Chapter 2: World School

Namaste! I have finally written about my amazing tour leading experience with the World School Group. I helped co-lead 16 teenagers ranging from sophomores to seniors from High Tech High International, a charter school in San Diego. Aside from myself, there were 2 other leaders, Andy Pickering, my oldest friend Jen’s husband and company owner and Brian Delgado, a dean of the school. Each year, the school offers an optional immersion trips which range from Baja to Italy to India. It was Brian’s idea to have this trip since he had been to India previously and World School was lucky enough to host it. I am so appreciative to Jen and Andy for giving me the opportunity to organize and help lead trip and while it had its moments, all in all, it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Most of the "moments" involved Indian men or Indian tour companies or Indian trains…basically, India made for some crazy travels with a large group of 20! It’s one of the hardest places to travel and with a large group, it made traveling alone or in a pair look like a walk in the park.

So where to start….how about where I left off….at the penthouse of the Taj Palace Hotel with my mom. I left the amazing hotel to meet the group at the YMCA tourist hostel in Delhi. Wow. Okay, that was a change. The rooms were way basic and I guess I had forgotten the whole budget traveling thing until this point. Luckily, we were only there for less than 12 hours since we had to board a 7am train. The kids barely slept and we hit the train running, arriving in Haridwar about 5 hrs later. In Haridwar, we got off the bus and not 5 mins later one of the students noticed a marijuana plant growing wild on the side of the road. That was quite the scene for some time and they were tripping on the fact that weed was growing in the dirt on the side of the road. Already, I knew we had some troublemakers. We stopped for lunch at what the guide called the "best restaurant" there. Any time a guide tells you where to go it’s because he gets a cut to bring you there. Even though I knew this, I didn’t feel like arguing so we ate a decent meal at his place. We then took a chairlift up to the top of a mountain where we went to our first temple devoted to Lord Shiva from the Hindu religion. Most temples involved statues, shrines, people praying, good luck rituals and other rites devoted solely to that particular temple. This one had a tree where you bought string to make a wish and tie it around the tree which we all did. When the wish comes true, you’re supposed to go back and get your string from the many thousands there. So much for the second half but it’s the thought that counts, right? Drums and singing were heard from a distance and upon further inquiry, we found a room with only women singing to a man playing drums. So the ladies from group went in and clapped and danced along. Quite a powerful experience and we all enjoyed participating.

After this brief stop in Haridwar, we set out for Rishikesh. Rishikesh is considered the yoga capital of the world. It is 7 hrs north of Delhi along the foothills of the Himalayas. It’s where the Beatles went and subsequently wrote the White Album. I had been dying to go forever now so hey, why not bring high school kids to experience the ancient way of life? We stayed at the Parmarth Niketan Ashram which is the biggest ashram in Rishikesh and home to Swamiji, a small holy man with poofy long hair and a huge beard. We had plenty of jokes about the new rapper Swami-Ji and his sidekick "Mata-Ji,” or the Mother of the ashram, but in all honesty, their presence was quite extraordinary. We were lucky enough to have a private talk with Swamiji one night as well as have an early morning chanting class with Mataji. Her beautiful voice was a joy to wake up to and we sang mantras with her guidance. Both were highlights of the trip. While difficult to explain, there is a phrase called "God Intoxication" that you hear about a lot in India. Since religion plays such a huge part of daily life here, without realizing it, it’s easy to get caught up in the spiritual essence that sets India apart from all other countries. The notion of god in India is quite different than our western views of Christianity, Judaism, etc. God in India can mean so many different things…in Hinduism, there are 330 million incarnations of Brahma, the creator. Everywhere you see photos, stickers, shrines, posters, whatever, devoted to these gods. But they are mearly symbols that represent feelings inside each of us…power, money, intelligence, strength, mother nature, creation, destruction, etc. Both in Hinduism and Buddhism, the notion of God is something that comes from within. Each and every person has this ultimate light inside. God can be something as simple as a shrine that people pray to. It can be the Ganges river which is the lifeline of Indian Culture and feeds life into 330 million people. It is light. It is the all knowing. It is the ultimate truth. It is the spiritual presence within us just waiting to be tapped into. Sitting next to Swamiji we felt his aura, his energy. He mesmerized us with a story of how he became enlightened, how he didn’t speak a word for 3 years from the small age of 8, how he lived in a forest meditating for 2 of those years and how he lives his life in the hands of God. I now know what it means to be God intoxicated. It was almost impossible to not feel anything in this special man’s presence.

Kudos to the ashram for taking such good care of us…the woman in charge, Shadvi Bagwhati, treated us with upmost respect. A Stanford graduate, she has lived at the ashram for the past 10 years. Her intelligence became apparent as she talked to us about Hinduism and what it means to be a Hindu in India. She explained all the programs the ashram is involved in for homeless girls, boys, women and its tsunami relief effort. She told us stories of the various Gods and other figures in Hindu mythology. She sat us in the front row for the nightly Aarti Ceremony where we sang along with the Rishikumars. Literally hundreds of these young orphan boys live in the ashram where Swamiji houses, feeds and educates them. They all wear these orange uniforms and have marks on their faces and nearly shaven heads w/ a small pony tail in the back. They sing each night along w/ Swamiji, Mataji and a tabla player during this nightly ritual which gives thanks to the Ganges River and for life in general.

The group also took a kundalini yoga class on the rooftop looking at the surrounding mountains which was fantastic. We river rafted on the Ganges River. The clean river and surrounding hillsides were amazing and it was nice to just have some fun in the sun.

Another new adventure for us was eating in silence. Included in the donation price of the ashram ($10/day) were all our meals and so we took advantage on more than one occasion. For 20 teenagers to not make a peep while eating was quite an experience and really cool. Eating in silence, I felt I was able to appreciate each bite a little more. It was as if I had a relationship with my food for that brief moment and I actually slowed down and enjoyed it more!

Corina (one of the girl’s older sister who came at the last minute) and I attempted an ayurvedic massage. We almost got totally creeped out by the guy in charge who said it would be 10 mins but really turned into 30 before we were able to start. We almost bailed when we saw the setup and when her guy changed into "lounge attire" but 5 mins into them we decided they were awesome and got the whole hour. We ate dosas after (thin rice pancakes with curry potatoes inside) and this table kept staring at us. Finally, they came over to ask us if Corina was a famous Indian tennis player? We said no but when we told them our names were Corina and Aswaria, the 2 most famous actresses in India, they about died and desperately needed a photo with us!

After 3 nights of the Ashram, we woke up super early for the epic bus ride to Dharamsala. We knew we had a long ride and warned everyone that it would take 12-14 hrs. We never imagined how long it would really take. Most of you know that I’m almost always late. Adam calls is "Ashley Melin Time." Well, AMT makes IST look legit. IST stands for "Indian Stretchable Time." Pretty much, nothing is ever what anyone tells you it is nor is there ever any rhyme or reason as to why something’s late, why a road is closed, why the train keeps stopping, why 20 mins can also mean 3 hours or why your food takes an hour rather than the 10 minutes they claim. I tell everyone who comes here that India will test your patience. It makes you want to commit suicide sometimes. The beauty of the land of contrasts. Highs and lows, highs and lows. This particular bus ride was certainly a low. While the drive was beautiful 12 hours turned into 14 which turned into 16 which turned into 19. NINETEEN HOURS!! That was most certainly a record even for me, at least, on a bus. According to what we witnessed, the driver got lost 4 times. According to the driver and the tour company, there was an accident and a road was closed. The bummer deal is that when you don’t really understand Hindi, we still have no clue what actually happened. All we knew is that we were still driving at midnight after leaving at 6am! All we knew is that at the end, the road was literally 1" wider than the bus and that we needed 4 people to direct the bus driver since we almost tagged umpteen store signs. Finally, we got to our hotel and immediately went to bed...Exhausted.

I woke up for an early morning yoga session and then walked outside….amazing!! Clear and sunny skies enveloped the Himalayas that we could see around us. Clear skies? That was a first since most everywhere there is much pollution. Ahhh…mountain air. I was in my element and quite happy about it. Dharamsala sits in the Himalayas with houses, restaurants and shops dotting the mountainous area. It is home to the Dalai Lama and all the Tibetans who have fled Tibet to live in peace in India. India basically accepted them after the Chinese destroyed their country killing about a million people and an entire culture in the meantime. They have been living in Dharamsala ever since.The amazing thing is that the Indian and Tibetans live amongst each other in total peace and harmony. I haven’t traveled to Southeast Asia and I’m assuming Buddhists for the most part are similar but the Tibetan people are truly special. Even after the heartache and tragedy they lived and continue to live each day, they are all smiles. Their peaceful manner exudes a beauty that is unlike any other culture. The fact that the Indians accepted them into their city is amazing and the vibe here is unlike any other place in India. If only all people could be Buddhists, the world would be a completely different place…war wouldn't exist, we would coexist in peace, egos would be lost, communities would prosper and families would strengthen…

The first day we were introduced to our guide for this section, The Colonel. He had a real name but since he was a retired colonel from the army we just called him "Colonel." Talk about a character. A dapper man, his wore immaculate clothes and even in the hot weather hiked in a button down shirt and thin wool sweater. His upturned grey mustache contoured his smiley face. We immediately took a liking to him and his tour leading was fantastic. Course, he owned the company and insisted he wasn't a guide. In fact, he laughed when we tried to tip him and wouldn't take our money (that was a new one). Either way, he set the program for us for the 3.5 days we were there and did a wonderful job at that. The first morning took us to the residence and monastery of the Dalai Lama. Smaller than I imagined, it was still so cool to be there! We also visited a Tibetan museum portraying the plight of the Tibetans. In the afternoon, we went to a medicine museum that showed how they get their medicines from plants and how they make pills. I wrote down a bunch of names including those for arthritis which I know a few family friends have. The Western vs Eastern view on medicine couldn’t be more different. There’s just something about dealing with the health of a person through diet and natural remedies rather than the "dis- ease" of a person sure makes sense. It’s too bad our society relies on pills that mask the issue rather than dealing with the health of the body from within. It's no wonder they've been doing that successfully for thousands of years. Even the pharamacies are all based on the science of ayurveda which is an entire subject until itself and well worth reading about. I'm officially hooked and have plenty of materials to share when I get back. (Another cool thing here is that books are CHEAP and I've been buying tons of them).

Anyway, that afternoon we drove to a cultural center that the Dalai Lama set up to preserve the ancient Tibetan arts. We saw how they made a variety of handicrafts and then went to a fabulous Buddhist temple with all sorts of wall paintings depicting the story of Buddha/Siddhartha and which sat an enormous gold statue of Lord Buddha. Leaving the temple, we ran into a bunch of school children. Brian, our leader, busted out his juggling skills and next thing we knew, there was a large group of kids trying to juggle. These 2 little girls found my camera so amusing and kept making the nastiest faces possible. After they saw the photo, they'd start hysterically laughing and trying to make an even nastier face the next time. It was pretty funny and very cute.

That night (and the next night also) we ate at Nick’s Italian restaurant which was perched on a deck looking at the mountain peaks…great for sunset w/ the pink light hitting the snow capped peaks.
The next day a small group of us hiked to a nearby waterfall for sunrise. Not 5 steps out of our hotel a pack of 8 dogs started following us…and following us…and following us…all the way to the waterfall! 7 people + 8 dogs. Classic. They weren’t like regular scroungy Indian dogs. These guys looked like Cassidy…furry, fat shepherd types. One Cassidy dog sat with me for morning meditation at the river. I couldn't help but miss my pouch and felt like she was there with me.

From there we attended a Tibetan cooking class where we made momos and thenthuk soup. Momos are similar to pot stickers only veggie (buddhists don’t eat meat!). The trick is in the fold and you can make them circular, oval or for soup. This cute little Tibetan woman kept saying "pinch and maker corner, pinch and make corner." Needless to say, ours weren’t exactly pretty but they sure tasted good!

After some shopping (Dharamsala had really cool stuff), we drove about 40 mins through the Khandra Valley to a village up in the hills. The drive was spectacular. The valley is famous for tea and I was lucky enough to discover the factory tea shop which I bought a TON of amazing tea for a super cheap price. We hiked a short distance with The Colonel leading the way to this village. I was so happy the kids could see how 80% of the population lives. And this one was NICE! They had shelves for pots and pans, a small kitchen w/ the fire inside (not exactly good on the eyes), a couple of bedrooms and a common area. The beautifully stoic grandmother sat in the corner and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her...I tried to take some candid photos but it was tough with my big lens in her face. They served us chai and we tried to talk but with no english and hardly any hindi, sign language was about all we had going. My camera was definitely an ice breaker as were the baby goats that the kids held. Such a nice outing and we hope to have a homestay there in the future for the kids.

On our way back, we decided to check out a spring carnival. Random doesn’t even describe it…all I can say is that the ferris wheel was a manual one in which the operator looked like a hamster in a wheel. For real! We were dying it was so ridiculous…Indian style! Soon after, things turned weird with all these creepy Indian guys staring down the cute blond girls in the group so we hightailed it outta there. Yuck!

The mountains wouldn’t be complete without a hike so that’s what we did the last day. Originally, it was to be a 14km hike but in typical Indian fashion, their sense of distance is usually totally off. I think this is because Indian people are so lazy that they say things are farther than they are. Our guide Pasang was actually Tibetan and had a big heart and a huge smile. He took us to a school for Tibetan refugee children that the Dalai Lama’s sister started. It houses/schools 2500 kids whose parents are still in Tibet but have sent their kids to school in India. Set amongst the Himalayas with a beautiful, clean campus, I couldn’t help but be jealous of the view they studied to each day. We happened to get there during recess where they were all playing basketball. Perfect ice breaker. So the group played basketball w/ the Tibetan kids and I even scored photos of a dude wearing an Air Jordan jersey. From basketball we went to the babies' home where the little guys lived. Upon entering, this one little guy grabbed my hand and started dragging me inside. I had no idea where we were going until we reached a room with about 3 toilets. He started doing this one footed dance when I realized he had to pee! So I helped him get his pants off and man, was he ever happy about that. I couldn’t resist and got a photo of him on the pot. Too cute! We all played w/ the kids for a bit which was fantastic. The rest of the hike involved killer scenery and a nice lake to eat lunch.

Next time, I’m going to have to get some trekking up in the Himalayas. They’re too amazing to just look at from afar…I mean, really.

Finally, it was time to leave Dharamsala. Booooo…..Andy and I met the Colonel’s wife and had a brief chat at his lovely house. We grabbed his son who escorted us to the train station, a 3 hour drive away. This station was in the middle of nowhere and I attempted to make pb&j sandwiches but the bread kept falling apart so they were pathetic messes of goo. Eventually, it was time to board the train. With a 5 min stop, it was crucial we were ready when it came. I tried bracing everyone for what was to come. Nothing prepared us though and by the time the train came, it was every man for himself. People were pushing from every which way. Usually men push ahead of ladies which is just SO LAME! Moriah was like, "uh, ladies first?" I couldn’t stop laughing. It’s totally weird but the idea of ladies first is so foreign. Ladies get no special treatment and no help. Getting on the train makes getting on the subway in NYC look like cake. I was yelling to just push since that what everyone else does. Easier said than done w/ a huge pack on your back that gets stuck in the aisleway. Finally, we pushed and scratched our way on. Even I was freaking out that someone would get left. We barely made it but luckily, we did. The kids could hardly believe what just happened. It was so hard core!

This train was supposed to be 12 hrs. Course, we’re on IST so this became 14 hours and we arrived in Jaipur with no dinner, no breakfast and a bunch of tired/hungry puppies. We checked into our nice hotel w/ a pool (sorry kids, no time for swimming!) and then setout for lunch. Upon entering the restaurant, one of the girls felt faint. The color rushed from her head and she actually fainted. Great. Way to feed them Ashley! We gave her fresh lime soda with salt, sugar and whatever else we could find and ordered her an ice cream, asap!

After a quick lunch (i.e. 1.5 hrs), we finally were off to see the Amber Fort which my mom and I had visited a couple of weeks prior. Our guide aka, "Indiana Jones" promptly got us on a bunch of elephants which we rode to the top of the fort. We called him Indiana because he wore aviator shades, a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and a button down which showed his chest hair. It was SO hot that to even have any of this outfit on was ridiculous, not to mention the whole ensemble! So we rode these poor elephants in the hot sun w/ our driver saying "tip, tip" the whole time. Indiana took us through the whole fort in 10 mins…huh? I was really disappointed since my mom and I were there for over an hour learning about how cool this palace was with the maharaja, his wives, concubines, a jazuzzi, a air conditioning system that went where water passed through the marble walls and all sorts of cool tidbits. Indiana told us 2 things and then we were off? We raced to the City Palace and see the gold and silver outfits the maharajas wore, the books they read, some actual photographs. The whole tour of Jaipur took under and hour. It must have been a record.

That night we ventured to this supposedly "cool" place to eat traditional rajastani food, see dancing, snake charming, ride camels, etc. Sounds great, huh? I guess seeing a dead body on the way should have tipped us off to the weird evening that was about to unfold. Just before arriving at our destination, the bus promptly stopped. There was a large crowd and a truck up ahead that was stopped in the middle of the road. Upon further inquiry, we saw a man in the road. Uh oh. The guy was dead. A bunch of dudes were hovering over him. By a bunch, I’m talking about 100. There was one policeman doing absolutely nothing. Just sitting there. We couldn’t stop staring. We asked the bus driver to move and he said "it’s not possible." It was easily possible but he wanted to create drama so he wouldn’t move. Within 10 minutes things started to turn ugly w/ our kids in the back sticking their heads out the window. Next thing we knew, the mob turned to our bus and it got even weirder. Corina and I demanded that the bus driver move which he FINALLY did. One he started, people moved. What a jerk…we almost had a riot on our hands! For those who have read, Shantaram, it was similar to the taxi accident scene. Bizarre doesn’t even begin to describe it. One of the strangest episodes I've ever witnessed and my first real up close and personal dead body (#2 is coming up). They don't count in the cremation areas of Varanasi and a dead horse doesn't count either.

The Choki Dani dinner experience was similar to the carnival…random to say the least! For example, there was a haunted house where you walked down into a tunnel and then came out the other side where nothing happened? Or they had women dancing on glass with all sorts of stuff on their heads? We ate rajastani thalis but it was like a bad disneyland and the quality of the food was mediocre at best. I was shocked nobody got sick. The kicker was this mush they put pure ghee (clarified butter) and a pile of sugar and then mixed it all together. Good when going down but SO bad about 10 mins later when it kicked in. Makes me sick just thinking about it.

So Jaipur was a total flop. Note to self: Don’t listen to tour companies when they try to take you 5 hrs out of the way on an Indian train for less than 24 hrs. in a city with tons of cool stuff. Bad mistake and next time, we're cutting that out altogether.

We woke up early the next day to drive to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. En route, we visited Fathepur Sikri which was a old palace/fort built before the Taj. It was pretty cool and a nice breakup in the drive. Our new guide, Sanjay, was the MAN. Best guide on the trip. He was super patient w/ the kids but also so interesting and made everything into a story. We were lucky to have him for Fathepur Sikri, the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort.

That evening we hit the Agra Fort which you can see the Taj from. The emperor built it before his son imprisoned him and built the Taj. The emperor’s son jailed in his own palace for 8 years where he died. Poor guy! It was an amazing building and the sunset light made it magical. That evening we went to a marble factory to see how they make inlayed marble w/ semi-precious stones. It's quite an extraordinary process and the fact that the Taj has this work all over it makes it even more spectacular when you realize how much work goes into one small flower!

Next morning we woke up super early and were one of the first groups at the Taj for the amazing sunrise. This was officially my 3 rd time this trip seeing this building and I swear, it’s equally cool each time. For sure something that every person in their lifetime should see.

Man, I’m rambling. I know. I know. But I’m trying to document 2 weeks of crazy traveling so I don’t forget anything I did. If you’re still reading, I’m impressed!

From here, we had another disasterously long train ride to Varanasi. Thank god we met one of the most interesting people so far on the train…a Sikh guy we called the "General" because he was a general in the army. No idea what’s up w/ cool army people but we sure kept meeting them. He spoke perfect english including slang. His insite into indian culture had my compartment intently listening and asking all sorts of questions. He smile came through his....he would squint when he said something funny letting us know that it was funny. Those Indian eyes tell it all! Usually, they see your bra but his eyes were heartwarmingly fantastic. The one thing I took from our conversation is an analogy he said about a traditional thinking Indian family vs a forward thinking family…A healthy tree has leaves and deep roots in the ground. When a storm comes, it is able to bend in the wind. It is flexible. Conversely, a tree with no leaves that has shallow roots will break in a storm. Once it is broken, it will never grow back again. Similarly, people need to be flexible. They need to break tradition and allow their daughters to be educated and have power. It is these forward thinking families that will be able to progress in the future and withstand storms. The rigid thinking will only lead to a breakdown which cannot be repaired. Fantastic!

Our new friend decided to check the train schedule. He asked me if I was sure we were going to Varanasi. I was like, um, yes…why? He informed us that the train didn’t actually go to Varanasi but to another station. WHAT? This was news to us! Apparently, we were going to another station past Varanasi. I about died. That, combined with us being on IST, meant that our 8pm arrival time turned into something much longer. Each time I asked a train operator how much longer, they said 20 mins. This went on for literally, 3 hours. Longest 20 mins ever and our patience was wearing thin. Each time we stopped (for no reason) I would pop my head out and my new english speaking friend who smoked cigarettes in the doorway would shake his head "no. not there yet." Finally, on about the 10th stop, I looked out and he shook his head yes. We were there. We boarded the bus to go back to Varanasi where the guide said we had a 1.5 hr drive. I said he surely must be joking, right? Oh no. We really did have that long. AGH! I really wanted to kill our ever apparently lame tour company!
So we got into Varanasi at 1am. Can you say, tired?

After a late wakeup, we took the kids to my favorite breakfast spot, Bread of Life Bakery. Same guy was working who was wondering why I was back? I told him I wanted to bring all my new friends. He was stoked and they had maple syrup this time! For sure, they made the best porridge in India. That afternoon we visited all the temples…Durga, Hanuman and Mother India. We got lucky w/ it being Tues because along with Saturday, it’s a holy day and there were tons of people praying, singing, making offerings, etc. We walked out with sweets, bindis on our foreheads, good luck necklaces, flower necklaces and whatever else was given to us. Mother India temple was a new one for me and included this enormous relief map of India and surrounding countries made out of marble. Cool to see the topography and where we had traveled, etc. That night my new friend Raj, the guy in charge of the restaurant at our hotel, hooked us up and made a dinner party out on the terrace overlooking the Ganges. We had a birthday cake made that day and delivered for one of the kids and ate a real cake and watched a fantastic full moon rise.

Other things in Varanasi included a trip to Sarnath to see where Buddha gave his first sermom. This time is was really interesting because we had a guide who spoke english! The ruins there are SO old and this huge stupa was spectacular. We also visited my cute indian friend's silk shop in his muslim neighborhood and took bicycle rickshaws back to the hotel. Our bike driver hit a tuk tuk. Nice! We went to a bunch of shops, saw the aarti ceremony and got harassed by a million people. Traveling in Varanasi w/ a group was tough….so many people wanting to show you their shop. These "shop guys" get a commission and were so annoying. Talk about something "being a jungle out there." Well, step outside the Alka Hotel with a group and you'll know what I mean. They wait outside the hotel ready to pounce. One guy I apparently said we’d meet at 5pm . When we arrived at 5:25 he started yelling at me wondering why I was late, etc. First of all, since when is 20 mins late in India? When I told him we didn’t want to go to his shop (we were shopped out) he started yelling at me calling me a "fucking girl" and "fucking american" this that an and the other thing. That's funny because the day before I had amazing aura and good karma. I didn’t want to go there with him so I simply said that it was a free country and I didn’t have to go there if I didn’t want to. My group had to basically run back to the hotel with him yelling at us right up until we got inside….phew! Safe!

One cool thing about Varanasi is the burning ghat where they cremate 300 bodies a day. We walked to it and from up top could watch the events down below. We must have seen 10 bodies being cremated with a few new ones that they dumped into the fire. Talk about a crazy site. This guy started explaining what was going on and then gave the same schpeel I’d heard a million times about how he helps people who are dying in the hospice. He even brought out an old lady to bless us. Then he said that for good karma, we should give each money. I gave rs100 for the group since he did explain a few things but he kept bugging the kids about having bad karma if they didn’t each give him money. I finally told him that bad karma comes to those who cheat tourists out of money on behalf of old people! I was so over the give money thing. He kept harrassing my kids and so we even had an Indian guy tell this dude to take a hike. When it finally got too weird, we left....

On, on to dead body #2. I'd always heard of people seeing dead bodies or body parts floating in the Ganges. This is due to the fact that some people can't afford wood to cremate their whole body so they do part and then toss the rest. Sounds gross but the reality is that the most auspicious thing a person can do is be cremated in the holy Mother Ganga in Varanasi. To them, it is the ultimate in this lifetime and upon entrance into the next. After watching the ceremony proceeding a cremation, it is quite beautiful. That is, except for the fact that women aren’t allowed because they get too emotional? Gimme a break. But seriously, women used to jump in the fire to kill themselves since being a widow is such a rough life. Women sure get the bum deal here! Anyway, we woke up early to do the sunrise boat ride and sure enough...a whole dead bloated body floated right up next to the boat...It's about time I saw one. Final thought on the early morning boat ride...the whole process is quite peaceful. Watching people bathe at sunrise is a new experience each and every time I have done it. The colorful women, the children splashing, the families of the dead performing their funeral rites, holy men praying, people meditating, etc. It was such a buzzkill to have souvenir boats come up to our boat asking if we wanted to purchase something. Like there aren't enough on the mainland! Then the worst one was a boat with a tv blasting a bad version of a dvd and slinging movies. Are you kidding me? I mean, if any of these guys were halfway smart, they'd be selling chai at 6am. DUH! We easily would have bought 20 and they could have charged double! How could anyone not think of that by now? Oh yeah, the Indians….

So Varanasi was over and we actually flew back to Delhi. So nice to be on a plane and another Note to Self: Fly more! Course, the plane was late and one of the kids was totally sick (Varanasi will get the best of people). By the time we made it to the hotel it was almost 9pm. I walked in and there were about 50 dudes dressed in colorful middle eastern outfits. I seriously thought it was a middle eastern convention of some sort until I heard noise blasting from inside. I guess the YMCA has a Christian affiliation and there was a play about Jesus and Easter going on? Being in Hindu territory, I didn’t even know it was Easter .Yet another random incident to chalk up to the masses.

Our last day involved a little sight seeing...it was cool to see the Red Fort which was HUGE and Mahatma Gandhi's memorial. We did a little shopping and then ate our "last supper." I stayed and sent the group off the airport. Finito!

My thoughts on the experience...all in all, amazing! It was so cool to see India through virgin eyes. It was so fun to hang with high school kids. Not sure I’ve done that since I was in high school myself. The progression I witnessed from the first day to the last was incredible.... By the end, the kids were deflecting people left and right, not phased by the rickshaws, camels, dogs, people and all the other weird things you see on the street. I know that India changed each of them in some way. I know they will take the experience home with them and will have it forever. It's so great that they were exposed to such rawness and a decently young age. India is the real deal. It's hard to watch, hard to travel and yet, amazingly beautiful and mind blowing all at the same time. One minute, it's the most inefficient country on earth, the next, you meet someone like the guy on the train who is mind blowing and who sums up so much in such a short time. I know the kids will be able to appreciate hot showers, a regular toilet, toilet paper, the variety of food they eat and so many other things on a daily basis. Until normal comforts are taken away, how can you appreciate them?

As far as teenagers. I really bonded with the dorky ones. Like Kim Speed says, "dorky is the new cool." I second that. They were interested in learning more and really immersed themselves in the culture. They participated in all the events. One guy was from the ghetto and had never even been on a plane before. He paid for his trip by selling copies of a rap CD he made. Brilliant! He was a real gem...totally hilarious, he was also so insiteful and totally ”got” the religious devotion. He also made friends with everyone. The first day he showed up wearing sneakers which were so hot. He said "black people don't wear flip flops!" By the 3rd day he was wearing a turban, a shawl, Indian sandals and played a flute. Classic.

Finally, out of 16 kids I think I saw about 3 reading. And we had some LONG travel days. No books? I still have no clue how this is possible but apparently people don't read anymore? Wow. They also drink an insane amount of soda. We tried to curb it since Andy and I don't believe in it but it didn't really work. Some walked around in shorts with their bra straps hanging out (cringe!) and sharing ipod headphones walking down the street. The best move happened at the last dinner when 2 girls showed up with NOSE PIERCES! Needless to say, that one is still a huge deal and will have reprocussions. I guess they must not know that India has the second biggest AIDS population in the world and hepatitis all over the place that's transmitted through needles. Nice work ladies! Teens will be teens but it's a tough world out there. I'm going to really try to make sure my kids are huge dorks and never drink soda. Good luck Ashley...

I guess that about wraps up my World School Adventure. I'm now in Rishikesh which I'll write about later. Pretty much, I've died and gone to heaven. I need some time to absorb. Let's just say, I'm staying at the same ashram for $10/day with all meals and all yoga classes included. Today they posted a new schedule and pretty much, there are classes from 6am - 5pm. Say it isn't so! Already in 3 days I’ve done more new exercises than I have my whole yoga career…and none of it is physical! I came here to learn about the science of yoga and its spirituality. I’ve struck gold and don’t even have to leave my ashram. The resources are all in front of me. Good things come to those who put out the good vibes….I worked hard for this first month and now it’s time for the good part…the inner growth only attained when traveling abroad.

Hope everyone is well. Please write me. I miss everyone!


Here’s my reading list thus far: 5 stars is highest rating
SHANTARAM: ***** one of those epic stories that is just too good for words. One of my top books of all time. Read it before the movie comes out!!! Beware though, if you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down. It's 900+ pages and i think i read it in just over a week?

Mind, Body, Sport: ***** Another AMAZING book!! all about sports and what sports are good for your body type and why. pretty much westernizes ayurveda in a sports context. also tells you how "less is more" and that you should use ujjayi breathing for all sports. no mouth breathing, only nose breathing. how i didn't read this before i have no idea but it makes perfect sense and works. i have been trying it when hiking. i highly recommend this book!

Glass Castle: ***. Pretty good fiction. Interesting story, fast read.

What the Buddha Taught: **** Fascinating. Great in depth overview of Buddhism and actually gives exerpts from Buddha's teachings.

Meditation and It's Practices by Swami Rama: *** Good overview on meditation. Wow. So amazing what our minds/breath connection is capable of.