Anticipation

So... it's been days since I've taken any pictures. I've been busy with last minute preparations for my trip. Just now I was enjoying a visual feast of Varanasi on Google images. I'm beyond excited at this point. My friend in Delhi has informed me that it is really, really hot there. This means temps close to 100 degrees and humidity between 80 and 90%. I'm trying to imagine how this will feel, but I'm sure it will be even more intense than my imagination.

If anyone is interested in learning more about where I will be, you can visit: Bal Ashram. This is only an overview and as I learn more, I will share. :)

Also, to have an idea of where in India I will be, here is a map which includes this city:

Medicine

This past spring I spent several afternoons at the doctor's office getting all of my vaccinations for this upcoming trip - 6 in all, although most required a series of two or three shots. One was a "live" vaccine that I had to keep refrigerated and take over 5 days. Pretty exotic stuff. The last of the medical preparations began yesterday when I took my first dose of mefloquine, an anti-malarial. I've had a lot of time to research the pros and cons of these drugs and have decided to go ahead and take them, but if I have any negative effects, I will stop. I know people who have taken this particular drug with no ill effects, and others who had crazy vivid dreams. I've also talked to people who never took them and never got sick, and others who never took them and did get sick. It's a personal choice and you can only go with what you're comfortable with. I've only just started remembering my dreams on a regular basis and I can tell you that they're already pretty weird, so I hope this doesn't add to that. I guess I will know by week 2 or 3. To be continued...


The last warning reads: "Call your doctor immediately if you experience new or worsening feelings of anxiety, sadness, depression, restlessness or confusion." Great. Of course they have to list all of the worst case scenarios, but this makes me think of those ads for medicine on TV where if you listen closely at the end they speed-read through a list of godawful possible side effects. Where do I sign up? Ha.

Common Ground Fair

Yesterday we all piled into the van and went to the Common Ground Fair in Unity. If you've never been, it's worth the drive. Put on by MOFGA (the Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association), it features locally grown food and arts and crafts by Maine artists and artisans.

There were a lot of people at the fair. (I had to remind myself that this was probably nothing compared to the mass of humanity I will encounter in India.) The only thing I bought, besides the entry ticket, was food. Priorities, priorities.


A fair featuring Maine foods would not be complete without wild Maine blueberries. Yum.


I'm not a huge meat eater, but all the meats there came from Maine-raised animals.


We left around 7 p.m. and the night sky was pretty stunning.

Metamorphosis

The boys' Nonna gave them a caterpillar in a jar the other day. I was a little worried about it at first as it was hanging upside down, partially curled up and not moving at all. Well lo and behold the next day there was this chrysalis all fully formed. Eventually I noticed what looked like a strip of gold string on the top; there are also little flecks of gold throughout. I'm not sure what causes this but it's pretty spectacular. Sometime next week we should have a butterfly that we can release back to its home. Nature is amazing.

Two weeks 'til India!!

So the weeks have really flown by since I returned to Maine about a month ago. Two weeks from today I will be on a plane headed to New Delhi!! It's hard to believe. I'm more or less prepared, as prepared as I can be I guess. I haven't done a lot of research as I'm hoping to learn more once I get there. I've also tried to block out the stories I've heard, both good and bad, because I want to form my own opinion. I do know that Varanasi is referred to, among other things, as "the religious capital of India" and "the city of learning," both of which hold a lot of appeal to me. Although I have read through my volunteer guide, I'm not exactly sure what to expect of ashram life. I'm looking forward to finding out, though.


I've been drinking herbal tea since I gave up coffee, but I've started drinking regular tea as well. I know this has caffeine in it, but it doesn't seem to have quite the same effect on me as coffee does. (Then again, maybe this is just the addict in me making excuses!) Besides, I'll be traveling, so I don't want to be too restrictive with my diet. ;)

Children of the corn

The great thing about having little kids around is that you get to do all the stuff you've always wanted to do, but never got around to doing. I think some people go to Disney for this very reason. One of those things for me has always been a corn maze, where they carve out paths in the corn fields and you have to find your way out. It's actually quite confusing once you get in there and we spent most of our time just chasing after the boys, trying not to lose them in the maze. At this farm there were also hay rides, tractor rides, slides, and a corn box, which is basically a sand box, but filled with corn instead. A pretty sweet playground for kids.


Free as a bird, running through the plowed fields.

New Mexico state of mind

I just started to get a little bit nostalgic for New Mexico. For whatever reasons, there are just certain places that grab a hold of you and never quite let go. For me, so far in this lifetime, those places have been Maine, San Francisco, Paris, Greece, and New Mexico. Perhaps I will add to this list on my upcoming journey.

Whenever I need my faraway fix of New Mexico beauty, I log on to http://www.geraintsmith.com/ and get caught up on the Photo of the Day. Geraint is an amazingly talented photographer and all-around awesome person. It's hard to describe why you like someone's work or not, but I think what I love about his images is that they are simple yet stunning. Definitely check out his website!


A fence is an odd choice I know, especially when there's so much wide-open breathtakingly beautiful scenery out there. I loved these fences, though - a good use of the resources and a work of art in their own right.

I love the nightlife

I did a test run last night with my daypack, which is what I plan to travel around with in the coming months. I was able to fit my mini laptop and camera in there no problem. It's maybe a little heavier than I would like, but I'm determined to bring my good camera and I want to be able to stay in touch, wherever there is wi-fi available at least. I had also thrown my tripod, which I won't be taking with me, into the car to take some night shots. Unfortunately, I forgot the part that clips the camera to it. Ah well. I managed to balance the camera on it long enough to get a decent image. Portland was looking pretty beautiful at sunset last night, so I had to at least try.


Down on part of the working waterfront.


This has always been one of my favorite sights in Portland at night. This store on the corner has these gorgeous lights on every night. I've always thought it would be cool to decorate a room with these, kind of magical.

Choosing joy

I took a yoga class yesterday, not that out of the ordinary really, but it was not the teacher I was expecting. It was a sub instead, with whom I had taken a class before and wasn't crazy about. After a brief moment of disappointment, I decided to just go with the flow. I've been on the other end of this equation, after all, and there must have been a reason I was here for this class. As it turned out, there was... the theme of her class was choosing joy, something I've been reflecting on a lot lately. Life can certainly throw some crazy curveballs, but we always have the ability to choose how we handle them. We can focus on the negative, or we can focus on the positive, sort of glass half-empty or half-full. In my minimal dabblings into Buddhism, one of the recurring themes seem to be that happiness is a choice. I think this is a pretty cool way to look at it, really.

Hanging out with my nephews a lot lately, I have witnessed both extremes. These guys have what seem like the highest highs and lowest lows, running around shrieking with sheer joy or crumbling in utter despair (usually due to a dispute over a treasured toy). It's mind-boggling, honestly, but also a lot of fun. I love how almost everything is new and exciting to them, an adventure to be had. One of today's adventures was blowing bubbles in the driveway. Simple pleasures. :)


"I caught one!"

Let sleeping sheep lie

Here is one of the sheep from yesterday's farm. The interesting thing about these ladies is that they appeared to be sleeping... and eating at the same time! Talk about efficient! ;) Or... maybe they were just dreaming about eating??

It's love

Today was an amazingly awesome day. I got to spend it with my BFF from high school. She is a writer (check out www.mainemaven.com) and we went to Freeport for a freelance story she is working on. We started at Wolfe's Neck Farm where we saw chickens, sheep, and goats. One awesome little goat in particular. He really seemed to take to Kristen immediately. I would call it love at first sight. Prior to meeting this goat I was telling her how I would love to have goats someday and she was iffy on the prospect. Well, she's sold now. Check this out - it's clear from these pictures that this little chèvre is actually smiling:


This depicts the start of the nuzzling and affection.


Shortly after the nuzzling and affection began. Note the corners of this goat's mouth. That is totally a smile!!

After this experience, Kris and I got to tool around town and meet some interesting folks and eat some great food. We continued our journey into Portland for dinner, where we ate at the bar at the Corner Room. Gnocchi with brown butter and sage - molto bene! Kris had a pasta dish with wild boar, which I didn't even know people actually ate.

So all in all, a wonderful day. It's so great to be able to spend time with people you love. And to realize how many great friends you have, as well as family. La vita è bella, truly.

Mmmmm

Here is this morning's breakfast:

Toasted semolina bread with butter and homemade strawberry jam. Why post this? Why not? Stranger things have happened. Take, for instance, this blog: http://notitleyet.tumblr.com/, where the author (for some reason I feel like it's a woman) takes a polaroid of everything she eats everyday. And then posts it, often with some interesting quote or thought, sometimes in English, sometimes in French.

When I lived in San Francisco I had the opportunity, among other things, to join a few food photography shoots as a food stylist's assistant. What a sweet gig. Now that I've tooled around with my camera for a while, I'm starting to daydream of getting into that scene from a photography perspective. Who knows? Life's possibilities are endless. My friend currently has a great quote on her emails, which is "Life has no limit, if you're not afraid to get in it." I'm not sure if this is her personal quote or what, but I love it.

On that note, I took my first salsa lesson last night, and I'm thoroughly hooked!! Yes, it is as fun as it looks. And no, it's not as easy as they make it look. It gives me a whole new appreciation for the folks who go on Dancing with the Stars. It's no joke!!

Random old pic

I was organizing my photos the other day and came across this one. It's simple, but I like it. It's one of my earlier pics with my DSLR, from the wedding gig. If these flowers were in front of me right now, I probably wouldn't be able to smell them because somehow, mysteriously, despite the fact that I am not back at school and surrounded by teenage germs, I have gotten a cold. Maybe somehow my body is now just programmed for this routine. Bizarre.

Holy Mackworth

Today was yet another beautiful day. I went for a hike with my friend Danielle, on Mackworth Island and then at Gilsland Farm. The sun was shining and the air was crisp and smelled of the ocean. It doesn't get much better than that. We both decided that Maine is beautiful... and if we could trade in three months of winter for three months of this kind of weather, it would be perfect. But then, what would happen to our reputation as "hardy Mainers"?


There was a decent crowd of fishermen on one of the jetties, apparently fishing for striper.


Trees galore.


The last of the season's sunflowers. Not far from these were enormous ones with heads the size of mixing bowls, so heavy they had fallen over and could only be seen from underneath.

Animals and rides

The weather was gorgeous today - perfect for checking out the animals and rides at the zoo. I'm not sure how I feel about zoos. I know they're educational, but I don't like seeing animals in cages. And there's something really weird about seeing kangaroos in Maine! Nonetheless, the boys had fun and are probably sleeping soundly now.


Quack.


Beebee goats are so cute.

First shave

Tonight the boys got their first experience with "shaving." So cute.





On another note, it's September! And I'm not back in school! I thought I might feel weird about it, but I don't... which I guess is just further reassurance that it was the right thing. Also - just about a month until I leave for India. I'm currently looking into an around-the-world plane ticket and considering visiting Australia and New Zealand on the way back. I figure, if I'm going all that way, it would be crazy not to, right??