Village Children

OK! So, today i totally sold out and gave into my cravings. I ordered chilli chicken & ginger rice!!! OMG it tasted too good!! The perfect blend of Chinese-Indian cuisine.

OH! Let me tell you a little about my village trip. I finally did some work! A group of us interns went over to a village called Bhekhedia (Everyone pronounces it as Bakeria). We set out in the afternoon from a strange bus stand will elephants in the flat space right behind us. We finally left at 4pm (The bus was supposed to leave at 3). I can tell you this now, that was the most amazing bus journey of my life. I was like a 3 hr roller coaster. The roads were so bumpy that I was literally flying all over my seat. NOT for the faint hearted.

When we finally got there, we had just about enough time to look around the village. We had to walk back in pitch darkness. It was funny because about 200m behind us, there was a bullock cart, and behind that.. there was a car. So we could only see the shadowy outline of the bulls on the long straight road we were walking on. Very devillish looking. For those of you who know.. it totally reminded me of the 'Tribute' video by Tenacious D. I burst out laughing.

The next day however was the most fun. In the morning we took a walk in the meadows where there farms are and cows graze. It really looked like a scene out of a Dutch Lady Commercial. My Bear Grylls boots TOTALLY came in handy! YAY! The shepard boys were really friendly and were very curious about us. After trying to teach them my name for about 30 mins, i decided to go by Preethi for the rest of the trip.

Once we got back, we had a session with the kids who lived in a hostel in the village (They come from other remote villages, so they come here so they can go to school). We introduced ourself and talked about our contry for a bit. They didnt understand english, so we had to have a translator with us. After that they showed us a traditional Gujarati Tribal dance and asked us to join in. It was just then that my camera died. But, maybe it was for the best. If I was behind the camera, i would not have been able to fully immerse myself with them. The place was so high energy and I could tell that everone was having a really good time. I dont think that pictures or even a video would have been able to accurately describe the even and how i felt. And then John Mayer's '3X5' started playing in my head. So thats. that.

We left the next morning and took another roller coaster back to Baroda. We ate some papadams on the way and as soon as we got back... we slept for the next 4 hours.

FUN STUFF. Can't wait to go back.

Love,
val
PS- There's a party tonight. Should I go?
PPS- A pigeon was hanging out in my room today.
PPPS- Sorry for the music references in this post. I couldnt help it. Just youtube it if you're curious.