Five Months Done

We have hit the five-month mark.

Looking Back

This month started with the thrill of an African safari. Seeing the Big Five (African elephant, African lion, African leopard, White/Black rhino, and Cape buffalo) up close in their natural habitats was amazing. We learned so much from our ranger about the ecology of northeast South Africa and sharpened our observations skills at the same time. We all came away with deeper understandings about the ways humans affect the environment and the ways the environment affects humans.

We learned about a dark side to human nature in Johannesburg. “Other-ism” in all its forms is hurtful and deadly. In this case, we learned about South Africa’s history of racism and its system of apartheid. We also had this month’s last period of sit-back-and-relax time here. It was good for schooling as well as preparing for India.

Our three weeks in India were busier than most of the rest of the trip. We made seven stops, staying between 1 and 4 nights in each place. We used a travel agency to make our arrangements in India, and we were cared for very well by our guides, drivers and hotel staff. I am so grateful for our ability to experience both the high-end of India’s hospitality in the big city, as well as the more everyday family life in the country.

Travel Style

One thing hampered my mood, though, and that was the extended lack of autonomy about my days. We planned all three months of Europe ourselves, down to every museum, meal, and meet-up with friends. That ended when we began our tour of Morocco, and although we had our days to plan for ourselves in Cape Town and Johannesburg, most of the last six weeks have been directed by others. It was very, very nice at first, to have had our arrangements made for us. I wouldn’t have tried to do Morocco or India any other way. Now that I had my hand held through them, I would like to try more independent travel next time. Fifteen weeks of completely independent travel was too much of one way (What do you mean I have to figure out what we’re doing today? I just did that yesterday!) and six weeks of mostly guided travel was too much of another. I’ll use both experiences to shape our plans for part two of our world tour.

Schooling

Most of this month was filled with self-doubt about my efforts to teach the girls. This trip reminds me of many things, including my first year of teaching and my first year of parenthood, so when I do remember those years I relax a bit. They are reading a lot, writing almost daily in their journals, and having many, many discussions about the experiences we have in each place. We are on a year-long field trip. I could stand to remember that more than I do and set my expectations for myself accordingly.

In the last week, though, I got some of that positive feedback that helps me know the kids are alright and are actually learning. First, our guides in Mumbai were incredibly impressed with how much the kids knew about India’s history and culture. The guides in Jaipur and Agra and Rishikesh appreciated their great questions, too. I was so glad to see our experiences come together for the kids. It’s not as much as a blur as I feared. The other feedback came just this morning at breakfast. We were all reading the paper - Singapore’s The Straits Times - when they found articles about New Delhi’s pollution problems and a mention of an artist’s debut at the Edinburg Fringe Festival and the sad news of a fire ripping through shanties in a Mumbai slum. They were all delighted to be able to connect to information in the news, to know about a place or event mentioned. I was delighted, too.

Blessings

My family and I are incredibly blessed. I don’t think I ever forget it, but I am often awe-struck by the way it shows up on this trip. As Theo mentioned in September when asked to discuss work-life balance at Heinrich and Lena’s wedding, he put in a tremendous amount of time and energy into his work for the 18 years before this trip. A lot of that time was spent on the road, in the air, overseas, away from me and the kids. We’re enjoying the rewards of those years of sacrifice and sweat now. First of all, that we’re even able to take this trip is a huge reward (as well as big commitment on our parts to just figure it out and do it, no excuses). But if you’ve seen the George Clooney/Anna Kendrick film “Up in the Air”, you know frequent travelers earn perks with their preferred hotel and airline brands that ease their travels. We’re enjoying those perks, too.

Even more than the shorter lines and free breakfasts, though, are the people. We know people all over the world. We’ve been honored to have meals with friends in Greece, Sweden, Germany, Spain, France and India. There are friends and family in Singapore, Hong Kong, Costa Rica, Peru, just to name a few more spots. Even friends of friends are reaching out and families of friends have offered meals. It’s all a level of hospitality, connection and welcoming that I hope to pay forward.

First Walk in Singapore

We arrived in Singapore early Sunday morning after an overnight flight from Mumbai, and even through our bleary eyes we could tell we were in an entirely different and exciting place.

What surprised us first? The taxi driver got in on the right side of the car and drove on the left side of the road. We’ve been in places that drive like that for over a month now (South Africa and India), and somehow we had forgotten that Singapore was another one. The next surprise? Being able to see the city skyline clearly in the sunny, blue-sky weather. Mumbai had been hazy and Agra had been hazy.

After those novelties wore off, the excitement came from the incredible modern architecture of downtown Singapore. We saw a building shaped like a lotus, a ferris wheel reminiscent of the London Eye, and a set of three skyscrapers that seemed to have a cruise ship sitting atop. We were beat, though, so we got some breakfast then took a nap, hit the pool and then dinner and then bed again to end our first day in Singapore. Our first venture out of the hotel came today. We are staying in the Marina Bay area, and we walked to lunch at a place caddy-corner from the Singapore Stock Exchange. It’s called the Telok Ayer Market (also known as Lau Pa Sat) and was built in the Victorian era. It was recently renovated and is the coolest food court I’ve ever seen.

After lunch, we walked down to the Funan Digitalife Mall to buy a hard drive. (We’re running out of space for all of our photos!) We saw so many cool buildings on the way, crossing the Singapore River, passing by some museums and government buildings before reaching the mall.

We took a slightly different route back, this time along Boat Quay. It’s lined with restaurants of all cuisines, pubs, and shops.

Then we wandered a bit through Chinatown before returning to the hotel. It was a fun and easy walk through a city with a lot of personality.

Looking Back at Incredible India

Life in India is a full-bore sensory experience. If you are near a street, you will hear near constant honking. It is a signal that you are passing or want to pass another vehicle, as well as a signal that expresses disapproval at a pedestrian’s or motorcyclist’s actions. At night, at least in the month following Diwali, you will hear fireworks and even music until late at night, as it is wedding season. Every building we entered and every street we walked had aroma-soaked air. Sometimes the aroma came from perfume or incense or flowers or cooking spices. Sometimes it came from cow and camel dung, and even human waste as it flowed through the street gutters. Your eyes will not want for stimulation, either, as the cities are bustling and the older buildings are richly decorated. Even today, decoration is prioritized in women’s clothing, which is often very brightly colored and embroidered with golden thread and intricate patterns. Finally, you will not taste a bland meal here. It isn’t all hot-spicy here in the north, though. In fact, we had to almost beg for green chiles in Nawalgarh. Maybe they didn’t believe us when we said we like spicy food. The flavor punches come from cumin and turmeric and cardamom and more. I felt like I had as much culinary variety as I have at home, all while dining on only one cuisine. Fortunately, my senses have been delighted far more than offended.

Women have been hardly visible in our travels here. The receptionist who checked us in at the hotel in Agra was a woman. The security guards who pat down women at hotels and airports and public landmarks are women. Other than that, I have seen only housewives, and I have not seen them often. They are in the markets, buying and selling food, or they are the mothers-in-law sitting at the temple. Even at Apani Dhani, we did not see much of the women of the family and we did not interact, other than peeling vegetables for the first cooking lesson. Theo noticed that we have seen no pregnant women, which seems odd to us. When we do see women, they are dressed beautifully, but conservatively in traditional dresses and veils. The separation and seclusion of women and girls bothers me, I must admit, so it was encouraging to see women in Delhi (on our drive to the airport) and more so in Mumbai wearing Western-style clothing, walking in the streets towards jobs outside of the home, and generally just practicing a more modern lifestyle. All is not well for women in these big cities, though, as sexual harassment and assault are still very prevalent. Women’s helpline posters and billboards are visible in many places. As it still is just not safe for women to travel after dark in these cities, a cab company owned and operated by women for women exists in Mumbai.

We spent twenty days in India. Day 1 was a chill day at an airport hotel in Mumbai. Day 2 was a flight to Udaipur and our first glimpse of “real India” as we drove away from the airport and into the city. Day 3 was our first tour and introduction to Indian history. Day 4 began our Rajasthani road trip with our driver and assistant who would be with us for two weeks through Pushkar, Nawalgarh, Jaipur and Agra and its when I began to feel the experience of India seep into my being.

During the first of these two weeks, I often felt surprised by how happy I was to be in the towns of rural India. The air was imbued with celebration, but also our hosts and guides and drivers were so friendly and welcoming. We mingled with fellow travelers as well as our hosts at Apani Dhani - a restorative change from the last few months. We missed another holiday at home - Thanksgiving - but we were filled with gratitude for our travels. In Pushkar and Nawalgarh, especially, we got close to the real lives of people living in India. It’s what I wanted - what I craved - when dreaming and planning this trip, much more than seeing all the museums and palaces and monuments of the world.

Yet during the second half of our Rajasthani road trip, after we got to Jaipur, really, I started to tire and chafe at what appears to be squandered potential. The history is complex and interesting. The people here are hard-working and absolutely value education and intellect. They also value beauty and have such a deep culture of decorative and performing arts. Yet there is rubbish everywhere in public. Private homes and guest accommodations were clean, but these lovely spaces are right up next to open trash yards where cows, pigs, and dogs forage for food. Yes, the cow revered so much here eats trash and dies with many pounds of plastic in its belly. The cognitive dissonance was a bit much.

Rishikesh restored some harmony to my brain. The drive from Dehradun airport to Rishikesh went through a national park in the foothills of the Himalayas. There were trees, lots of them, and I couldn’t help but smile. The gorgeous freshness of the Ganges also really brightened my mood. Our stay in Mumbai brought me full circle, though. The novelty of a bustling mega-city with echoes of New York, Miami and London woke me up to India’s beauty again. Our guides gave us deeper insight into present-day life. Finally, our lunch date with friend and former colleague Asha did my home-sick heart some good. Weeks of feeling like nothing was normal in my life ended with a completely fun and normal lunch of pizza and ice cream and reminiscing and catching up.

I booked these three weeks in India thinking it would likely be my only visit here ever. There is so much to see and we didn’t get to most of it. I knew that going in and thought I was okay with that. Now that it’s over, I know that I’m not. Realistically, I know I may never make it back to India to see the great southern towns of Goa and Kerala, to see tigers in their natural habitat or to ride India’s famous rail lines. The heart can hope, though.