Breakdowns and Men with Guns.
Well, it was really just one man with one gun, but I liked that title. Our completely inept taxi driver runs out of gas in the middle of nowhere. And I do mean nowhere. We were miles from anything that remotely resembled a town. It was dark. Two men on a motorcycle emerge out of nowhere, the passenger shouldering a shotgun that would make large mammals flee in terror. The timing of this seemed rather odd, especially since they started conversing with the driver like they knew him.
To make a long story short, we flagged down a bus going the wrong direction, but taking us to civilization, where we called for another taxi to come and get us and take us back to Udaipur. We were in bed by midnight. It was just a bit freaky for awhile when our taxi driver left on the motorcycle to go get gas and left us with the man with the gun. (They returned without gas, which is when we flagged down the bus in the middle of the night). This was a field trip with Seva Mandir, which is one of the organizations we were visiting. The field visit was interesting (to say the least).
There are a lot of organizations here and this is where Cindy and I have chosen to make the base for FSD. We have decided, however, that short term volunteering won't work here, due to the language issue. So, we will restrict our programs to long term volunteering, ProCorps, and study tours.
This is my last day in Udaipur. I head back to Delhi tomorrow and fly out tomorrow night. I will be back in my bed on sunday night. Kind of weird to think about! This month has seemed interchangeably long and short. One thing is for certain though, I can't wait to come back! The sights, sounds, smells...India is something you can't fully describe to people--it is something you just have to experience for yourself.
I want to thank everyone who made this trip so amazing for me. There are too many to name, but you know who you are. I'd also like to thank all the organizations that shared their activities with us, brought us to the field, and who are doing such great work to improve the lives of the people (and animals) here in India. Finally, I'd like to thank the US office for holding down the fort and my intrepid travel partner, Cindy, for being such a great colleague and friend. My best wishes to her during her year long stay here in Udaipur.
Alicia
To make a long story short, we flagged down a bus going the wrong direction, but taking us to civilization, where we called for another taxi to come and get us and take us back to Udaipur. We were in bed by midnight. It was just a bit freaky for awhile when our taxi driver left on the motorcycle to go get gas and left us with the man with the gun. (They returned without gas, which is when we flagged down the bus in the middle of the night). This was a field trip with Seva Mandir, which is one of the organizations we were visiting. The field visit was interesting (to say the least).
There are a lot of organizations here and this is where Cindy and I have chosen to make the base for FSD. We have decided, however, that short term volunteering won't work here, due to the language issue. So, we will restrict our programs to long term volunteering, ProCorps, and study tours.
This is my last day in Udaipur. I head back to Delhi tomorrow and fly out tomorrow night. I will be back in my bed on sunday night. Kind of weird to think about! This month has seemed interchangeably long and short. One thing is for certain though, I can't wait to come back! The sights, sounds, smells...India is something you can't fully describe to people--it is something you just have to experience for yourself.
I want to thank everyone who made this trip so amazing for me. There are too many to name, but you know who you are. I'd also like to thank all the organizations that shared their activities with us, brought us to the field, and who are doing such great work to improve the lives of the people (and animals) here in India. Finally, I'd like to thank the US office for holding down the fort and my intrepid travel partner, Cindy, for being such a great colleague and friend. My best wishes to her during her year long stay here in Udaipur.
Alicia
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