There is a lot to say from the last few weeks so I’ve decided to report on four completely unrelated random highlights with no clever segues.
Wakes –
As you should remember from one of my earlier posts, I have had the pleasure of being awoken by some friendly creatures in the middle of the night, such as the preying mantis that landed on my pillow. Since then, there have been lizards, ants, mosquitos…nothing major.
A few weeks ago though, I started seeing more and more cockroaches and the distinct sound of their shelled bodies scurrying across the tiled floor of my bedroom soon became the norm. Despite the fact that I would sleep with my flashlight in hand to confirm my suspicions every few hours for my own personal reassurance, they never really bothered me enough to file a complaint with Dinesh (caretaker).
About a week ago, however, I was lost in my habitually vivid dream world (no, I am not on malaria pills), when something unfamiliar started repeatedly poking up my nose. In dream world, I disregarded it and made an unconscious effort to ignore that which was desperately trying to disturb my happy place. After what felt like 15 minutes of continual assault (possibly 15 seconds of real time), I awoke to the realization that it was, in fact, an antennae that had been selfishly interrupting my sleep. Still confused and in a semi-lucid state of mind, I itched my face and came to the rude awakening that a cockroach was comfortably resting on my right cheek. It was not so pleasant. After a spastic jolt, I jumped to turn on the light and saw many of the same critters hurrying to retreat to a new darkness. I lost some serious sleep that night... and the nights to follow, though I do believe I handled myself well! Just ask my friend Maya who was fortunate enough to catch a frenzied - yet collected - skype call with me at 4:30am. I've come a long way since the preying mantis freak out.
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| The perpetrator moments before execution. |
Anyway, this intrusion obviously crossed the line - I tend to take matters more seriously when its a matter of losing precious sleep. I informed Dinesh the next day and a chemical of some sort was sprayed all over the apartment that smelled absolutely lovely. I was unsure of whether or not it had worked until there was no longer a need to question after witnessing an apocalypse the morning after. I awoke to about 7 dying upside down cockroaches on my floor. I was left no other choice than to channel Kevorkian and put them all out of their misery with a shoe. Apparently the chemical screws with their centre of gravity and forces them upside down to eventually die. Perfect moment for a photo shoot! I am happy to report that no cockroach has been seen since.
Lakes –
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| About to board the coracle |
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| Me and Nicole! |
On a completely separate note, last weekend a friend (Nicole) and I visited Hogennakal Falls. Known as the ‘Niagara’ of India, it should be of no surprise that it is a waterfall…but not just any waterfall – this one is sacred. The falls are believed to have curative powers attracting those with a variety of ailments to bath in its waters. Hogennakal is also known for its massages with special mystic oils. Adding to the coolness factor of this excursion, the common way to experience the falls is in circular basket boats made of bamboo called 'coracles' that navigate through the lakes and head straight toward the powerful currents. We even got a fantastically disorienting coracle SPIN from our strong and capable paddler just in front of one of the falls.
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| Currently the background on my computer. |
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| Woman selling freshly caught fish |
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| Men getting massaged with mystic oils |
Right next to the falls, fresh fish is caught, spiced, barbequed and sold amidst the constant slapping noises of men getting river-side massages. As we soon learned, women have special rooms where massages are done in the privacy of other women. Nicole and I endured a slimy and aggressive massage, obviously unwilling to refuse the $5 bargain. My neck was non-consensually and unexpectedly cracked and we left the room in pain from lying on the rotten wooden tables and absolutely drenched in the mystic oil. Luckily for us, there was an area for women to shower – unluckily for us, we had to shower with our clothes over our bathing suits to fit in with the other unexposed women in their sopping kurtas. There were huge clumps of hair on the flooded ground and dirty diapers lining the stairs, but it was nice to be in water on such a hot day – despite the fact that it was literally repelling my skin from the oil. So much for a clean 3-hour drive back home! Oh India.
Cakes –
In response to all the wonderful birthday messages, I’ll fill you guys in about my celebration in Bangalore. It began with an amazing dinner the night before consisting of wine, pasta and crème brulee which couldn’t have been topped. On the day of the 16th, however, Asha (from CFAR) got into a motorbike accident and broke her shoulder and the woman helping us unexpectedly quit, tripling the workload, so it wasn’t exactly all fun and games. In addition, despite the several reminders and sly hints I gave to Chethan leading up to the day he still forgot! I gave him some time to remember but it just wasn’t happening. Eventually, I decided to trigger his memory with a casual giveaway at which point he scolded himself and gave me an extremely enthusiastic handshake. Once we were back at the office, he told David and within 10 minutes I was presented with a very spontaneous “Happy Birthday Jane” cake and serenaded by the whole CFAR team to a Korean version of Happy Birthday from a youtube video. Although I am still baffled as to why it was in Korean, it was pretty nice! I seem to have grown accustomed to celebrating my birthday in foreign countries with bad cake so I’ve learned to embrace it. I’d even go as far as to say that I now prefer it.
Breaks –
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| Street Dosas (South-Indian delicacy) |
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| Temple! |
It seems that just as I start getting really antsy in Bangalore, I get to take a good break from the chaos and noise pollution. Whether through Koppal, Mysore or Hogennakal, it’s always nice to change things up a bit. This weekend, though, I had a bit of a break within the city limits. Elayne came to visit and we went to some amazing restaurants (sushi!) and cafes. We vented lots and walked all around the city, stumbled upon a beautiful temple, and tons of food stalls. Note: Elayne's bus station experience was entirely different than my disaster…she effortlessly hopped right on…how unfair. How am I always so lucky?
So that’s what I’ve been up to lately! I’ll post again soon as I am now aware of how discombobulated the entries become when too much time has passed.
Miss you all!
