nov 4th- sadly we say goodbye to jeremy and erika for the last time as they head north together for a bit before heading home. tuesday evening caitlin and i take an overnight bus heading for mysore. upon arriving we will immediately run to an internet cafe (or wait for a phone call...) and watch obama win the election (fingers crossed). the rest of our time there will be exploring temples and gardens and what not. we'll spend two days and one night in mysore and on nov 6th we'll be on an overnight train from mysore to chennai where we will met up with ingrid and jessica.
nov 7th we'll be on a flight heading to port blair in the andaman islands! we'll be in the islands until the 13th of november, when ingrid and i will be exploring the deep blue sea and getting certified in scuba diving from here. feel free to look around the site and get nice and jealous. ingrid and i were walking to school today and realized that in less than a week we'll be diving among dolphins, flying fish, and i've got my fingers crossed for some sharks! the andamans are well know as one of the best diving spots in the world so needless to say we are rather excited. besides, laying on beatiful, unspioled beaches won't be too bad either.
we'll leave paradise on nov 13th and catch a flight north to calcutta. spend a couple days there sightseeing, christmas shopping for my loves and enjoying the city. sadly, i will have to leave my squirrels (jessica, ingrid and caitlin) in calcutta while they go on to bigger and better adventures throughout northern india.
on nov 15th i leave the north and fly back down to the south, this time to tirvandrum instead of kochi. i head straight for sivananda ashram in neyar dam. if you've kept up with this blog you've already heard all about it, seen the pictures and read about my debate regarding yoga teacher training. needless to say, i decided to go for it and will be locking myself into the ashram for an entire month! i will emerge an december 15th an officially certified yoga teacher! i'm rather excited about it, i know it will be a tough trying month, but i also knw that i will met some wonderful people and not have to miss my wonderful UMB family too much, all who will be leaving india (and me) behind during my TTC. be sure to enjoy thanksgiving a bit extra for me, take an extra helping of food and think of me doing 5 hours of yoga daily... upon certification, i will leave the ashram and head back to home sweet kochin home. and stay with our wonderful family again.
i will return and work at CASP until christmas eve, finishing up my documents and manuals. on dec 24th i will head to the airport to welcome scott shook to india and spend christmas off on fantastic adventures, including a few days in goa, and the excitement of trying not to die while kite surfing and rock climbing.
from there on dec 27th we catch a flight up to delhi and met up with the entire turner family, babies included. we criss cross through the north for a bit, hitting agra, jaipur and several small 'sights' along the way. we'll stay in the north, ring in 2009 in the highest of style before heading back down to the south on jan 1st. from there we have some wonderful adventures planned, including houseboats, beaches, fort cochin, elephants, tigers, and curry. lots of curry. exciting things. the family heads home around jan 10th, and i leave a day behind them on jan 11th. i've got a 24 hour layover and hotel in qatar, so i get to get out and explore a bit before heading home. and then...home sweet home on jan 12th! and a big party to celebrate that on, i don't know, jan 13th? does that sound good?
i know that these last few months are going to fly by as i'm traveling with my loves, and getting certified in just about everything i can think to get certified in. i am looking forward to christmas and my family being here, and i'm also very looking forward to be back in the good old U.S. of A. goodbyes will be hard, but the homecoming will be sweet.
and that, dear reader is where i will be from tuesday through january. i will try blog it up as much as i can, but can't make any promises. here's to sleepless nights, dirty feet, travel books, questionable street food, living out of a bag, and the unmistakable smile of a content traveler.
“adventure is a path. real adventure - self-determined, self-motivated, often risky - forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. the world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. in this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind - and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. this will change you. nothing will ever again be black-and-white.”
- mark jenkins
- mark jenkins
