let me hear it for the mothers!

I've been here a solid 2 weeks and am proud to say my spirits are still up and I'm loving my time here- even the lows. I spent last week in Than Gaon, a mountain village about 35 km away from Dehra Dun. The drive up... well lets just say if we swerved ~2 feet to our right we'd get a free skydiving experience! Now in the states.. this drive would be manageable but we were sharing the road with motorcyclists that came flying around the bend, livestock, and monkeys! Once we reached our destination, I was in awe- of making it but of where we were. Wow. STUNNING view- it's situated in the foothills of the Himalayans and is just as breathtaking, maybe more, than I imagined. Green trees/grass, BLUE sunny sky, mountains all around. The first morning we hiked down the back of the mountain to a river that flowed between two mountain peaks... it was so picturesque I can't even describe! we walked up, in and through the river to a quiet area with a waterfall and swimming hole, laid out on big rocks with our feet in the cool, fresh river. AMAZING! We did yoga twice a day- morning and evening with Dherindra, our personal Yoga instructor. It took everything in me to not bust out laughing the first day- he had a very theatrical voice that was so un-like his normal accent "RElaaaaaaaaaaaaaaax. picture your whole body in your forehead, tell your bodyyyy" After that first session, I got into it and was able to truly relax and really enjoy it! I even did a nasal rinse... he assured me I wouldn't get a cold/cough all winter! Tuesday and Thursday we hiked to surrounding villages and set up a medical camp- I learned how to take blood pressure and check ears and throat! SO COOL! We made chapati (flour and water only!) with the cooks, were accosted by two of the BIGGEST spiders I've ever seen, played volleyball with the locals as the sun set behind the Himalayans. It was a pretty sweet week!

We came back on Friday evening- to a fully decorated town ready for Diwali. This is basically India's Christmas, thanksgiving, and halloween wrapped up into one big weekend long celebration. It is celebrating the return of Lord Rama's kidnapped wife Sita. The town was ON! People were dressed in their best, and even the houses looked like they had sparkling jewelery draped over them (they use lights similar to during Christmas time but in a very different style). The night was unreal. we hung out on the rooftop of our house, danced and listened to Punjab (Indian) hit music and watched the happenings- fire'crackers' going off EVERYwhere- even from up in the mountains. It was really fun shopping the day before and buying an Indian style shirt and matching bangles!

My highlight of the day was watching a baby being born! I mean I was right there behind the doctor. it was SO COOL. wow. I can't believe I didn't pass out (the day before I almost did watching a different procedure that was really hard to handle). The poor woman today, had severe (atypical) postpartum hemorrhaging and it was an intensive 30-40 minutes of getting the bleeding under control and suturing up the tearing (AH) and cutting. I think I was able to handle this knowing the outcome of the procedure was a brand new life! and on that note... thank you MOM- miss you love you and appreciate you more than you know!

Much love and appreciation to all of you~~

Christy