India (Day 2)

(Delayed blog entry from June 2012) 

As I write these words I sit at the foothills of the Himalayas in the area known as Dharamsala (more specifically, a tiny village named Bhagsu).  I've only been here for 2 hours so far, but already I can tell this is a beautiful, peaceful and majestic place.  Our volunteer group took a 12 hour bus ride from New Delhi last night.  I’m sitting on top of a large bolder the size of a truck in a wooded area … a stream of melted snow from the mountains gently flows not too far way and I can hear the water as it caresses the rocks.  All types of birds are singing and I can hear locals chatter in the distance.  It has never occurred to me that a place this beautiful could ever exist on this planet.

We were introduced to Vickas and his family: Nisha (wife) and Ibu (son).  We meet for breakfast at 10am and will soon be introduced to the Tibetan refugee monks we’ll be working with for the next few weeks.  I’m really excited to learn from my interactions as these days unfold.  This is truly an experience of a lifetime.

India (Day 1)

(Delayed blog entry from June 2012) 
New Delhi, India (4 am)

My first 24 hours in India have been nothing short of amazing to say the least.  There are SO many people here … the vast majority of whom live in extreme poverty.  The level of chaos sensed from being immersed in this city can be overwhelming yet energizing if you don’t let the chaos consume you.  I feel as though I've been here for 3 days already. A few of us from our volunteer group have visited a few sights around the city: the gates of India, lotus temple, a Sikh temple and a few restaurants.

To witness so many people devoted to their rituals, traditions, and religious artifacts is truly astonishing.  I must admit that a lot of what I've experienced so far reminds me of life growing up in Trinidad and is very nostalgic.  The people share a sense of carefree hope that divinity will take care of future needs, leaving them to only focus on the present day/hour/moment.  Faith fills the gap between what I known and cannot be predicted or explained.  I wonder if such philosophies differ from scientific thoughts in the west; for all knowledge seems faith-based and all belief is in itself a promiscuous undertaking.

Let’s see what today has in store for me. I am ready to learn whatever the universe is ready to teach.

India (Day 0)

(Delayed blog entry from June 2012) 
Asiana Airlines Flight# 0Z213 Enroute to Seoul, South Korea

Well, so far it’s been about 2 hours since my plane took off to India and in that time I’ve been able to lose my cell phone and misinterpret my Korean airhostess, thereby forfeiting my much awaited dinner.  I would not have planned it this way, but in any event I wished to be “technology free” during my travels and missing a meal might help me remain humbled and focused on my goals in India. Only 19 hours to go …

(2 hours later) Found my cell phone after frantically ripping my airplane seat apart.  Drank two cups of orange juice, so no longer starving … things are looking up! I wonder who and what is waiting for me in India ... this trip is long overdue.  This journey I’m on, this magnetism to the foreign land form which my great-grandfather was born, isn’t about the geography … instead I travel for the people and the life lessons they will bestow upon me.  Land is land, food is food, music is music, but people share a collective wisdom which is unique to each and every country.  The lessons I hope to learn in India will leave me a changed man … I already know that.

We are now in Seoul, South Korea.  Plane took off at 1pm, flew for 11+ hours, then landed at 5pm.  I’m a zombie.  3 hour layover before my flight to Delhi.  Ordered sushi and a beer to help kill the time.  Lots of Asian people here, I wonder if I stick out from the crowd? The sushi looks amazing.