Exploring India's Spiritual Mecca

First of all, Merry Christmas!! It is December 25th and Cassie and I are relaxing in Delhi for the day before heading to Jodhpur tomorrow...

Varanasi was incredibly unique. By the 3rd day we had a pretty good grasp of things. The time volunteering at the school was interesting, as they asked us to come back at 12;30pm, which we did. We then helped serve lunch and were told that the school day was over! So much for that- but it was great to see the kids, interact with them and get to know their lives a bit better. Their English lesson for the days was Q: "What is the name of your school" A: "My school name is Learn for Life." Cassie and I had all of these extravagant plans of teaching them an English sounds song or maybe a Christmas song and didn't get to do either. The teachers overplanned, once again!

We treated ourselves to a spa afternoon at Hotel Surya; the treatment we chose included an Ayurvedic massage and a steam bath/shower which was so nice considering our hotel did not have hot water. The ladies were so sweet, though one insisted on watching me get dressed and then gave me a thumbs up while saying "verrry nice!" haha

We also spent time along the ghats and saw the evening festivals consisting of rituals and cremations. One ghat, the Burning Ghat, has cremations all day and this is where the bodies go that are carried along the path that we encountered on the first day. Of course cameras were not allowed so we have the memories only (though burning bodies are not what they are all cracked up to be! Except maybe slightly disturbing!) The next morning we were up early to take a sunrise boat ride along the ghats which was AMAZING. I am so glad that we chose to take the boat ride, it was one hour and only 100 rupees. The sunrise was beautiful and being in the water was very peaceful, even though there were so many other boats around. It is seen a purifying to bathe in the Ganges River so we also got the chance to see many people bathing, dipping, praying in the Ganges River (which is very polluted; mad props to those who venture in!). The boat ride has been one of my favourite experiences so far.

We then made it for a morning yoga class at Om Shanti. The class was 2 hours long and consisted of breathing exercises, 80 minutes of yoga, and then a meditation at the end. It was only Cassie and I so we had our instructor all to ourselves. He was very nice and forgiving at our lack of flexibility!!

After eating lunch at our favourite little bakery, we went to check out of our hotel and head to Delhi. The train ride was a much better experience that the 3 bed per side sardine can experience a few nights previous. We actually got a pillow, sheets, and a blanket! It was heaven! I didn't even have to put on my sweater that was purchased from a men's shop in Agra! (Oh yea... the sweater is HOT)

All in all, Varanasi is not to be missed. It is an amazing assortment of Hindu and Muslim cultures and the oldest city in India. The 'old' aspect has been well-preserved... and not to mention the gorgeous silk fabric they are known for!!

We are now in Delhi, taking it easy on Christmas Day. We are hoping to see a Bollywood film tonight, so that should be fun!!

Hope Santa is good to you all!!!! xo

Taj Mahal, sleep train, Varanasi = very crazy!

Hello!!!
Yesterday we went to the Taj Mahal for sunrise and it was so beautiful. Though the gates didn't open until 7am, it was still so peaceful to be there with 40 or so others instead of hundreds! We managed to get some great shots, and even got some jumping shots!! I will definitely post when back home. It was stunning- how else can it be explained? Magical. Then we went to explore Fahetma(sp?) Sikri, the capital of Akbar the Great, which is 40 minutes outside of Agra. Akbar's Mausoleum is also spectacular. It is located in Agra and again adds to the amazing collection of architectural wonders in India.
In the evening we set off to Varanasi via the night train. We bought a sleeper ticket, which ended up being 3 beds to a side = squishy sardines!!! Cass and I bear-hugged our packs (I brought my bike lock and locked it to the pole) and tried to sleep. Emphasize tried. We are currenty running on about 4 hours of sleep in the last 36 hours so yea... kind of tired!! Do all men in India snore?? I swear, snores were heard round the train last night. My favourite was this one guy who was snoring, but it sounded like he was choking through his nostrils. It was so sporadic and very distracting! Thank goodness my iPod had a great snooze playlist, which helped me.
So we made it to Varanasi and our hostel is outside the Old City, which is a lot safer for women. The Old City is like a crazy maze and there are soo many people. While walking to the ghats today we saw (no lie) about 6 bodies being carried to th ghats. The bodies were covered in orange cloth and flowers are were getting ready for cremation. The Ganges River is te most spiritual place in India so many people are cremated here. Many people also come here on a pilgrimage. Tomorrow we will see the evening festival and will also take a boat ride along the ghats. I can't wait.
Tomorrow morning Cassie and I are going to volunteer at a school nearby that helps children learn the basics of English. It was created by the owner of a German bakery, and they now even have a program to empower the women of the community - very cool. I will let you know how it goes!!
Until then - good night and namaste.
Lisa xo

I Resolve to Blog More for 2009... here is a story from India

Ok... so my last post was waaaayyy back in September. Whoops. If it is any consolation I have been having a lot of fun with a lot of work mixed in?!

Right now we are on Christmas holidays and Cass and I are in India. We arrived into Delhi yesterday after 21 hours of travel! We toughed it out, and it was all worth it... or has been so far! We didn't get to spend too much time exploring Delhi as we left for Agra this morning on the train.

The train ride was an experience in itself; it was great!!! We were put with the locals because all of the other (better perhaps?) seats were sold out. I tell you though, we got the best seats in my opinion!! The car we were in was packed, with people standing in the aisles and then entrepreneurs were bustling through selling coffee/tea/breakfast/samosas/newspapers, etc. It was BUSY! The train ride was 3 hours, but it was a great time to just watch people and watch the countryside pass by. And to think... we only paid 75 rupees... less that $2 CAD!!

I will try to add more tidbits as we go along...

Painful memory of the day... I was enjoying the views of Agra Fort when I turned the corner... and caught a guy uhmmmm "pleasuring" himself. I almost died. And barfed. At the same time. So what did I do? Well, flight or fight kicked in and I ran. I ran so fast that I scared Cassie coming around the corner. Oh yea... maybe a mix between Napoleon Dynamite and Forrest Gump. Hopefully the trauma level hit it's peak for the trip...

Whoaaaaa! Forgot!

Excellent news: this week I have been toying with the idea of trying more dairy products. I have been eating yogurt for about a week now, so I decided to try some cheese. No problem. Tonight I treated myself to some Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream and so far so good.

Could this be? I'm off the dairy-free?

I don't think I could go all out eating dairy all the time, but it is incredible to know that I don't have to order pizza without cheese anymore. Now, is it a coincidence that my naturopath meds came in and I have been taking them for a week and a half? I don't know, and I am not asking questions. Just crossing my fingers.

xo

I really can't comprehend the fact that it has been a month since I last posted. I definitely need to do better.

The beginning of the school year has been an awesome experience. I love that I am teaching my students from last year. Teaching grade 10 is a nice experience as well, it is such a different feeling working on the high school floor. This year I am the teacher leader for Student Council so I am really looking forward to getting involved in the student side of things as well.

I am making sure to get out, see the sights and try new restaurants. Tonight a group of us (around 24 people) went to a restaurant we call "Garlic." The name speakes for itself. The food was incredible, in particular I was a huge fan of the fish that was cooked 3 different ways and the roasted garlic prawns. We had 10 people at our table with food leftover and the bill came to about 100 MOP each = $15 CDN. That included beer!

Hellooooo... to all you Grey's Anatomy fans you will be happy to hear that Cassie and I watched the season premiere this morning, while eating a celebratory breakfast. Amazing. It's the little things that make life abroad bearable for extended periods of time. Grey's Anatomy is one of these simple pleasures.

Lots of things coming up: my second sprint tri- this one in HK Disneyland on Oct.18th, a one-week holiday in Guilin, China at the end of October, and a 10k run and weekend in Bangkok in November. December brings the Macau half-marathon and of course, Christmas in India.

I know that I have it good here. SO I am committed to making the absolute most of this last year away. Keep in touch and keep me updated.

Miss and love,

Lisa

My (So-Called) China Life, Year 3!

I say 'so-called' because I have not actually lived 'in' China... Taiwan and Macau are both technically China, though. All of those SAR, PRC, SEZ China acronyms are hard to keep track of. :)

I had an incredible summer as I had the opportunity to spend quality time with a lot of really amazing people. Lucky me! I also was able to Crossfit it up with Deanna and the Crossfit Zone crew in Vic AND with Chad and Crossfit Lethbridge! It helped that I wasn't working (ahhh, life of a teacher, perk 1,634) so I was able to take a trip out to Alberta and do the rounds of family and friends all over the prairie map. It was sooo good to see everyone that I was able to visit. I also had a lot of time to reflect, clarify, and re-focus which definitely has helped my transition back to Macau.

So, now here I am, entering my third year away from home. It's funny; when I moved to Taiwan I thought that I would only be away from home for a year. Then I was hired in Macau for a 2-year contract and here I am, fulfilling my 2nd year of that contract. I flew back on Saturday and I am really happy to be back. Slid right back into the groove of things, back with the morning running crew (Road Runners) and my lone biking buddy as we attempt the arduous hills of Coloane (aka Tour de Coloane). I am living in the same place I moved into in June, but with a new roomie, Cassie (aka travel buddy!). Fun fun fun!!

It is great to be back in the classroom as well. I am very fortunate to have followed (or stalked as they like to say) my students from last year to Grade 10. This semester I am teaching 3 classes of CALM (Career and Life Management) and next semester I teach 2 classes of LA 10-1 and 1 class of SS 10-2. It has been really great to not have to deal with the 'September hoopla,' a love-hate time for most teachers. I know my kids, they know me, let's go! I'm feeling great about this year so far.

What lies ahead? A break in October is screaming MAINLAND CHINA so I am going to book a trip to Guilin very soon. A weekend in Bangkok is booked for November (Plans: 10k race, shopping, and eating copious amounts of thai food). Then, Christmas in India- can the travelling get any better?? As for anything else I am playing it by ear. Hoping for some more family/friend visits this year?

Holidays in case anyone has the travel bug!!!!
October 24-November 1
December 19-January 3
February 13-21
April 2-11
May 21-23

I am going to try and update this more regularly... so stay tuned!!!!

Lisa xo

New home, sweet home in Macau... and summer soon!

Hello and happy June!

The past few months have passed by in the blink of an eye and here I am, home in 20 days for the summer!! My plans include spending July in Victoria and then spending 10-14 days in Alberta doing the infamous annual tour at the beginning of August! I am very excited!

Also, I have a new address as I have moved!! We found an amazing apartment, get this... with an oven!! I know.

So, my new address is:

Lisa Ziebart
Rua de Evora
Prince Flower City, Block 1, 7A
Taipa, Macau

Please let me know if you are in Vic or Alberta for the summer so we can meet up!!

Lisa xo

Boracay, Philippines

I find myself extremely spoiled as of late. The present case is the fact that I am in the Philippines for Easter holidays in Boracay. It is spectacular here. So beautiful beyond words. Also, the people make a place and the Filipino people are really amazing. So nice and friendly.

So far we (Cassie and I) have spent our time tanning, writing postcards, reading, eating, taking in the sunset with $1 drinks in hand, enjoying the nightlife, and island hopping. Our island hopping experience is one to remember as this was Cassie's first snorkel experience and also my first jellyfish sting and 'shipwreck' as we will call it.

For one stop we went out and saw some beautiful coral and a lot of coloured fish. I was feeding bread to the fish, having a great time. A couple minutes in I realized that the current was a lot stronger than I thought and so I looked around to find the boat a long ways away. There were 3 of us from the boat that chose to snorkel so everyone else sat on the boat and socialized, not realizing that we were pretty stranded. We tried our hardest to swim back but got absolutely nowhere. We were getting pretty tired and I was getting a little panicked as I didn't think I would need a life jacket (I have a natural buoyancy... my bum).

Our boat guide came to swim up back with us in a group but even he couldn't move!! The Ocean Ranger (think: old man in a little blue wooden canoe) came along and got me to hold onto the back of his boat- and then he proceeded to crash into another boat while I was hanging onto the back! The owners of the commercial 'sailboat' (named the Sea Monster) ordered us to hop onto the boards that balanced the boat. It was then that I felt an immense stinging on my legs!! I was sure something was there! I couldn't see a ting so I tried to swat away whatever it was to no avail. Finally I made it aboard the ship. The stinging stopped and we had no plan. By this time the Ocean Ranger paddled away. Thanks. After about 5 minutes the guys were like "hey, you can swim from here, right?" Umm. My inside voice: "If I could swim from here I wouldn't be on your boat right now buddy!" My outside voice: "Umm, maybe not yet."

Then at last our boat had a genius idea to use the rope. So, they threw the rope with all their might and sure enough, we held onto the rope and found our way to safety. Whew! Meanwhile, no one on our boat had ANY clue that we were in any sort of imminent danger. They were all like "Really? You couldn't swim back? Oh, that's what took you so long!!" Dorks.

As a side note here, the jellyfish are small and invisible. Thankfully the sting wounds were gone within a few hours and life goes on. The sunburn acquired, however, is still prevalent. The curse of the buoyant bum!! I am grateful for Banana Boat Aloe Vera gel.

More stories to come... and pictures too!

Macau Madness

Hi!

It has been a really long time since I last posted. Since the beginning of January we have had yet another holiday: Chinese New Year. I spent my holiday in mainland China with Cassie's incredible family. I spent time in Shenzen, Tianjin, and Beijing. I experienced REAL Chinese fireworks, made authentic delicious dumplings, saw the sights of Beijing, and even walked along the Great Wall (from the Simatai entrance).

On February 22 I ran my 3rd half-marathon in Zhuhai, China- right across the border from Macau. It was the very first run organized and a really great, easy route. I also achieved a pb of 1.59

Last weekend I jumped from the highest commercial bungy jump in the world right here in Macau! I jumped off of the Macau Tower, a drop of 233m. It was incredible and scary and everything all in one.

This week was 'experience week' and since the trip I was supposed to chaperone was cancelled, I took my grade 9 stragglers under my wing and we had a great week. Yesterday we spent time with children with disabilities and it was fabulous. Disabilities are really swept under the rug here, not really acknowledged, so it was fantastic being immersed in their daily routines in school. We did some art activities and played games in the afternoon. I think we all took something from the experience.

Tomorrow I am heading to Hong Kong with a group of teachers here to go on a hike and experience some parts of Hing Kong that I haven't seen yet. Speaking of things that I haven't seen yet, I am also going to Coldplay this week in Hong Kong!! I am so so excited because FINALLY it works to see them live. I can't wait!!

Here is the video that I made from the jump... enjoy!!

Youtube video- bungyyy!!

Happy 2009!

Hello!!!

Happy New Year! May the year 2009 find you happy, healthy, and full of love, as always.

My trip to Indonesia was excellent, and I am happy to be back in Macau (believe it or not!).

Highlights include:

1. The temples of Borobudur, and Prambanan (including the 'hidden' temples) in Yogyakarta. Tip: wear sunscreen and watch out for the paprazzi, because as a foreigner EVERYONE wants a picture.

2. Ubud, Bali. The beautiful countryside and open-air markets make Ubud a definite must. Cheap wood carving, jewellry, art, and spa treatments are everywhere.


3. Legian, Bali. Though the beach is quiet and up the road from crazy Kuta, Legian is a nice getaway. Legian/Kuta is good for shopping and buying everything faux including dvd's, clothing, sunglasses, watches, you name it. Massages/pedicures/manicures are offered everywhere, even right on the beach for next to nothing. Reasonable and nice places for accommodation can be found, but book ahead (2 months) if you are going during a peak time- like Christmas/New Years!

Next times include: Sanur and Tulamben because I did not get in any snorkelling or scuba this time around!

Tomorrow is back to the classroom and I am excited to see the students and hear all about their adventures. In 3 weeks time I leave on the next holiday: Chinese New Year! I know. Life is hard. I am so lucky as I get to experience a tru CNY with Cassie and her family from Northern China. We will also spend some time in Beijing doing all the good old touristy things.