Saturday, June 11, 2011
Chivalry
I think chivalry has been abused, and often good intentions are misunderstood. Today I held a door open at the library for three ladies and a gentleman as I exited. The first lady must have thought I was going to walk straight through and pushed the door further open crushing my thumb between the glass and concrete--painful yes, and funny as well, however more then that I believe it speaks to this idea; the lady assumed I was going to be an ass and not hold the door, and as such my good intention ended up with a throbbing digit.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
March 6-10
Mar. 6
Up earlier today, well relatively, we had many places to visit prior to our 2:20pm flight and from the start we are behind.
The seat belt sign was still a glow and the plane still climbing into the pollution above Delhi when the first passengers began roaming the cabin. For the life of me I cannot understand the rush. Once we level off there will be ample time to get into bagged stowed overhead. There is a sticker on the baggage claim conveyor belt that keeps getting my hopes up for my luggage's safe arrival. Angus and Hamid's suitcases arrived promptly yet for some unknown reason mine took longer; the crowd waiting had thinned however not to a point where distress kicked in. It was silly as I could have simply taken mine on as a carry on. Nevertheless, we all arrived safely with our luggage in hand. In Varanasi we load our luggage into one of the school Van's and head towards Hamid's warehouse where my selections from places around Bhadohi and other outer lying regions are to be waiting. Even before we reach there however I know some has not arrived.
Mar.7
The joy of shopping in India. Bright and early which in Varanasi time means 45 minutes after we were suppose to arrive we leave. While shopping the staff first tries to show everything except what was previously inspected or what we ask or. Then while friendly showing one quality they try to slip in the higher quality and have it selected and after the fact. The other stalling/selling tactic is pleading with you to just show one more thing until they run out of new things or you leave. Today Angus just made them reduce the price of 4-5 of the sneaked in carpets.
Without fail whenever I turn down food that is when I get hungry; when we finished at Ideal I was offered fruit which I turned down. Too much effort and I would have preferred to eat at the next place anyways--keep moving. The day was successful and the evening included a BBQ feast with the Moghbelpour family.
Mar. 8
Yesterday may have been too productive as Angus decided to attempt to search out the elusive chain stitched pillows and nick knack shopping. I would find my mothers overpriced birthday present today. As she will probably read this prior to her birthday I will not mention what it is except to say by tradition you can only give it as a gift--it is bad luck if you buy it for yourself.
After shopping Vargha and I headed back towards the Ghat's to watch a fire ceremony. The main performance was nothing special; I was more taken by all of the spectators on land and in boats. We found a less crowded spot overlooking the ceremony to watch. We were actually going to leave early utnil a man dressed up as a Moneky God appeared with a huge mace and started walking through the crowd with a kind of swagger only a Monkey God can pull off, ocassionally posing for picture before disappearing as suddenly as he appeared.
We headed back to the rooftop cafe to say goodbye to some of the guys I had met over the course of my time here, share in double apple hookah, milkshakes and watch an impromptu Indian inspired jam session. A nice end to my time here in Varanasi. Except it was not the end, we were late for dinner and the motorcycle was acting strange which made for the another white knuckled ride with Vargha through traffic, it was up there with my first bike ride for nerves--oh Vargha had misplaced his glasses too. Oh India, how do you function.
Mar. 9
For all intents and purposes today is my last day in India at least for this year. Technically Angus and I fly out at 3am on the 10th however all of that time will be spent in the Delhi airport and on the tarmac--today is my last day. My India cell phone gets me again, if at any point in the night I groggily check the time on it without resetting the alarm it will not go off. This happened a lot--I know better, yet in that woozy land between wake and slumber errors in judgment run rampant.
Packed, ready to go and ate my last breakfast at Hamid's house, Vargha started a fast today between sunlight hours and just hoovered around us while we ate. I made an appearance at the morning assembly however it was brief as soon after prayer and the national anthem I was told we were leaving. Into one of the school buses packed full of the three of ours luggage we headed onto the roads and Hamid's warehouse to tidy up a few loose ends. Hamid would once again be making the trek back to Delhi with us to do a final inspection of the selected rugs prior to their packing and being sent to Bombay/Mumbai. At the moment we are sitting in the airport and Hamid nearly left his laptop with security save a caring employee and a thought I had earlier.
Angus and his business class just loaded. The waiting area is eerily empty--too many people boarded when they called the elderly and young. Goodbye India, when I awake in Germany the world will make sense again.
Before that can happen the country manages to throw another curve ball. The waiting room empty--the jet walk/sky walk--whatever you call the thing is jammed. I have found my long lost travel companions. Their attempt to beat a system by rushing has managed to slow everyone down.
It is far earlier now then it once was, 9:30am in India which puts me on a plane for 6 1/2 hours at this point. I am awake now only because someone turned on the cabin lights. My back aches, my chair did not recline well and pillow was of little help. In an hour and half the plane will begin its' final decent and in 2 hours I will be in Frankfurt at a little after 7am local time with 8 hours to kill. Angus had a cold last time I saw him and I cannot imagine the plane journey would have made him feel better--that said he is above in the plush 1st class and I way back in 45k.
My companions besides me are from California with a 12 1/2 hour flight ahead of them from Frankfurt and a surprisingly well behaved daughter switching between their laps. It must be trying to travel with small children. If I have kids I guess they will just miss out on flying until they are older. Someone needs to invent the transporter although I would have my reservations about being dematerialized.
I never met anyone in Delhi last night. I had dinner with members of Kashmir Arts, Angus and Hamid again. This time at Q'BA Bar(pronounced Cuba), good meal and awkward conversations.
Mar. 10
The sun is about to rise in spite of our best efforts to flee from it. A look outside and I know it is cold; I do not know where I am at the moment however it is snow covered. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning. Take warning.
We are now beginning our final decent into Ottawa. Nearly 24 hours ago I boarded a plane in Delhi 3am March 10th, now it is 5pm at 24 hours have passed. How silly is math? I am a little worried I will not make it home early enough to watch the Volleyball game and that my roommate Sean will have forgotten to leave my keys with security thus locking me out of my home. My hair is quite oily right now too. I guess given I have been traveling since the evening of 8th eastern time that is to be expected.
Odd way to end...
Just flew over Hull/Gatineau.
Up earlier today, well relatively, we had many places to visit prior to our 2:20pm flight and from the start we are behind.
The seat belt sign was still a glow and the plane still climbing into the pollution above Delhi when the first passengers began roaming the cabin. For the life of me I cannot understand the rush. Once we level off there will be ample time to get into bagged stowed overhead. There is a sticker on the baggage claim conveyor belt that keeps getting my hopes up for my luggage's safe arrival. Angus and Hamid's suitcases arrived promptly yet for some unknown reason mine took longer; the crowd waiting had thinned however not to a point where distress kicked in. It was silly as I could have simply taken mine on as a carry on. Nevertheless, we all arrived safely with our luggage in hand. In Varanasi we load our luggage into one of the school Van's and head towards Hamid's warehouse where my selections from places around Bhadohi and other outer lying regions are to be waiting. Even before we reach there however I know some has not arrived.
Mar.7
The joy of shopping in India. Bright and early which in Varanasi time means 45 minutes after we were suppose to arrive we leave. While shopping the staff first tries to show everything except what was previously inspected or what we ask or. Then while friendly showing one quality they try to slip in the higher quality and have it selected and after the fact. The other stalling/selling tactic is pleading with you to just show one more thing until they run out of new things or you leave. Today Angus just made them reduce the price of 4-5 of the sneaked in carpets.
Without fail whenever I turn down food that is when I get hungry; when we finished at Ideal I was offered fruit which I turned down. Too much effort and I would have preferred to eat at the next place anyways--keep moving. The day was successful and the evening included a BBQ feast with the Moghbelpour family.
Mar. 8
Yesterday may have been too productive as Angus decided to attempt to search out the elusive chain stitched pillows and nick knack shopping. I would find my mothers overpriced birthday present today. As she will probably read this prior to her birthday I will not mention what it is except to say by tradition you can only give it as a gift--it is bad luck if you buy it for yourself.
After shopping Vargha and I headed back towards the Ghat's to watch a fire ceremony. The main performance was nothing special; I was more taken by all of the spectators on land and in boats. We found a less crowded spot overlooking the ceremony to watch. We were actually going to leave early utnil a man dressed up as a Moneky God appeared with a huge mace and started walking through the crowd with a kind of swagger only a Monkey God can pull off, ocassionally posing for picture before disappearing as suddenly as he appeared.
We headed back to the rooftop cafe to say goodbye to some of the guys I had met over the course of my time here, share in double apple hookah, milkshakes and watch an impromptu Indian inspired jam session. A nice end to my time here in Varanasi. Except it was not the end, we were late for dinner and the motorcycle was acting strange which made for the another white knuckled ride with Vargha through traffic, it was up there with my first bike ride for nerves--oh Vargha had misplaced his glasses too. Oh India, how do you function.
Mar. 9
For all intents and purposes today is my last day in India at least for this year. Technically Angus and I fly out at 3am on the 10th however all of that time will be spent in the Delhi airport and on the tarmac--today is my last day. My India cell phone gets me again, if at any point in the night I groggily check the time on it without resetting the alarm it will not go off. This happened a lot--I know better, yet in that woozy land between wake and slumber errors in judgment run rampant.
Packed, ready to go and ate my last breakfast at Hamid's house, Vargha started a fast today between sunlight hours and just hoovered around us while we ate. I made an appearance at the morning assembly however it was brief as soon after prayer and the national anthem I was told we were leaving. Into one of the school buses packed full of the three of ours luggage we headed onto the roads and Hamid's warehouse to tidy up a few loose ends. Hamid would once again be making the trek back to Delhi with us to do a final inspection of the selected rugs prior to their packing and being sent to Bombay/Mumbai. At the moment we are sitting in the airport and Hamid nearly left his laptop with security save a caring employee and a thought I had earlier.
Angus and his business class just loaded. The waiting area is eerily empty--too many people boarded when they called the elderly and young. Goodbye India, when I awake in Germany the world will make sense again.
Before that can happen the country manages to throw another curve ball. The waiting room empty--the jet walk/sky walk--whatever you call the thing is jammed. I have found my long lost travel companions. Their attempt to beat a system by rushing has managed to slow everyone down.
It is far earlier now then it once was, 9:30am in India which puts me on a plane for 6 1/2 hours at this point. I am awake now only because someone turned on the cabin lights. My back aches, my chair did not recline well and pillow was of little help. In an hour and half the plane will begin its' final decent and in 2 hours I will be in Frankfurt at a little after 7am local time with 8 hours to kill. Angus had a cold last time I saw him and I cannot imagine the plane journey would have made him feel better--that said he is above in the plush 1st class and I way back in 45k.
My companions besides me are from California with a 12 1/2 hour flight ahead of them from Frankfurt and a surprisingly well behaved daughter switching between their laps. It must be trying to travel with small children. If I have kids I guess they will just miss out on flying until they are older. Someone needs to invent the transporter although I would have my reservations about being dematerialized.
I never met anyone in Delhi last night. I had dinner with members of Kashmir Arts, Angus and Hamid again. This time at Q'BA Bar(pronounced Cuba), good meal and awkward conversations.
Mar. 10
The sun is about to rise in spite of our best efforts to flee from it. A look outside and I know it is cold; I do not know where I am at the moment however it is snow covered. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning. Take warning.
We are now beginning our final decent into Ottawa. Nearly 24 hours ago I boarded a plane in Delhi 3am March 10th, now it is 5pm at 24 hours have passed. How silly is math? I am a little worried I will not make it home early enough to watch the Volleyball game and that my roommate Sean will have forgotten to leave my keys with security thus locking me out of my home. My hair is quite oily right now too. I guess given I have been traveling since the evening of 8th eastern time that is to be expected.
Odd way to end...
Just flew over Hull/Gatineau.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
March 1-5
Mar.1
One month, albeit the shortest month of the year, nevertheless I left Canada a month ago; I remember it being cold.
Waking up today was welcomed by the sun shining and happy screams of a playground filled with excited children, meaning I overslept. There would be not time this morning to join in any school functions if I intended to get to Vinod's at a reasonable time; in hopes of finishing with time to meet up with Shruti and do part of my long delayed souvenir shopping. Despite my best efforts by noon Hamid had been sucked back into his office.
First stop for the day is not Vinod's, it is a company for one of Hamid's other clients and is a shag carpet store. I hate this style and am well aware of Angus' dislike for all things modern, well most things modern. There is no way that these styles would fit into our store; possibly a separate affiliated modern only store, and that is quite the long shot. We head onto Vinod'[s 29 days after I first tried to go there.
We spend a few hours at Vinod's going throughv his carpets and like Ideal Carpets I recognize a lot of patterns from stock in the store over the year which is good and bad. Good in that it makes it easy to select and bad in that it limits the variety in choice. Plus in the back of my mind I think "Angus probably saw this exact same carpet before and skipped on it, he will think me the fool for selecting it this time." Then again, maybe he could use the second opinion to convince him to try them, who knows--Angus I suppose; it is always nice to have that sober second thought. That said, Canada should abolish the Senate--oh politics how confusing you are.
From Vinod's I head to PDR mall to meet up with Shruti for some gift hunting before her train back to Delhi. You are all getting tacky Indian things if I manage to find them--enjoy.
Mar.2
It is basically too dark right now to see what I am writing. The day is over although I am not entirely sure that it began. I am about 15 minutes away from leaving for the train station to catch another overnight and still yet to write about my day. I tried starting a few times and ran into a block or simply stopped because I found distractions to entertain myself with. Plus overall the day was unexciting; at least to write about. I slept in a bit (9am), read in the sunshine 6 1/2 stories up away from everything, watched a movie and T.V. shows, caught up on emails and sat through another Hindi dominated dinner. This all I suspect comes across a bit jaded, I enjoyed it all I just have already written about days like today extensively. When I was a top that roof nobody in the world knew where I was--no strangers, friends or family. When I jumped down I managed to give two carpenters quite the fright.
I wait at the train station for another overnight to Delhi, the same train I took nearly two weeks ago. I did the math on the ride over and I will have spent 50 hours on trains when all is said and done. Whether or not this is a long time I do not know. I know I like overnight traveling; when I am able to get a good night sleep in, it saves the days from being lost in transit. The train however is late, no surprise there, the only question that remains is how late will it be, and how eaten while I be in the meantime.
Mar.3
Starts off where March 2nd left me; waiting for a 90 minute delayed train being eaten by bugs wanting to get on the train while I am still groggy enough to quickly hit REM sleep; ideally before my fellow passengers begin snoring. A hopeful yet realistic goal; although one I would fail at which ends up making for one long day.
Breakfast on the train: a two egg omelet, ten peas, three french fries, two pieces of slightly toasted bread, a mango juice box and the three tea bag half cup of tea I drank. It does tide one over until the next time you smell food, so it has that going for it.
I made my morning tea nearly more tea bags then water in hopes that doing so may solve all of my sleep related ideas until my next glass later on; a daring move I realize. Four or five cups of tea later I end up on a patio with two Indians and a German man watching Canada give Pakistan a bit of a scare at the world cup before they eventually lose.
Mar.4
Angus arrives today after his day and a bit of traveling and I will get a chance to see his approach to everything here in India. More then that I am curious to see if the exporters treat him differently from me; I suspect that they will,. His flight gets in at 10:40am and just after 10 we head towards the airport to meet him there. From there I believe we will head directly to suppliers and start the whirlwind that will be the last six days.
Ever delayed, Angus this time, his flight is 45 minutes delayed which strikes me as a fitting start to his sojourn in India this year. we find Angus and stop by two of the suppliers that I had put carpets aside at while there is still daylight.
The majority of what I put aside was passed over by Angus however he did pick some and more from the companies within the same styles. It all comes as a bit of a relief as now I get to sit back and observe mainly--interjecting when things truly fascinate me. Now that I think about it I could have done more of that all along. Dinner was at Eggspectations which, as tends to be the case with western companies in Asia, is far nicer then back home. For myself it amounted to endless salad bar, endless desert and endless Tandoori Chicken Tikka.
Mar.5
The first full day with Angus here in India and another beautiful day. We returned to two of the companies I had been to weeks ago as well as a warehouse and a quick stop at ICE (International Carpet Expo) simply to meet a silk carpet supplier. Once there around each corner Hamid and Angus were running into exporters they knew; by this point I have met enough to run into a handful that recognized me as well,.
The group we went to see at ICE, as I mentioned, was a silk carpet exporter that Angus had discovered while at a trade show in Germany. The funny thing is of course Angus met a German wholesaler of the silk carpets who was foolish enough to leave the Indian exporter tag on. As much as possible he skips the middle man to keep the prices the lowest possible and this is simply one of those times.
While at the silk exporter I also got to pick out my very own silk carpet. A gift from Angus; my very own hand picked silk carpet which is quite the memento. There are truly some amazing pieces out there although they may not fit into the style of stock carried by CRT. One of the handy things about having me gone aroudn to the places first is I have the starting prices and maybe a slightly discounted one; then Angus can work his magic and lower it a bit more to an Angus price.
For dinner it was a five star hotel with one of the best chef's in the world, who happens to get paid $2500 a day. A few years back the restaurant was rated in the top 10 in the world, I am unsure if they still hold that rating although the food was amazing. On of the suppliers treated us as well in an attempt to coheres our return to their shop tomorrow morning. They have been quite kind to me however the product I was mistaken on and should not have listened to their story. It looked the same yet they claimed things were different now.
One month, albeit the shortest month of the year, nevertheless I left Canada a month ago; I remember it being cold.
Waking up today was welcomed by the sun shining and happy screams of a playground filled with excited children, meaning I overslept. There would be not time this morning to join in any school functions if I intended to get to Vinod's at a reasonable time; in hopes of finishing with time to meet up with Shruti and do part of my long delayed souvenir shopping. Despite my best efforts by noon Hamid had been sucked back into his office.
First stop for the day is not Vinod's, it is a company for one of Hamid's other clients and is a shag carpet store. I hate this style and am well aware of Angus' dislike for all things modern, well most things modern. There is no way that these styles would fit into our store; possibly a separate affiliated modern only store, and that is quite the long shot. We head onto Vinod'[s 29 days after I first tried to go there.
We spend a few hours at Vinod's going throughv his carpets and like Ideal Carpets I recognize a lot of patterns from stock in the store over the year which is good and bad. Good in that it makes it easy to select and bad in that it limits the variety in choice. Plus in the back of my mind I think "Angus probably saw this exact same carpet before and skipped on it, he will think me the fool for selecting it this time." Then again, maybe he could use the second opinion to convince him to try them, who knows--Angus I suppose; it is always nice to have that sober second thought. That said, Canada should abolish the Senate--oh politics how confusing you are.
From Vinod's I head to PDR mall to meet up with Shruti for some gift hunting before her train back to Delhi. You are all getting tacky Indian things if I manage to find them--enjoy.
Mar.2
It is basically too dark right now to see what I am writing. The day is over although I am not entirely sure that it began. I am about 15 minutes away from leaving for the train station to catch another overnight and still yet to write about my day. I tried starting a few times and ran into a block or simply stopped because I found distractions to entertain myself with. Plus overall the day was unexciting; at least to write about. I slept in a bit (9am), read in the sunshine 6 1/2 stories up away from everything, watched a movie and T.V. shows, caught up on emails and sat through another Hindi dominated dinner. This all I suspect comes across a bit jaded, I enjoyed it all I just have already written about days like today extensively. When I was a top that roof nobody in the world knew where I was--no strangers, friends or family. When I jumped down I managed to give two carpenters quite the fright.
I wait at the train station for another overnight to Delhi, the same train I took nearly two weeks ago. I did the math on the ride over and I will have spent 50 hours on trains when all is said and done. Whether or not this is a long time I do not know. I know I like overnight traveling; when I am able to get a good night sleep in, it saves the days from being lost in transit. The train however is late, no surprise there, the only question that remains is how late will it be, and how eaten while I be in the meantime.
Mar.3
Starts off where March 2nd left me; waiting for a 90 minute delayed train being eaten by bugs wanting to get on the train while I am still groggy enough to quickly hit REM sleep; ideally before my fellow passengers begin snoring. A hopeful yet realistic goal; although one I would fail at which ends up making for one long day.
Breakfast on the train: a two egg omelet, ten peas, three french fries, two pieces of slightly toasted bread, a mango juice box and the three tea bag half cup of tea I drank. It does tide one over until the next time you smell food, so it has that going for it.
I made my morning tea nearly more tea bags then water in hopes that doing so may solve all of my sleep related ideas until my next glass later on; a daring move I realize. Four or five cups of tea later I end up on a patio with two Indians and a German man watching Canada give Pakistan a bit of a scare at the world cup before they eventually lose.
Mar.4
Angus arrives today after his day and a bit of traveling and I will get a chance to see his approach to everything here in India. More then that I am curious to see if the exporters treat him differently from me; I suspect that they will,. His flight gets in at 10:40am and just after 10 we head towards the airport to meet him there. From there I believe we will head directly to suppliers and start the whirlwind that will be the last six days.
Ever delayed, Angus this time, his flight is 45 minutes delayed which strikes me as a fitting start to his sojourn in India this year. we find Angus and stop by two of the suppliers that I had put carpets aside at while there is still daylight.
The majority of what I put aside was passed over by Angus however he did pick some and more from the companies within the same styles. It all comes as a bit of a relief as now I get to sit back and observe mainly--interjecting when things truly fascinate me. Now that I think about it I could have done more of that all along. Dinner was at Eggspectations which, as tends to be the case with western companies in Asia, is far nicer then back home. For myself it amounted to endless salad bar, endless desert and endless Tandoori Chicken Tikka.
Mar.5
The first full day with Angus here in India and another beautiful day. We returned to two of the companies I had been to weeks ago as well as a warehouse and a quick stop at ICE (International Carpet Expo) simply to meet a silk carpet supplier. Once there around each corner Hamid and Angus were running into exporters they knew; by this point I have met enough to run into a handful that recognized me as well,.
The group we went to see at ICE, as I mentioned, was a silk carpet exporter that Angus had discovered while at a trade show in Germany. The funny thing is of course Angus met a German wholesaler of the silk carpets who was foolish enough to leave the Indian exporter tag on. As much as possible he skips the middle man to keep the prices the lowest possible and this is simply one of those times.
While at the silk exporter I also got to pick out my very own silk carpet. A gift from Angus; my very own hand picked silk carpet which is quite the memento. There are truly some amazing pieces out there although they may not fit into the style of stock carried by CRT. One of the handy things about having me gone aroudn to the places first is I have the starting prices and maybe a slightly discounted one; then Angus can work his magic and lower it a bit more to an Angus price.
For dinner it was a five star hotel with one of the best chef's in the world, who happens to get paid $2500 a day. A few years back the restaurant was rated in the top 10 in the world, I am unsure if they still hold that rating although the food was amazing. On of the suppliers treated us as well in an attempt to coheres our return to their shop tomorrow morning. They have been quite kind to me however the product I was mistaken on and should not have listened to their story. It looked the same yet they claimed things were different now.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Yes and No
Fun fact, Nay in Korean means yes and Nae in Hindi means no. This would rarely be a problem except I had become quite accustom to elongating my Nay's while in Korea as I tried to emulate, speak, and occasionally mock Koreans. I realize it has been over a year since my last time in Korea and I rarely use my limited Korean however you become use to it to the point that you do it without thinking, and being in an Asian country I keep slipping and using Nay in the wrong context. Right now I have to make a conscious effort to use Nae in the correct fashion and avoid confusion.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Varanasi--Feb.28
Damn you Varanasi food!
It had been sometime since I had hugged my toilet so I guess we were due for a acquaintance. It serves me right for accepting food from youth group members. They are just so damn good at guilting people into a snack and everything tastes so good.
The morning was not off to a good start and I had promised Ruby that I would join in her second period class so I laboured to get prepared. Despite my bodies wishes I managed to join in for the first two assemblies of the day before crawling back to my bed in defeat. A few restless hours later I searched out Hamid to get our days work started, which was visiting a few more suppliers in Bhadohi. That of course meant a long and bumpy car ride was ahead of us and my unsettled stomach was not looking forward to it. Still we pressed on visiting two of the four places we had intended, neither of which were the place I had most wanted to visit. The place I wanted to visit is strangely enough the only place I knew about prior to coming to India. We missed it because I feel asleep and Hamid was constantly distracted by phone calls. It all was probably for the best given my stomach and the fact that tomorrow is another day, I will skip going to Ruby's village with Vargha and instead hit up the last couple suppliers I can see before Hamid and I return to Delhi to meet Angus.
It had been sometime since I had hugged my toilet so I guess we were due for a acquaintance. It serves me right for accepting food from youth group members. They are just so damn good at guilting people into a snack and everything tastes so good.
The morning was not off to a good start and I had promised Ruby that I would join in her second period class so I laboured to get prepared. Despite my bodies wishes I managed to join in for the first two assemblies of the day before crawling back to my bed in defeat. A few restless hours later I searched out Hamid to get our days work started, which was visiting a few more suppliers in Bhadohi. That of course meant a long and bumpy car ride was ahead of us and my unsettled stomach was not looking forward to it. Still we pressed on visiting two of the four places we had intended, neither of which were the place I had most wanted to visit. The place I wanted to visit is strangely enough the only place I knew about prior to coming to India. We missed it because I feel asleep and Hamid was constantly distracted by phone calls. It all was probably for the best given my stomach and the fact that tomorrow is another day, I will skip going to Ruby's village with Vargha and instead hit up the last couple suppliers I can see before Hamid and I return to Delhi to meet Angus.
Varanasi--Feb.27
Any plans to see carpets today went out the window when my phone rang; it was Hamid trying to figure out where I was. Nobody actually looks for you in this house, if you are not in their direct walking route then you get a phone call. Only if they are truly looking for you mind you; if whatever they want to tell you can wait then it will. I am invited to breakfast with the Baha'i instructors again and upon my arrival learn today I am to visit an orphanage with the group of Baha'i members including a youth group. It all kind of reminds me of a youth group Seb convinced me to go to in high school although these kids were doing a lot more then we did. There are 17 kids at the orphanage, 8 of which live there and the others just come during the day for a kind of daycare their parents would otherwise be unable to put them in. I mainly spent the afternoon playing games and singing songs with the kids while the grown up discussed what was happening there, what could be improved and what they could do to help.
In the evening Vargha and I zipped around town on a motorcycle visiting people and participating in a Baha'i devotion group. It is basically a prayer circle where each person said their daily prayer aloud with the occasional song. I basically sat quietly head lowered listening to the whole thing. At the devotion group I recieved the third food I ate that night that I regret eating, the previous two places I had also been given something to eat and I am not entirely sure which or what combination of the three did me in however later that night I would come to regret all of their generosity. I would have said no however when Vargha attempted to lave without eating they yelled at him--I did not want to get yelled at. We then met up with Shruit and another of Vargha's friends for board games at Farsal's cafe once again overlooking the Ganges. Nice end to the evening, although my night of Delhi belly was just beginning.
In the evening Vargha and I zipped around town on a motorcycle visiting people and participating in a Baha'i devotion group. It is basically a prayer circle where each person said their daily prayer aloud with the occasional song. I basically sat quietly head lowered listening to the whole thing. At the devotion group I recieved the third food I ate that night that I regret eating, the previous two places I had also been given something to eat and I am not entirely sure which or what combination of the three did me in however later that night I would come to regret all of their generosity. I would have said no however when Vargha attempted to lave without eating they yelled at him--I did not want to get yelled at. We then met up with Shruit and another of Vargha's friends for board games at Farsal's cafe once again overlooking the Ganges. Nice end to the evening, although my night of Delhi belly was just beginning.
Varanasi--Feb.26
Up surprisingly early today which is good, my time here is coming to an end and it would be a shame to waste it sleeping. In the morning the kids had a musical assembly which I was invited to participate in. I still cannot quite understand the excitement the children have for school on Saturday; to each their own I guess. It was fun to join in Guitar class and play along with them offering tips and showing the class how to play a few songs. Their teacher had only been teaching them gospel songs so I tried to stay in that spirit with "In the sun" and "Save tonight". I think more then anything they enjoyed my struggles to keep a tune.
I had breakfast with Hamid, Vargha and two other men who are both from the Baha'i institute so religion was the main topic of breakfast. I always enjoy the topic however it seems to upset many people again for reasons I cannot understand although I suspect reason actually has very little to do with it. Hamid had told me the day before that we would be going back to Bhadohi today, what he failed to mention was when. Having learned that if he does not see me then he will get lost in office work I settled in the living room with a book and waited.
Every time he passed assuring me that soon we will go. The forth time he claims to be ready so the lunches are packed, his computer bag as well and both brought down to the car, I follow them down and wait knowing that I still have 20+ minutes before he will be down. I end up chatting in the sun with a cute teacher/university student who is on her spare period.
The spiced milk tea is strange in many ways: the spices are always different it seems and soon after pouring your glass a thin skin develops that never quite goes away managing to stick to the glass at the end. Good taste just odd and it takes some getting use to.
I tried to get onto the roof of Hamid's warehouse today and was confronted by the largest beehive that I have ever seen in person. I would wager it is four feet deep and about a three foot diamond in the rest of directions. I do not like bees although I am rarely one to avoid doing something because of their presence--this however was one of those times. There were also numerous smaller hives spotting the four staircases I would have to climb to reach the larger one and that was too much of a task just to take in the sight from his roof, plus I would have to return by descending that same staircase.
Just one supplier today who, as is becoming common place, misrepresented what they had in an effort to waste everyones time. It is like they except to be able to convince me when i give them specific requirements that I in fact do not know what I want and should buy something completely different. There was no wine and board games this night instead the evening was filled with a meeting for the Baha'i instructors which occupied everyone for the majority of the night.
I had breakfast with Hamid, Vargha and two other men who are both from the Baha'i institute so religion was the main topic of breakfast. I always enjoy the topic however it seems to upset many people again for reasons I cannot understand although I suspect reason actually has very little to do with it. Hamid had told me the day before that we would be going back to Bhadohi today, what he failed to mention was when. Having learned that if he does not see me then he will get lost in office work I settled in the living room with a book and waited.
Every time he passed assuring me that soon we will go. The forth time he claims to be ready so the lunches are packed, his computer bag as well and both brought down to the car, I follow them down and wait knowing that I still have 20+ minutes before he will be down. I end up chatting in the sun with a cute teacher/university student who is on her spare period.
The spiced milk tea is strange in many ways: the spices are always different it seems and soon after pouring your glass a thin skin develops that never quite goes away managing to stick to the glass at the end. Good taste just odd and it takes some getting use to.
I tried to get onto the roof of Hamid's warehouse today and was confronted by the largest beehive that I have ever seen in person. I would wager it is four feet deep and about a three foot diamond in the rest of directions. I do not like bees although I am rarely one to avoid doing something because of their presence--this however was one of those times. There were also numerous smaller hives spotting the four staircases I would have to climb to reach the larger one and that was too much of a task just to take in the sight from his roof, plus I would have to return by descending that same staircase.
Just one supplier today who, as is becoming common place, misrepresented what they had in an effort to waste everyones time. It is like they except to be able to convince me when i give them specific requirements that I in fact do not know what I want and should buy something completely different. There was no wine and board games this night instead the evening was filled with a meeting for the Baha'i instructors which occupied everyone for the majority of the night.
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