all over the map

well i kind of fell off the blog wagon..so much has happened since I last wrote, i'm not even sure what to include now!
point form catch up: varanasi - Yamuna trip - amritsar -delhi - CANADA!

VARANASI
- ancient, narrow winding that are hard to walk down cuz they're so full of people and still scooters somehow get through
- many sets of stairs down to the Ganges (Ganga) River (called ghats) where people are bathing, praying, making offerings and burning bodies.
- yep burning bodies. at the burning ghats. fires have burned continuously for thousands of years, day and night cremating bodies. if you die in Varanasi you're freed from the cycle of rebirth. so it's a popular place to die.
- visited an amazing university and the hospital, where my travel partner was checked in with malaria...he recovered...but i had to leave him there while i took off for a scheduled group trip starting in Delhi

YAMUNA RIVER TRIP
the group trip was with an enviro organization called Swechha, based in Delhi. They do many amazing things, one being education on pollution of the Yamuna River.
Yamuna is as sacred as Ganga, and equally if not more so polluted once it goes through Delhi. In a short stretch, Delhi pumps out 80% of the total pollution of the whole river. They call it black Yamuna...and it's literally black with bubbles of methane burbling up. Delhi kills the river. There is no dissolved oxygen in it when it leaves...and there are many many millions of people downstream that rely on the river for survival. Unbelievable.
The trip was 12 days long. It started in Yamunotri ( origin of the river in the Himalayas) where the river is pristine and beautiful, and ended in Agra (Taj Mahal) where the river is severely polluted. We travelled in 3 cars (16 of us), stopping to camp beside Yamuna for a week through the mountains, visiting villages and religious sites that are all situated near or on the banks of the river, pairing up with a US circus troup that toured India for 6 months doing an environmental circus show in slums and small villages (DreamTimeCircus), and generally found a connection with the river that is impossible without spending time bathing in her and paying close attention to the relationship between landscape and human use and her ecological changes.
Quite incredible.
It's alot to describe in written form, but do ask questions if you're interested. or even good swechha...they do awesome work in Delhi.

AMRITSAR
This is where the Golden Temple is...the most important Sikh Temple in the World
- Met up with Dylan..to see his blond streaked, lungi wearing, ears pierced, moustache twirled self in fine standing!
- enjoyed the laid back, most welcoming of all people atmosphere of the golden temple
- ate in the langar - an enormous hall with endless quantities of food for anyone under the sun that wants a meal. it's the largest volunteer run service in all of India. Quite something to see! and tasty to eat!
- one night i went to eat and MR. Paul Singh appeared in front of me, as if he was expecting me, and proceeded to show me around the whole temple grounds. He took me to a small Sikh ashram (him barefoot, me in his sandals...he'd have it no other way) for another meal, and there an incredible woman revealed the beauty of Sikhism to me over about an hour. Her passion and devotion was so inspiring....the whole experience answered questions I'd been having and prompted new thoughts about how to act in the world.
Everything happens right when I need it to.

DELHI
I ended up here for a long time because I made a few friends on the Yamuna trip that I wanted to spend time with. One of them being extra special and worthy of me returning to India in September to spend more time with him! Following my heart. And it feels great!
So I'm looking into volunteer options in Delhi and all kinds of opportunities are popping up.
I'm devoted to living an exciting life ans making it into exactly what i hope for it to be! No 'givens' or 'shoulds'. That's where I'm at. To make every day full of learning, loving, and truly living to the fullest.
This decision feels like the best way I can live to the fullest. It feels Right. and that's exciting!

CANADA
I"m home now!
Arrived in Calgary to the warm hugging arms of mom, dad and grandma, on the 19th of April.
SPent time with family in that city..headed up to Edmonton to catch up with friends for a few days, then moved out to Dinosaur Provincial Park (near Brooks Alberta) where i'll be living and working for the next 4 months. It's an awesome job...guiding people through the badlands, pointing out amazing plants and dinosaur fossils!
Since being home I rid myself of: lice, Delhi belly, parasites, and a canadian cold i caught on arrival. Still have to deal with the cavity i created ...i think on indian sugar chai.

Ahhh the joys of travel.


Dylan and I figured out that in 3 days we landed in 5 countries and spent enough time in each to eat a emal and drink the water...so it's no wonder the ol' body was a bit confused once i got home. (from India - Bangkok for 2 days where i played with dear cousin Teyana. Then up to Korea for 8 hour layover where we had time to meet 2 friends teaching english, take public transit, eat kimchi, and get back on the plane. Next to Seattle for a couple hours, and finally Calgary.)

So i'm quite settled back into Canadian routines. It took awhile to want any food other than daal, roti and curd...but i'm regaiing an appetite..mostly for sweets unfortunate for my health!

happy and healthy and hopeful to hear from you when ever you get a chance!

Thanks for following my travels. it meant alot to know you were thinking of me and with me in some way.

Be well and try to have a little dance in the streets now and again, it really livens up the day!

Lauren