That's All Folks!

Things I’ll Miss:

-The colors at the vegetable markets-the fruit piled up in neat pyramids and the women with their bright saris sitting cross legged on carts selling produce

-The parade in Udaipur-the hand-held chandelier lights, decorated horses,  and Hindi electronic music with a crowd of boys dancing behind with fireworks

-Getting so familiar with chai that I could assess the acute differences between them ("Mmm this has a bit more cardamom than I prefer...")

-Chandra-ji’s hospitality-he brought me a lassi just because I mentioned in passing that I liked them 

-Stick dancing with the little girls that wore more makeup and jewelry than any adult I'd ever seen at the Dashara festival in Ogna village

-Picking oranges at my host-family's land in Lingee, Sikkim

-Sitting in the clay room by the fire with my host-grandfather talking about art in Lingee, Sikkim

-Walking in the park with Chandra-ji and Ankit (my host-brother)

-The 24-7 support from the staff and my friends

-How comfy Indian clothes are-OMG pajama pants all the time

-5 rupee biscuits! (that's 10 cents.)

-Diwali and Bhai Tika celebrations with my host-family in Sikkim

-Stimulating lunch conversations with my friends after lectures

-Drinking lassis out of clay cups

-Eating fresh chapatis cooked over fire soaked in buffalo butter

Things I Won’t Miss:

-TRAIN BATHROOMS

-Street dogs

-Having to constantly worry about not touching my face or contaminating anything

-The constant use of hand sanitizer
-Being sick....go away waterborne bacteria!

-No personal space

-Getting touched-poked-grabbed by beggar children when I don't give them money

-Getting whistled/stared at/sang at/physically groped by men

-Not being able to communicate well in either English or Hindi

-Having to come to terms with the fact  that people are always going to be staring at me-or most likely talking about me in a language I don’t understand

-Being overcharged for everything because I look foreign

-Having to adhere to the gender norms for women-not staying out late, covering up my body, avoiding making excessive eye-contact with men

-People spitting all over the place (Dadi-ji (my host-grandmother in Jaipur) blowing her nose on my floor)

-Never feeling fully clean

-Constantly being skeptical of people’s intentions/what shopkeepers tell you ("This is camel leather! My family makes these! I found these boxes in my grandmother’s house! You’re my first customer of the day!")

-Being too cold in Sikkim to take a shower-hence 8 days null

Things that Caught Me Off-Guard:

-The beggar children with no shoes, disheveled hair, no food

-Parents slapping their young children on the train

-Cows really do rule the road

-Getting asked if I was married....by everybody

-Personal questions (How much $ does your father make?)
-The slums
-The extreme poverty
-The trash in public spaces

Funny things:

-The non-sensical graphic t-shirts with weird English phrases “Facebook...let’s Tweet?”

-Men wearing sparkling sweaters

-People's obsession with Angry Birds themed clothing/accessories

-Elephants and camels waiting at traffic lights along with rickshaws and motorcycles

-Being entirely CIRCLED by a group of 40 Indian men wearing shawls while playing SET card game on the platform

-How my host-mom would blast Hindu blessing mantras in order to mute the sound of her aunt she hates downstairs

-MIsspelled/funny menu items- chocolate barf, hot chocolage, Obama omelet- with white and brown toast,” Twinkle Twinkle Little Baby, “Banana Crap”

-”America is a mixed vegetable”- Jaisalmeer fort shopkeeper talking about the different kinds of tourists he meets

-How hard candy is a viable substitute for small change

Things that Hit Me:

-The sunset on the roof-top in Udaipur with Jess and Maddy

-The people at the Pakastani Stateless Citizens Camp-their hopelessness was something I couldn't really handle

-Sitting at the dam in Ogna listening to the sounds of the jungle the cows, the women, the chickens, the mantras

-TAJ MAHAL

-The road-side villages on the way to Lingee

-Waking up in the desert in the morning- the red color of the sand

-Waking up in the middle of the night in the desert and seeing the clearest stars I've ever seen.

Things I like:

-How women in Sikkim wear cardigans over their saris when it’s cold

-The Bhatt's living room with no furniture-just matts

-Diwali lights hanging from the buildings- it reminds me of Christmas!

-Driving in a taxi with the windows down listening to Hindi music

-Camel man teaching me how to wear my dupatta in a desert way

-Random man showing Miranda, Andrea and me his old house with the Indigo paintings in Jaisalmeer

-Being given nail polish by the beauty parlor girl sitting in the jeep waiting to go to Lingee in Silguri

-The sandstone buildings with intricate cut-work in Jailsameer

-Manoj-ji giving me his jacket during the ISP

Things I’ve learned:

-How to bargain

-how to rip chapati with one hand

-How to use an eastern toilet

-How to tell eve-teasing guys to STFU

-How to not judge-there is no right and wrong way to do/think about things

-How to be unnoticed (as possible)

-How to breathe effortlessly through my mouth

-How to ask questions and keep people engaged

-How to jump into situations that i know NOTHING about-and just trust the process that things won’t fall apart

-How to wear the same shirt for 14 days and have it NOT smell

-How to answer questions vaguely as to not give much personal information while still being friendly

-Washing my clothes with a bucket

-Washing my feet with my....feet

-How to be comfortable not fitting in/feeling out of place

-How to survive on a LOT LESS than I’m used to

-How to sum up America in 1 sentence- "people eat sandwiches"

-How cotton/sesame seeds/okra/pomegranates really grow!

The End? Throughout this semester, I’ve been asked over and over, “So, why did you come to India?” To be honest, I never could give anyone a satisfying answer. I know why I DIDN’T come here though-I wasn’t looking for spiritual enlightenment or to  “find” myself or to feel more cultured or be reassured of my privileged position in the world.  Yet, as I near the end of this journey, I’m starting to realize why it is I really came here and what value it has for me. 

More so now than ever, I realize how lucky I am. You definitely don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone (or at least 8,000 miles away.) I know I have an incredibly supportive family and caring friends waiting for me back home. I’m lucky to be physically able and mentally stable which is something I took so easily for granted before coming here. I can afford things I don’t need, wear what I want, and make my own decisions. I’m lucky to be an American. America, with all of it’s problems, is a wonderful country. I am so thankful to be a woman living in the USA where I have the freedom to live however I choose. After witnessing firsthand the brutal oppression of Indian women and experiencing a fair share of gendered-discrimination myself, I feel I have a responsibility to do whatever I can on behalf of all women to improve their lives. So next semester and hopefully afterwards, I will be interning at the Women Helping Battered Women NGO in Burlington. In accordance with one of the main tenants of this program- “Change begins with the community,” I’m going to do what I can in my community to improve the lives of the people in it. 

This may sound all idealistic and high and mighty-and maybe I am just riding the high at the moment-but even if I do come down, I know my perspective has been shifted and my values have been both solidified and debunked. So, I know things will be different. I’m not sure how these things will come into play when I am plopped back into my old surroundings-but for the first time in a long time, I feel I’m on the path I’m supposed to be and I’m excited for what’s to come.

End of the semester goodies

Currently, I'm sitting on my bed in Hotel Kwality in New Delhi eating a room service breakfast of cornflakes, warm milk* and toast with what I think is mayonnaise-because butter has never tasted this sour before. 

*Our first morning in Jaipur at Sreeniwas Guesthouse, we sat down to a breakfast of cornflakes and a pitcher of warm milk. We all thought this was hilarious mistake and took it as a "sweet" gesture by the guesthouse staff to try to accommodate our American tastes-while missing the target by just an inch- "Oh tah har har, look at these Indians trying to make AMERICAN food." Only later on did we realize that warm milk was intentional and was a very normal part of an Indian breakfast. It was a jarring and honestly embarrassing realization to think that WE thought THEY were doing it wrong-just one of the many times when our elitist Western attitudes revealed themselves to us. After the 5th or 6th breakfast of warm milk and cornflakes, I began to LOVE IT. Totes bringing this one back to the states!

Anywho, the last two weeks (the FINAL two weeks) of the program have whirled by quickly. It's hard to believe it's over! I can no longer say "Mai tourist mahi hu, Mai chartra hu!" (I'm not a tourist, I'm a student!)- because now I'm just a tourist hanging out in Delhi going to restaurants and museums.

To recap as succinctly as possible, I'll divide this post up into neat sections for your convenience and my sanity:

1.)ISP Presentations

2.)Banquet

3.)Wrap-up sessions

4.)Saying Goodbye

5.)Jailsameer

6.) Lists

7.) The End?

1. )ISP Presentations:  Not sure how I did it, but I finished writing my ISP the day before it was due. A few of us walked to a printing office and watched the pounds and pounds of paper print out-which is not really in alignment with the program's mission of sustainability, but after a month of researching, traveling, and translating interviews from Nepali to English-all sprinkled with bouts of food poisoning, I needed something HARD and REAL to show how much effort I had put into it. 

The next day, we loaded up our things and headed out to The Woods Villa where we would spend the next two days presenting our projects to the staff and a few SIT administrators that were visiting from the main office in Brattleboro, Vermont! OMG VERMONTERS! They set up an official room with a podium and projector screens and gave us notebooks and pencils to take notes on each other's presentations-the cutest. It was really great to see the finished products of everyone else's research since we'd all be so absorbed in our own. Some of my fellow pupils' topics included Resilience of Resettled Women in New Delhi Slums, the successes and challenges of the Mid-Day Meals Scheme in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and the Public Distribution System of food grains in Sikkim. The title of mine was "Women of Rajasthan and Sikkim: A comparative analysis of environmental factors that enable women's empowerment."

2.) Banquet: At the end of every semester, the program hosts a party for all of the students' host families and friends. Everybody dresses up, eats good food and like all Indian parties I've been to so far-has an unnecessarily loud dance party with the LARGEST AMPS I HAVE EVER SEEN. My host-family didn't come because they were at a wedding (December is wedding season in India.) 

At this point, I hadn't bought myself a sari. I'd been having a huge internal battle about whether to buy one or not because 1.a) They're pricey, 1.b) I wouldn't realistically be able to wear it again and 1.c) I have many other things to remember India by .......BUT........2.) THEY'RE SO PRETTY! I thought I had justified this, but as everyone was getting ready, I realized I was the only person without one! (It reminded me of middle school...zomg pressure.) Shelly said that I could wear one of hers if I wanted to, so I tried it on, and it fit! A sari is just a unsown rectangular piece of cloth so it can work on anyone anyone, but you need to get a petticoat and a top tailored to fit. Fortunately, Shelly's fit me exactly! 

It was a really good night. We danced and chatted with each other, our families, and the staff. What I love about the staff is that they can switch from being Professor to Dance Partner instantaneously. Our group has gotten close with each of them in different ways-they really are the main reason why this program has been so successful.

3.) Wrap Up Sessions: Back at the SIT center with the staff on our 2nd to last day, we met as a group and all talked about the challenges we thought we might face as we transition back to life outside of India. It was a much needed conversation because all of us are nervous about going home. Concerns people had included:
-feeling pretentious about having experienced the things we did
-feeling alienated from people who haven't experienced the things we did
-feeling unable to express fully to others what the hell India is.....DING DING DING DING

The staff then posted three large sheets of paper on the wall that were labeled "Heart," "Hand" and "Mind." They told us to take some time and write down some things we've learned from our time here in each of the three categories. Below are photos of what we came up with...

We then watched a photo slideshow that Manoji made for us. Half of the photos consisted of "candid sleeping shots" of us on buses and trains. He's the much needed comic relief of the staff.

4.) Saying Goodbye: This has been a toughy. People have been leaving in shifts so I keep having to say goodbye over and over again and it blows. Strangely though, I haven't really been getting emotional when doing so- but I know myself by now and know that it'll spring up at the most unexpected, inappropriate time-so WATCH OUT when I get back, family! 

In all seriousness though, our group is one of the most interesting, beautiful conglomerations of human beings I've had the fortune of being part of. Every person had different personalities and fresh perspectives to offer. We were from different places yet all ended up here because we all shared the same values about the world-we want to learn about the problems in it and do what we can to make it better. I think we all got so close because we got to know each other without any distractions-no fancy clothes, no makeup, no bull****. We showed up here and all we had was ourselves-and because there weren't any fronts or facades to shift through, we all got to know each other honestly and truthfully. The genuineness of this group is something I'll miss the most.

My friend told me before I left that going abroad really forces you to pay attention to yourself and learn about why you do the things you do. When you're snatched up from the comforts and routines of home and plopped down in a place where you don't understand the culture or speak the language, you're going to notice your patterns about how you approach and react to different situations. If you react the same way about something in the streets of Jaipur as you do in downtown Albany, then that piece of you is....a concrete part of your being. I've noticed patterns about myself that I never picked up in before. Some not always the most positive, but it has been a continuous learning process that I don't think I could have gotten anywhere other than in India.

Phew, okay- I'll spare you the rest of my mushy thoughts.

On to the travels!

5.) Jailsameer: 6 friends and I (Andrea, Jess, Shelly, Danielle, Miranda, Helen) decided a month ago to travel to Jaisalmeer-The “Golden City” that lies 100 kilometers from the border of Pakistan-after the program to go on a CAMEL SAFARI! A few students in our group had already gone on one after our Bikaner excursion 2 months ago (wow, that seems forever ago.) They said it was really great, so we booked a 2-day/1-night safari with Trotter’s Camel Safari (link.)

We left Sriniwas Guesthouse in Jaipur on Thursday night to catch our 11:35pm train to Jailsameer. Not only were we traveling on our own without the guidance of the SIT staff, but we had ALL of our luggage with us. As of right now, my luggage consists of mainly presents I’ve bought over the last 3 months. I keep having to get rid of more and more clothes and toiletries to make room. By the time I leave, I’ll have probably gotten rid of everything I own. Anywho, the 7 of us found our platform and stood surrounding our bags like a herd of mamas protecting their babies. After chatting and waiting for a while, Jess said, “Guys...look at the crowd we’ve gathered.” We looked around us and were completely ENCIRCLED by at least 50 men-3 rows thick-wrapped in shawls staring wide-eyed at us. This far into our India adventure, this kind of thing didn’t surprise us anymore, but this crowd was larger than ever before. Like many things we experience here, we blocked it out and continued our conversations. 

After a 12 hour ride, we arrived in Jailsameer. We lugged our things off the train and to the main gate, where a tiny man held a sign written in sharpie saying “Welcome Laura” (because I had set up the safari.) After signing some papers and getting a quick lunch, they picked us up in a Jeep and drove us 2 hours outside of the city through the most arid desert I’ve seen so far. We stopped along the way to check out an oasis (just a pond) and an abandoned fort (pretty cool.)

We took turns onto smaller and smaller roads, kicking up more and more dust the farther we went until I couldn’t make out any semblance of a road anymore. We then stopped and were given water and a few of the safari men taught us how to tie our scarfs in a “desert way” *photos below.* A few minutes later, 7 camels trotted up to the jeeps! They were doofy looking things and reminded me of awkward teenage boys whose limbs had grown faster than the rest of their bodies. They had a "pug" effect-where they were so ugly that they magically became adorable! They were covered in padding and colorful blankets. I was the first one to go up. I was told that my camel's name was Johnny Walker and that he was a highly esteemed camel-polo player in Jaisalmeer. I kid you not. The camel man told me to lean back as far as I could so the camel could stand up without throwing me off. Barely cleared that one.

To sum up the camel travels in a brief Haiku....

"On a dinosaur...
This is fun...oh wait...oh no,
I can't feel my legs."

It was great... for the first 15 minutes... but then the pain started in-and as a barely flexible person, this did not work out so well. I had to be helped by the camel men to get off of mine and struggled to walk for the next two days.

Despite the uncomfortable positioning, the camel riding was pretty sweet. We traveled through miles of desert which happened to be in the middle of a National Wildlife Sanctuary so we saw some deer-looking creatures hoping around and some ostrich-looking birds THAT FLEW. Eventually, we came to some legitimate desert sand dunes! We got off, sat on a blanket, had some drinks, and explored the dunes. We were all pretty tired, so we just sat on the dunes and watched the sun set. It was stunning. I won't forget that view ever.

As the sun set, the stars began to emerge. I've never seen such clear night sky. The camel people set up more blankets and cooked us dinner of chapati, dal, subji, and rice over a fire they made. They were some pretty funny dudes. One guys said, "I'm not educated, but I've been to camel college!" We fell asleep under the stars in the sand. It was unreal. That's all I can say.

Mr. Johnny Walker.

Sunset in the Thar Desert (Miranda, Shelly, Helen, Danielle, Andrea, Jess, Me)

Photo cred: Miranda!

Early morning

Making friends

After we returned back to Jaisalmeer, we crashed. Hardcore. I think it was a combination of too much camel and 12 hours train rides and saying goodbye and having the weight of the ISP lifted. We napped for quite some time and then managed to get ourselves together and get some good old Rajasthani dinner- Thali! Thali is a dish that is made up of samples of little portions of different indian foods all served in individual metal bowls on a metal platter-usually with some type of bread and rice. The food on the platter differs from region to region, but Rajasthani thalis usually consist of the ever elusive pickle, curd (yogurt,) dal, a few vegetable dishes (usually potato, okra, or beans) and a sweet. Not only are they delicious, but SO beautiful to look at! 

The next day, we went to visit the Jaisalmeer Fort-a functioning fort in the heart of the city where people work, live, and worship. There's a few beautiful Jain temples in the middle part surrounded by shops selling paper products and "antique" photo frames and pretty boxes. Miranda suggested we did the audio tour of the main part of the fort. I usually pass on the audio tours, but she said that they're really informative, so we all shelled out 250 rupees and got our headsets and lanyards and pressed play. Such a good decision! I learned about why the stairs in the fort are so gosh darn STEEP- turns out steep stairs are difficult to climb up quickly, which is great to slow down invaders! WOAH MIND BLOWN? 

View of the Golden City from the top of the fort.

Looking smart

Stunningly intricate STONE carved walls. The entire fort looked like this. 

Unfortunately, my friends had to catch a train to Udaipur where they would spend a few days before going to Goa! I opted out of this because I had already been to Udaipur and wanted to spend time in Delhi to visit museums before I left (nerd.) So I bid them goodbye and was alone in the Golden City. Still sore from the camel, I decided to splurge and get an "ayurvedic" massage. Ayruveda is the traditional Hindu practice of natural alternative medicine.

I made this decision on a whim and walked into a little blue room tucked under a facade of stone inlay-I don't even know how I saw it. A little woman was sitting at a desk in a cramped room covered in bright paint, hanging dried plants, and shelves filled with bottles of oil. It cost 500 rupees for a 60 minute massage. Score! She brought me past a curtain into an even smaller room. It felt moist and hot and reeked of spices I couldn't recognize. This was one of the more interesting scenarios I'd gotten myself into....

To sum this up in another Haiku: (and to avoid having to go into detail.....)

"Naked on a board...
Why is it so dark in here?
That's too much oil, miss."

Away we go!

So, today is my last official day of the semester. I have so much to explain and so much to express but I don't have any time! I have to give my internet stick (aka my access to the world) back to the school today- so no more blog posts until I get home on the 19th! I'll have too much free time and will fill you in on the last 2 weeks of my travels when I reach back home. I'm leaving tonight for Jailsameer with some friends and then to Delhi until I fly back. Much love xoxox I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU ALL!

Darjeeling Day 2

The next morning, we woke to the smell of cigarettes permeating through the door and what sounded like an automobile assembly line happening right outside of our windows- all accompanied by men yelling at each other in Nepali. Turns out they were paving the road in front of the hotel.

All of us had a little trouble getting ourselves out of bed because it was SO COLD! Somehow, I managed to wash my hair with the bucket shower and give myself a sponge bath minus the sponge.  My entire body was shivering and my lips were blue, but I forced myself to go through with it because I hadn't showered in a few days.

We loaded up our backpacks with our work and headed to the same cafe we had been at last night because it opened earlier than most places- and it was just so heavenly we couldn't stay away. However, on our way, we passed a sign at a restaurant that said WAFFLES- so immediately our priorities changed- and we went there instead.

We sat in the upstairs of the restaurant all to ourselves a and chatted about our experiences here because it was one of those times when we all were like "Woah, this is pretty awesome." Luke showed us his ongoing list of "Indian Things" he's experienced- for example- how many people wear flip-flops with socks, but not just regular old socks- socks that have a slit between the big toe and the rest of the...toe spaces? Super fashionable.  Another was being asked every time we inquired someone about a good place to eat, "Veg or non-veg?" A lot of restaurants have bright neon signs outside saying "PURE VEG!" Since most of the people here are vegetarian, it's necessary to distinguish, I guess. Another very "Indian Thing" is being referred to by people- regardless of your gender- as "Sir." I've been called "sir" much more than "m'aam." I don't take offense though, because they seem to use it just as a formal-greeting. 

Another "Indian Thing"....but more so just our "American perception of Indian things"....was how we never know what to expect when ordering off a menu at a restaurant- especially when ordering "Western" foods. The other day, Danielle ordered a grilled egg sandwich for breakfast. She was excited for it and I was just as excited for her because we had just finished talking about our favorite kind of breakfast sandwiches (Italian bread (toasted obv) with cheddar cheese and a runny yolked egg...just so ya know.)When her order came out, it was a hard-boiled egg cut up into pieces covered in mayo between two crustless pieces of white bread.

So, as we do every time food is in the air, we talked about the foods we were missing. Danielle misses bagels. Shelly misses flavored yogurt (TRUE THAT.) Luke misses macaroni and cheese. I miss VEGETABLES....and really hearty grainy crusty bread. As we were salivating mid-description about what meal we wanted to have when we first got home, the waitress brought us our orders. It was the best (non-Indian) meal I’ve had thus far- fluffy waffles with CARAMALIZED bananas, cream, and chocolate sauce. Need I say more.

Afterwards, we headed to the cafe to do some work for a few hours. Around 1:00pm, we decided to be done with the work for the day and take advantage of some of the sights Darjeeling had to offer. We were told about a tea garden nearby- “Happy Valley Tea Garden.” Our tour guide spoke very broken English which made it difficult to take anything in, but I did learn that different types of tea- be it green, black, or white- all come from the same tea bush. There’s three seasons of tea-plucking: 1st flush is the best quality tea as it it picked first in the early spring. 2nd flush is picked from the same bush in the summer and the autumn flush is picked last- that’s what they were finishing up when we were there. We hit the garden right at the end of the season, so not much actual work was going on, but it was interesting to walk around and see where they did do work- like drying, rolling, and sorting the leaves. 

Darjeeling Day 1

In our dimly-lit, slightly musty hotel room on Tuesday morning, Shelly, Danielle and I packed and repacked our bags to leave Gangtok for Darjeeling for a few days to relax and hopefully write a good chunk of our papers. Our final ISP paper is a consolidation of the last month of interviews and a whole lot of background research all wrapped into a tidy 30 page paper and presentation. It’s probably the most work I’ve done in college so far.

That being said, I’ve realized that this program is a lot more academically rigorous than I expected it to be- not that that’s a bad thing- it’s just a little frustrating that so much of my time here has been consumed by sk00l stuffz- readings and papers and memorizing Hindi. All I wanted to do in Sikkim was trek up into the North so see some of the mightiest of the Himalayas- because from where we were staying we could only see them from a distance- clearly- but from a far distance. Although, I think a big part of why I’m having this Himalayan urge is because currently reading a friend’s copy of “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer- a non-fiction about his experiences climbing EVEREST. 

It kills me a little bit inside to know this is most likely the last time I’ll be anywhere near this part of the globe for a while- and I’m not going to the mountains! I keep having to remind myself that I’m in college- studying....and it just happens to be in an amazing place that has so many interesting things to offer. All complaining aside, I feel that I’ve taken advantage of a lot of what North East India has to offer. I spent a week living the village-life in the mountains of Sikkim, made some Nepali friends, eaten authentic Nepali food, got pretty well oriented to Sikkim (and mastered the stairs,) and learned some Nepali phrases- Hazoor!- aka “Hello!” or “Yes!” or “Okay!” or ”I understand what you are saying to me!” (P.S.- This will be my future cat’s name.)

We met the other SIT student, Luke and haggled for a shared taxi* to take us to Darjeeling- 80 kilometers away.The four of us....and our backpacks that each were roughly the size of a small dog- crammed into the middle seat section. 3 women sat in the front alongside the driver and 4 more people sat in the trunk. It was a cozy ride for sure. 

(*We met a Canadian couple in a cafe in Gangtok who had just come from Darjeeling. After telling them our plans to take a taxi to Darjeeling, the woman said “I am TOO well-off to ride in one of those vomit comets. We take a private car....mwah hah hah hah cackle cackle.” As abrasive as she was, she was totally right. I’ve almost thrown up multiple times while riding in these things.)

After 3 hours of climbing mountain sides-sometimes stalling out or pulling up at 45 degree angles on the sides of ridges to let other jeeps pass- the terrain quickly turned from dense jungle to miles and miles of tea plants. The fields were sprinkled with old women hunched over with baskets the size of their bodies hanging from their backs plucking tea leaves. By this point, we had crossed into West Bengal- one of the main tea growing areas in the world. We passed signs for some of the most famous tea company estates -“Tzao Tea” and “Golden Tips” for example. The coolest!

The higher up we drove, the colder it got. We didn't think (or want to think) that this was possible, but at nearly 1,000 vertical feet higher than Gangtok, we were proven wrong very quickly. Driving into the city of Darjeeling, I found it was a lot different than what I was expecting. After seeing the super-hit Hindi film, Barfi that was filmed in Darjeeling last year- I had this romanticized idea of happy little old men drinking chai on train tracks alongside children playing in the streets wearing cute wool sweaters- all accompanied by accordion music (the movie’s soundtrack.) Darjeeling, while quite charming- was very foggy and glum. The air was heavy with soot and the buildings looked dilapidated. It had a “mining-town” feel to it-definitely a working people’s place.

We got dropped off at our hotel called the “Park Place” on the main road and were told by...wait for it...our advisor’s friend’s fiance that he had reserved a room for us to stay for the next 3 nights. Upon giving our names at the desk, the receptionist said they had no listing for us. We had to haggle with them for a bit- both for a room and to lower their price for it- but managed to secure a room for the four of us for 1500 rupees per night- a pretty solid deal. 

After unpacking our things, we set out to explore the city before it got too dark. (It gets dark by 5:30pm nowadays.) We were told by the Canadian couple to go to this bakery called Glenery’s. The woman said they had really good brownies...and Wi-fi. That was all I needed to hear.

We spent a good hour maneuvering around the streets and up sets of stairs- weaving in between taxis and old men and women carrying MASSIVE sacks of who-knows-what on their backs. I saw one man carrying a carton full of at least 20 live fully-grown chickens, another woman carrying 4 giant tubs of vegetable oil, and another carrying a sack full of Northface jackets- which were being sold alongside all the roads along with other “brand name” clothes. Although, the typeface of the “Northface” on these coats looked...different. Interesting.

We finally found the cafe- and were greeted by the oh so sweet smell of PASTRIES- of butter and eggs and sugar and all things beautiful. I just stood there and took it all in until I noticed someone looking at me- so I stopped and acted like I was really interested in the wall-art. 

Before we made the choice to stay- the 4 of us did our routine “outlet hunt” for spaces were we could charge our computers to do our work.  We found a perfect 4 seated table in the corner with 2 huge windows looking out on the city of Darjeeling below and...TWO outlets! This was paradise. We ordered hot chocolate and cookies and cranked out a good two hours of paper writing.