Back to The Beginning

I've been attempting to write a new post for the past week but failed to commit to writing an entire post every time. A lot has happened since my last update. For one, we finally made it back to India. After spending seven days in Kathmandu, Cara was able to leave with a new passport filled with new Indian and Nepalese visas. After a quick shopping spree, where we stocked up on McVities (our new favorite cookie company) to bring back for Jamey and Anthony,Cara and I boarded the bus that would take us the 18 hours back to the border town where the boys were eagerly awaiting us. When we returned the border, we showered the guys in New Years hugs and then quickly made our way to India. Crossing the border was like visiting old friends -- everyone knew us. Once we made it to India, we hopped on another bus that would bring us to Delhi.

We arrived in Delhi at 4am the next morning. We had arranged for Cab (pronounced "Cob"), the cousin and neighbor of the family from the farm we stayed at in India, to pick us up at the bus station. We let him know that we arrived and awaited his arrival. 2 hours passed before we actually found him. He insisted on leading us on a wild goose chase to find him and not the other way around, which was pretty annoying considering we were the ones who are new to the area.

We eventually made it to Cab's cousin's apartment in Delhi and then set out the next day to the farm. For some unknown reason, we did not stay with Cab's family when we went to the farm (even though we were invited back by him and are going on a "road trip" with him), instead we stayed with the family with whom we had originally volunteered. Within 20 minutes of setting foot in said family's door, Cara and I were once again asked by the father/husband/man/slave-driver of the family to help his wife out in the kitchen, which is where we remained for the next couple of days. The positive side of being confined to the kitchen is that Cara and I never at a loss with things to do. Cara spent her time learning the art of chapati making and I busied myself with the dogs.

After three nights on the farm, our "road trip" continued and we set off for Chandigarh, which is the capital of two states in India (both Punjab and Haryana). We've now been in Chandigarh for at least 5 days. The most amazing part of this city is the fact that the apartment where we are staying has high speed internet. This makes up for the lack of things to do in the city. We did visit an amazing rock garden the other day and an equally beautiful rose garden, so those were nice and the city has a large lake too, so we're not at a complete loss of activities. I think we're all just so happy to be near high speed internet that we can't seem to pull ourselves away from it.

Also, I've had a small change in plans. This Sunday, January 18th, I will be making a quick detour to Casablanca, Morocco, to visit two friends of mine for a month or more. I'll be sure to still update on my Morocco travels.