Kausani

      After arriving in Delhi and taking a couple days to get our bearings (and buy traditional clothes), we took an overnight train from the capital to the northern state of Uttarakhand. From there, we took a jeep to the small village of Kausani. The ride was pretty uneventful although I think I should mention that over the course of the 8 hour drive, I discovered the wonders of car-sick medicine. Where those magic pills have been all my life, I really don't know, but I mention them because I am certain that our travels in the mountains would have turned out very differently without them.
     In Kausani, we stayed at a hotel/resort/retreat called the Chevron Eco-lodge and the going was easy, to say the least. We were supplied with huge, delicious, regular meals, comfy beds, Western toilets, hot water, and a never-ending supply of fresh chai. Our days were mostly filled with food, briefings, exploring, journaling, and bonding.
     That being said, for two hours every day I was invariably wrenched out of this bubble and thrust into the difficulties of learning a new language. Hindi is hard. Binitji is a wonderful teacher but I still ended every class feeling completely lost. On our expeditions to the village center, we tried to put what we’d learned to use and I couldn’t help but laugh about what my stammerings must have sounded like to the villagers. Most likely something equivalent to “..How…are you? I are good! How much …does…err…one hour!...cost?!”
     Then again, one day at the internet café, I glanced over to the screen next to me and noticed that every time the boy did some action on his computer game, the words “Spicy Move!” would flash in bright orange letters. I laughed and then involuntarily thought “Spicy! Like..masala! masaaledar!” I pictured Binitji saying “Make a sentence!” and thought “khanna masaaledar hai.” The food is spicy.
     Kausani was everything you’d want from your first week in a country you're going to spend the next nine months in: nice people, beautiful scenery, delicious food, and lots of time to process. In some ways, it was almost like home. Almost, because whenever I started to get too comfortable, I was instantly reminded of my foreignness by something like walking back to the lodge and realizing that every time I meant to ask someone how they’re doing, I’d been saying “Ap kaha se hai?” instead of “Ap kaise hai?” I thought the confused looks I’d been getting were because people didn’t understand my accent. Now, I think it’s probably more of a combination of my accent and the fact that I'd been smiling and asking “Where are you from?” and responding “I'm good too!”
     Still, all in all, our first week in India was grand. However, by the end of our stay in Kausani, I think we all realized that we'd really just left one bubble of comfort for another and were greatly looking forward to moving on.