I just finished my final ISP paper. I have four copies printed and bound ($7 for all four copies - 30 pages each- I love India). That packet is pretty much every minute of the last month of my life. I'm proud of it- it was really scary to try to take something I've spent so much time on and turn it into a paper. I was really worried, going into it, that I wouldn't be able to reflect all of the time I spent on this, but I'm happy with it. I think it could really become something more too (senior thesis, etc.).
Now I have the next month to explore India without any academic stresses. Mom and dad are coming to Jaipur a week from tomorrow, then Holly the next weekend. It'll be nice to be able to explore with them now that I feel a lot more confident on my own.
ISP was probably one of the most amazing things I'll do with myself in a long time. I still don't think I understand how big it was to live absolutely independently for a month in India. This is one of those experiences that will make the rest of my life seem so much easier. I feel so much more comfortable in Jaipur now, despite the fact that it is crazier than Varanasi, after being alone.
I have mixed feelings on my upcoming return to the US and to school. While everything will be infinitely easier and more convenient, it'll also be colorless, boring, and really expensive, compared to anything I've experienced in the past few months. It's also going to be cold. I was just chilly outside in 80 degree weather. I'm excited to see all of my friends and family, but really ambivalent about leaving India and the people here. I just have to tell myself that this isn't the last time I'll be here if I don't want it to be, right?

I'm back in Jaipur! It's strange to be here again, staying in the same guesthouse where we stayed for orientation with the whole group together. The next few days will be spent finishing up our papers (due on Thursday!), then presentations, then we're gone (well, most people are gone. )
Here are some pictures I took the morning I left Varanasi: the last of the set.





A goat eating trash. I got funny looks for taking a picture of this.













Ally in Varanasi. Early morning, hence no people













Vegetable market/main street in Varanasi













More main street













Goat in a coat!!! People in India freak out when it gets below 80 degrees.















Saris, ghats, and Ganga
















Ghats and the Ganga
















Abandoned ally (too early to be out, for most people)















Temple on the Ganga













Boat, and Ganga again

It's my last day in Banaras and the computers here make uploading pictures really easy:


I wear the same shoes every day. It makes for some lovely tan lines. Usually it looks worse, because usually there's much more dirt. I also need a pedicure, apparently.













More roof views. It's been cool lately, so I've spent a lot of time sunning.













My favorite cow in the ally that leads to my house.




















My room in the guesthouse. This is the one small portion of the giant room that I used.
















Street in Banaras. The rainbow sign leads to my house.














Clotheslines













Pitchfork and power lines. The constant struggle between tradition and modernity.

I can't believe it's been almost a whole month in Varanasi! Time has been going so fast, but somehow it feels like I've done so much. My final paper is due one week from today, so I've spent the past few days writing that. I usually get up in the morning and go out for my usual breakfast:

and sit for a while, eating toast, drinking chai, and writing the paper (by hand!)











Then I work or wander until lunch and off to the Internet cafe from lunch until I can't handle working anymore.
Sarah left a few days ago, so it's been kind of lonely around here. I got closer with Simon, the over 6'5" tall Danish yoga master:


We've spent a lot of time hanging out, talking philosophy, and eating apple pie together.
(Katie secretly took this picture during our kite flying. Simon and I sometimes sit on the roof together sunning and studying.)












The weather here has gotten dramatically colder. The highs are still in the low 80's/high 70's, but the nights are getting cold (lows actually in the 40's!). After not experiencing cold for so long, it's been shocking. The buildings here aren't built for cold weather, because of the rest of the year, so it's often colder inside than it is out, which makes for some freezing nights.

I'm leaving on Saturday for Jaipur (with one night in Delhi in between). I have about a week and a half there to finish my paper, do presentations, and say goodbye to everyone before mom and dad arrive, soon followed by Holly!

I'm happy with the research I've done here- it's working together in the paper, which is really comforting since I had no idea how to really formulate a research project.

Here are some more pictures I didn't get to upload earlier:


The view from Mahant-ji's patio
















The view from my room into the central area of the guesthouse. The roof is open above the center, which is nice for the several hours of the day that the city is without power.













Men bathing and tourists boating on the Ganga














The candles kids are always trying to sell me. Leaf bowls with flowers surrounding candles















A flower kid tried to take a picture of Katie and me when we were out for the sunrise. He didn't know what zoom was.
















Katie at Mia-ji's restaurant

















The flower boy took a picture of his brother with my camera











The flower boy took another shot of Katie and me. This time, he got most of us.















I took a picture of the sunrise


















The flower boy took a picture of the sunrise

Everything is still going really well here in Banaras. My research is really interesting- people keep saying exactly what I need them to say! Life outside of work is really good too- Sarah and I have gotten into a good routine which includes a little too much bad tv most nights (HBO in India is a life saver), but I can justify it since I'm up at 6:30 every morning. I don't really know what to say, since so much has been going on, so here are some pictures that will have to do:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lannf33/album?.dir=1c3fscd&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lannf33/my_photos

I have less than a week left in Banaras, and about two weeks until it's family time.

It just keeps getting better

Banaras keeps getting better. Katie visited me for the weekend, so I've kind of taken a vacation from work to hang out with her. I'm not taking any other vacations, so I can justify it.
When Katie wasn't around to distract me, I'd worked up a very nice schedule.
I get up at 6:30, meet Pinku-ji (my advisor- best advisor ever!) on the ghat at 7:00, do an interview on the ghat, go to Mia-ji (my academic director in Jaipur)'s Banaras family's restaurant on the ghat (outside patio looking over the river) for breakfast at 8:00, write up the interview during breakfast. After breakfast, I walk down the ghats for a while people watching and often making friends. At 11:30, we have lunch in the guesthouse. I then read/plan out my paper/do more interviews/go to the internet cafe/chill until dinner with Sarah. Sometimes we watch trash tv or HBO (it's so nice to stop thinking for a few hours a day). Sometimes we spend hours going on rants about religious studies or other topics we agree on. Then I'm in bed relatively early and up early for another lovely day.
My research is going really well. I plan on writing a draft of the paper in the next few days (be ready, mom) to see what else I need to get people to say. I'm really getting interested in this ecological religious studies perspective. Who knew?
Yesterday, I went to an astrologer (Sarah's guru- she's studying astrology for her ISP). He didn't exactly capture me, or at least I hope so. He told me that there were 5 people in my family and that my mom doesn't get along with the rest of the family well, but corrected himself when I told him he was wrong. I'm going to marry the man I was married to in a past life- we're going to meet while I travel in May. He'll be a great husband, but I'll have a lot of problems because I'm too bossy. I'm going to be a journalist, but will never be happy. I'll die an easy death at age 72. Good thing I don't believe him, or I'd be pretty depressed in my own future.
The New York program is here in Banaras for a few weeks and has invited me to their lectures. I went to one last night, and am going to another tomorrow. The more I hear about their program, the happier I am with SIT. We are given so much freedom to make this program whatever we want. We are also treated like adults- I'm living and traveling on my own in India! That's really intense, but will be so helpful in the future.
Katie and I are getting up tomorrow to see the sunrise on the Ganges. I'm more interested in the people who are also up to see the sunrise on the Ganges and to watch their pujas.

I've been having such a great time doing my research (I'm a nerd, I'm well aware). I've been going to Assi Ghat (my local ghat) every morning at 7 with Pinku-ji to do interviews. It's been so exciting when people say exactly what I want them to say without any prodding! Some main themes I've noticed with my interviews:
Indians love to talk
Indians love to talk about the Ganges
People don't want to see the Ganges as polluted
People don't know anything about the clean-up projects (even the priests and the boatmen)
There seems to be a difference, in the mind of some, between the river herself and the water
There are some odd reasons for thinking the water is pure, but they work for the people who need them
In the mind of the people I've interviewed, the river isn't polluted, but it does need to be cleaned...

I met up with the New York program last night and got invited to their events while they are in Banaras. Last night, I crashed a music concert and invited myself to dinner. I fully plan on taking advantage of their Ganges related lectures.

Now I'm off to interview someone who works in a lab with the clean-up project. Maybe someone will finally know something about the projects!

I get to see Mom and Dad four weeks from today!