The GanJ

I had an eventful weekend to say the least. It was by far the most fun weekend that I've had since I've been in India. After class at Vidya the teachers had a little going away party for the Australians. They bought us samosas and chai. It was very thoughtful, not to mention delicious. I even had to sneak in a second samosa before rushing back to the home base to meet Anne. I quickly packed my essentials for the weekend and we headed out the door. Before leaving, though, I ate yet another samosa. Anne's response to this was, "Heather.. Three samosas? Three stomachs." haha Apparently that's an absolutely insane amount of food to eat. I have skills. What can I say?
We took a rickshaw to the train station and searched for our train. Our train was called the Janshitabi Express, so of course we got on the Janshitabi Express (not knowing that there were two different trains with the same name). After getting comfortable, we looked around and decided there was no way this was the right train, because it was supposed to be sold out. So, we asked the two other people that were on the train and found out we were on the entirely wrong platform. Before going to platform 11 (which is where the correct Janshitabi Express was) we asked three different people... just to be sure. The train ride went smoothly. Thank goodness for the guy sitting next to me, or we wouldn't have ever gotten off the train. They don't announce where you are when the train stops, and because it was night we couldn't see any signs.
We took a taxi to the place where we were staying. After about an hour of driving, the taxi driver pulled off to the side of an incredibly rough dirt road. We were at our destination. There was no building in sight except for a little shack for the forest guard. Needless to say, Anne and I were confused. A man with a flashlight showed up after about five minutes, though and led us down a trail to an incredible Bed and Breakfast. Our room was so nice. I felt like we were in a 5 star hotel compared to the CCS home base. The heater worked, the shower stayed hot for more than 5 minutes, and there were no mice! We asked if there was any way we could get something to eat for dinner. The man who owned the house, Steven, said the cook could just "whip up some tomato olive pasta." It was the BEST pasta I've ever had, and I have been craving olives for the past two weeks. I'm used to having an abundance of olives of all different types at the lovely Webster house. So, that pasta hit the spot.
The next morning we had breakfast at the outside cafe. Anne and I somehow ended up talking about animals and this evil swan that she had tried to rescue, and there was wildlife all around us. So, when a bamboo mat fell off the wall and landed on my head OF COURSE I thought I was being attacked by a giant bird. I started flailing and got up as fast as I could to run away, whacking my head on a stone corner in the process. Both of the cooks heard me sceam and came hauling into the eating area to see if I was alright... Very embarassing stuff. Anne (aka Dr. Wheeler) later concluded that I most likely got a moderate level 2 concussion, so there was no need to seek medical attention haha.
The nature was absolutely beautiful. There was a waterfall right outside of our room which led to the Ganges. We walked down to the Ganges ( about a one minute walk), and went on a hike with the mission set on sticking a toe in the Ganges (which we referred to as the GanJ- the capital J is to make sure you really emphasis the "j" sound). The water was so pretty. We were right be the Himalaya mountains so it was glacial runoff- an inviting greenish blue color. The sand was the coolest sand I've ever seen. It was a light tan color, with flecks of silver. It looked at though someone had mixed tons of glitter in with the sand. Beautiful. On our hiking adventure we met a really sweet old man who lived in a tent by the river. He offered us tea and gave us some almonds and raisons for the journey. He told us he spends hours a day just meditating by the river.
After walking for about 45 minutes, we were so hot. The weather was phenomenal. This persuaded us, above all reasoning, to jump into the Ganges. Yes, it's true. I did it. We both jumped of a little cliff/ boulder. I have pictures to document the event. Anne jumped in first, and even though I saw her reaction, I decided to jump in as well. The water was absolutely freezing. Glacial runoff should have given me a hint that it was going to be freezing, but for some reason I didn't make the connection. It was seriously like jumping into ice water. I would say it was definitely worth it though.
Later we went to one of the River ceremonies and looked around the town. It was all very cool. Anne and I both don't have a watch so we got the time wrong on meeting our taxi. We got to the meeting spot a little over half an hour early. So, we found a large pile of rocks to sit on and watched an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Anne's iPhone.
Ultimately I would definitely classify our journey to the Ganges as a success. I, unfortunately got sick at the end of our journey. I had a really high fever and wasn't able to go to work on Monday. Some people are blaming it on the GanJ. Who knows. I saw people drinking that water! And it healed Anne's zit haha. I'm better now.
Back to Vidya tomorrow to see the little ones :)