Spice Diaries – Volume 1
I have arrived in India…everyone said that it would be an assault to your senses, that it would be overwhelming, that it would be hard – after all, India is the big leagues for vagabonds like myself. Yet, I arrived here 5 days ago – and I’ve felt none of this. It’s been a simple transition so far – yet I proceed cautiously. My only explanation for this is that my past travel experiences have seasoned me – and for that, I’m immensely proud. I wear a big grin on my face and think to myself…India…try to shock me! Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 2
I’m surprised…very surprised by India. I’m surprised that I have adjusted so easily…dare I say it – but India was actually a very easy transition for me. Sure – as we drove from the airport to the flat on Saturday morning we dodged the cows in the road, I saw people sleeping out on the streets…we drove down the wrong side of the road most of the time, and ignored stop lights…but in my world these days…that’s all normal. Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 3
Whoohooo…..it’s the weekend! I’ve worked my butt off this week – mainly stressing out about teaching and banging my head against a wall when it comes to internet usage around here..which I can’t seem to find anywhere with any reliability. Despite being in a nice air conditioned building with ample facilities to teach – I am having a very hard time teaching. This is mainly due to the amount of work that I have to do to prepare for teaching 2 different classes every day in English and Computers. Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 4
I learned today that there is a man that works in our colony (neighborhood) that simply is the ‘ironing man’. No – I’m not talking about a James Taylor song. He irons clothes all day for 1 rupee per piece – that equates to about 2 cents a garment. He works between my flat and my neighbors flat, collecting the washed and dried clothes from the various housekeepers and ironing them all day out in the alleyway. That’s India. Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 5
Every day is full of lessons. Today was a varied as normal. I’m starting to get a feel for the teaching. A part of me even thinks that I’m good at it…and then I realize the difference between ‘that’ and ‘this’…and I’m jolted back to reality. Regardless of how effective I am, I thoroughly enjoy working with the kids. Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 6
Another week has passed. Something has happened that I really wasn’t expecting – it has taken me by surprise. All my thoughts are consumed by it…I am giddy…I walk around with a big smile on my face when I talk about it…I am elated. I have been swept off my feet! No, not by some wonderful, sexy man; but by my students at my volunteer placement. Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 7
The days are going very fast. Too fast. This is my 3rd week here already and I have no idea where the time went. I only have a week left of teaching and I’m already sad about the thought of leaving. This month has been full of realizations for me – realizing  just how much I have changed in this last year. Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 8
Today is the day – my last day of work a year ago. My last paycheck…that’s a painful thought. But if I think about the trade off of – no money, but world experiences instead – then it’s all worth it. However, I am working currently (even though I’m paying them to work). The volunteer teaching is certainly a job. Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 12
No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks…Over the past year I have had many reasons to smile. Yet today was probably one of the most memorable reasons to smile this entire year of adventure and work free lifestyle. Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 13
I have cried many tears throughout this year of travel, however they have mainly been tears for me. These tears tend to fall into two categories; tears for my unanswered questions about my future, and tears for joy. However yesterday I shed many, many tears and they weren’t for me at all. Read More

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Spice Diaries – Volume 10
I woke up this morning, and went out to fetch the Sunday paper. The moment I stepped out on our little terrace I knew it was going to be a tough day…the air was thick and heavy. The weather forecast in the paper said that it was to get to 35 degrees in Delhi today – which is over 100 degrees to those of you living in a Fahrenheit world. Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 11
Today was yet another holiday in India…the land of constant festivals! Today was Lord Krishna’s birthday – an important God in the Hindu religion. The festival is called Janmashtami – and it basically means that I had the day off of work. It’s strange – I don’t think I’ve ever had a job in my life in which I was upset that I had a day off. Read More

A Functioning Anarchy – Driving in India
Up until now, I used to think that Vietnam was the craziest traffic I had ever seen in my life. Well…move over Vietnam…enter India. I am absolutely positive that the word clusterfuck was created here by some Westerner riding in a taxi around Delhi. In my month here in India, I heard someone say – traffic in India is like a functioning anarchy…I thought that it was a perfect way to describe the orderly craziness! Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 14
It’s hard to believe that yet another Sep. 11th is going by. Once again I’m out of the country this year. Just two weeks ago in India there was a huge terrorist attack in Hyderabad – killing over 40 people…did you even hear about it? Probably not. Here in India, the front page of the newspapers lead with photos of blood soaked stadium seats; the terrorists struck at a amusement park full of families. Terrorism isn’t just in the US…people struggle with it all over the world. Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 15
You’ve all heard about my wonderful experience teaching – however I haven’t really spoken much about my living arrangements in Delhi. Sure the flats were livable, nothing spectacular, but livable. It was a good location, it had air conditioning, we had people cooking for us, we usually had hot water, we had cable (yet we rarely watched TV) – but the best thing about my living arrangement was that I loved my roommates. Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 16
My India visa was such a pain in the ass to acquire, I felt like I should use every ounce of it. My visa ran out on Sept. 15th, and my volunteer work was completed on Sept. 7th. I decided to take an extra 6 days to travel around India and see something besides he crowded streets and pollution of Delhi. Read More

Spice Diaries – Volume 17
I wasn’t supposed to be here, in India that is. When I left the US a year ago I had many people ask me if I was going to India on my around the world tour. I said “No, I don’t want to go to India, and I certainly don’t want to go solo. I think it would be too hard for me and I would be frustrated.” For some reason India seemed liked the big leagues of travel. Read More

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