Stories

After a long drive from Almora to Dehradun (13.5 hours to be exact) I had many ideas for "blog posts" and "stories" but I am having a very difficult time trying to figure out which is which and what will be what.

One really great one in my mind's blog post category (from Amritsar actually) has now become much longer than the length suitable for a respectable post and it's more of a short story. Sadly, I do not (as of yet) have a venue for said stories and so will be writing them down without a definite home for them. My point though is that I don't want to write about it on the blog in a half-hearted way and spoil the story. Make sense?

So this is kind of like an apology of sorts... I have a few great stories to tell you but really don't feel like

a) the blog is the right place for them
b) I have time to finish/polish/type them to share yet
c) I want to make two versions of all these adventures since then I wouldn't actually have time for more adventures/reflections.

Why am I telling you all this now? Well... on the Almora trip there were at least three new adventures that I started to write in my journal, then lo and behold! They all turned into stories. Sorry.

What I WILL say about the trip was that it was really great to spend time with some of the boys (and two girls) from Tata House and Oberoi House who I didn't know before. AND to be able to travel to a new and slightly remote part of Uttarakhand to see some breathtakingly beautiful scenes and some amazing people passionately working to make their lives better (with the help of other amazing, passionate people who are selflessly working to ensure that first set of wonderful people can get the support, training and encouragement they need. USNPSS is quite the organization and I KNOW I will be taking a great deal from this trip towards my future endevours.)

p.s. I also have some GREAT pictures!! But  you will have to see me in person for those.

Trust

Leopard poop was sighted.

An extremely good question was fielded "What if the leopard comes back?"

Luckily (for everyone but me) we determined that as a foreign-delicacy I was the first one to go. Sacrifices must be made. However, our wild-feline friend did not present itself again on our walk through the hills. I guess that was a bit of trust.

I am also quite sure to trust the ability to strenghten the community with dedicated work, passion and good intentions - not necessarily "expertise" like a degree (which I still intend on getting though). After learning more about and experiencing first hand some of the absolutely amazing work being done by the Uttarakhand Seva Nidhi Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan (aka. a state specific NGO that works with local women in villages for environmental education, childrens' education and girls' education which ultimately has culmunitate in heartening women's and community empowerment in the most literal and inspiring sense of the word.

But mostly the trust I realized was in the fact that on my 60th Day of the my trip that I actually hadn't written down the emergency numbers associated with my credit card(s) and health insurance. So it seemed like a prime time to do so. That time was exactly while driving in the Himalayan foothills in a white Tata jeep with the windows wide open. That. That is trust.