the breakdown:
we flew from seoul to hong kong to bangkok to kolkata (they recently changed the spelling from calcutta) to bagdogra.
we spent a night in siliguri. then took a car ride for 4ish hours to a part of india called sikkim. we stayed there for 3 nights in various villages. we spent another two nights in siliguri before flying back to kolkata. then we flew from kolkata to bangkok to taipei to seoul.
the traveling was exhausting. i'd be happy to never step foot on another airplane. ever.
the food:we spent a lot of time in airplanes and we ate on EVERY flight- even the 50 minute one! (nicole had to learn how to eat quickly!) so we had lots of airplane food. some good. some bad. i started going vegetarian by the end and preferred that!
we spent a good amount of time with nepali people so we ate dolbat (which is heaps of rice with this soupy/bean/veggie stuff). in their culture you're expected to eat everything on the table. after about day 3 i had rice coming out of my ears!
we did have a couple really good indian meals. some good curry. i love spinach curry with these cheese cubes in it. it's spicy and delicious!
our last night in india we splurged and ate italian. wood-oven pizza, lettuce salad and bruschetta. topped off with some ginger ale. it was the best.
we also got to experience coca-cola out of a glass bottle. priceless. as well as the random cadburry chocolate. korea doesnt know what its missing!i loved:the people. the family who helped us around was amazing. we laughed a lot and enjoyed getting to know them. we also had the chance to meet so many people affiliated with the work that's going on there. such great people. good hearts. big hearts. also the children... beautiful.
the mountains. i want to see more of the himalayas. we were only in the foot-hills. they were breathtaking. i cant imagine what the actual peaks are like.
the fresh air. mmm mmm good. it took a couple days to get seoul out of our lungs.
worship. whether it was our small group worship or observing local churches worship, it was amazing. i cant even describe it.
my companions. going on this trip with naomi and nicole was perfect. i cant imagine going with anyone else. it worked out perfectly.
the tea. i loved the tea with milk. i couldnt get enough.
the fact that we didnt see a single leech. it was predicted we would have leech problems. THANK GOD we didnt!could have done without:having to worry about everything i put in my body. is the water clean? was the bottle sealed? what is this made from? etc etc.
big bugs. there were heaps of big bugs. none of them attacked me, per say, i just didnt enjoy 'em.
the humidity. not only did we not shower for a few days. we were drenched in our own sweat every second of every day because it was so hot. (thank God for sunshine, though!)
being forced to litter due to having no rubbish bins. trash was just heaped in piles. (at least in the cities/towns) it was dirty. and smelly.
a random man flashing us while walking down the street.
rice.
in closing:it was an amazing opportunity. i learned a lot about myself and about the world. india is a fascinating place and i hope to return there again some day. it reiterated the fact that i love being in new places and in new cultures. it also just gave me a heart for being out in the midst of the world and helping God's work be done. i still dont really know to what capacity or where i want to go- but this helped solidify that living overseas, doing something sort of missionary-like is definitely my thing.
**i have 400+ photos of our time. will maybe post some soon. if you're on facebook- i've already done so.**
we flew from seoul to hong kong to bangkok to kolkata (they recently changed the spelling from calcutta) to bagdogra.
we spent a night in siliguri. then took a car ride for 4ish hours to a part of india called sikkim. we stayed there for 3 nights in various villages. we spent another two nights in siliguri before flying back to kolkata. then we flew from kolkata to bangkok to taipei to seoul.
the traveling was exhausting. i'd be happy to never step foot on another airplane. ever.
the food:we spent a lot of time in airplanes and we ate on EVERY flight- even the 50 minute one! (nicole had to learn how to eat quickly!) so we had lots of airplane food. some good. some bad. i started going vegetarian by the end and preferred that!
we spent a good amount of time with nepali people so we ate dolbat (which is heaps of rice with this soupy/bean/veggie stuff). in their culture you're expected to eat everything on the table. after about day 3 i had rice coming out of my ears!
we did have a couple really good indian meals. some good curry. i love spinach curry with these cheese cubes in it. it's spicy and delicious!
our last night in india we splurged and ate italian. wood-oven pizza, lettuce salad and bruschetta. topped off with some ginger ale. it was the best.
we also got to experience coca-cola out of a glass bottle. priceless. as well as the random cadburry chocolate. korea doesnt know what its missing!i loved:the people. the family who helped us around was amazing. we laughed a lot and enjoyed getting to know them. we also had the chance to meet so many people affiliated with the work that's going on there. such great people. good hearts. big hearts. also the children... beautiful.
the mountains. i want to see more of the himalayas. we were only in the foot-hills. they were breathtaking. i cant imagine what the actual peaks are like.
the fresh air. mmm mmm good. it took a couple days to get seoul out of our lungs.
worship. whether it was our small group worship or observing local churches worship, it was amazing. i cant even describe it.
my companions. going on this trip with naomi and nicole was perfect. i cant imagine going with anyone else. it worked out perfectly.
the tea. i loved the tea with milk. i couldnt get enough.
the fact that we didnt see a single leech. it was predicted we would have leech problems. THANK GOD we didnt!could have done without:having to worry about everything i put in my body. is the water clean? was the bottle sealed? what is this made from? etc etc.
big bugs. there were heaps of big bugs. none of them attacked me, per say, i just didnt enjoy 'em.
the humidity. not only did we not shower for a few days. we were drenched in our own sweat every second of every day because it was so hot. (thank God for sunshine, though!)
being forced to litter due to having no rubbish bins. trash was just heaped in piles. (at least in the cities/towns) it was dirty. and smelly.
a random man flashing us while walking down the street.
rice.
in closing:it was an amazing opportunity. i learned a lot about myself and about the world. india is a fascinating place and i hope to return there again some day. it reiterated the fact that i love being in new places and in new cultures. it also just gave me a heart for being out in the midst of the world and helping God's work be done. i still dont really know to what capacity or where i want to go- but this helped solidify that living overseas, doing something sort of missionary-like is definitely my thing.
**i have 400+ photos of our time. will maybe post some soon. if you're on facebook- i've already done so.**
Comments
You say Kolkata, I say Calcutta,
Kolkata, Calcutta,
Kolkata, Calcutta,
Let's call the whole thing off...
Sounds awesome - can't wait to hear the story in person!