The Most Important Travel Lesson I Learned

I learned and grew so much during my five weeks spent in India.  I feel more in tune with myself, more humbled and grateful for the privileges and blessings I have every day, more compelled to study up on the happenings of the world, and more desire to live my life in such a way that will make a difference in the world.
It would be impossible for me to articulate to you all just how much I learned on this trip about myself.  This week, I will post about all I learned regarding the current situation in Tibet.  Other than that, my lessons seemed very internal and personal.  My journal from my travels has the privilege of hearing those inner thoughts, but I'm not sure if I could ever express them on my blog.  That being said, I would love to share with you all the most important lesson I learned about travel in general:
Never compare the places you travel.  Never go into a new country with expectations based on past travel experiences.  It will throw you off.
In 2011 traveled to Nairobi, Kenya with International Volunteer Headquarters--the same organization I traveled to India with.  Kenya will always hold a very special place in my heart, as it was my first real experience of this big, wide world.
I went to India thinking of all the things that would be the same and different as my experience in Kenya.  Let me tell you, NOTHING was the same.  Absolutely nothing.  Not the volunteer organization, not the people, not the food, not the weather--nothing!  It took me a few days to realize that I had to stop comparing my time in India to my time in Kenya.  When I did that, I was free to embrace the culture and life I was experiencing in India.  I was able to gain so much on a totally different level than I would have if I was constantly comparing the two.
Here is what I firmly believe:
Every place you travel, you will gain something new.  There will be one main thing that impacts you, and can sum up your experience in that country.
In Kenya, what stood out to me was the genuine happiness and love the people embraced, despite all the struggles they deal with.  Resiliency.

I was living in the second largest slum in all of Africa.  The poverty and devastating circumstances there overwhelm me to this day.  I remember being astounded that the majority of the students at my school didn't know who their parents were--they were orphans in the slum.  I remember the day my students took me to see the body of a man who had just been killed by the mob the previous night--a terrible image so vivid and clear in my memory.  I was brought to tears to see the women and children who were literally living in mountains of garbage, yet they still had smiles on their faces.  Realizing the number of people I was surrounded with struggling with AIDS, yet living as best as they can was emotional.  Yet the Kenyan people have a happiness and a smile that I swear can light up the world.  They came rolling up in matatus (vans) blasting reggae music, ready to adventure, laugh, and joke.  They welcomed us into their homes with open arms and loving brightness. I am forever grateful for those experiences.  I learned through my friends in Kenya that positivity and happiness are so powerful.
In India, what stood out to me was spirituality.

There are many places in Dharamsala, such as temples, where you are not allowed to take pictures.  I have less pictures to show the spirituality in Tibet. The final two pictures are  not mine--click on the picture for photo credit!

Religion and spirituality rule every aspect of life in India and Tibet, and it is truly beautiful.  We only got to experience Hinduism a little, but I can talk forever about Tibetan Buddhism.  The Tibetan people we were privileged to be surrounded by were the most spiritual I have ever met.  Most of the town of Dharamsala was monks and nuns, dedicating their lives to learning the teachings of the Buddha and striving to live the best life possible in order to be happy in the next life.  Love and compassion, the two fundamental principles of Buddhism are truly what the Tibetan people live.  Their spirituality was deeply personal and so modest, yet so beautiful.  Right now, they are unable to practice their religion in Tibet, so many of them cross the Himalayan mountains to seek refugee status in neighboring countries.  They have three ambitions: to meet the Dalai Lama, to learn English, and to practice Buddhism.  They risk their lives for these ambitions, and it humbled me to see that.  I feel as if I gained a whole new appreciation for spirituality in my life.  It really can be the thing that keeps a person going when all else seems to crash down.  It is a beautiful thing, and I have an all new appreciation for the freedom we have here in America to practice whatever religious and spiritual beliefs we want.
Sorry for the extremely long post--there was just so much to say! If you read this much, thanks, and I would love to hear your thoughts!
Go out and see the world.  You will grow unimaginable amounts in the journey of figuring out your beliefs and place in the world.  I know I have.

On Staying Healthy in India

Because I want to use my blog as a way to merge all the important things in my life to make a compilation of me, I figure I should probably inform you all about my health while traveling around India for five weeks!
I have found through my couple lengthy international trips that my Multiple Sclerosis is the best ever while traveling. It bothers me the least--I think it has to do with the fact that I don't have to worry about the stress of all the western pressures (school, money, appointments, deadlines, emails, etc.), along with the fact that there is too much culture and excited to take in to be sick.  I am grateful I had those five weeks with hardly any MS symptoms, other than those that I face on a daily basis.  Since I have been back, my MS has not bothered me!  Fall semester always seems to be the time when I get the most sick, so I am going to work really hard to stay healthy and manage stress throughout this time.
It is also such a healthy feeling to walk everywhere like we did in India.  To get to our house on the mountain, we walked up 91 stairs, many, many times a day.  We mostly traveled on foot, which I absolutely loved!
That is the good news.
The bad news is that I faced the worst stomach sicknesses ever!
TRAVEL TIP: Bring lots of medicine to remedy all the stomach problems in the entire world.
Without getting too personal on my public blog, I can say that eating nothing but potatoes and rice for five weeks will never do good things for your digestive system.
TRAVEL TIP: Be prepared to talk about all of your unfortunate stomach and digestive problems openly and often with your roommates. It is just a fact of travel.  The benefits will always outweigh the nights of stomach cramps and desire for nothing but protein and vegetables, but you WILL run into those issues!
Now that I have been back in the United States for over a week, my body seems to have regulated and has definitely been enjoying our western food! I am looking forward to living a healthy life this semester, and making some positive changes for my health all around.  I think traveling to India helped me put my health situation into perspective, as well.  I have this body that can take me all over the world, that has been through very little hardship compared to others in the world, and that deserves to be healthy for a long, long time.  I am going to do everything in my power to keep it that way, despite Multiple Sclerosis or anything else the world has to throw at it!

19 Magical Hours in Germany

I am finally able to say that I am getting back into the swing of my normal life, and I am ready to tell you all about India! I feel like I have so much to post.  Already, it feels somewhat like our trip to India was just a dream.  It is mind-blowing to me that the friends I met in India have already lived my today.  It feels as if it is another world.  A dream world to me.  But I have the pictures, stories, and experiences to constantly remind me that I did in fact travel to India, and had an absolutely life-changing experience there! 

Before posting my final thoughts about India, I would like to share with you the magical 19 hours we had the privilege of spending in Germany!

I was absolutely thrilled to see that we had a 19 hour overnight layover in Germany.  We knew we wanted to go out and explore the city, and that is exactly what we did.

After landing at the Frankfurt airport, struggling to figure out the train system with only German signs, and ending up at a Germany football game filled with what seemed like all the drunk Germans in the world singing their national anthem in their excited, festive stupor, we finally ended up at the main Frankfurt train station.  We were lucky to have met an Australian guy to figure out the train system with--it's fun how you can always expect to meet random, cool people while traveling.  We went our separate ways, and Quincy and I set out to find a hostel or hotel for the night.  Our immediate impression of Frankfurt was that there were an extreme number of sex shops.  Come to find out, we were staying smack dab in the center of the Frankfurt Red Light District--a safe yet...interesting place! After quite a while of wandering the very modern streets, we found a run down little hotel that actually seemed luxurious compared to what we were used to for the past 5 weeks.

After settling in at our little hotel, we set out to find some dinner.  Europe has such a cool vibe, even just wandering the streets.  Something that I can't quite point out felt distinctly European. We happened upon a cute little restaurant, where we ate a delicious, protein-filled dinner for the first time in weeks. 

Of course, dinner in Germany must include some alcohol, so we shared a delicious Jack Daniels Lynchburg Lemonade!

We were able to enjoy a nice night in what felt like the most comfortable beds in the world after sleeping on practically wood for five weeks prior.

The next morning, we woke up and did some exploring.  We were excited to find out that Römerberg was just a 10 minute walk from our hotel! Römerberg was destroyed in WWII, but it was rebuilt to look like historic Germany.  It was absolutely perfect--so quaint and sweet.  It literally was just a strip of stunning,  old-time-y buildings:

Cute buildings of Römerberg

We wandered around a little, only to find what had to be the most romantic bridge in all of Germany.  It The sun was rising over the river while street-musicians played beautiful, European music.  The air was crisp and cool and we were out before anyone else was--we had the whole morning just to ourselves!

  There were love locks along the bridge that just added to the romantic feel.

 For breakfast, we enjoyed a famous Frankfurt brat accompanied with delicious, sweet apple wine.

After that, we headed back to the airport and finished our journey home.  Our 19 hours in Germany was perfect.  I would highly recommend taking the time to go out and explore if you ever have a long layover.  Being in Germany made me even more excited to move to London in the near-ish future (more to come on those exciting plans, soon).

Auf Wiedersehen! Goodbye!

On Sight Seeing

I realized on my trip that sight seeing is not my favorite part of traveling.  Obviously, there is an obligation to see all the amazing places all over the world, and I will be happy to do so.  But the interesting thing about sight seeing is that once you get the picture, the sight is pretty much over.  What really drives me to see the world is the people.  I am absolutely fascinated by the fact that there are people all over the world living my tomorrow or my yesterday in completely different ways than I will. Different languages, different food, different traditions, different physical appearance, different everything.  It is fascinating! Also, the natural beauty in all different places are the most beautiful sights of all.  As for the architecture and man-made wonders--they are beautiful. Just not my personal favorite part of traveling. 

That being said, it is incredibly neat to be able to say I have been to the Taj Mahal.  Here are some super-tourist pictures from my time in India:

 Qutb Minar

 Baha'i Lotus Temple

 The Taj Mahal

Red Fort

India has such rich history and TONS of sights to see.  I will have to go back to see them all! I'm excited to share more stories about my adventures and more pictures of the beautiful people of India!

I'm Home: Thank You Letter

I'm back in the United States! First, I have to apologize that I did not update my blog more while I was in India.  The Internet was very hit-and-miss, as the electricity in the town was constantly out.  I must admit--it was kinda nice being "unplugged" from social networking for a while, though. My days were also so busy and full of excitement that I just couldn't find the time to blog.  Lucky for you, I am prepared to post all about my trip, my thoughts, and my experiences.

First and foremost, I would like to say THANK YOU!
Words cannot describe how grateful I am for all of you who provided support while I was preparing for this journey--financially, emotionally, and in every way possible.
To my family, thank you! You supported me when I was preparing to travel to Kenya, and you supported me on this humanitarian trip.   Although I will not be asking for financial support in the future, as it is time for me to get myself around the world, I am so grateful for it. This trip would not have been possible without you! Thank you for keeping up with my posts on Facebook and constantly showing your love.
To my mom, thank you for being the most supportive person throughout my whole life.  I love that I can always count on a message from you--even while I am traveling, and I can feel close to you even from across the world.
To my work and Lacey, thank you! You were so supportive and allowed me to take time off.  You were understanding while my trip got delayed so many times, and I really appreciate that.  I am so excited to get back to work next week!
To my friends--old and new, thank you for your continuous support, and to my new friends, thank you for making India such a wonderful experience.
To the Tibetan people, thank you.  Thank you for making me a better person by being a constant example of love and compassion.  Thank you for sharing your stories with me and opening my mind and heart to the struggles in the world, yet the resiliency and strength of human beings.  Thank you for welcoming me into your homes and always serving me tea.  Thank you for being you.
To Quincy, thank you for traveling to India with me.  Thank you for taking care of me when I was sick, and laughing with me on 3-day-long plane/bus rides and continuously throughout the trip.  Thank you for sharing adventures and making memories with me. Thank you for helping me do bug checks in our "lovely" living arrangement. Thank you for being the most wonderful travel partner a girl could ever ask for.

I look forward to sharing pictures and stories with you all! 

Kids will be Kids

My mornings here are spent volunteering at a day care/school for the children of Tibetan refugees. They are so cute! I feel in my element when I am working with kids-- I must just be a big kid myself.  I love kids so much because they are so pure and innocent, yet so creative and fun. They are the least judgmental tiny humans, and they are so full of potential. 

One amazing thing that I have noticed everywhere I have been is that children are all the same! In Kenya, the kids would play soccer with a rock, but they would still play soccer. Here, the little two and three year olds set up tea parties with dolls, play dress up, and run around. All kids everywhere just want to be held and cuddled and thrown in the air and loved. Kids are just universally cute!

One thing that is lovely about the culture here is that independence is encouraged. The two and three year olds in my class can put on their own shoes completely independently, use the bathroom independently, and function better than any other two or three year olds I know! It's pretty amazing. Another thing I love about the day care is the fact that sensory play and practical skills are worked on every day. Every school should be more hands on, in my opinion. The final wonderful thing about the school is the staff that work there. They are the sweetest Tibetan women. The principal is especially sweet. She is so young, and so kind. She takes a large amount of her day and spends it playing with all of the kids who absolutely adore her.

I can't wait to spend the next couple weeks at the day care--it's so much fun, and gives me the opportunity to hang out with my favorite age group of humans until I can go home and get back to the sweet kids I work with there!

India in a Nutshell

It's been such a whirlwind of new adventure and exploration since we have arrived in India, so I apologize that I haven't updated my blog sooner. The trip has been absolutely wonderful so far. Im planning on updating my blog more often for the next couple weeks, but for now, I'm going to take you back to Delhi!

Delhi was the biggest culture shock ever. It was so hot and humid that as soon as you step out of the shower, you start sweating. Then you sweat consistently throughout the day...and night. There are people everywhere, and most of the a Indian guys are constantly trying to take pictures of you (if you are a young, white woman such as myself).  The traffic is what you see in movies, but a trillion times more thrilling . Only in India will you be moving at 60 mph directly towards a car facing you. It was a culture shock, and to be honest, not my favorite place I have ever traveled. 

That being said, in Delhi, I learned an important lesson: A smile is universal. There was a huge language barrier between cab drivers, people on the street...pretty much everyone. But a smile is universal. That was actually one of the most comforting realizations. When someone smiled at me, I felt a little less lost.

I did not truly fall in love with India until I got to Dharamsala. We took a 12 hour bus ride overnight, and it is crazy what driving 12 hours will do! Instead of the Delhi situation that I described, we are in the beautiful Himalayan mountains. It is literally the most beautiful place I have ever seen--pictures will never do it justice. It rains constantly and consistently, and there is a layer of dew/rain on everything (blankets, clothes, food, etc.).  But it is nice and cool and I love that. There are shops everywhere with the most lovely clothes, statues of Buddhas, and singing bowls. I shop every day here!

What makes me really love this place is the Tibetan people we live amongst. It is almost exclusively Tibetan refugees, and they are the kindest people I have ever met. I always joke that I will never feel as safe as I do when I'm walking in a group of Buddhist monks. But it is absolutely true. Nobody here is trying to scam us into buying things. Nobody has their cameras out constantly. The Tibetan people have been through more than I can imagine, yet they have the softest hearts. I'm not sure if it is their religion that keeps them so loving, kind, and hopeful, or it is just who they are as a people. But it is lovely here.

There's a small update for you. There is much more to come. I feel like I have grown so much here, and I am absolutely grateful for this journey.