Blog Swap: A Himalayan Adventure

 ** Today is 20SB blog swap day and it's my honor and privilege to introduce the wonderful and talented Claire.  Claire is officially my new favorite Canadian blogger because she is awesome and says "eh" a lot.  OK, fine, I kind of made that up, but she is still awesome sauce!  

We decided to blog about adventures because everyone loves a crazy adventure story, right?!  You can check out my crazy adventure - and believe me, you definitely WANT to read it - about that time I got ruffied and woke up in a ditch...............in AUSTRIA.  **

I had been in India for nearly four months. I was traveling with my friend S and we were finally on our own. The first 3 and a half months of the trip had been a school trip. It was amazing. S and I were two of 26 university students who were traveling through India with our professor and his wife. We were traveling and we were getting credit from our school. We held lectures in train stations, on rooftops and amongst busy markets. We saw temples and farms and cities packed with more people than I thought possible.

There is a lot to be said for traveling with 25 other people. There are 25 people there to help carry your backpack when you're so sick you worry you might not make it. There are 25 other people to comfort you when you miss home and there are 25 other people to experience all the fantastic sights and sounds and smells with.

But, there are also 25 other people to consult when deciding on weekend side trips to the desert and 25 other people that you must endure while on hour 8 of a 15 hour train ride in blistering 40 degree heat (that's about 100 degrees F).

Needless to say, although our goodbyes were tearful, S and I were happy to be off on our own.

We caught a bus from where we were staying in the Rajasthani desert to Delhi and immediately booked the first bus ride we could that was heading into the mountains. It was hot and we wanted some cool air and mountain views.

After a hilariously frightening 8 hour bus ride (hilarious due to the sweet bollywood movies they played and frightening as a result of the treacherous mountain roads) we landed in Dharamshala - the home of the Dalia Lama.

There we met monks in traditional robes and shaved heads rockin' out with ipods, movie theaters showing the latest blockbusters (all pirated, of course) and endless views of the beautiful Himalayan mountains.

We also met Doug. Doug was from Vancouver and had just landed in India after extensive travel in China. He was traveling alone and in need of company. We were happy to oblige because Doug was one person, not 25 persons.

We left one afternoon on a walk. We walked through the city until we were past its outskirts and headed along one of the many paths that lead away from civilization. We had been told there were some neat temples to the north of the city and we were on a hunt to find them.

Even as we crept further and further away from the center of town we still passed lots of people. Although we were in the middle of the foothills of the mountains, we were not exactly in the middle of nowhere.

That is until we were in the middle of nowhere. We had been having such a great time getting to know each other and enjoying the scenery that no one really paid attention to where we were going.

This was a big mistake. In case you didn't have any common sense (much like us at the time) it is not wise to wander into the wilderness in a strange country without paying a little bit of attention to where you're going. Yeah, the paths may look well-worn and you may pass a few goats now and then, but it's still wise to bring a map or drop some bread crumbs as you go.

We were lost in the Himalayan Mountains. And it was getting dark. And S and I were with a strange man who we had just met the day before.

After nearly four months of travel, you'd think S and I wouldn't be stupid enough to make that many mistakes.

After we all had a minor freakout (which calmed our fears that Doug might be a crazy man cause he was just as scared as we were), we started walking. We walked vaguely in the direction we thought we had come, making somewhat educated guesses when we came to forks in the path, we eventually ended up back at our hostel.

Although we may have walked the last little bit in the lingering light of evening grasping each others' hands for fear of the Himalayan boogymen, we made it.

We all feasted that night on delicious momos (Tibetan dumplings) and bad Indian beer. I think we deserved it!

A Guest Post Poem

POP.

Did you hear that?  Do you know what it was? That was the sound of me popping the proverbial cherry of KT’s Guest Blog practices. I don’t know why she’s never had a guest poster. It could only get her more readers. I’m not even so sure why this bish doesn’t have more readers. She’s pretty awesome. Then again, she does have some of the most awesome friends in the world.

Ahem.ME.Ahem.

But in her own respect, she’s pretty cool. Even though that doesn’t sound too meaningful, it is. I hate emotions. They make me want to vomit. That being said, I think its important to tell friends how much you….love them. I tried not to choke on that, but I did. (TWSS.)

So, in honor of emotions and doing things differently in 2010 (That’s the excuse I use for everything these days, like eating more steak,  moving, and not taking a shower.), I present a poem. Dedicated to KT .

Note: I combined lots of Poetry Styles here. Don’t attack my Iambic Pentameter, because I’m pretty sure it doesn’t appear in here.

My Sweet Infected Bladder

By: Katie [Blogs]

We met one day via a Gmail E-mail Chain
We were planning to attend a meetup, right?
Our method of travel was going to be the train,
I must admit it was love at first type.

You told me I was your girlfriend,
I thought this was mega swell,
But then you told me to text you dirty,
And wanted me to have a sex change and become “Mel”.

Though I could not provide you what you needed,
Because I’m severely afraid of erectile penises. Weird.
You explained to me so kindly that I wasn’t a freak and said:
“You just have  Ithyphallophobia, my sexy little reindeer”

We are nearing our 8 month celebration,
Of our initial meeting online,
I demand that we celebrate
Over our favorite Riesling wine.

 Despite our strong bond,
We have had our ups and down,
See-Saw, See-Saw, See-Saw
You’re still my favorite girl in the Bro-town.

If  you were ever in trouble, I hope you’d reach out,
And call on a favor from me.
Like if you were being attacked by a trout,
Or raped by a manatee.(Seriously, they're vicious. I saw one on 20/20 last week.)

Even though my feelings often go unsaid
I need you to know the truth of the matter
If I could name a Crayola after you,
I’d name it something cute that reminded me of you like “Infected Bladder”. 

If we were walking down the street,  And some hoodlum called your name out
Id kick him in the kidney, and whip out my weapon, that I always have with me,
That good old trusty, rusty,
12 inch Machete

When the days are long, and the lights are dim,
And life isn’t going just right,
Always remember I’m a phone call away
Morning, Afternoon, or Late at Night.

Despite all of the crap we've been through (which really isn't a lot, just a little hiccup), you're one of my favorite people, and one of the only one's who can make me laugh. I believe in you, your abilities, and that someday you're going to rock this world., You already rock mine.

Oh, and I'll write YOU a poem, dear readers, for the small fee of $5.  Or, if you ask nicely while licking your lips and blowing kisses my way. (via)

"My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to..."

In the spirit of giving, I decided to join the masses (of bloggers) and help another awesome blogger out.  Please send prayers, good thoughts, and Ryan Reynolds her way.  As a cancer survivor myself, my heart truly aches for Brandy and her man.  You both are in my thoughts during this difficult time.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

My name is brandy. And I have a blog.

And a plea.

I use my blog to showcase the crazy I meet everyday, share the stories of the kids I teach and document my love for tequila, dairy products and the abdominal muscles of Ryan Reynolds. Rarely do I talk about personal issues on my blog- as personal as the dude that I adore (who I actually met through my blog- single ladies, let that be a very good reason to blog, the possibility of meeting someone as wonderful as my man), but I need your help. And it involves my dude.

He’s a guy who made math comics for my class, so they would love learning about addition. He’s the kinda guy who sends my friends gift cards when they are having hard times, who remembers every story I ever told him, who was the first person I celebrated with when I got a teaching job. He’s the guy who sent flowers to me at school- dozens of my favourite pink roses just because he loves me. He’s a guy who has spent a year patiently explaining (and re-explaining) everything there is to know about football during the important games when silence is preferred. He’s made me word puzzles and comics and stayed up late playing Scrabble with me (even though I beat him almost every time). He’s listened to me cry about school and family and jobs. He is everything I never knew I needed and everything I always knew I wanted.

The holidays have hit us hard. He’s recently been told he may have something called multiple myeloma- an incurable cancer, that gives a person an average of five years of continued life. Though this news has came as a shock, he continues to be exactly who has always been- spending his time worrying about me, rather than worrying about himself. He’s the most selfless individual I know- (he stayed late on Christmas Eve to work, so his co-workers could leave early) and a post like this would never be something that he would promote or encourage but when I’m overwhelmed and feeling helpless, the blogging community has always given me tremendous support and comfort, two things I desperately need at this time.

As I write this, the future is uncertain and we aren’t sure what’s happening. He’ll need to see an oncologist soon, to verify what’s going on in his body. My hope is that everyone who reads this think positive thoughts and if you are a person who prays, could you add him to your list? (You can refer to him as ‘brandy’s hot awesome dude’). If you don’t pray, please keep him in your heart.This cancer is only a possibility and I believe that the prayers and positive thoughts of people can make sure it never becomes a reality.

I want to give a big thank you to the blog owner who scraped their original blog plans and graciously put this up. My goal is to get as many people as possible to see and read this post. If you are reading this and want to help, copy and paste my plea into your blog or send a link through twitter, so more people can keep him in their thoughts. I would be so very grateful (even more grateful than I am to my friend who first showed me the picture of Ryan Reynolds on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. If you haven’t seen it, google it. You. Are. Welcome).

I realize this all sounds dramatic, a Lifetime movie in the making- but this is life. Right now. And I’m throwing away any hint of ego and am humbly asking for you to pray or think kind thoughts. If you are able to pass this on, thank you and if you know anything regarding MM- please email me (my email is on my blog). This isn’t a call for sympathy or a plea for pity. It’s just one girl hoping you can think positive thoughts for the person she adores. If my current heartache provides you with anything, let it be with the reminder that life is short, love is unbending and no one knows what could happen next. Maybe it is silly, but I really do believe that positive thoughts can make a huge difference. Thank you for reading this and if you haven’t already? Please tell someone you love them today.

I did.