Bhutta Walla and Jhini and me eating corn.
Road Tripping in India...
So you haven't really lived till you have taken a road trip some where, where rules just don't exist. Where everyone is in a hurray to get to their final destination. Where the highway is a road that is wide enough to hous two lanes, but it doesn't really matter which lane you are in - people, cars, animals are everywhere and the biggest trucks you have ever seen are on the road. Where every minute you feel like you are playing chicken with oncoming traffic...then you stop - the world flys by you, cars honking and you are sitting by the side of the road eating corn. haha! India has a beautiful country side, which makes you feel calm, I can't say the same about driving! haha! I have road tripped in Nepal, that was fun - scary and fun at the same time - India is much better than that. There are the occasionaly rest stops - dhabba - where people can get a nice hot meal that is sometimes laden with flyies, but yet it is the best food you have eaten, other people stop on the side of the road and create their own rest stop. This usually occurs when they get hungary and see someone selling corn on the side of the road. During our journey we stopped at such a place - the corn man's advertisement is simple, five pieces of cooked corn in a bucket filled with dirt, he cooks the corn on an open fired created with one piece of thick wood - essentially creating an oven by digging a small hole in the ground and keeping the wood hot enough to cook the corn - then he roast the corn, places a simple mixture of lemon and spices together and spreads it over the corn like butter...and boy does it taste good! Bhutta or corn is in season - so on every open shoulder you will find a bhutta walla (corn person). It is awesome.
This is my niece and I eating - enjoying the corn that was just freshly cooked no more than five minutes before - we chose the corn, he cooked it, we ate and then paid him...a perfectly fair transaction for which all the money goes to him and his family. On our way back, we saw our bhutta walla, all his corn was gone - within the day he was able to sell all his corn and went home with just some money in his pocket. The next day he will do the same - bring the same amount, maybe more, or as much as he can carry - he will then make corn and wait for hungary customer to drive by and stop by his stand. He knows he has competition from other bhutta walla's, but he also knows that the demand is high - so people will come...
from the corn man, we made the rest of the drive - it was fun and scary - a constant in and out, passing people, snaking our way through the roads of india to our final destination, my aunt and uncles house. To go the 85 KM it took us 2.5 hours - along the road to slow people down were speed bumps and tolls. Gas stations now exist on the roads, 7 years before you would not have seen that. The scenery is still the same - miles and miles of open fields, people, cows, dogs, donkey's , horses, and goats are wandering the street - all of which you have to look out for so you don't hit them. Cars narrowly each other and the other people on the road. it is amazing how things operate. it will never cease to amaze me.
time to go...
till later -
Ye Ol'Bucket Bath...somethings never change!
I have been coming to India since I was 2 years old. Since then the one thing I always remembered about being here was the bucket baths. At first we use to have to wait for the water to boil, then we would fill one bucket half way with hot water and the rest with cold and another bucket with the rest of the hot water and cold water - this way two people could take a smei-warm bucket bath. You had to be smart and not waste the water, otherwise you had to take a cold bucket bath. Sometimes we took cold, I mean REALLY cold, bucket baths when we were leaving early in the morning and it would take too long to warm up water and have a lukewarm bucket bath. Then one year I came to india, and the bucket bath was no longer, and people took showers - well, that was until they realized that it was simply a shower head they put up in the wall and really it didn't work, so in the end you took a bucket bath! In Mumbai, it is the fashion for all people that have nice places to have showers, yet people still keep the bucket around, just in case. I will say one thing about the bucket bath - after living in Nepal, there is quite some logic to it. If you have the time to bucket bath, then it is great. Showers are high pressured cleaning systems that tend to waste water. Bucket baths are a slow, water saving way of taking a bath. If you have never had a bucket bath, then you will be wasteful, i have learned to bath - fully that is - with 3/4 of a bucket. This is done by simply ensuring that every drop that hits my body is strategically placed to remove any and all of the soap. The longest time is taken to clean your body of the soap. The greatest part of the bucket bath by far is the end, when you get to take the remaining water yell "Om Shiva" or "Ahh!" and pour the water all over your head and feel the water rushing over you one final time! Then you hope that you have not left any soapy parts, because otherwise you have to fill the little cup with some more water to clean yourself. Bucket baths are awesome. I must say, when i was little that was my favorite time was bucket bath time and that was simply waiting for the water to poured all over my head by my mom and dad, and eventually when i got bigger than the bucket and could pick it up with some water in it, then doing it myself. I must say though, if you have not bucket bathed, that it is something you do! you would be amazed with how clean you can get from just one bucket of water! But, I must say, a cold bucket bath, that is BRUTAL! far more brutal than a cold shower, simply because you know that each time you pour water on your it will be cold and it is the equivalent of chinese water torcher! The anticipation of the cold water and then how slowly it goes over you as you shiver while you try to soap yourself - brutal. I would not suggest it, unless YOU really need to wake up...
i know i have written this before, but i am still amazed by the way they drive out here in India. It is a constant dodging of people, with a flurry of horns, with people going which ever way they please at any point in time. I can only imagine how being a drunk driver here would be - i mean everyone seems to be driving drunk! haha! i guess, they are even more out of control. But honestly, here when you are driving you not only have to be aware of your car, but the cows, water buffaloes, people, biclycles, motorcylce, scooters, dogs, kids, birds, taxis, other cars and trucks! People use all forms of transportation that is available to get around and everyone goes were everyone else is! haha! mind blowing...people zig zag in and out to get around people, they rely on their breaks to save them - i am surprised i have not seen more accidents, everyone comes close - driving on the street is like a constant game of chicken - when both people flash their light and then either duck in front or behind the person they wanted to pass - then in the end they get passed by the person they passed...every light is like the beginning of the India 500 - when people see the clock on the stop light (yes they have a seconds till green timer) get to 5 seconds, they start to go regardless if there is any on coming traffic! it is amazing! and no traffic cops do anything...but watch. Rikshaws (these little three wheel black bug looking thing) are stuffed with at least 15 little kids coming from school - you see their bags hanging out the back and when you look inside all you see is kids and not even the driver! it is amazing...yet somehow people get around - usually by sticking out their hands and honking, thus displaying that they want to go in that general direction...people constatly waving their hands...
alright - today has been a good long day, it has rained, which is nice - cools things down a little - but lots done and lots more to accomplish!
till later...
So i had my race - i have not put up pics yet - but here are some action shots from my ride and run -
http://www.waramos.com/displayimage.php?pos=-58677 http://www.waramos.com/displayimage.php?pos=-58678
No really, I am in India...haha!
So many of you are wondering why I am here, well here is a picture of one of the training groups that I am working with. This is a sewing training group combined with a mehndi (henna) painting group - the items that are on my lap and in my hand are decorative items made by the women as well - this is a group of about 30 women, each broken into two batches of 15 - one set of 15 does sewing the other does mehndi. The man sitting to my right is Siddarth Jain, he is a Program Officer with Jan Shikshan Sansthan - or JSS - the name is a tongue twister for me! and has been working with me while I am here doing my work. It has been great to have him around - excellent coordinator! The two women standing up behind me are the trainers the one in the purple sari is the sewing training and the one in the white kurta is the mehndi trainer. The program assistant Sandhya is the one taking the pic - the first pic she took she cut off the heads of the trainers in the back! haha! i could tell by the way she was pointing the camera down instead of at us! haha! this training is amazing, many of the women do multiple task in the household and now want to make some small spending money - so they have decided to take this training. Something they can do at home while earning money. Most have taken other training's and with this will pad their income by 500 - 1500 rupees (~$10 - 30) per month. Which, in addition with their husbands or family income, is enough to provide more food, better medicine and medical treatment, clothing and other items for themselves and their family. Additionally, most of the ones that are married, their husbands support them working, which is great to hear.
So yes, I am actually doing something here! haha! It is nice to be busy and working for something that I really enjoy! Okay, enough about work -
You know, I was expecting really hot weather out here, or just rain 24/7 -but it hasn't been like that - in fact, it has been quite pleasant, each night it rains, so by the morning time it is nice and cool so it is easier to go for a run or a walk in the AM and not worry about collapsing due to the excessive heat! Plus the rain cleans the street of all the fun stuff that can be found! haha! So I have found out, that Ujjain is a very religious town, more people here are Pundits (Hindu Priest) than anything else - that is the biggest profession here! anyway that is my random fact for the day - it is amazing the random things you see when you are in a religious town - for instance, the last couple of days i have seen elephants walking the streets, why you ask, because they are worshipped - just like cows...cows wander the street alot - i will take a pic and post it up, when you see how many cows can be found at any given point in time you will flip! haha!
i have come to learn that there are three ways of getting anything done in this town: 1)know someone big or 2) tell them you are from America 3) build trust. I always thought that people would be willing to help, no, you have to know someone - once that is established, you can get anywhere and get anything. the second thing, is to tell people you are from America - then they will do anything for you, ask you 101 questions, try to speak with you in english and ask you if you watch Hindi movies! haha! it is awesome - but the main thing, is that you have to build the trust of people - once they trust you then they will be more willing to help you - thankfully, i have learned the art of building trust - but if not, I have the other two on my side! haha! so opening doors is pretty easy...helps when you want to get something done...
no funny stories today - just random observations...
till later -
the BEST shoes ever...Goldstar - made in Nepal - word...
now i will run faster, move quicker, be able to dodge - no, i no longer need to dodge the cow poop, now i can run through it - with goldstar, anything is possible...possibly the finest export from Nepal..since Mt. Everest! Haha! the camo-goldstar - if i ever decide to join the army, these are what i want on my feet...
so what is the good word - life is chill in Ujjain - so yesterday i went to get cloth, now i am about to have 6 shirts made - one pair of pants - and two night suits - hehe! loving it!
went by the office today - it was awesome - met with three training groups: beauty parlor, engine repair and refrigerator & AC repair - it was awesome. i was able to talk to all the participants that are being trained, learn more about them and why they are doing this. Most of them have completed some form of education - the lowest was 9th grade - some dropped out of school, so they could start working - each has a story. all of them after will be working, starting a business, working for someone - but somehow will put their new skill in place. One man, came from Rajasthan - he has is own school - he is taking 4 trainings and is going to go back and train the trainers of these programs. Amazing stuff - passing on the knowledge so others can learn and prosper...gotta love it!
so yeah - i forgot to add pigs and peacocks to the list of animals that i dodge when i run in the morning! haha!
life out here is simple - but people work hard - the work ethic is what gets people forward, what ever job they do, they do it the best they can - even if it is making a Samosa. But as things are evolving, so are things here in Ujjain - some things stay the same - like bicycles and motorbikes out number cars, and those are outnumbered by people walking and the people walking are ALMOST outnumbered by the cows and other animals that wander the streets - it is crazy - people make left turns from the right lane, no one heeds traffic signals - the streets are so disorganized - yet the traffic flows...people keep moving and things get done - some how, they get to where they are going and do the work they need to get done...such chaos would not exist in the states and if it did, people would not know what to do with themselves...
so one thing i forgot to mention about the domestic flight - which i found to be scary and amusing at the same time - in planes in the states, there is enough room for two people to get out of the emergency exit - here in india, they have decided to add an extra row...so the only space to get out of the exit row is the seat next to the window - otherwise, good luck getting people out of the plane! yeah scary and amuzing, amusing, because they see the space as extra seating room not as why people should escape quickly...value of 4 extra seats is worth possible not being able to get everyone out of the plane...that is scary! no need to think about this, i have three more domestic flights to get on before i get out of here...
india is an amazing country, here you can get cell phone service everywhere , even in the small towns and villages, but you might not be able to get to those villages by a car - it is like they put the cart in front of the horse, yet figured out how to move the cart, while making it modern! haha! this blows my mind - they have an IT and Cell infrastucture in place, but not proper roads and access to all the villages and people in the rural area's...blows my mind.
till next time...
Life in Ujjain...
Yeah - so my flight was awesome - no complaints...no need to hassle with the agent, checked my bags right through - i know you all were worried - hoping for a heroic battle where i pulled out the "I am an American - let me do what ever i want" - no need to bring out the American pride...my smile won the gate agent over, so much she didn't even ask about the weight! haha! The airport was super clean - flat screen T.V.'s every where, and they even had cell phone chargers in the airport for people to recharge their phones...amazing - i have heard they even have them on the train, well i will have 16 hours on a train to tell you where they are located - when i travel from Ujjain to Bilai, I am going by train, and I just found out, that i get to spend 16 hours in an AC car - coasting through rural india - super excited! many pictures and stories from that!
So life out here in Ujjain is awesome - my cousin-brother's home is amazing - i guess when you are a very well known doctor (owns his own clinic and is the best Orthopedic Surgeon in the area) in what use to be a small town and now is large, you can command a nice place - i have the whole upstairs to myself - my own room, bathroom, etc.. I get to go for runs in the mornings where i dodge cows, poop, pee, people, bicycles, motorbikes, cars, tempo's (ugly three-wheel taxi's), rickshaws, dogs, cats, goats, chickens, random carts, religious people, moms, dad, kids, grandparents, boys holding hands, girls holding hands, clothes, shoes, kids pooping, dust bins, trash, bad people, smelly people, ugly people and birds. who needs a triatholon when you have to look out for all of those things! haha! The weather out here has been amazing, better than Mumbai, it rains at night, is cloudy during the day and the weather is so nice, that I am not sweating...now you all know me pretty well, i sweat a TON - but not here...my sister-in-law is teaching me hindi, she makes amazing food and rocks. My niece (who is 13) is awesome, she is absolutely adorable and loves to tell me the most random things - in hindi and english! hahaha! when i first met her, she said to me, "your hindi written grammer is horrible" and i was only talking to her! haha! Jhini (pronounced like Genie) cracks me up...more about my family later...
today, we went by the market - craziness, i am going to get some clothes made out here - so we bought a bunch of cloth and i will get several shirts, a pair of pants and some "night suits" made! haha! gotta love india, i am going to come back better dressed than when i left, for half the price! haha!
enough about that - being out here is amazing - so i am actually working out here, most people are thinking i am being a lazy bum around the house, but no, as of yesterday i started working - so here is what is going to happen. I am visiting with three different NGO's and getting an idea of their training programs, specifically for women, and seeing what happens with the people after they have received the training. I am looking at overall marginilized people, but like i said, my main interest is in women empowerment, so i am looking at the trainings given to women. And even more so, if training that is given to men, is offered to women. So I have started with my first NGO - Jan Shanksya Shikta - they work with the District Literacy Committee and take people that have just learned how to read and write and give them vocational training. They also work with all others that are marginilized and get most of their funding from the Indian government. Amazing organization. Then I will meet with Kripa and finally with SEWA. I did some village visits today and had a chance to speak with several different training groups and really learned a great deal. Tomorrow I will meet with some more and get more of an idea, and then meet people that have actually taken the training and put it into practice by either working with someone or starting their own business! AMAZING stuff - i can't wait to really put all my notes into a paper...it is awesome, i have hit the ground running all the pre-work i did from the states proved to be beneficial - i have never thought i would be able to get so much movement so quickly - so this is great!
Wow - there is so much about here that makes me want to write every day or put everything down - i want to take pictures of everything! haha! I am enjoying myself - getting into a nice routine - here is how nice it is...get up in the A.M. - go for a run, come home have some tea and eat a little something, shower (bucket bath BABY!), get ready, do some work, eat, go into the office at 11:30, go on field visits till about 5, come home, eat, relax, hang out with my sister-in-law just talking in hindi, eat good when my brother comes home, then relax and go to bed...so nice!
word...
till later!
Domestic Flying in India...
So, flying domestically in Nepal was an interesting experience, so I am intrigued about flying in India domestically. I have done it before, it is fun, but today I get to argue about all the luggage i brought over from the states - they keep telling us that i am under domestic rules, even though i bought the ticket in the states...yeah, i am excited about this! haha!
my time in Bombay is coming to an end, this means I will soon be inundated by my Family in Ujjain and Bilai - where I am an uncle to kids that are my same age and maybe a grandfather to some kids! I am too young to be a grandfather! AHH! hahaha! i can't beleive that my family is so large - i think we control an ownership share of one town in India - in Bilai on several blocks is run by my family...like a mini-Nayak mafia! haha! well, i am excited, i get to spend rakhi out there with all my fam - chill and eat...and drink lots of Chai - not chai tea, like they call it at starbucks - damn starbucks - mmm...now it is about time for some of the best instant coffee that india has to offer - Nescafe...that stuff is horrible! but that is all they serve out here...so i guess i better get use to it!
arlight - more pics and blogging to come - the rest of the trip should be fun...
but until then, here are some fun things -
-a beach here is the same as in the south of france - rocky, except here you have more shoes on the beach than rocks!
-one of the most dangerous things you can do is attempt to cross the street
-it rains, rains and rains out here and when it stops - everyone goes outside for the five minutes until it starts to rain again!
-even the streets are muddy
- the fan becomes your best friend
-cold showers
-cold showers!
-HBO sucks - every 10 minutes you have a commercial
-every show on T.V. is a Hindi movie
till later -
what would indian's do without horns...
so what wakes you up in the morning time? for me, it is the orchestra of horns honking signalling the passing of cars or the frustration of drivers here in india. each morning a melody of horns starts - as early as 5:00 AM - when people are making there way to work or onto the busy streets of mumbai...so let me describe the different types of beeps - there is the short quick honk which means "i am here, so be careful" or "i am passing watch out" - there there is the long honks which means "lets move the light is green or move out you are holding me up" then there is the muliple honks which means "i am angry and going fast, get out of my way" - the horn, coupled with the hand sticking out of the window is the signal - you know where someone wants to go when they honk the horn and stick out there hand - even passengers are required to participate is the movement is on their side...it is interesting - here the honk does not necessarily mean annoyance or anger - in fact the back of trucks they ask that you honk your horn...gotta love it!
i don't think people really pay attention till you honk your horn at them...and people cross the street and even if a car is coming won't do anything, till the driver honks at them - like until that point in time they did not notice a large, quickly moving object, coming towards them. i don't know why they even have cross walks here - people rarely use them -
each traffic light is like the beginning of a nascar race - people vying to be the first one out to beat all the traffic to be quickly stopped again by a random car turning in the middle of the street or a cow in the way. people use all forms of transportation and all form of horns - it doesn't matter what you are riding/driving/using for transportation you have some form of audio signaling...that is it - here the horn is an audio signal - visual signals only mean so much...
so if i honk at you while i am driving, know that it is not out of malice or anger - but to simply tell you that i am around - to ensure that you know where i am, how close i am and not to hit me...i don't care if i am in the wrong or not, until you honk your horn and me, i will do as i please...i wonder if hey have people horns here - maybe that would work better when cutting through people traffic and trying to get someplace faster...i think we should start that - why should just cars have horns? what i really want to know is this - how did honking the horn become the way of india and nepal? who started this?
-till later
the five minute monsoon...
second day out here - almost fully over my jet lag...still a little tired, but, after tonight, i will be in good shape...but that is not important...
it is interesting being back here - knowing also that it is not just for a family visit but to do some work. for the 6 weeks that i am out here, for a week and a half i will be traveling - seeing family and relatives who i have not seen in at least 8 years - that should be fun, i am going to have a crash course in hindi, so i will be able to communicate with 95% of my family - that will be the toughest part - right now, i am intermixing nepali with hindi - and i know i have said something in nepali when my family gives me a dumbfounded look - because my english they can understand, smile and nod at - my nepali, they look at me like i said the wrong hindi word and are waiting for the right one...so i have become quite perseptive as to people's body language when i speak...
so today i saw my unlce and my aunt on my dad's side (my dad's brother) - which was nice - i was talking with my cousin - Sanjay, and he said the most intiguing thing to me - i want to take a picture with you - it has been such a long time since he has seen me, he has forgotten what i look like - and when i called his home and talked to his wife (my sister-in-law), there two kids didn't even know me, so they wouldn't talk to me - blows my mind - we hear about each other so much, that you feel that we have met - but we haven't. this is what i call a reality check. it is good to have every so often...
bombay is a big city - this i never really knew - but to get from my one uncle's place to the other - it takes about one hour, with no traffic - with traffic at least two hours...it is monsoon season here, but the rains are not all the time - they are in short five minute burst, that if you wait out, you can continue along your way. interesting...
random thought - the guy that invented frogger probably came to India or some place like it when he decided he was going to make a game where a frog runs through traffic without getting hit...here people play frogger with the cars - these are real people with real cars - it amazes me - i don't think you would see people attempting to run across the highway during a fairly busy traffic time in the states - but here, oh yes...they will go, no matter how close the car is, and it seems that few people get hit...so i have come to realize - india, is one big game of frogger...people, dogs, motorcylce, cars, tucks, etc. dodging each other to get to the other side or further down the road...
till tomorrow...
here is some good advice - never travel IMMEDIATELLY after a triatholon...you will be sore and sitting for 8 hours, then waiting for 6 hours and then sitting again for 8 hours - doesn't help...
so i made it on the first leg of my long journey - i am happy to be here, it is nice - so here we go - lets go on first impressions...when the plane landed, couldn't turn on my cell phone to tell my loved ones i have arrived - wierd. haven't been on the internet for several days - wierd. first time i have traveled sore - wierd. okay, enough of that...so some of you might be wondering - i did finish my race, 3 hrs and 19 min: - finished last on my swim but by the end moved myself up about 62 positions to 138th overall - 19th in the age group (out of 26) - my run time was amongst the top out of the 205 people that ran, i placed 97th in my run time...which after a last place finish in the swim and a mid-place finish in the bike, is quite good - seeing that it was the last event...hmm...a little more practice and i could have done a little better...
it is nice to be back in India- the sounds remind me of Nepal - cars honking, people driving disregarding the lines drawn on the road - people turning and stopping where they please - it is nice...organized chaos...gotta love it - my flight made it in at 1:10 in the morning, by the time i made it through everything, i got home to my uncles place by 3:00 - ate, showered and slept by 4 AM - it is right now 10:00 PM - it has been a day of rest, much needed. the flight was good - i luckily got bummed up to business class on my way from DC to Frankfurt, they needed my aisle seat and gave me a better option - i wasn't complaining, nore were my weary legs. i was able to stretch them out - then drink myself to sleep - it was nice...
day one in india - now i am ready to go to bed...i will write more tomorrow - but it is nice to be with family and at home - i feel so comfortable...
till later -
getting ready for india...
so i am off today for my travels - lots to do out in india - super excited - packing my bags - finishing all my last minutes errands - cleaning my apt - showering - you know, what you need to do when you are about to sit on a plane and in aiports for the next DAY! haha! word - super excited - 6 weeks of working and family time...should be a blast - so the only downside is i am sore from my race yesterday - but the beauty of international flights in the free drinks...mmm...i will put myself in a coma!
see y'all when i get back - keep your eye on this blog...i will update it with my travel and adventures...
-peace
addicted to the cocoa, the liquid crack, the little black bean...
so i don't know about you guys, but the morning doesn't start right till i have had my first cup of coffee...i didn't use to be like this - i use to be a care free, caffeine free, coffee free - free spirit - didn't need coffee to start the day - i was the envy of all my friends - i was a unique individual - but alas, i have joined the crowd - i have become one...
i use to be the envy of my fellow college classmates - they would all be walking around craving and yearning for their first cup of coffee and i would be laughing at them as they could not function without it...so you might be asking yourself - how did i become addicted...so let me tell you the story...
it was after my first year of college, i was hanging with my brother in the StL - you da Lou! - a fly town by mid-west standards. we were cruising down the strip - manchester rd. were all the cool people hang and you can find every car dealer ship, white castle (harold and kumar!), taco bell (t-bell) and steak 'n shake (late night heaven) - and my brother was talking and i don't think he was paying attention and all the sudden we were in the parking lot of the starbucks - it was like he knew where it was, he was drawn to it - no heed, no warning - just into the parking lot. so we got out of the car - i asked him "do you like coffee" - he just simply shrugged his shoulders and said "i like the taste" - i said alright...so we strutted in - two brown boys - and all the people in starbucks turned and look. it isn't often you see a 6'4" indian boy and a 5'10" - 290 lbs indian boy walk into a starbucks...my brother was the first to order - a large (venti in starbucks lingo) coffee - room for cream. then it was my turn - they all looked at me caffeine filled, beedy eyed, preparing for an order that was going to turn their heads like a grande carmel machiatto, with skim milk, extra carmel, frothy, whip cream and extra shot of machiatto (whatever that is!) - and they stared as i looked at the menu of possible coffee concoctions that i could get...and i simply turned to them and said - i will have what he is having, but smaller - they looked at me dumbfounded and asked me - tall, grande - i said small - and they simply shrugged and said - tall coffee...i then walked over to the sugar bar with my brother and asked him what he does to make this stuff taste good - he said "i add about 7 splenda's" - so basically you mask the taste of the coffee...he said yes - so i did the same - added, sugar, cinnamon, chocolate, vanilla - everything - even cream...i tasted it, liked it - then it gave me a high, i was talking a mile a minute - my brother kept looking at me to get me to shut up, it didn't work - he simply pulled out his book began reading and let my sit there and talk to the wall, the chair - everything around me simply, sipping his coffee and ignoring me...but i wasn't worried - i had my coffee - my liquid crack...so began the love of coffee...i looked at the world in a new perspective...
so then i quit coffee - that was tough - i went through withdrawl - headaches - i felt like someone had taken my life line away and gave me nothing to replace it...for two years i was coffee free - it was a good two years, then i entered peace corps - one day at Phora Dubar (the american compound) i was sitting with some peace corps friends and they were talking about the latest packages and one person commented how they just got a french press ("press") and some coffee and how happy they were - then someone made a comment about the coffee and Phora and how good it was and that you could get free refills...so it began again - it started with one cup - oh how nice it was to get that high again - the sweet liquid hit my lips, energy started to flow and the next thing i knew, i was back up for my second cup - savoring each sip and drip of coffee...i could have set up an IV line...and alas it began again...the love of coffee...
so now what do i do...nothing - enjoy it - love it - drink it - morning, afternoon, evening...it doesn't matter, i can have it anytime...i love the cocoa...liquid crack - the little black bean...
