i AMsterdam

Without a bike in Amsterdam, you are nothing

There are estimated to be around 600,000 regularly used bikes here, and I can totally believe that statistic! Bikes have right of way everywhere here, they are above cars, buses and especially- people. If you get in the way of a bike, too bad, you will get hurt! Being a pedestrian is being at the lowest level of the social rank.…oh well, I wouldn’t have it any other way, this city is incredible to walk around and enjoy at a super slow pace!

I got here on the 17th in the morning. Hopped on a bus to get to my hostel and made my first Dutch friend in the form of the bus driver. Well, I thought he was Dutch…turns out he’s actually Turkish living in Amsterdam (and I am discovering there is a HUGE Turkish population here!). I should have guessed this as soon as he dropped the most pathetic pickup line in history; only to be rivaled by one I had heard in Turkey itself…it went a little something like this:

Driver: “How long you in Amsterdam for?”
Me: “A couple of days”
Driver: “So little time? There are many nice attractions here for you to see! You should stay for longer!”
Me: “Oh yea? Well I’m looking forward to exploring all it’s got to offer…”
Driver: “You know what the best attraction is though?”
Me: “What’s that?”
Driver: “My house.”

Oh. Gosh.

Anyway, he was useful for one thing, pointing me in the direction of my hostel.
So that first day I wondered around, just getting lost! It wasn’t completely by choice; I had a map and was trying to follow a path I had mapped out, but it just turns out I am really bad at keeping to one and being able to read it properly! The city has so many canals that I wasn’t actually expecting! Everything here is so picturesque, the buildings are stunning! They are all so high and narrow, and many look like they were built lopsidedly! The skinny paths that make up the streets of the city are lined with bikes, EVERYWHERE. People park their bikes wherever they want and I guess there are so many around, why would someone choose yours to steal? The other noticeable thing is that although they use their bikes all the time, their bikes are actually really old and broken down looking…they are more like vintage bikes or bikes you’d find in salvos…

I managed to find my way to Anne Frank’s house in the afternoon, and what an experience that was! I have wanted to visit this house since I was around 10 and read the book and absolutely loved it. I remember when I was reading it and mum came in and told me the house was still around and she had visited it, and I had thought that I definitely wanted to visit it one day! It was different to what I thought, the rooms were quite a bit bigger than I had imagine, although, being locked up in there with other people, forced to be quite all the time and never getting to go outside… that space would soon become tiny and cramped. It was a fantastic experience to see it for myself, what her family, and others like them, were forced to do all because they were Jewish!


At breakfast the next morning I made friends with a Japanese girl who then linked us up with another Japanese guy who then got his Brazilian friend to join us. The four of us decided to explore Amsterdam together, which was a relief to me cause I really didn’t wanna just be wondering around lost the whole time cause there is too much to explore here!

My Japanese and Brazillian friends

We were on our feet for around 9 hours, but fortunately I hardly even noticed! We took a canal tour which was a great way to see the city and all its gorgeousness from the water! One of the only facts I remember from this tour was that all the skinny houses that line the canals have hooks attached to the front roofs to lift furniture through the windows cause the doors are too narrow! We ventured over to the Vincent van Gogh museum which was pretty awesome to see paintings by him and other huge artists like Claude Monet first hand.


Walking past all the coffee shops was like being at a Womadelaide or a Jack Johnson concert, the marijuana smell is so strong! It’s so bizarre that they have such tough drug laws on “strong” drugs but they are opening accepting of “soft drugs”, which still give brain damage and cause people to walk the streets stoned and looking like a bunch of idiots… no I didn’t smoke any or indulge in their weed brownies or even marijuana lollypops.

eating ollebollens!

I’m now staying in Rotterdam which is like the Melbourne of The Netherlands, very modern and busy! I am staying at a hostel that I didn’t even realise was an attraction in itself when I booked! It’s in what is called the “cube houses” which create a figurative urbane forest (yes, that is straight out of the brochure). In plain words, it’s a collection of houses that have a tilted geometric shape so it looks like the houses are all lopsided and crazy. I am still trying to work out how they manage to make the windows look like they are leaning over from the outside, but when I look out through the inside, its perfectly straight….:S

Im in the second from the right one. man how do these things work???

I am off to hopefully see The Peace Palace which is the International Court of Justice and Arbitration in The Hague. Then the next day I may go out and see some windmills and clogs and cheese and ollebollens and salty licorice and anything else Dutch that I can’t leave without missing!

Love to you all!
Lauren xoxox

A few days in Nepal

I left India on the ninth ready to explore Nepal and all its Himalayan beauty! I was greeted by the most beautiful woman on earth, my mum (who had been in Bangladesh for the last few weeks and was now with another few people from church debriefing in Nepal), at the airport. They even had a sign for me! haha

Straight from the airport began a pretty awesome and fast paced holiday for me with mum and the rest of the team, so I’m gonna try and not go overboard on details but just give an overview. First stop for me was straight from the airport to the beautiful mountain city of Nagakhot. The first morning, it was an early wake up to do a hike up to the highest point around the immediate area where we got a 360 degree view of the Himalayas (including Mt. Everest) as the sun rose over the peaks! It was so incredibly beautiful, and with my dismal describing skills, I cannot even begin to give it justice! On the way down, not having to race against the sun, we took our time, having a swing in a makeshift swing made of bamboo with a view over the mountains! Deb (one of the ladies from church) spent the walk down encouraging the Nepalese army men who were doing their workouts and time trials (packs and gun included) running up the mountain.

Kathmandu itself I must say is pretty different to what I thought, it is a lot more dusty, dirty and underdeveloped than I imagined it would be (being a key city for droves of tourists who come to do trekking). It was more like the country town I stayed at in India rather than the capital of Nepal! In saying that however, there is a large shopping strip and tourist street that has a huge “western country tourist ” vibe. Like India, the traffic is hectic with about 10 different modes of transport all trying to share the roads, not to mention the cars and bikes that are parked in the most inconvenient spots just to create more chaos. I have to hand it to them however; this system works for them and road rage is non-existent!
For the last few days Mum and I spent our time in Pokorah which is a beautiful lake city which you are supposed to be able to see the Annapurna Himalayan ranges from… unfortunately however, apart from in the plane on the way there, it was too cloudy and impossible to see the huge snowcapped ranges! Not to worry however, we were able to enjoy a hike, some more shopping, plenty of walking and plenty of food (it’s nice to have some more western style meals after living off very simple diet in India, plus the prices are ridiculously low).
I also convinced mum (although I must say it wasn’t hard) to do some paragliding with me, which again, would have been spectacular if we could see the huge ranges while in the air but they were covered in cloud… Nevertheless, it was a SPECTACULAR experience! A Spanish man named Carlos was the one who took me for a ride, a magnificent feeling floating over the town, the lake and fields not to mention we were sharing the airspace with a number of eagles! At one point we caught a thermal so high we were engulfed by cloud and it was so strange and incredible being surrounded completely by pure white, with only my legs and Carlos behind me visible!

I left Mum at Kathmandu airport 7 days later, which was incredibly crowded and hot, the delays that everyone was facing didn’t make tensions ease any faster either. I got frisked four times in order to get onto the plane, a bit over the top I think…haha
I had a ten hour wait in Delhi, and was instantly brought back to Indian life when even the bus that took us from the plane to the terminal used his horn about 10 times weaving in between, what I thought was supposed to be highly organized, tarmac traffic! Not to mention the overly friendly airport security guy who came over with a piece of paper and a pen and told me I had to put down my phone number and my “good name”….
I am in Amsterdam now and will try and get to another blog about this experience asap! haha

All my love to you!!!!!!!!

PS. you should be able to see pics here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=93925&id=1297536432&l=036e448f57

Lauren xoxoxoxoox

A night to remember

I had one of the best nights of my life last night.

At about 6 I was told that I was being taken into the jungle for dinner by Filly and Eugene (the farm manager and his wife, who are also the fostered daughter and son-in-law of rick shipway). This isn’t jungle like I have witness yet however, the jungle I have taken the kids through is just at the opening of the thick, jungle book level jungle- which we were visiting, at night! Needless to say I was pretty excited!

We went in the farms ute which is a nice oldish one that im sure has seen its fair share of thrashing- We, being Filly, Eugene, Kelsey, one hostel boy Ashwani, Filly and Eugene’s daughter Angel, and I. This is the first time since the monsoon that a normal vehicle (not a tractor) has gone through the makeshift roads so needless to say the going was rough and bumpy! Eugene had to get out every 5 mins or so to find the easiest way to get through the bushes, ditches and trees.

Last night, I will point out, was the Hindus equivalent of new years and Christmas, called Dewali. For this they have crackers and fireworks, every households has a supply, so all through the night there is a steady stream of loud cracking noises with an occasional spurt of colour in the sky. They make their houses like shiny beacons, like some do at Christmas time at home with lights, except this is India, so its not just one or two houses per street that goes all out, but EVERYONE and all the villages make their homes so illuminated that they can be seen from miles away! As we were going through the jungle we came to one of the villages that is tucked away in the thick of the trees. Seeing this was one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen. In the pitch black, scattered throughout the trees were little mud huts, all with tiny clay pots of candles lining their doorsteps and window sills, creating a romantic orange haze around each hidden hut, and casting faint silhouettes of the people, goats and washing lines against the walls. The clay candle pots are put out to invite the goddess of Wealth to visit their homes.

When we got about 15 mins into the drive we were able to get out and stand in the back of the Ute for the rest of the trip. INCREDIBLE fun! It was Kelsey and I, and in between us was Angel. As we swerved (of course Eugene went extra fast for our enjoyment) and turned and dodged holes, trees, bushes and ditches, and at points it was a case of holding on for dear life :P. I became so concentrated on staying upright and not being tipped out sideways from the truck, that the first time I looked forward, I was welcomed by a nice slap in the face from a branch of leaves hanging down. From then on I learned to look ahead. About 7 mins out from the jungle plot, which was our dining location for the evening, we reached a clearing where we had a clear view of the sky above us. It was one of the most incredible feelings to be driving at that speed, weaving through trees and bushes and then to look up at the most pristine clear sky scattered with stars that were racing along with us while we drove. The smell of the jungle was one of such cleanliness, I imagine that if we could smell underwater, that is what the deep blue ocean would smell like. God really is an incredible creator!

When we got to the plot there were two laborers who work and live there, who protect the crop from leopards, tigers and elephants. Apparently the elephants come out in a couple of weeks and when they do, the plot gets quite dangerous and they have to fend them off by making fire walls around the plot perimeter. The elephants have come right up to the hut that the men stay in, and at night they can hear them trumpeting from the jungle around them! The hut that is built there is quite something! It’s all hand made out of natural recourses, long long branches weaved together for the roof then huge logs in the middle of the hut for supports. They live by candle light so at night it looked particularly beautiful and felt like I had walked onto the set of a little house on the prairie during a nighttime scene or something.

We ate chicken infront of the huge log fire, while surrounded by the huge expanse of flat field. Crackling fire, pristine environment, great company, crackers going off in the distance, and an occasional firework rising up over the horizon from where we were sitting, I couldn’t even dream up something that would make that scene better! Conversation was the greatest part of this night though. We were blessed to hear the love story of Filly and Eugene. Their story is so unbelievably romantic and full of everything a good fictional (though it is not) love story has: early childhood crushes, turned teenage moodiness, then late teenage love, secret meetings, punishment, a great escape, running away and then, the elopement. Their story is almost too amazing to be true.

Around 11:30 we decided it was getting too cold so we packed up to go back. Instead of going the same route back however, Eugene decided to risk the river path which is a lot quicker and if we get stuck, we would be closer to the farm for help. We reached the river and they got out to evaluate whether or not it was possible to cross. Convinced he’d found one, Eugene hopped back in the Ute and sped down the bank to the river. We made it most of the way across the 8m wide river before the car decided it was not strong enough to heave us all up onto the other side. So we had to wake miphal (the other farm manager) up from his bed, to bring the tractor to haul us out of the river. For me being stuck in the back not being able to get out because the water had risen over the door, it was actually a blessing. Seeing the water coming right towards me with just the moonlight illuminating the tiny small waves, and then following the river up to see the night sky sprinkled with stars…incredible beauty a photo could not capture ever.

Now I should post this and get to packing, as I’m leaving tomorrow night and have hardly even made a dent in my 3 month growth of junk and rubbish scattered throughout the room! On to Nepal next, where my mother is waiting for me! Hopfuly i will be able to put up a conclusion to india on this blog before i get to the next stage in my journey...its gonna be a tough day tomorrow!


Love to all,
Lauren xox

Party Mix

I’m sitting outside watching the boys sort out wheat, enjoying the sunshine, the breeze and the amazing greenery and flowers that create a paradise around the farm. It’s serene at this very moment because the kids are at school. :P

As I may have mentioned before, we are well and truly out of monsoon season now. There has not been a drop of rain for weeks (except a VERY light shower while we were asleep) and the nights are getting cooler as are the mornings. Still t-shirt and short weather during the day though. There are gardens being created everywhere, and fruit trees being planted left right and centre.

Its harvest time here at the farm so we’ve had a huge combine come and do its thing on the wheat and soy fields. After the combines been through then people start collecting the hay from the fields and also bundling up the produce into big bags. Lots will go to be sold. The farm work is the boys duty so on the days when the combine is here and theres a lot of work that needs to be done in a short time, the girls are enlisted to work in different areas. Currently the mission is sprucing up an old house to turn it into a guest house for visitors. A few days ago a few of us girls were there painting the inside a nice bright blue colour, typical Indian style. Indian paint comes in powder form and then you add water, it’s like white wash. While this paint was great in that there were hardly any fumes and that it washes off almost instantly, it’s a lot more effort to apply, what would take probably only 2 strokes to cover with aussie paint, takes about 5 with this stuff. This paint is also dirt cheap compared to paint at home, although you have to reapply it every 1-2 years! What a huge lot of effort, although with the man power of the farm it isn’t too great a task. Roda and I ended up having a paint war, which was inevitable, She stuck a paint brush in my mouth as well as paint over my feet and neck and I got her back by putting it through her hair. Not sure who won in the end….

Painters from back: Lauren, Selma, Roda and Smitra (and Kelsey is taking pic)

Ladies picking the soy bean crop

The combine

A few nights ago Kelsey and I got dressed to go out! We were supposed to get all doled up Indian style (cover up as much as possible, put make up on and jewelry-ify ourselves like crazy) but ended up toning that down a bit before traipsing off to a festival and fair put on by the lions club here in the small town 1km away. There are a lot of mixed opinions around the farm about going to these sorts of events. We got put off by a lot of people before we went because they all these things were was drinking and women dancing with little clothes on, and as westerners we’ll attract a lot more vocal and maybe physical attention from alcohol fueled men. Chris (US) said that he would take Kelsey and I if we wanted to go, so under his “protection” we went. I’m so glad we went because it seriously wasn’t as bad as they all made it out to sound! Although to be fair, for everyday Indians and their conservative culture the girls dressed in tight long skirts and bare midriffs, which is quite provocative, so I do understand why the farm people find it an immoral display. It was held on a school oval, and there were about 2000 people packed into it. You never see these crowds in Australia, but it’s inevitable here. It was night time so the mass of lights were very effective! Everyone dresses up in their most vibrant and fancy clothes and there are stalls of food and toys, a huge ride and a massive stage that was covered in bright fabrics. When Indians put on a party, they REALLY go all out! 

Kelsey, Gail and I before we set out (she is tiny, but perspective has made her look miniture inbetween us i assure you :P)

the crowds we were greeted by

One of the dancers on stage

I now have only seven days left. I have enjoyed another jungle walk with all the nursery kids and the small girls yesterday. I had to carry dead weight in the form of little sleeping Suhana for about 5 km through the jungle and the water which was quite a challenge for me. We all had a lot of fun though! 

There is nothing more gorgeous than a sleeping baby, especially if shes Indian :)

On Saturday the school held a cricket match between the two houses (red and blue) which was awesome fun to watch. Just as happens at home, the boys put the minimal amount of girls they could get away with on each team, so it was majority boys, but the girls who did play, played so well!

the game in action

keen spectators

Just tonight Selma came in to pierce my ears parent trap style, or more commonly known aswith a needle and ice. The girls all do their holes, even their noses, in the dorms at night with needle and thread and ice. There are great benefits to living with all of your girlfriends!

An incredibly attractive photo of me with a needle in my ear

Love to you all!

Lauren

Champawat

A little while ago (man I’m bad at keeping this thing up to date!) I ventured up to the mountain city of Champawat, and what an experience that was! Along with Kelsey (Canadian girl), Rick Shipway and the farm manager Eugene, we took a three hour drive through the mountains to reach the town. It’s a huge winding way around mountain after mountain, up and down. At one point we were going up and then suddenly we were descending to the most magnificent valley I have ever seen. This drive was picture perfect India. The mountains with layers built into them for farming, complimented by incredible greenery and tiny houses scattered across the mountains.


One village we passed the kids have to walk 10km up the hill every day to go to school, as do the adults if they need to go shopping or anything else. What a life that would be! So secluded from everyone, unless you take a 10 km hike! Another town built onto the side of the mountain was a ghost town! A couple of years ago a bus carrying soldiers fell off the side of the cliff just across from this village and at night the villagers said they became so frightened of the screaming and loud noises that the soldiers spirits would make, they abandoned the village altogether. Now the hoses just lay in ruin, but still during the day people come to farm the land. Insane what superstition will do to people. The roads are extremely dangerous, very narrow and slippery especially during the monsoon. As we were driving we saw how the roads had just been washed away by the rock slides and flooding. Rebuilding is a constant happening on this road with men and bulldozers scattering the roads all the way up! Last year a bus carry 40 passengers rolled off the side of these huge cliffs, such an incredible tragedy…

From a lookout in these hills we could see the mountains in Nepal, and the river line that separates India and Nepal. Such incredible beauty!

Past this is Nepal

Eugene, Kelsey, Me and Rick

This road is where the bus fell off the edge at..

The ghost village

Newspaper

The other day I was flipping through one of the Indian newspapers that floats around the place and I noticed a section I have never seen before. This section was an identification page with pictures of dead bodies and a description of who they think they might be, what they were wearing and where the bodies were found.


I was quite shocked to see this but at the same time I have been wondering what happens when a homeless person dies, the big cities like Delhi are packed with them! Skinny, dirty, malnourished and disease ridden, an undignified death is inescapable for most of these people. And obviously there a lot more than just these few in the newspapers.


It is now that I see for myself the extent to which poverty is rife in this country, and all the countless issues that stem from this, that I can really understand how discouraging being a single individual in a big bad world is when it comes to actually wanting to make a difference. The cities are just jam packed with people sleeping wherever there is a flat surface and that really is no exaggeration.

I just pray that I will never forget that each one of those individuals has a story, has a life that God has given them and has a plan and a purpose. It could have just as easily been me living out on those disgusting urine and rubbish filled streets. Because it isn’t me however, I know that I have an obligation, ESPECIALLY as a Christian, to do all that is in my power to make life easier for those who cannot help themselves. From a western mentality is it easy for us to question how hard these people are actually working to improve their lives, there are many who choose to beg as a career... but then what about the handicapped, the mentally ill, even the mother of seven or ten kids who has no choice but to beg for a measly living? Her children then grow up on the streets and it becomes a vicious cycle. Even for those who have jobs, life is far from easy for a lot of these people, their living and working conditions are far from carefully monitored offices and factories.

If I ever become complacent, if I ever become nonchalant about the topic of injustice and poverty in this world, you have my permission to ostracise me, forget me, never help me out, remove me from my house and deny me clean water and food… At least then their hardships will never leave my mind.