i heart my india

throughout india, bumper stickers on tata trucks (note for the unfamiliar: you can think of tata trucks as american dump trucks on steroids, excessive makeup and distinctively unique horn jingles) affirm, "i heart my india" like new york tourists affirm "i heart ny" in t-shirt style. the bumper stickers avow an increasingly evident truth—india is not the same for any two people. situations and experiences make this country of over 1.2 billion into a country of over 1.2 billion versions of loveable and loathable realities. in all romantic and pragmatic definitions, india refuses to change for anyone. for better or worse, cows wander the streets and block traffic, trains run on “india time” and stomach bugs are as common as ogling indian men in bus stations. too often i poke fun at the irritations of living in a foreign, developing country. however, during the past few weeks, multiple things have affirmed my love for india. i title these volumes, i heart my india.

volume i: weekend adventures
one of the top reasons i stayed in india for a second year was travel. even weekend mini-holidays in rishikesh, home of attractive hippies, delicious italian and israeli food, cheap hippie apparel (scarves and flow-ey skirts) and incredibly kitschy indian souvenirs (like this moving-fish tank photo frame). after jessie, maddy and i participated in the first round of glutton bowl 2006,we ventured down to the river just in time for a torrential downpour, complete with an outburst of hail. i ducked into a jewelry store to seek refuge from the dime-sized ice chunks. however, rishikesh was the real refuge-- no students, cold mornings, attacking monkeys, dietary limitations (including the rule that you should not drink or smoke with stomach lacerations) or responsibilities. a little preview of the "pro- traveler" tour i will take through italy and india over winter vacation. god bless the schedule of a teacher. and the budget of an american in india.