTC, no offense. Permanent tents in a circle, western toilets with TP, and incredibly delicious food (can you say mango puree?), we are falling asleep under a full moon and bright starry sky far from the pollution of Bangalore. After some adventures trying to ride some random horses meandering around and a violent game of cabardi with Ramu (the odds seemed stacked in his favor) of course...
~Enjoying the night air,
-David
I couldn't begin to describe this day on this page and do it justice. It was a day I will most certainly never forget.
Our day was to start early this morning and a few of us were delaying breakfast in order to help load the van with our stuff. I waited on the steps of the ERCF guest house as many new Indian arrivals relaxed outside. With them were many children, mostly boys, probably ages 6-13. All smiling and grinning at me as I sat there, I called a young boy over and offered my hand. He shook it gently. His older brother (I assume) did the same. I would later discover that handshakes are meant to be a very gentle thing in India. As a few more boys gathered around, I managed to teach them how to do a high five, with a bunch of 'too slows' mixed in. The boys then proceeded to identify my as Peter Parker, Spiderman. Apparently this is how Indians perceived the Tobey Maguire movies.
As the news passed around the camp that Spiderman was present, I received more and more grins and episodes of laughter, from adults and children alike.
The bus arrived and as we began hauling bags there, the boys became unsatisfied with one handshake, or one high five. Eventually I got roped into a few pictures, including one posing as the web spinner, as well as a few 'autographs' on notecards. When all was said and done, the van was loaded and I had some new penpals...
Our first stop of the day was quite literally in the middle of nowhere. We walked a little ways and arrived at the cusp of a dam. To our left, a beautiful reservoir with a gorgeous background. To our right, as the water poured over the dam, solid, frothy white soap appeared to form like a bathtub filled with far too many bubbles. Pollution. All from Bangalore city, and all serving as the surrouding villages' drinking and irrigiation water. We stood for awhile as our guide Kavitha explained the situation. Skanda, the masters student elaborated that the people knew the water was bad, but were unaware of any means to solve it, or even who to complain to.
We continued on and stopped next at a small rural village. (I think it's safe to say Bangalore with it's lighhts, traffic, and pollution was behind us.) This village had tremendous evidence of the caste system alive and well in India. We had been earlier in the day to an ATREE field station briefly where Kavitha discussed the geopgraphy of the surrounding Bannerghatta National Park, Bilikal Reserve Forest, and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary areas. The whole stretch is now the remnants of a once much wider slephant corridor. We also learned about ATREE's research work in the field, examining demographics and making communities aware of their environment. The village we were now at had large woven panels similar to the concentric circle ball game at many arcades. Inside each level, were many large white silk worms, hard at work crafting cocoons for their hibernation. The cocoons will eventually be boiled, and the silk extracted for weaving.
Our next stop would be at another piece of ATREE land, used for agriculture (sustainable and efficient) for the adjoining village. Trekking down below the plot's bund, we sought shade under a very large tamarind tree (sucking the hydrating sour leaves) and began assisting the locals in preparing day's lunch. Cucumbers, nan, pickle, sambar, rice, curds, Ragi (millet) balls (at which I tried a hand at making myself) were all prepared over an open fire we made ourselves. While lunch cooked, I and a few others got pulled into a game in the field by the kids that had gathered. With everybody in a line facing opposite directions, it is essentially a game of tag, meets a game of duck, duck, goose. After a delicious meal, the freshest of it's kind, and a fairly successful attempt to teach these kids OUR duck, duck, goose as well as many pictures (at the children's request), we climbed the bund and were taught and showed the manual plow and growing process used in most rural villages. And of course, each tried a row ourselves, including Lisa and Geeta! If that doesn't get us on the cover of the KU website, I don't know what would. Exhausted after a 'hard day's work' cooking and farming, we loaded back up and returned to the field station for a short rest. Well that was the plan anyway. The roads became far more narrow in the country and a large bus was headed our way...We began to pull over the the left (that's where they drive) but apparently not slow enough. A flat. Out of the van everybody. Fortunately we had a spare and Ramu went right to work replacing it.
After our rest, we continued through granite country for over an hour, through the national park, to the forest trails campground. This place knocks the socks off of UTC, no offense. Permanent tents in a circle, western toilets with TP, and incredibly delicious food (can you say mango puree?), we are falling asleep under a full moon and bright starry sky far from the pollution of Bangalore. After some adventures trying to ride some random horses meandering around and a violent game of cabardi with Ramu (the odds seemed stacked in his favor) of course...
~Enjoying the night air,
-David
Wednesday, May 26th 2010 - Day 4
22:00 Hrs. Bengaluru, India.
The avid travel bug many of us had upon arriving is slowly wearing down. I certainly wouldn't say culture shock quite yet by any means. We are still abosrbing everything we can, food included. Jet lag, and our 'hit-the-ground-running' itinerary however has started catching up to us. Today we were to return to ATREE for three lectures and lunch followed by some shopping. So where we were given a much needed physical break, our brain capacity was stretched like maternity clothes...
Another employee at ATREE, Harisha, and his wife and 9-month old son, Himanshu, joined us this morning for breakfast at UTC. Many pictures were taken of the chubby youngster with light-up shoes. We were told Harisha had invited us to the naming ceremoney of Himanshu (an elaborate event in India), but as you can tell we missed it by about a week. It's too bad Geeta didn't use it as an excuse to get us out of exams last semeseter. They have also invited us to their home when we visit the MM Hills later next month. A truly compassionate and generious family, like so many others we've met already.
Today we trekked (took our bus, with our old driver and new friend Ramu) back to ATREE for a series of three lectures. I'd like to mention that Bangalore's roads are practically all main roads with walls on the side much like Mexico City. Many of the walls however have beautiful elaborate art of images and symbols of primarily India, but all over the world as well. From wildlife to landmarks and national symbols, to multi-colored, multi-limbed deities, the city's roads are incredibly decorated.
Our first lecture at ATREE was by a man named Arvind and covered the NGO itself. Mission and goals as well as research and education. The next covered some of the types of research work they do, particularly the pollination work of our lecturer, Dr. Ganesha. After a brief lunch, we returned to the classroom to meet the director of ATREE. The man was a brilliant, well-traveled humourous gentelman with excellent English. He sat down and asked us (11 + Lisa) to introduce ourselves! He continued to ask questions: where we were going, what we were studying, our upbringings, our reactions to India. Next he told us a little about the ways ATREE works to go green, particularly architecturally. Eventually it morphed from question and answer to an open dialog about environmental issues in India and their methods all in comparision to other nations.
Next we were asked to return to the terrace four floors up (where we've been eating) and write our first essay summarizing what we'd learned. After racking my brain, and finishing the schoolwork, I sat on a seat on the edge of the terrace and stared at the city sprawled out on a hill in the distance. Being back in the rural village, so high up, staring at this third-world city, I'd never felt so on top of the world, yet so miniscule at the same time. So many people, so different from others, yet struggling for the same thing as everyone else, survival.
Why am I on this trip? It seems I've forgotton. I squish on the floor aisle of the van between two seats as we leave since we're taking a few extra people (India-sardine can style of Geeta says). We stop in a market and half of us go shopping while the rest of us go to a cyber cafe. Waiting for the others to finish on the computer, we soak in our last evening in Bangalore until the end of June at the end of this program. We head out to the field, the forests of Southern India early tomorrow.
~Walking on, and following blindly,
-David
The avid travel bug many of us had upon arriving is slowly wearing down. I certainly wouldn't say culture shock quite yet by any means. We are still abosrbing everything we can, food included. Jet lag, and our 'hit-the-ground-running' itinerary however has started catching up to us. Today we were to return to ATREE for three lectures and lunch followed by some shopping. So where we were given a much needed physical break, our brain capacity was stretched like maternity clothes...
Another employee at ATREE, Harisha, and his wife and 9-month old son, Himanshu, joined us this morning for breakfast at UTC. Many pictures were taken of the chubby youngster with light-up shoes. We were told Harisha had invited us to the naming ceremoney of Himanshu (an elaborate event in India), but as you can tell we missed it by about a week. It's too bad Geeta didn't use it as an excuse to get us out of exams last semeseter. They have also invited us to their home when we visit the MM Hills later next month. A truly compassionate and generious family, like so many others we've met already.
Today we trekked (took our bus, with our old driver and new friend Ramu) back to ATREE for a series of three lectures. I'd like to mention that Bangalore's roads are practically all main roads with walls on the side much like Mexico City. Many of the walls however have beautiful elaborate art of images and symbols of primarily India, but all over the world as well. From wildlife to landmarks and national symbols, to multi-colored, multi-limbed deities, the city's roads are incredibly decorated.
Our first lecture at ATREE was by a man named Arvind and covered the NGO itself. Mission and goals as well as research and education. The next covered some of the types of research work they do, particularly the pollination work of our lecturer, Dr. Ganesha. After a brief lunch, we returned to the classroom to meet the director of ATREE. The man was a brilliant, well-traveled humourous gentelman with excellent English. He sat down and asked us (11 + Lisa) to introduce ourselves! He continued to ask questions: where we were going, what we were studying, our upbringings, our reactions to India. Next he told us a little about the ways ATREE works to go green, particularly architecturally. Eventually it morphed from question and answer to an open dialog about environmental issues in India and their methods all in comparision to other nations.
Next we were asked to return to the terrace four floors up (where we've been eating) and write our first essay summarizing what we'd learned. After racking my brain, and finishing the schoolwork, I sat on a seat on the edge of the terrace and stared at the city sprawled out on a hill in the distance. Being back in the rural village, so high up, staring at this third-world city, I'd never felt so on top of the world, yet so miniscule at the same time. So many people, so different from others, yet struggling for the same thing as everyone else, survival.
Why am I on this trip? It seems I've forgotton. I squish on the floor aisle of the van between two seats as we leave since we're taking a few extra people (India-sardine can style of Geeta says). We stop in a market and half of us go shopping while the rest of us go to a cyber cafe. Waiting for the others to finish on the computer, we soak in our last evening in Bangalore until the end of June at the end of this program. We head out to the field, the forests of Southern India early tomorrow.
~Walking on, and following blindly,
-David
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 - Day 3
23:00 Hrs. Bengaluru, India.
Where to begin? This day was filled to the brim with India. Around six-thirty this morning, most of us gathered outside the Ecumenical Resource Center (ERC) guest house where we are staying to be taught Sun Salutation yoga by one of our fellow classmates who offered. Deepak, our resident group Indian (besides Geeta of course)is from the US but his parents are from Hyderabad and he's traveled all around southern India a few times. After an exhausting workout, from which I'm still sore, we sat down to yet another delicious breakfast.
Next we were joined by Skanda, the masters student who was with us at the University, and a bus. We headed to a local market area to do a little shopping. There was nothing little about it. Still more masses of people, chaos (organized though it may be), and many of us got lost multiple times. Geeta bought us all some very delicious peanut brittle and somehow I ended up with a large chunk nobody else wanted. While the rest waited at some store, I jaunted across the street, (my life flashing before with the traffic) and tried to hand the rest to a small boy sitting on a table with a few elderly women working with fabric. The boy didn't seem to understand I was offering it, and shook his head. After some exuberant persuading from the women, the young lad finally understood it was food, and happily took it from me.
On another occassion three women in beautiful sarees and crouching on the sidewalk staring at us (who wouldn't?) seemed to be enjoying our presence. Their grins grew as I snapped their picture. After many purchases and hours, we boarded the bus for ATREE and lunch.
The Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, or ATREE, is a major NGO in Bangalore working for conservation. Their office is located outside of Bangalore city proper, in a very colorful rural community. Lunch was had on the roof terrace with a stunningly beautiful view of the city in the distance with its ever present layer of smog hovering just above the city. Another delicious lunch was made for us as we sat on the roof at the level of the palm/coconut tree tops and their raven-looking inhabitants greedily eyeing our lunch. We had a bit of time before our lecture so Kavitah, an amazing employee at ATREE and new friend of ours (long-time friend of Geetajee) and wife of Dr. Nagaraja, the asst. professor who guided us at the University Bio park, suggested we walk to get coffee.
As we left the office gate, our lecturer, Dr. Josingh, a celebrity of sorts, arrived and joined us. All of us instantly became star-struck. Here was the man who had mentored our mentor, who's articles and book we had read in preparation for this trip, and who was a leading scientist in environmental studies and the expert on conservation in India. So we walked to a small shop in the village and had tea and coffee at the counter.
Most of the village was out and about carrying on with daily activities. One young girl, in a beautiful red dress, was dancing by as a dog pranced at her heels. She went into a small shelter and returned with her mother who began fixing her up. I walked over the them and as they smiled politely, I asked if I could take their picture. Both ladies smiled and the woman began fixing up her daughter (who couldn't have been more than seven)for the picture. As I snapped the picture, showed it to them, and began walking away, the dog came running out of the house and barking at my heels aggressively as I walked back up the hill, clearly upset that I had done something demonic to his young companion.
Our two-hour lecture with Dr. Josingh followed and while I shall save the details of its contents for my academic notbeook, I will say that his lecture was enthusiastic and knowledge-filled. A truly brilliant man who we were very lucky to have with us.
Afterwards, we bid farewell to all the afore-mentioned, (they'll pop up again in later chapters...) and returned to our dorms for a short rest. After pulling ourselves together, we ventures out on a VERY LONG walk to dinner. We traveled through much of downtown Bangalore, barreled through markets, high-rises, a predominantly Muslim Quarter, and some extreme child-hagglers, I got labeled as Peter Parker (Spiderman) by a shopkeeper and his son, and arrived at a delicious high class, Pan-Asian meal. Tomorrow we are returning to ATREE and later do some collaborative work with each other to clarify this new wealth of info.
~Miserably full on amazingly delcious food, Nan, and a few banana milkshakes,
-David
Where to begin? This day was filled to the brim with India. Around six-thirty this morning, most of us gathered outside the Ecumenical Resource Center (ERC) guest house where we are staying to be taught Sun Salutation yoga by one of our fellow classmates who offered. Deepak, our resident group Indian (besides Geeta of course)is from the US but his parents are from Hyderabad and he's traveled all around southern India a few times. After an exhausting workout, from which I'm still sore, we sat down to yet another delicious breakfast.
Next we were joined by Skanda, the masters student who was with us at the University, and a bus. We headed to a local market area to do a little shopping. There was nothing little about it. Still more masses of people, chaos (organized though it may be), and many of us got lost multiple times. Geeta bought us all some very delicious peanut brittle and somehow I ended up with a large chunk nobody else wanted. While the rest waited at some store, I jaunted across the street, (my life flashing before with the traffic) and tried to hand the rest to a small boy sitting on a table with a few elderly women working with fabric. The boy didn't seem to understand I was offering it, and shook his head. After some exuberant persuading from the women, the young lad finally understood it was food, and happily took it from me.
On another occassion three women in beautiful sarees and crouching on the sidewalk staring at us (who wouldn't?) seemed to be enjoying our presence. Their grins grew as I snapped their picture. After many purchases and hours, we boarded the bus for ATREE and lunch.
The Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, or ATREE, is a major NGO in Bangalore working for conservation. Their office is located outside of Bangalore city proper, in a very colorful rural community. Lunch was had on the roof terrace with a stunningly beautiful view of the city in the distance with its ever present layer of smog hovering just above the city. Another delicious lunch was made for us as we sat on the roof at the level of the palm/coconut tree tops and their raven-looking inhabitants greedily eyeing our lunch. We had a bit of time before our lecture so Kavitah, an amazing employee at ATREE and new friend of ours (long-time friend of Geetajee) and wife of Dr. Nagaraja, the asst. professor who guided us at the University Bio park, suggested we walk to get coffee.
As we left the office gate, our lecturer, Dr. Josingh, a celebrity of sorts, arrived and joined us. All of us instantly became star-struck. Here was the man who had mentored our mentor, who's articles and book we had read in preparation for this trip, and who was a leading scientist in environmental studies and the expert on conservation in India. So we walked to a small shop in the village and had tea and coffee at the counter.
Most of the village was out and about carrying on with daily activities. One young girl, in a beautiful red dress, was dancing by as a dog pranced at her heels. She went into a small shelter and returned with her mother who began fixing her up. I walked over the them and as they smiled politely, I asked if I could take their picture. Both ladies smiled and the woman began fixing up her daughter (who couldn't have been more than seven)for the picture. As I snapped the picture, showed it to them, and began walking away, the dog came running out of the house and barking at my heels aggressively as I walked back up the hill, clearly upset that I had done something demonic to his young companion.
Our two-hour lecture with Dr. Josingh followed and while I shall save the details of its contents for my academic notbeook, I will say that his lecture was enthusiastic and knowledge-filled. A truly brilliant man who we were very lucky to have with us.
Afterwards, we bid farewell to all the afore-mentioned, (they'll pop up again in later chapters...) and returned to our dorms for a short rest. After pulling ourselves together, we ventures out on a VERY LONG walk to dinner. We traveled through much of downtown Bangalore, barreled through markets, high-rises, a predominantly Muslim Quarter, and some extreme child-hagglers, I got labeled as Peter Parker (Spiderman) by a shopkeeper and his son, and arrived at a delicious high class, Pan-Asian meal. Tomorrow we are returning to ATREE and later do some collaborative work with each other to clarify this new wealth of info.
~Miserably full on amazingly delcious food, Nan, and a few banana milkshakes,
-David
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Monday, May 24th, 2010. - Day 2.
7:30 PM. Bengaluru, India.
Today was the first true day of the environmental studies program. And quite the day it was. Over the course of breakfast, our last two participants arrived. Ready to take Bangalore by storm, the thirteen of us piled into a large van and off we went.
So we aren't disappointed when things inevitably fall through, Geeta tends not to share many plans with us; though it seems many of us prefer it that way. While we perhaps did not travel very far, it would seem like we traversed the city with our time spent weaving through multitudes of traffic.
Our first stop of the day was at Bangalore University. Originally an expansion of Mysore University, it eventually grew to be one of the largest on the subcontinent. We were taken to an outset of the university, an environmental studies centre, located on a protected area of forest. We heard an incredible lecture by Dr. Nagaraja covering much of India's environmental forest history. Next we ventured out into the heat and trekked various trails layed out in the forest. We were given a wealth of informatin: various native tree species, exotics, invasive pests, etc. They explained their processes of conservation and research including some innovative methods and experiments. They're doing some amazing work there. So much of India's flora has many applications. A few for drinks, many of which we tasted, and moved slowly as some Indian buffalo and their cattle egret companions weaved in and out of us. Wes stopped briefly to eat more seeds, photograph children playing in a lake, discuss water-harvesting and termite mounds and much more. The facility is remarkable and what's more, the staff is enormously passionate about their work.
Next came our lunch adventure. I should mention that on our way to the University outpost, we passed the Bangalore Parliament, the Red Court (supreme Court), and many temples. The architecture was truly impressive. Masive edificesa with a beautiful blend of Arabic, Greek, and British architecture. Truly impressive buildings. The route also yielded a chruch, mosque, and Hindu temple all in about one block, exhibiting India's immense religious diversity. Lunch's path however was much different. views of Bangalore's vast slums, mixed in with coconut and teak plantations, rock monoliths, a quarry on the side of the mountain,, and of course, people everywhere flew past us.
We arrived at a small cultural community and were served a very traditional Indian meal. Many of India's main staples laid out on a banana leaf as the monkeys (bonnet macaques) swarmed aroun the messy Americans like first baseman waiting for the steal. Needless to say we stuffed ourselves to the brim ith things I couldn't even begin to describe. An amazing cultural experience in itself, the food kept coming. And tasted incredible.
Finally we made our LONG trip back, stopping briefly at the big banyan tree, a massive showing of propagation. The tree grows tall and strong, drops vines from its branches which eventually take root and form new trunkes of the exact same tree. The tree has now expanded to close to 2.5-3 acres, with sprouts everywhere. Truly remarkable. I'm told there is a bigger one in Kolkata. After som more playing with monkeys, we dropped our guests (Geeta's contacts and our instructors) back at the University and returned home.
Exhausted, but desparate to catch up with our jet lag, we made an excursion for some coconut drinks and returned for a delicious snack of mangos and papayas.
~Wondering how anything could top Day 2...,
- David
7:30 PM. Bengaluru, India.
Today was the first true day of the environmental studies program. And quite the day it was. Over the course of breakfast, our last two participants arrived. Ready to take Bangalore by storm, the thirteen of us piled into a large van and off we went.
So we aren't disappointed when things inevitably fall through, Geeta tends not to share many plans with us; though it seems many of us prefer it that way. While we perhaps did not travel very far, it would seem like we traversed the city with our time spent weaving through multitudes of traffic.
Our first stop of the day was at Bangalore University. Originally an expansion of Mysore University, it eventually grew to be one of the largest on the subcontinent. We were taken to an outset of the university, an environmental studies centre, located on a protected area of forest. We heard an incredible lecture by Dr. Nagaraja covering much of India's environmental forest history. Next we ventured out into the heat and trekked various trails layed out in the forest. We were given a wealth of informatin: various native tree species, exotics, invasive pests, etc. They explained their processes of conservation and research including some innovative methods and experiments. They're doing some amazing work there. So much of India's flora has many applications. A few for drinks, many of which we tasted, and moved slowly as some Indian buffalo and their cattle egret companions weaved in and out of us. Wes stopped briefly to eat more seeds, photograph children playing in a lake, discuss water-harvesting and termite mounds and much more. The facility is remarkable and what's more, the staff is enormously passionate about their work.
Next came our lunch adventure. I should mention that on our way to the University outpost, we passed the Bangalore Parliament, the Red Court (supreme Court), and many temples. The architecture was truly impressive. Masive edificesa with a beautiful blend of Arabic, Greek, and British architecture. Truly impressive buildings. The route also yielded a chruch, mosque, and Hindu temple all in about one block, exhibiting India's immense religious diversity. Lunch's path however was much different. views of Bangalore's vast slums, mixed in with coconut and teak plantations, rock monoliths, a quarry on the side of the mountain,, and of course, people everywhere flew past us.
We arrived at a small cultural community and were served a very traditional Indian meal. Many of India's main staples laid out on a banana leaf as the monkeys (bonnet macaques) swarmed aroun the messy Americans like first baseman waiting for the steal. Needless to say we stuffed ourselves to the brim ith things I couldn't even begin to describe. An amazing cultural experience in itself, the food kept coming. And tasted incredible.
Finally we made our LONG trip back, stopping briefly at the big banyan tree, a massive showing of propagation. The tree grows tall and strong, drops vines from its branches which eventually take root and form new trunkes of the exact same tree. The tree has now expanded to close to 2.5-3 acres, with sprouts everywhere. Truly remarkable. I'm told there is a bigger one in Kolkata. After som more playing with monkeys, we dropped our guests (Geeta's contacts and our instructors) back at the University and returned home.
Exhausted, but desparate to catch up with our jet lag, we made an excursion for some coconut drinks and returned for a delicious snack of mangos and papayas.
~Wondering how anything could top Day 2...,
- David
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010. - Day 1
9:30 PM. Bengaluru, India.
A breakfast of corn flakes and boiled milk, an interesting omelette, some jam and bread, delicious tea, and a conversation with a very friendly, Chicago-loving, Indian gentleman later, and we're ready to start our days. We've decided those of us who are here will explore Bangalore with our GTA, Lisa, while our director, Geeta, waits to hear from the others.
After obtaining some "directions" from Geeta (i.e. "go through the tunnel with the men peeing, the stinkiest place is your landmark") we're off to explore. Bangalore is not unlike other major cities I've had the pleasure of visiting; Mexico City, New York City, even Rome. It has absurd traffic, masses of people, and endless construction.
The difference comes when you look more closely.
Peoplemove more slowly here (excluding the traffic of course). There seems to be little rush to get anywhere. High contrast from a bustling Manhattan. The pace however does not detract from a surge of cars, autorickshaws (autos), and most noticeably, people. We watched all of the afore-mentioned swell as the morning turned into afternoon. Side note: if you're in Bangalore to shop, everything's closed until noon on Sundays, and some places aren't even open at all, taking the hustle and bustle out of the early morning hours. Learned that the hard way.
We made our way arond the main shopping areas of Bangalore (lit: 'the town of boiled beans') and popped into various establishments. We bought 'tiffins' or small metal steal tins for carrying whatever; very handy; needs to catch on in the states.
The true adventure came when we wanted to head back, and spoke with auto driver after driver trying to find one who'd use his meter to take us home. I should note that these small, three-legged, covered, motorized bicyles were big enough to squish three adults in the back seat. Finally, one driver to take the FIVE of use for 100Rs. Some lap-sitting, seat sharing with the driver, high speeds, and some very close calls were all involved, but we made it back alive and with a study abroad newsletter story.
The rest of the day played out lazily. A brief cold shower and a short nap felt glorious after the two days of planes and the Kansas-like heat/humidity combo. We were woken to a group meeting at which four more of our group had arrived, and we had word that the final two were on their way. Our first lesson in Indian culture followed, with topics such as emotion, generosity, terms of address, and respect for elders. And finally the evning ended with a group dinner at a small diner-esque facility. Tomorrow we begin the program..., and work.
~Eyes half closed,
-David
9:30 PM. Bengaluru, India.
A breakfast of corn flakes and boiled milk, an interesting omelette, some jam and bread, delicious tea, and a conversation with a very friendly, Chicago-loving, Indian gentleman later, and we're ready to start our days. We've decided those of us who are here will explore Bangalore with our GTA, Lisa, while our director, Geeta, waits to hear from the others.
After obtaining some "directions" from Geeta (i.e. "go through the tunnel with the men peeing, the stinkiest place is your landmark") we're off to explore. Bangalore is not unlike other major cities I've had the pleasure of visiting; Mexico City, New York City, even Rome. It has absurd traffic, masses of people, and endless construction.
The difference comes when you look more closely.
Peoplemove more slowly here (excluding the traffic of course). There seems to be little rush to get anywhere. High contrast from a bustling Manhattan. The pace however does not detract from a surge of cars, autorickshaws (autos), and most noticeably, people. We watched all of the afore-mentioned swell as the morning turned into afternoon. Side note: if you're in Bangalore to shop, everything's closed until noon on Sundays, and some places aren't even open at all, taking the hustle and bustle out of the early morning hours. Learned that the hard way.
We made our way arond the main shopping areas of Bangalore (lit: 'the town of boiled beans') and popped into various establishments. We bought 'tiffins' or small metal steal tins for carrying whatever; very handy; needs to catch on in the states.
The true adventure came when we wanted to head back, and spoke with auto driver after driver trying to find one who'd use his meter to take us home. I should note that these small, three-legged, covered, motorized bicyles were big enough to squish three adults in the back seat. Finally, one driver to take the FIVE of use for 100Rs. Some lap-sitting, seat sharing with the driver, high speeds, and some very close calls were all involved, but we made it back alive and with a study abroad newsletter story.
The rest of the day played out lazily. A brief cold shower and a short nap felt glorious after the two days of planes and the Kansas-like heat/humidity combo. We were woken to a group meeting at which four more of our group had arrived, and we had word that the final two were on their way. Our first lesson in Indian culture followed, with topics such as emotion, generosity, terms of address, and respect for elders. And finally the evning ended with a group dinner at a small diner-esque facility. Tomorrow we begin the program..., and work.
~Eyes half closed,
-David
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010. Day 1.
07:00 AM. Bengaluru, India.
10,000 miles. And I'm halfway around the world. Made it through customs, alleviated an incredibly desparate bathroom need, collected my oversized backpack, changed some currency, and after probably paying far too much for an incredibly nerve-racking 'is this an official taxi?' ride, arrived at the United Theological College and crashed into a dorm room at 1:30 AM.
Now, up early and waiting for the festivities to begin, I start to process what's happening. A note from the director is an incredibly familiar sight after two days on a plane. One other member of our group was already asleep as I barged in exhausted. Another arrived a few hours later. I instantly fell asleep.
All technicalities. Here's where it starts. I woke up to birds chirping but confused...There's unfamiliar birds!? Oh yeah. India. Never really notice a chirping bird sound until you hear one that sounds totally different.
The student who arrived last night and I woke up around six thirty, and upon getting ready, meandered out to see this place in the daylight. NOt finding anyone we knew, we walked outside onto the college grounds. My jaw drops.
Every plant contained in the Tropics building of the KC Zoo plus about a thousand others have enveloped this place. The buildings are all very old stone, and a large pile of stone heads sits in the lawn at the front. I can't decide whether to be intimidated or impressed. There are critters that look ALMOST like our chipmunk and crow friends back home. Everything is lush, broad, and very tropical. We return to find our GTA and ponder together where all the others might be. We were supposed to be the last to arrive...
~From India, that's right..., India,
-David
07:00 AM. Bengaluru, India.
10,000 miles. And I'm halfway around the world. Made it through customs, alleviated an incredibly desparate bathroom need, collected my oversized backpack, changed some currency, and after probably paying far too much for an incredibly nerve-racking 'is this an official taxi?' ride, arrived at the United Theological College and crashed into a dorm room at 1:30 AM.
Now, up early and waiting for the festivities to begin, I start to process what's happening. A note from the director is an incredibly familiar sight after two days on a plane. One other member of our group was already asleep as I barged in exhausted. Another arrived a few hours later. I instantly fell asleep.
All technicalities. Here's where it starts. I woke up to birds chirping but confused...There's unfamiliar birds!? Oh yeah. India. Never really notice a chirping bird sound until you hear one that sounds totally different.
The student who arrived last night and I woke up around six thirty, and upon getting ready, meandered out to see this place in the daylight. NOt finding anyone we knew, we walked outside onto the college grounds. My jaw drops.
Every plant contained in the Tropics building of the KC Zoo plus about a thousand others have enveloped this place. The buildings are all very old stone, and a large pile of stone heads sits in the lawn at the front. I can't decide whether to be intimidated or impressed. There are critters that look ALMOST like our chipmunk and crow friends back home. Everything is lush, broad, and very tropical. We return to find our GTA and ponder together where all the others might be. We were supposed to be the last to arrive...
~From India, that's right..., India,
-David
Friday, May 21st, 2010:
07:00 AM. Paris, France.
I suppose there's no time like the present to begin this, though I'm not exactly sure how. After an ever-glorious three-thousand, six-hundred, and thirty some miles, I've come from New York City's John F. Kennedy airport, en route to Bangalore, India, and it's early. Much too early
As we begin our descent, and again as I make my way to my connecting gate, I heard the siren's call of Europe out of every glass window, beckoning me to stay. I was seeing nothing psectacular; green grass, and traditional buildings off in a very hazy distane, but the mere knowledge of Europe's presence is easily attainable. I shall have to return soon. Dream big, no?
I sit now at my gate, joined by a few other people, looking far more comfortable with our final destination than I am rapidly becoming. I think it's safe to say that I've convinced myself that the purpose of this trip is to get out on my own, make a change, discover new things, and hopefully learn some things about myself. So far, the evidence points to a good start. After all, I'm exhausted, nervous, have little more than this journal, a camera, and my passport, and I'm completely alone. Maybe I'll get lucky and meet a beautiful French girl on her way to India...?
~A thirty minute train ride from a metal tower that seems so far...,
- Au Bientot
07:00 AM. Paris, France.
I suppose there's no time like the present to begin this, though I'm not exactly sure how. After an ever-glorious three-thousand, six-hundred, and thirty some miles, I've come from New York City's John F. Kennedy airport, en route to Bangalore, India, and it's early. Much too early
As we begin our descent, and again as I make my way to my connecting gate, I heard the siren's call of Europe out of every glass window, beckoning me to stay. I was seeing nothing psectacular; green grass, and traditional buildings off in a very hazy distane, but the mere knowledge of Europe's presence is easily attainable. I shall have to return soon. Dream big, no?
I sit now at my gate, joined by a few other people, looking far more comfortable with our final destination than I am rapidly becoming. I think it's safe to say that I've convinced myself that the purpose of this trip is to get out on my own, make a change, discover new things, and hopefully learn some things about myself. So far, the evidence points to a good start. After all, I'm exhausted, nervous, have little more than this journal, a camera, and my passport, and I'm completely alone. Maybe I'll get lucky and meet a beautiful French girl on her way to India...?
~A thirty minute train ride from a metal tower that seems so far...,
- Au Bientot
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
I'm rapidly approaching the end of my second decade and I decided it was time for a change. As the Three would have it, I spotted an article in an alumni newsletter of the University of Kansas about a new study abroad program. Five months later, and I'm about to embark on an 82-day journey through the two most populous countries on the planet, only to return to the third.
I'm part of an environmental studies program going to the state of Karnataka in southern India. I depart for the 6 week journey on Friday, May 21st, and begin my longest trip outside of the state of Kansas. In an attempt to stray as far as possible from the ruby slipper-touting 'heartland of America', I plan on spending the time following this academic adventure cruising around northern India for the ensuing two weeks, before ending up in a country I'd only previously tried digging in my backyard to. I will remain in China, mostly under the wisdom and graciousness of a Chinese tourist company, until my return to 'the states' on August 10th.
The task of course is to find something out about myself I didn't know; a seemingly simple task for any old teenager putting up Lost! signs for their identity.
I shall update this blog as much as I can, though in much of where I will be, I can not rely on consistent internet access.
I will make every effort not to bore you whether I return with strange tales from the Orient, or wind up with nothing more than a journal full of environmental studies notes, and a small clay terracotta warrior souvenir.
Flying at 35,000 feet AWAY from the yellow brick road,
~David
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