The sky has been overcast the entire week. Unusual for this time of I year I have been told, I expect it was a foreshadow for the devastating events that occurred in Mumbai. Pray for peace.
As this fierce fighting by terrorists occur my immediate community is enjoying a "Moon Day Holiday." At conference yesterday, Sharath described moon days as "a day where the ocean has a lot of energy and crazy people get crazier." The theory is (loosely) that our bodies are mostly water, and on full and new moons gravity is pulling our body of water with such force that our practice is energetically off balance. Alright, I'm into it.
Juliana, Thomas, Sean, Rachel, and I decide to take this vacation day to Mulavalla to see the Shiva Samutra Waterfalls (spellings are probably totally off, but this is what we are going with team.) At breakfast, with Thomas and Sean, we realized that none of us had any knowledge on this place. At this point we didn't even know as much as you do... we just wanted to go see "some waterfalls that took a 2 hour bus and a 45 minute rickshaw ride to get there." A few phone calls and we had some pronouns to go off of...
The five of us meet at my place at 9 a.m. We walk down the street toward Rickshaw Corner, a walk that I must make at least half a dozen times a day. We grab two rickshaws (they seat three tourists in the back or up to six natives with some sort of Jenga set up going on.) and we are off to the bus station.
Sean, Juliana, and I quickly realize that Thomas is the man with the info and we aren't even sure if our driver is bringing us to the proper station. We are dropped off in a busy parking lot where all the bus drivers seem to have fallen asleep, laying on the horn. The lack of infrastructure is extremely evident at this moment- no underlying framework or system of organization going on here to my knowledge. 5 minutes has passed and no Thomas. Sean and my eyes meet and we agree that we are totally happy to call off this episode. The volume and street capacity levels are already beyond a stressful level and it has only been 15 minutes since we begun this outing!
We see them. The "bus station" (parking lot with buses honking) has no signs or information desk. You are simply in charge of figuring out which bus is going where you would like to go. We climb the three stairs into each bus and ask "Mulivalla?" With quizzical faces, we found it helps to try again, but say it a little faster.
We found it about 15 buses later. Then we entered, sat, and waited. No specific time of departure, just as many honks as it takes to reach the exit. Two and a half hours of bumping down unpaved roads with some passengers never losing their strong gaze towards my face. A man makes his way down the aisle to collect money in return for your ticket. (Trip to Mulivalla= 30 rupees, about $ .75) Then he sits across the aisle from me and asks me what my country is. I respond and proceed with a few attempts to lengthen our conversation, but his English stops us here. I am from the United States and he lives in Mysore, "all his life."
Everyone knew us on the bus because we are the five white kids taking pictures of everything we pass. Also, when the bus jumps a trench at about 20 mph, one of the girls screamed as our bodies levitated 1.5 feet off their seats before slamming back into their places. The men all got a kick out of this scream!
We asked a few people to tell us when we had reached Mulivalla (including the ticket salesman.) There are no signs, people just know when they get off. No one understood our request to be told when we reached our destination, but somehow we found our stop.
Mulivalla bus station has the similar unpaved parking lot meets men's urinal theme going for it. I was feeling a touch nauseous and it began to rain. The next step was to find a ride to the falls. I am a pushover when it comes to the game of wheeling and dealing for a cheaper rate. I just took photos of the crowd that followed us as we bargained from the rickshaws to the taxis and back to the rickshaws. We ended up with 2 rickshaws at 300 rupees round trip per rickshaw (a way better deal than one taxi for 700 rupees- we saved ourselves $2 with this move!)
At about 10 mph I watched the unfamiliar lifestyles flash before my eyes. We were in a rural landscape. Families riding on tiny trucks sitting on top of crates of apples that they must have spent the past week picking. A boy, around 14 yrs, shepherding a herd of sheep down a dirt road. Women with enormous bundles of sugar cane perfectly balanced on the crowns of their heads being passed by men on bikes transferring twice the load. I quickly realized that no one here can just decide they are going to travel to the other side of the world for 6 months. I imagine they might have to save for weeks just to visit a neighboring town. I watched, my mind trying to take it all in.
The falls were amazing. It was raining and we were across the canyon from the falls so 30 minutes was ample time to feel satisfied with our destination. A monkey tagged along in expectation of food, which Sean gave to him. I realized here that I came on this day trip, not only to see the waterfalls.
As we returned, I did not attribute to much of the conversation between my friends. My mind was much more stimulated by observing my surroundings. Uneven barbed-wire fences parallel rough dirt and gravel roads. Unmarked streets decorated with piles of coconuts, tiny decaying sheds, and hung laundry. Ancient styles of construction work- barefoot boys digging trenches to alter the natural water flow toward their crops, men carrying dirt in shallow bowls on their heads, a few pounds of dirt at a time. Women herding their cattle (in their saris) by throwing rocks.
I wonder what they are thinking. Are they attached to the same sense of ego and desire that I am struggling to overcome? Is their impoverished life that I label undeveloped and undesirable bringing them closer to God? The land that surrounds us is vast, the difference between this life and mine at home is much more enormous. I let all these new views and fresh thoughts swallow me for awhile...
As this fierce fighting by terrorists occur my immediate community is enjoying a "Moon Day Holiday." At conference yesterday, Sharath described moon days as "a day where the ocean has a lot of energy and crazy people get crazier." The theory is (loosely) that our bodies are mostly water, and on full and new moons gravity is pulling our body of water with such force that our practice is energetically off balance. Alright, I'm into it.
Juliana, Thomas, Sean, Rachel, and I decide to take this vacation day to Mulavalla to see the Shiva Samutra Waterfalls (spellings are probably totally off, but this is what we are going with team.) At breakfast, with Thomas and Sean, we realized that none of us had any knowledge on this place. At this point we didn't even know as much as you do... we just wanted to go see "some waterfalls that took a 2 hour bus and a 45 minute rickshaw ride to get there." A few phone calls and we had some pronouns to go off of...
The five of us meet at my place at 9 a.m. We walk down the street toward Rickshaw Corner, a walk that I must make at least half a dozen times a day. We grab two rickshaws (they seat three tourists in the back or up to six natives with some sort of Jenga set up going on.) and we are off to the bus station.
Sean, Juliana, and I quickly realize that Thomas is the man with the info and we aren't even sure if our driver is bringing us to the proper station. We are dropped off in a busy parking lot where all the bus drivers seem to have fallen asleep, laying on the horn. The lack of infrastructure is extremely evident at this moment- no underlying framework or system of organization going on here to my knowledge. 5 minutes has passed and no Thomas. Sean and my eyes meet and we agree that we are totally happy to call off this episode. The volume and street capacity levels are already beyond a stressful level and it has only been 15 minutes since we begun this outing!
We see them. The "bus station" (parking lot with buses honking) has no signs or information desk. You are simply in charge of figuring out which bus is going where you would like to go. We climb the three stairs into each bus and ask "Mulivalla?" With quizzical faces, we found it helps to try again, but say it a little faster.
We found it about 15 buses later. Then we entered, sat, and waited. No specific time of departure, just as many honks as it takes to reach the exit. Two and a half hours of bumping down unpaved roads with some passengers never losing their strong gaze towards my face. A man makes his way down the aisle to collect money in return for your ticket. (Trip to Mulivalla= 30 rupees, about $ .75) Then he sits across the aisle from me and asks me what my country is. I respond and proceed with a few attempts to lengthen our conversation, but his English stops us here. I am from the United States and he lives in Mysore, "all his life."
Everyone knew us on the bus because we are the five white kids taking pictures of everything we pass. Also, when the bus jumps a trench at about 20 mph, one of the girls screamed as our bodies levitated 1.5 feet off their seats before slamming back into their places. The men all got a kick out of this scream!
We asked a few people to tell us when we had reached Mulivalla (including the ticket salesman.) There are no signs, people just know when they get off. No one understood our request to be told when we reached our destination, but somehow we found our stop.
Mulivalla bus station has the similar unpaved parking lot meets men's urinal theme going for it. I was feeling a touch nauseous and it began to rain. The next step was to find a ride to the falls. I am a pushover when it comes to the game of wheeling and dealing for a cheaper rate. I just took photos of the crowd that followed us as we bargained from the rickshaws to the taxis and back to the rickshaws. We ended up with 2 rickshaws at 300 rupees round trip per rickshaw (a way better deal than one taxi for 700 rupees- we saved ourselves $2 with this move!)
At about 10 mph I watched the unfamiliar lifestyles flash before my eyes. We were in a rural landscape. Families riding on tiny trucks sitting on top of crates of apples that they must have spent the past week picking. A boy, around 14 yrs, shepherding a herd of sheep down a dirt road. Women with enormous bundles of sugar cane perfectly balanced on the crowns of their heads being passed by men on bikes transferring twice the load. I quickly realized that no one here can just decide they are going to travel to the other side of the world for 6 months. I imagine they might have to save for weeks just to visit a neighboring town. I watched, my mind trying to take it all in.
The falls were amazing. It was raining and we were across the canyon from the falls so 30 minutes was ample time to feel satisfied with our destination. A monkey tagged along in expectation of food, which Sean gave to him. I realized here that I came on this day trip, not only to see the waterfalls.
As we returned, I did not attribute to much of the conversation between my friends. My mind was much more stimulated by observing my surroundings. Uneven barbed-wire fences parallel rough dirt and gravel roads. Unmarked streets decorated with piles of coconuts, tiny decaying sheds, and hung laundry. Ancient styles of construction work- barefoot boys digging trenches to alter the natural water flow toward their crops, men carrying dirt in shallow bowls on their heads, a few pounds of dirt at a time. Women herding their cattle (in their saris) by throwing rocks.
I wonder what they are thinking. Are they attached to the same sense of ego and desire that I am struggling to overcome? Is their impoverished life that I label undeveloped and undesirable bringing them closer to God? The land that surrounds us is vast, the difference between this life and mine at home is much more enormous. I let all these new views and fresh thoughts swallow me for awhile...
2 comments:
Hi Brit.
Your blog is so fun to read. Jairus and i just got back into town a couple days ago. Both really sick with colds. Bummer. So I wasn't able to read your blog while I was away. Vacationing back home always feels like more work than relaxation. I love your descritption of all that you see. I still can't believe that you are a world away. I miss my friend so much and am glad that you send us all words of encouragement that you are safe and having a great time. Keep up on the blog. I look forward to every new entry. I miss and love you!!!!!
ANDY
Brittany,
Love your blog. I have passed it on to a number of people at work that have traveled extensively and they are also impressed. You have a nature ability to convey the feelings a person goes through when they first enter a new culture. I think you need to consider a career as a travel writer.
Love Uncle Kevin
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