It was another early wakeup call here in India today. We got picked up in a bus to drive to Kabini River Lodge (a jungle lodge/resort). Besides being bumpy the bus ride there was surprisingly very interesting. It was the first time that I had the opportunity to really reflect on India in real time (not blogging in a room secluded from what I was blogging about). I hate to sound cliché but it made me realize how lucky I am to live in the United States: To have a house, food, GREAT family, etc. But what really amazed me about this bus ride was that these Indians that were living in slums and other poor living conditions would smile at us and wave. They would show no signs of sadness or self pity. This directly relates to what Varma says in Being Indian which is that “Whether in India or abroad, Indians have one quality which has stood them in good stead: resilience…No foreigner can ever understand the extent to which an Indian is mentally prepared to accept the unacceptable…Families living in one-room holes in overcrowded chawls do not think they are terribly deprived. ‘These are not sad homes. These are not sad lives. There is love, laughter, hope…’”(204-205). This just completely amazed me and put things in my own life in perspective. The next time I am having a bad day because I got a bad grade or had a bad day at work, I am going to remember these Indians I saw through the bus window who put a smile on their face under the worse conditions imaginable.
Once we arrived at the jungle, I was speechless. This was the part of the trip that I was looking forward to most and I can say without any hesitation that it met all my expectations. Everyone who knows me knows that I am an animal person. Anyways, the resort was beautiful. It was the first time that I felt I was on vacation. It was so peaceful and relaxing there. I even fell asleep for an hour out in the sun. Me and Felix then took a walk around and saw monkeys all over. We even saw a baby monkey (picture attached below). We ate a great meal at 1:30 pm consisting of the traditional Indian food and then had a coffee/tea break at 3:00 pm. I think they should implement the coffee/tea break in the United States. They also do this at the institute. It is just a great way to break up the day and relax for a moment. Anyways at 4:00 pm we went off on our jeep safari which was absolutely amazing. We saw elephants, peacocks, spotted deer, birds, warthogs, monkeys, crocodiles, etc. We even got to stop at a location and pet the elephants. They are huge. It was so funny because there were locals next to the elephants and they would hold them like it was no big deal. They were making food (round balls) for the elephants at this location which was really interesting to see. A girl in our group named Mary even got to feed one of the elephants. As you can tell, I really enjoyed the safari ride. Rather than describing everything I saw, I am just going to show you the pictures below (There were a lot more than these pictures, I will show you more when I come home).
Following the great safari ride, we watched a wildlife documentary that surprisingly was very interesting. Some parts were sad because they showed the killing of many of the animals we just saw. But overall, I think it definitely complemented the jeep safari ride and the rest of the experience at the lodge. We then had another great meal at the ‘Gol Ghar’. Following that, I don’t know if it was the hour nap in the sun or the whole jungle experience, but I was so exhausted that I had to go to bed immediately.
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