bizzy bees

as we continue busying ourselves in the hopes of making the absolute most out of our last bit of time here, let me update you on some travel plans.
this friday is a national holiday…culture day i think. liz, carrie and i are gonna road trip to nagoya. we expect it should only take about 5 or 6 hours, of course we don’t have any real directions. but, unlike the sendai trip, we do have a hotel and some tentative plans. i’m hoping i can stave off my approaching cold...
then we’ve got a doozy planned for xmas. december 23 we’re heading to new delhi, india. we’re still working on in-country travel, trying to find the cheapest transport that will maximize our ability to enjoy multiple locales. india is a huge country meaning we’ll have to fly and train quite a bit. our tentative schedule has us heading from delhi north to the holy city of varanasi, then flying way down south to bombay, aka mumbai, for a few days. then it’s an overnight train down the coast to the beautiful beaches of the hippie/party mecca called goa. we’ll have to train back to mumbai in order to catch a flight back to the capital. we’ll have the last 3 or 4 days to explore new delhi, one of which will be consumed by a day trip to agra to see the taj mahal.
the more research i do, the more i’m convinced this isn’t going to be a relaxing, get away from the stress of obligation and drone of everyday life kind of vacation. i expect it’ll be gritty and challenging and disturbing and uplifting. i’ll undoubtedly experience a range of emotions in reaction to the social situation there; poverty and sub-standard living conditions tempered by hospitality and graciousness...rich history and a tumultuous past colored by the hopefulness of a struggle to rise up. i’m excited about seeing the true india, which until now has just been the kitsch decorating my favorite restaurants and the setting for my romanticized tales. i’m excited about the prospect of more accurately understanding my circumstances and life after examining it through a completely different frame of comparison than i’ve ever experienced before.