Day 9

"No Stop, No Jerk, No Noice"

That is not a misspelling on my part. That is the slogan for Rishabh Bus Co. and it couldn't be further from the truth.

I really shouldn't complain because in all honesty I was just happy to see that the bus had good a/c, tinted windows, and curtains on every bunk. We also made it to our destination safely, which is more than I can say for yesterday. But just for detail's sake, let me try to account for you the thirteen hour bus ride from Delhi to Udaipur.

It's late. It's getting dark. Ariana is already passed out in the single sleeper a couple rows back. Allie and I are drifting into that state where we're still talking but not having a conversation anymore. Our eyes are relaxing. We're dropping into deep sleep, and then…. BAM the bus hits the freeway and suddenly it's speeding down the road at 100 mph. Small bumps in the road send us flying. The tiniest turns have us pushed up against the windows on top of each other. Thank God for bars on the open side of the bunk or else Allie would have had a nice little meeting with the floor. The horn of the bus resembles the horn from Dukes of Hazard and it's going off multiple times a minute, warning other vehicles on the road of the torpedo that is our bus making its way through. That's how it goes for thirteen hours, occasional bursts of half-sleep intermixed with long stints of compete terror. I swear the bus came within inches of tipping over during one turn and at one point I was afraid to even look outside for fear of seeing how fast we were actually going. I tried not to think about what would happen if the bus driver fell asleep. Allie woke up one time and her feet are dangling off the edge of the bunk. We joke that the people in the bunk below probably whipped out their cameras and took pictures of them "Look, white foot! white foot!". A couple bunks down, Ariana had something brown dripping on her face without knowing it.

When the bus did come to a stop, it felt like we were still moving. Allie and I got off the bus to brave the dark gas station and find a bathroom. Of course, our new friend Rice man is there to help us find our way. We met him back at the bus stop and he felt it was his own personal responsibility to see that we knew every time the bus stopped… even if we were sleeping. We call him Rice man because he owns a rice company. He made sure to write down his contact information because he was temporarily out of business cards. On a tiny piece of paper he scratched down his home address, business address, email address, wives email address, cell phone, and, just in case we can't reach him, he gave us his wife's cell. Should anyone ever need a large shipment of rice, we now have the hook-up.

Anyways, at this gas station, he leads the way to the bathroom where he opens the door, flicks on the light, and… nothing. Of course there is no electricity. I don't know why I expected any different. So Rice man gives us his cell phone to use as a light so we can find the toilet. I am kind of glad our vision was limited. Judging by the smell of the bathroom, I think if we would have actually seen the bathroom, we might have opted to wait until we got to Udaipur. But there we were, cell phone in one hand, and the personal roll of toilet paper we have learned to bring with us everywhere in the other, making sure to not touch a single thing in the process of getting business done. These are the skills we have adapted in India!

Back on the bus. Back to the roller coaster.

We arrived in Udaipur a few hours later, tired, haggard, and sore, but in one piece. I should be grateful just for that.

Udaipur is beautiful. Actually, "beautiful" doesn't do it justice. The English Dictionary is incapable of categorizing this place into a single word. Perhaps in Hindi there is a word for it, but until I find that word, ill just say that it is something you have to see and feel for yourself.

It is much more rural here than in Delhi, so the air feels a little less polluted, the temperature is a little more bearable, and there is far less people. We have seen twice as many cows from the rickshaw ride to our house as we did in the entire week spent in Delhi as well as our first monkey and camel.

I can't wait to explore this new city. The road is lined with markets and shops and the hills in the distance with tiny temples at the top look to be promising hiking ground. The food prepared for us here by our amazing cook Meea Ji is absolutely delicious. Our rooms are comfortable, the Australian volunteers who are already here are very nice, and the staff seem very helpful. The view from the roof top is my favorite though.

Like the setting, it is hard to put into words what this place makes you feel inside. We are nearly cut off from the world here. Well, cut off from the world in the sense that our world used to be dominated by texting, Facebook, television, work, homework, and drama. But here, none of that matters. It all gets wiped away and we can finally see the world for what it really is.

This is the world.

This is appreciating the sunsets that dip below the hills and light up the sky in hazy pink brush strokes. This is watching an old bare man on the steps of an abandoned shop and thinking, "what is your story?". This is adventure and discovery, and finding out what you can push yourself to do. This is life. This is love. This is happiness.

I don't claim to be worldly or multicultural in any sense. After all, I have only been out of the country merely nine days. But I can't wait to see where the next six weeks leads, how our view of the world changes each day, and what women Allie, Ariana, and I become in the process.

…. Ok I'll end this post now, because I am pretty sure the Aussi Volunteer Jack just threw a grenade off the roof.

Alwida!