Wednesday, June 29, 2011

TRAVEL

My Travels began on Monday June 27th at 11:30 with a ten minute car ride to the bus station. I took about an hour ride in a Peter Pan bus to Logan airport; I got checked in at Logan and stood in the security line for about an hour before getting to my terminal half an hour before boarding. My flight from Boston to Newark took a little less than two hours. Then I waited in Newark airport... where you have to pay for the internet... and there are no outlets, except for Samsung stands every other gate which were crowded by dozens of people. I don't like Newark airport. I think it is like being in Purgatory, though I have never been there. I think that is where God will send people He is not sure what to do with. The only thing good at Newark airport is the Starbucks shop where not only did I get a small sip of heaven, but I also found an outlet for my computer and phone.

Then I boarded the jet for Deli and we took off at about 8:30pm on Monday. Our flight took us north towards the arctic circle. We just barely crossed into the Arctic circle at the northern most point over Scandinavia. I actually watched the sunset at the same point in the horizon for the first two to three hours of our flight.


We then headed south through the Caucasus region and actually flew over Kabul, Afghanistan at about 37,001 feet, which was our peak altitude. Here is a picture of the mountains just north west of Kabul as we flew overhead. It is pretty desolate.


After spending a little over 14 hours in the air we touched down in Deli at 7:47pm on Tuesday, almost "24 hours" after take off. There is actually a nine and half hour difference (I will explain later.) Customs was easy, getting our luggage went smooth. The guys who were supposed to meet us at just past baggage claim were there and ready to go. I stepped outside the airport and despite all the heads up I recieved about he smell, I did not find it overwhelming, it was just like walking out of the Mexico airport or the Guatemala airport; so nothing terribly new there. I did see this fancy cab that I had to get a picture of though...



AAHH... my first sight in India...
Our guides got a cab for us (not like the one above) and we headed to the train station about thirty minutes away where we waited for about two hours for our train. They said that sometimes trains are delayed as much as thirty hours, usually becuase the weather conditions in other parts of the country get really bad and there can be land slides that cover the tracks. If that happens a train has to back up to the last crossing and take a different route to get to Delhi. It was a common sight to see people laying on the ground, on mats or newspaper, sometimes whole families as they wait for a train that may be a day late.


The train station was the first experience of something that was uniquely Indian. It was 10pm and the train station was pretty full. I am told though that it is nothing compared to rush hour. People consider the train tracks as a place to through waste and a place to do their business as there are not portapoties there. It smelled like human waste.


There were people walking along the tracks picking through whatever garbage was there in order to find something that could be of use to them. We boarded our train on time and found our bunks in our sleeper car... with air conditioning and we headed for Dehradun. Our train arrived in Dehradun at about 5:30am on Wednesday or 7pm on Tuesday EST welcomed by the Monsoon rain... YUP... MONSOON...


We arrived at the guest house shortly before 6:30am here or about 8pm in Boston.


It comes to a total of 32 and a half hours of travel. Yeah... sleep...

ZERO

So I take the bus from the Cape (Cape Cod) to Boston, right… We have just pulled onto the highway and I decide it is time for a little distraction. I got these great new ear buds by Skullcandy and the sound quality is great so I am going to enjoy some time in my own little world; just me, my ear buds and my ipod. And then it hits me… I don’t have my ipod…

Yup in true Caleb Giguere fashion I leave the house and forget something. Mind you I do this quite often, sometimes my phone, sometimes my keys; I forgot a shirt one time. I usually remember by the time I get to the car. Sometimes I don’t realize it until I get home. It is not a big deal because it is only a matter of hours before I am home again, it is a minor inconvenience. But on a trip like this there is no going back home to get the ipod at the end of the day.

I suppose I should consider it a blessing it disguise. I will be seeing and experiencing things for the first time in India and I am probably better off without the distraction. If I am listening to music I am not listening to the sounds that are uniquely Indian.

Just a Meandering Thought...

Monday, June 27, 2011

PACKED

So we spent the day yesterday just lounging around the house, and running a couple of errands for the trip to India. We visited a picturesque little known spot on the Cape called the Knob.

Last night Sara and I went out for a date just before I head out to India. It was the first time we have been on a date, just the two of us since Samuel was born. It felt new but familiar.

Today I am finishing my repacking before I head out to catch a bus to the Airport.
I am bringing along some reading material for the long plane ride and train rides that I will be taking as I go.
Philip Yancey's - "Soul Survivor" where he lists and talks about the people who most helped him to navigate his youth and early adulthood and survive organized religion to become a man who still believes in God.

Maurice Herzog's - "Annapurna" the story of the first ascent of Annapurna which was also the first ascent of an 8,000 meter peak.

C.S. Lewis's - "Surprised by Joy" which is his account of his early life; the circumstances which led to him becoming a man of faith.

Maybe you see a theme or two. Overcoming obstacles and the things that influence us to be able to over come them. We are all influenced by things every day. Every minute really. The idea being that if you can selectively choose your influences; put yourself in a place where you are mostly influenced by the things that will push you in the direction you want to go, you are way ahead of the game.

I am choosing to allow India to be an influence in my life, one of many. What is influencing you? Your surroundings will affect your direction; your direction determines your destiny.

Just a Meandering Thought...

Thursday, June 23, 2011

ONE

So there is now less than one week left until I leave for India. The money has been raised. In fact in total you have helped me come up with more than I needed for the trip, so thank you so much for the love. I have gone out and purchased many of the little things I will need to get through my stay in Derhadun.

I have a gift for my host. Can you believe he asked if I could bring coffee... Starbucks or Dunk'n donuts coffee. Take a wild guess which one I got. He also want peanut butter, creamy peanut butter. Well, he is going to get Christmas in June when I arrive.

My flight will be interesting. I have a short flight from Boston to Newark on Monday afternoon, then my flight for Deli leave Newark at 8:30pm, Monday Evening and arrives in Deli at 8:15pm Tuesday evening. My flight is about fourteen and a half hours, but it will take about twenty four hours of time.

Big thanks to my home church Common Church in Boston for the generous gift to cap my fundraising efforts to get to Deli. You guys are great! I got a late start to the whole fund raising efforts but God has demonstrated his goodness toward a ragamuffin like me...

There have been times in my life where I was pretty sure that what I was doing was the right thing for me to do. There have been times when I did not know but I went ahead anyways and it turned out okay. There have been very few times where I was absolutely convinced from the very core of my soul that I was supposed to be doing what I was doing. Going to India is one of those core conviction times. It is only six weeks and a couple of days, and I may never go back, but I know at least for this time it is right.

I should also give a huge thanks to my wife Sara for her support too. If she was not okay with this I would likely have to change my degree program and do something else. Thanks for everything Sara. Keep and eye on Samuel for me, and try not to let him walk until I get back.

Just a Meandering Thought...

Monday, June 20, 2011

FATHER

I am officially part of the club. I have celebrated my first holiday dedicated to me. I don't know the secret handshake (if there is one) but I am now a part of the club where all the members are Fathers. Yesterday was my first and it was my dad's thirty fourth... (yikes). Being a father is hard but good... I know that seems simple but Samuel just had a dirty diaper like you would not believe and that is hard but watching him smile at the simplest things is good.

That being said, life is not simple, neither is being a father. As I think about what it has been like so far here are some words that I think describe it:

Fun: I love taking Samuel outside and letting him feel the grass as he sits and tries to eat it. Or letting him feel the bark of a tree, or seeing the way he gets excited when the wind blows on his face. You should see the size of his smile when he is on the swings, it is so fun.

Asfoweinwtrehhr: Yes that is a word, I made it up. It is one of the many I have made up that Samuel seems to understand. I can tell because when I say it to him he looks right at me with a weird look on his face as if to tell me that I mispronounced it.

Tiring: Sometimes Samuel goes to bed early, sometimes late; sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night, sometimes very early in the morning. Samuel takes naps, but only when he is tired and he does not let us know when that will be ahead of time. He is only crawling now but somehow we still have to run after him. When we are done with the diaper changes, the feedings, the baths, the keeping him occupied with little chew toys that also make noise so that he does not start crying when he is hungry or tired, then we start with the regular stuff we have to do. It's tiring

Hard: My life is not my own any more. I thought that I lost autonomy when I got married, and I did, but whatever illusion I was under that I still had some fraction of my life to myself evaporated when Samuel came along. Reading email is a chore because Samuel is in the other room and he might be about to fall over. All of life's activities now orbit around his nap schedule and when they don't we hear about it.

Extra: It takes more of everything. It takes extra energy to last through the day. You need extra time to get out the door, an extra bag for Samuel who needs extra diapers and extra clothes. You need to prepare extra food for the extra mouth to feed. You always need extra money to pay for the extra food. When you finally go to bed you are extra tired and would like to get extra sleep, but Samuel gets up extra early...

Rewarding: ummmm... not yet, but from what the older fathers tell me that time will come. Right now it can sometimes feel like it is more work that it is worth, but somewhere down the road I know it will be worth all the work.

Oh and in case you did not catch it already that is F.A.T.H.E.R.

Just a Meandering Thought...

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

TWO

There are just twelve days until I leave for India... exhale... India is a country I have wanted to visit ever since I was in college and heard of an organization that was attempting to rescue people from the sex-slave trade. They would smuggle women and girls out of brothels and sometimes even purchase them. Can you imagine that, they had to purchase them like a piece of meat in order to have the right to treat them like a human being.

I don't remember the name of the guy who was sharing these stories with us or the organization that he was with, but I knew I wanted to be a part of something that was doing good for those who could not do good for themselves. I was fascinated by the extremes that these people go through to help someone gain freedom. I have heard similar stories over the years since. These experiences plus my interest in travel and culture and history all combines to make India a place of great interest for me.

There are some great organizations doing some great good in India today. My mother is connected with one called the Jubilee Market. This organization teaches individuals how to make a living and support themselves so they can break free form the cycle of abuse and oppression that so many are caught in. Most Americans have no idea what a "normal" life is outside the western world. Maybe I can help shed some light.

While in India I will not be doing any kind of service in this particular area of the culture, but I will be doing some teaching and child who gets an education is one that is far less likely to end up in these circumstance.

Thanks again for your continued support

Just a Meandering Thought...

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

CANDY

So I continue to get ready for my trip to India. As I have shared before I will be sending updates via Twitter, Facebook, and this blog whenever possible. I will not have regular access to the internet but type up some posts so that when I do have access I will be able to post a few at a time to keep you all updated.

I have purchased a few iPods over the years, and just recently the last of the headphones that came with those iPods completely fell apart, I am talking disintegration in my hand... actually my computer bag... really a pocket in my computer bag mixed together with a bunch of other wires and random junk so the headphones really had no chance to begin with. But for a long trip to India I knew I would need some new headphones so I searched for something that would last. Working at REI I had access to one brand in particular, that plus the fact that I get a discount really helped narrow the field of possibilities.I am so satisfied with my purchase of Skullcandy Titan headphones. They block out outside noise like no other headphones I have purchased and the sound quality is far better than the dinky headphones I got with the iPod. They come with a protective case and the cord that goes from the ear bud to the 1/8th inch jack is made of braided nylon for extra flexibility without the risk of compromising the integrity of the cable.

It is not exactly related to India per se, but this item will definitely help on those long train rides and on the almost 15 hour plane ride, and for a long time after I am back in the states.

Just a Meandering Thought...

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

THREE

So I have about three weeks left before leaving for India. There is one piece left that still need to nail down before I can leave. I will be on a non stop flight from Newark to Deli, but I need to get to Newark. So either today or tomorrow I need to book that flight. Going from the Boston area to Newark is not going to be too bad, but being on a plane for almost fifteen hours is going to be brutal. The upside is that there is a much less chance of losing my bags.

I am not worried about culture shock when I arrive or even after being there for a couple of weeks. If you know me you know I am pretty adaptable. Culture shock will really hit me when I get home in mid August. I will be returning to a place of privilege and cleanliness where I eat with utensils, where there are flush toilets, where I simply go to a grocery store when I want food, clean water form the faucet. These are all things that we take for granted that at some point I will not have access to.

After building relationships with people who have so little and somehow seem happy I will question what I consider to be true happiness. I will question what I really need in order to live a fulfilling life. I may even get frustrated at God for being born in America where if I work hard enough I can have just about anything, compared to those who work like slaves and still barely have enough to survive.

I know this is coming and yet I go because to not go is to keep myself ignorant. It is to pretend that I know anything about sacrifice, or poverty. Even after I come back I will still only be an observer of it and not a participant in it.

Just a Meandering Thought...

Friday, June 3, 2011

FOUR

So I now have less than four weeks until I leave for India. It is coming up fast. Recent events in the middle east have not changed things as far as security goes. India is still a relatively stable country with a few unstable neighbors, but that does not change things for me.

I leave on Monday June 27th and will return on August 9th. My flight to India is booked, I have a new passport my visa is being processed and things are coming together. Did you catch that?? Yeah... VISA. I need a visa to get into the country of India. Not exactly sure why but apparently if I am going into the country, I have to have a good reason to go. So since I am not going for work, I do not need a work visa. I am not going as a student to be educated at one of their universities, so I don't get a student visa. The visa I need, the one that fits my itinerary in India, is a Tourist visa! So I have applied for a six month, tourist visa.

At this point in my trip planning most of the logistical stuff is taken care of. I have just a few loose ends to wrap up. Now I begin planning what to bring on my trip. If you have done international travel, I am open to suggestions on what to bring and what not to bring. I have traveled internationally, but not for this long so any tips you have would be great!!