Water, water everywhere…….

So the water thing.

I don't know why, but I really and truly thought that clean drinking water would be an issue.
It could be that as close as Mexico, if there is an unsafe tap in a hotel, I will invariably run my toothbrush under it.

So I set out on a mission to provide safe water for the group. I went to Mountain Equipment Co Op and found a water sterilization set for the bargain price of $115  which claimed it could sterilize water bottles for all of us and it had a USB charger to boot! "But" the floor clerk said to me "if you really want to be safe you use an army Micropore filter."

An army micropore filter? Okay! My youngest son loves army surplus and so off I went with him in tow to investigate. I could only get four and so I ordered the fifth and returned for it a month later. Armed with a bag full things that looked like giant plastic brown cigars and a gold sharpie I "prettied them up " with our handwritten names.

At the airport when we were leaving I proudly pulled them out and handed them to all the girls who kindly took them with odd looks and thanked me. I still didn't really get it until we landed at the first hotel and they handed us each two large bottles of bottled water. Same kind as we get here. I looked at Mandy who was trying very hard not to crack up.

We went to a bar one night with our hosts for supper and the girls did pull out their water sterilization cigars and tried to drink their drinks through them. It bubbled and tasted like soap. We laughed. We laughed a lot. It is funny how you suddenly can pull back from a situation and see the ridiculousness of it. In that moment I pictured myself in India with my cigar laying on my belly trying to drink with it from a dirty puddle. That was what these were designed for. For a smart girl, I have my naive moments.

In the end during an incredible, fascinating conversation on the train to Haridwar, I took the train tea that was offered during the service. Mandy had warned me not to eat the food, but I LOVE tea. And it would be boiled. Right?

I was the only one that got sick while we were there and no one could figure it out. There is a hilarious story I will save for another blog related to that but on the train back, once again I reached for the train tea as the attendant was passing. This time none of the girls were asleep and they fanned out from their respective seats and burst out laughing. "Did you drink that on the way here ? " "Yes! " I said enthusiastically.

And so the water sterilization girl, the only one who should have used her own system experienced the Universe's grand sense of humour. NOTE to self. Train tea in India is not actually boiled. The bacteria are simply heated to enjoy a hot tub experience before you ingest them unleashing Delhi's revenge.

We have one brown plastic cigar left. Bree kept hers for posterity. We are saving it for the INYP museum lol.

In love and light,
Kat

The Beginning

Hey Everyone!
Kat here!

I was inspired this morning by one of my patients to share a bit more of our journey this time via blogging. His actual request was for me to write a book. I really wouldn't know where to start with that one! We haven't as a group, written off that possibility, but in lieu of that, here is at least a start to whet your appetite.

This was a very different trip than our last adventure. We dubbed the first trip "Disneyland India". As with all journeys of the heart and mind, the understandings seem to get deeper with each layer that is peeled back, and that was definitely my experience this year. I will share this from my own heart, as that is all we can really ever share, and in time I hope you will hear from all of my beloved sisters, as each of us have our own way of seeing and experiencing the world. Linda said it beautifully this last trip. Together the five of us are like savory spices within an exotic dish. Each offering a different expression, each enhancing the other, and the dish would be so much less, without even one of those precious ingredients.  We almost found that out first hand this year.

I was told before I left, by several people who have been, that people have one of two reactions to India, You either love it, or hate it. I was warned to bring Vick's in my bag to help remove offending odors. I myself was more concerned about the water, which provided a great deal of humor for all of my travel mates. That is a blog in and of itself.

My first time in India was very much a love affair, following all the things you would expect of a first love. I fell deeply and irrevocably in love with the people, the place and the culture. My eyes feasted upon the vibrant oranges, reds and yellows, and the incredible crush of people, cars and animals. My ears rang with the sounds of markets, car horns and the sounds of children in the streets. My nostrils became expert at finding the exotic smells of spices and naan from ancient doorways. And dirt. Everything is covered in dirt and after a short while, I didn't even notice. You can tell that from all the photos of me and all of the rest of us, in a backbend or other crazy, ground touching yoga poses! I will never forget coming home in the Toronto Airport and laying on the ground, head on my backpack thinking it is so freaking clean here! (Prior to India you would not have caught me dead on an airport floor- all things are relative after you have been in an Indian train station or on an Indian train....)

The water? Well, Mandy had been before, and every time I saw her and regaled her with all the things I had found at MEC and the army surplus store to deal with contaminated water issues ( yes, I am very good at searching out solutions for problems, real and imagined), she would smile and look at me in a kind, slightly puzzled, offbeat way. I will share more about this later, but on this first trip, we were very much less "third world" than I had imagined. ( Picture me laying on the ground in the Amazon drinking out of dirty puddles and you know where my mind was prior to departure).

The kids? They broke our hearts wide open that first trip and really laid our souls bare to the atrocities that are still occurring in the world involving women and children at risk for human sex trafficking. I had little knowledge of what human trafficking was before we left and I knew far more than anyone would want to believe human  beings are capable of when I returned. Those children marked me in a way that I can never really explain. They reminded me of the depth of the human heart for kindness, compassion, resilience, and courage. Children we were afraid would not want to be touched who grabbed every finger I had available as we walked and the tears streamed freely from my eyes. We were blanketed in love and joy by children who from their experiences should have had none to give.

What a lesson in life.

Well this is just a start. A teaser if you will, and I have to get back to work for a bit. But come back and I will try to give you more of this journey. For there truly is much to share.

In love and light,
Kat