Living With The Wild Boys…

Here are a couple of videos from the regular festival. It was really cool.

Here are the musicians from earlier in the day

Here are the shrine bearers as they stopped for a break.

Here are some random shots as I wandered around:

Fried pasta appetizer at the izakaya I went to for dinner:

When it got darker, they lit up the shrines, and after carrying it around for two an a half hours, you would think the shrine bearers would be more subdued, but they were louder and seemed to have even more resolve. Maybe all of the beer helped give them strength.

Then they moved out into the main roads:

When they reached the final destination, they wouldn’t stop, they kept backing up and then moving forward almost to the end and then backing up again. This went on for quite. awhile, even with this guy standing on the poles.

Overall, it was an interesting night. I really enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere, having small conversations in Japanese with a couple of strangers on the street. One couple offered me some Dun-go – soy glazed mocha on a stick – it was delicious! After the shrines came back to their original spots, groups of people were eating refreshments, setting up impromptu picnics all over, and having a great time. It seems like a tight knit community, even though it is in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world.

Last bunch of random shots:

Everyone eating Dun-go – rice paste balls on as tick with sweet soy glaze.

The end…

Warning! Lots of photos coming up!

I want to start this post with an observation. – When I lived here in 1995-86 and when we travelled here in 2001 we didn’t really have free access to the internet. No cellphones, no Google translate. Traveling now is EASY now compared to then.  Having access to google maps has been a game changer. Google translate has a phone to help you with signs and labels, Google maps even tells you which train car to get on for fastest access, and the walking routes have been really helpful too. I have to say it also makes people a bit lazy because you don’t really need to know where you are going because you are relying on the phone.

So I went to bed around 10 last night and the woke up at 3am for around 40 min, but I did get back to sleep. At 6:30 I was woken by the sound of a Taiko drum being wheeled through town to remind people about the local Shrine festival Matsuri (Festival). I was very proud of myself because I was able to have a conversation in Japanese with a gentleman outside my door who was in one of the festival headquarters drinking beer at 9am this morning. The children’s participation in the festival was to start at 1pm, and it seems the regular festival events start around 5:30.

Here is a photo of one of the festival staging areas right outside my door. There have been people coming and going, eating and drinking since last night:

There were a lot of preparations going on in multiple staging areas in my neighbourhood. Many people asking around in Hapi coats, full festival outfits with Obi (sashes), Geta (traditional thong sandals), and headbands and bandanas tied around their heads. I really enjoyed just taking in the atmosphere and people watching. It has been very nice not having any schedule to adhere to.

I decided to wander through the area around the station again, and picked up some sunscreen. Erez called for a last minute consult as he was finishing packing before he left to catch his plane to Japan. I was in this multilevel department store and found this cool little are with wifi where I could talk to him. They also had a little free library where you could do a free book exchange.

I eventually made it to Ueno Park. It is a gorgeous area in the middle of the concrete jungle, with museums, temples, a pond where you can rent boats, and of course there are many spots to sit under a tree and relax.

I also almost stepped on this snake! This is a video of it slithering to safety.

This is the five story pagoda:

So many beautiful shrines. stone lanterns, and gardens.

Maybe a pomelo tree on the temple grounds?

One of the many entrances to the Ueno train and subway station:

There also seem to be random panda sculptures everywhere – this was was growing things 🙂

I then booted it back to my neighbourhood to see the children’s part of the festival. I followed two groups of families around through the streets. One group was pulling the wagon with the drum that was used this morning to wake everyone up. The second group had miniature ornate shrines that the kids were carrying on their shoulders through the streets in a parade. Every once in awhile, they would stop for a break and the organizers would distribute those little probiotic yogurt drinks. I just have to say that the kids were ADORABLE!!! It brought back memories of my time in Kazo city when I was partipating in our local festivals. I played drums on the wagons and got to carry the shrines on my shoulders. Here are a few photos and videos of the kid parades. Oh, I also caught this great shot of a lady walking her dog on full festival kimono.

Video of the first group:

Here is the the shrine-carrying group with the multi-instrumental drumming group. It reminded me of the group I was in when I lived in Kazo. Their musical group had a bamboo flute, two regular drums, one bass drum and a metal pan. Of course they have a different rhythm than we did. Every town had their own rhythm passed down through the generations. Here is the group carrying the shrines:

I decided to come home to the airbnb for a bit, take a rest and charge my phone – I am pretty tired. I am really looking forward to attending the festival tonight as well – it should be hopping. I also realized there is another festival happening this weekend about a 15 minute walk away and I apparently missed a big parade this morning. It is called the Asakusabashi Chestnut Festival. It will be happening tomorrow as well so I think I will head there in the morning. All the more reason that I needed to come home as rest for bit and write this blog entry! I have to pace myself 🙂

I found this 3 minute video online of the Chestnut festival opening ceremonies from a few years ago – it looks really cool if you have a few minutes to spare.

I am going to take a very short nap and then go back out to explore. I have already walked over 15,000 steps!

A store full of Prince Merchandising at the Minneapolis Airport – I was sprinting by, trying not to miss my connecting flight after the delay..

I am struggling to type as I have now been up for close to 30 hours but I am trying to beat this jet lag. I do not want to get up at 4 in the morning, so I am hanging on as long as I can .

The second leg of my flight from Minneapolis to Haneda airport in Tokyo was uneventful. I watched some tv and movies, did a lot of work on a wedding ceremony that is coming up in June, chatted with my seat neighbours. The food on Delta was surprisingly good.

Going through customs was hilarious. I wish I had been able to take photos or video, but there were signs everywhere saying not to use your phone. I didn’t want to be THAT woman. There were several planes that were coming at the same time, each with probably at least 600 passengers. It was a zoo. First we were all bottlenecked outside the gates, and then we went through what felt like a rat maze in a lab.  I had no wifi so I couldn’t count steps, but I feel like we got 10,000 just going back and forth, back and forth in line like they do at Disney. Luckily I was in no rush.

It was quite comical, we kept passing the same people and we were all laughing at how absurd the experience was.   I only took a carry on, so besides being a little confusing, I managed to get through customs. The agent was pretty shocked that I didn’t have a checked bag.

I spent a decent amount of time gathering myself in the lobby of the airport, installing my sim card, and planing out my transit route to get to my Airbnb. I did make one train mistake, but it was pretty minor – took the local instead of the express – still got there, albeit a little slower.

I am staying in an apartment with two bedrooms, a bathroom, hot plate with two burners, sink and a tiny washing machine.   All for $80CDN per night – not too shabby.

My focus tonight was to stay awake till at least 9pm, so I walked around my neighbourhood for a few hours including reading in a park. First I checked out where the language school is and I was delighted to discover is it, literally a 2 min walk away – at the end of my street.    

I had onigiri from a 7-eleven to tide me over till dinner, and then wandered the streets in this particular shopping district ( Okachimachi station area, right next to Akihabara, also know as electric town)., and found a great sushi place. I sat at the sushi bar, and had fantastic sushi. Turns out a little farther down the bar were a young couple from Ottawa.   

Ok, I am literally falling asleep while typing, but here are a few good photos – worth a least a thousand words each.    Sorry for the photo dump, but I am too tired to do much with them now.   

Here is the sushi place:                                   

In the middle of this busy commercial area, there are also small houses with intricate container gardening going on.

cool sculpture in the local park which reminded me of Henry Moore

Same park in the middle of the concrete jungle:

Shopping Area Shots:

Today begins a new adventure for me. I am travelling solo to Japan for 19 days.

It still hasn’t really sunk in yet.

Last night, Aubrey dropped me off in Toronto so I could hitch a ride with Tzachi (my Israeli brother) who was already taking someone else to the airport. My flight was scheduled to leave at 6:34am, requiring me to be at the airport, well, pretty flippin’ early. Tzachi is an extremely early riser, and was going to the airport anyway, so I was grateful for the lift. Aubrey was going to drive me, which would have totally wrecked his work day today, especially considering he got a call and had to work until early this morning.

I woke up just after 3am, and found out that my flight had been delayed by over two hours. Hopefully I will still make my connecting flight in Minneapolis.

I just wanted to send this out now, to warn you all in case you want to unsubscribe. I am hoping, as usual, to document this crazy adventure, and capture some of my feelings as I return to Japan after all these years.

For those of you that don’t know, I lived in Japan for a year in 1995-96. It was an amazing experience. I was on the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program. I lived in a small town called Kazo around an hour and half out of Tokyo, and worked as an assistant English teacher at four middle schools. I was one of maybe 4 foreigners in the whole town of 50,000 people.

When I arrived, I barely spoke any Japanese. Except for the English teachers at the school, almost no-one spoke any English. Moving to Japan in some ways felt like moving to another planet entirely. Everything was so different, even when they seemed the same on the outside. For example, it was extremely hot and humid when I arrived and there was a 7-Eleven around the corner from my apartment. Excited for a cool refreshing taste of home, I eagerly ran in to get a Slurpee or a Big Gulp, only to find an entire wall of dried fish snacks, and many other completely unrecognizable items – not a Slurpee in sight…

That year was a huge learning experience for me, and taught me a lot about myself. It was the first and only time in my life I lived completely alone without family or roommates, and I had to learn how to navigate a completely different culture, not as a tourist, where I could barely speak the language. There is some poetic symmetry in me returning now, taking this adventure alone, for the first time in over 25 years

I was extremely fortunate to have been “adopted” by my Taiko drumming teacher, Yasuhide Mori and his family (more about them in a later post), which changed my whole experience in Japan. I have been very lucky in my life to have been the recipient of many acts of great kindness from complete strangers – this has definitely shaped who I am now.

I did return to Japan 5 years later with Aubrey and our friend Danny Rostenne for about 2 weeks in 2001. Many things had changed in that short period of time, I can’t imagine how much things have changed since then.

For my 50th birthday, I started hatching a plan to come to Japan with our whole family, but my 50th ended up being during the pandemic so it never happened. I did however start studying Japanese on Duolingo, and have listened to some Japanese language study podcasts. I also did a little bit of online tutoring, especially in the past few weeks leading up to this trip. I am sad to report that I feel that my spoken language skills are inadequate in spite of keeping up my Duolingo streak for 770 days. I have decided to consciously let my streak go, and have quit Duolingo for the meantime. I will be having plenty of time to praactice over the next 19 days, and will probably not want to be on the app. Our plan now is to still come to Japan as a family, perhaps in December of this year.

So why am I taking this trip now?

My eldest son Erez, who is just two years younger than I was when I moved to Japan, is doing a three month engineering coop placement in Japan this summer. He will be busy, and doesn’t need my help to set up, but I jumped at the chance to spend some time there. Well, sort of. I wanted to jump at the chance, but mulled it over for a LONG time. I only actually booked my flight two weeks ago. I kept finding reasons why I shouldn’t go, but I am really glad that I finally decided to do it.

Although I have planned much of the trip already, I have left a lot of time open as well for spontaneous decisions. I am landing in Tokyo on Friday afternoon and have left myself the weekend to adjust to the new time zone (13 hours ahead of mine). On Monday I will be starting a week of Japanese classes with a strong focus on conversation. I will be staying at an airbnb a 10 minute walk from the school. It is located right in the heart of Akihabara (Electric town). Next weekend I will be visiting the Mori family in Kazo. I can’t wait.

These blogposts are primarily so I can document my adventures for myself, but if you choose to come on part of this adventure with me, I apologize in advance for the bombardment that is about come.

My plane is about to board, so I will sign off here without even proofreading…

頑張って ください!

Gambatte Kudasai!

5782 (and 2021-22) was another interesting year. Our 4 young men all hit significant age milestones (13,16,18 and 20) and we never quite knew what was going to happen next.  The pandemic definitely had a way of thwarting even the best laid plans. All of us managed to avoid getting infected until the beginning of July when Aubrey and Koren both got it, three weeks  before Teva’s Bar Mitzvah. Speaking of Teva’s Bar Mitzvah…

One of the biggest highlights was Teva’s (scaled down) Bar Mitzvah on July 23rd. Although there were some technical difficulties with the livestream, it was a beautiful service under the trees, overlooking Lake Ontario in Oshawa.  Teva came home from three weeks at Camp B’nai Brith of Ottawa without his voice, but he still managed to chant his Torah portion, Haftarah, helped lead parts of the service and delivered his D’var Torah (sermon on his portion). We are so proud of him. If you want to check out the highlights of the service or his “What is a Bar Mitzvah?” video or his speech, I have them all up on YouTube. Click here to see the list of YouTube links. Since the he turned 13 in July he has already grown more than an inch. Hard to believe that our youngest is not so little anymore.

Erez is still studying at UBC in Vancouver. He has switched faculties and is now studying Materials Engineering. He stayed in Vancouver this summer for the first two months so he could take a course, and then stayed the rest of the summer to play Ultimate Frisbee. He also had a job as an assistant coach at an Ultimate Frisbee summer program for July and August. He still managed to come home three times between May and September, including when he was competing at the National Ultimate Championships in Brampton. He will also be playing Ultimate for one of the UBC teams this school year.

Speaking of “Nats” ( as the Ultimate players call it), Erez competed in the Seniors division, and Zev and Noam played on the same club team in the Juniors division. Their tournaments were not at the same time, but consecutive. Koren spent A LOT of time on the field watching games over most of a week in August. The boys had a fantastic experience playing Ultimate with teams from all over Canada.

Unlike Erez, who graduated during the height of the craziness of the pandemic, Zev, actually got to go to Prom and Graduation in person. During his last year at Bowmanville High School he played Ultimate, was playing Trombone in band (almost till the end of the year – sorry Choco!), and Badminton.  After touring and applying to 5 Universities, Zev decided to go to McMaster University in Hamilton. He will be taking the Coop Engineering program. Zev’s girlfriend of over a year, Mae, is going to Queens, so they have already been trying out the train and bus system between Kingston and Hamilton. Unfortunately, two days into Orientation week, he got COVID and had to come home for 5 days, but he was still able to start his classes on time. Teva also got sick on the same day.  Miraculously, Noam and Erez have still managed to dodge it in spite of multiple exposures.

This year Noam turned 16. He got his G1, and is working on his G2. He is always trying to get in his driving practice. He is still in band (playing bassoon), joined Jazz band (playing trumpet) still in French immersion, and is still playing Ultimate. He also wants to be on the disc golf team. He is really happy that they are back to the full regular semester system instead of the quadmesters that he has had the past two years. Noam is still dating Amy – it will be two years in November.

Teva is in grade 8, his final year at Duke of Cambridge Public School. Teva is really looking forward to getting back to all of his extra curricular activities, including band (he is playing the Saxophone and the clarinet) and drumline. He is also trying to do as many sports as he can.

As for Koren, she was doing lots of different things this year. Every day brought something new…She was teaching a lot of b’nai mitzvah students over zoom. She officiated eight B’nai Mitzvahs last year, including those that were rescheduled because of COVID. She was also excited to have lead two of those services for cousins – Eli in Oakland, California, and Owen in Brooklyn, New York. 

Koren also took a few yoga teacher trainings over the pandemic, even though she wasn’t teaching in her studio, as a result, the studio became a giant storage room. It took a long time, but she finally finished clearing out the space and has just started teaching yoga in-person in her home studio again. Hebrew School has also started up and she is looking forward to a great year teaching Hebrew and Jewish Studies, but also teaching the new crop of B’nai Mitzvah students.

Koren’s final bit of news is that she is starting a process that will hopefully see her able to officiate weddings on her own instead of having to co-officiate. She started the first course this week, and is looking forward to an interesting learning experience. Hopefully by next summer she will be able to do weddings solo.

Aubrey is also busy as usual, still has his family practice in Newcastle, a few shifts a month in Emerg in Bowmanville, Family Medicine Obstetrics in Oshawa, Urgent Care, Nursing Home, Palliative Care, MAID, lumps and bumps clinic, circumcisions, and  sometimes Hospitalist. During the pandemic he was also working in the COVID-19 Assessment Clinics and Vaccine clinics. Another big part of his life is teaching residents and medical Students, mainly from Queens but occasionally from other schools as well. He is still the Curriculum Lead for the Queens Oshawa Bowmanville Lakeridge (QBOL) Family Medicine Program. The program just celebrated its 10th anniversary. He also managed to join a curling league this winter which was great.

Overall, in spite of all the uncertainty, we got through it. We are all grateful for the intense family time we have had together during COVID, and have also been grateful that we have slowly been able to gather again with family and friends. We missed so many connections with so many people.

Our last bit of news is that we will be hosting a Ukrainian Mom and her 12 year-old son for awhile until they figure out what their next move is. We are very excited for them to arrive on Oct 7th. We have no idea how long they will staying with us, but Koren had one video call with her already and she seems lovely. We connected with her though our common friend, Mitch Smolkin, who lives in Sweden right now. He will actually be in Canada that week and will pick her up from the airport to bring her here.

We wish all of you, our loved ones, a Shanah Tova U’Metukah – a sweet, healthy, happy new year filled with love.

Here’s to a new and improved 5783!

With Much Love,

Zev, Erez, Noam, Koren, Aubrey, Teva

When I was young, I always knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be everything. I changed my mind often. I think I was in love with the idea of exploring every option. Some of my dreams were of being a vet, figure skater, “chefette”, cartographer, business owner, theatre director, teacher, musician, rabbi, now Yoga teacher.

So I became an explorer. How far could I go?

How many things could I experience?

What could I learn?

What could I create?

All through this time, there was one thing I did know.

I wanted to be a Mom.

This was the ultimate adventure that would complete me.

I realize now that this was a fairly irrational desire.

Being a parent has been more incredibly difficult than I ever could have imagined.

The hardest part, in my opinion, is managing expectations. And I when I say expectations, I mean of MYSELF.

Before we become parents, we have all sorts of expectations of how we imagine our parenting will look.

And then when we become parents, we learn the hard way, that parenting is the ultimate exercise in vulnerability, humility, disappointment and exhaustion. But, more importantly, it is also an exercise in pure joy, reckless abandon, creativity, hope – and love. I have learned that just when I think I have figured this parenting thing out, our sons change the rules.

In our case, becoming a parent was a choice, and I am so aware of what a privilege this was.

We created these living, breathing, wonderful people.

Each one was a conscious decision, each in his own time and space,

My purpose as a parent is to somehow, against all odds, with my partner in life, my soulmate, escort these four exhilarating balls of energy to a place where they feel confident enough to go out into the world and choose their own adventures. To find where they can release their creativity, figure out their unique contribution, and find the place where they can settle in and feel at home. All I can hope is that we have given them the foundation and skills to make it out there. Of course we will always be with them, in person or in spirit, to support them, but ultimately, our jobs as parents is to teach them how to leave us successfully.

And this is why in so many ways, parenting is an irrational, heartbreaking exercise. Pouring your heart and soul into these little people who will learn how to crush you with one phrase, but  are also able to raise you up to heights you never thought were possible. 

So I was right, this is the ultimate adventure that will complete me. 

Each of our four boys has taught me many lessons, and I have grown with each one of them.

I love each and every one of them with a ferocity that I didn’t know I had in me before I became a parent.

I feel exceptionally lucky to be on this journey with Aubrey, who nurtures me, who balances me,  and helps makes me a better person everyday. I don’t want to imagine what this would have been like without him.

Every day, I count my blessings, and the 5 beautiful people I live with are at the top of the list.

Never has this been more apparent, as it has been these past few weeks, as we have had more togetherness time than we could have ever anticipated. This Mother’s Day, I am more grateful than ever to be a mother.

Although I haven’t finished posting about Rajasthan, I am home now, and would like to post about the retreat.

I am not sure how to even begin this post describing my 6 blissful days at Hinterland Village. As I sit here in the airport, waiting for my flight back to Delhi to start my endless journey home, I feel as if I am in a dream-like state. Perhaps I imagined this whole trip; it seems just too good to be true.

My sister-in-law, Cat, described this place as akin to returning to the womb for a week. All is comfortable, all of our needs are met, our desires anticipated before we even have a chance to ask. We are fed healthy food, our laundry and cleaning is taken care of, we are given a suggested itinerary everyday, everything is optional, we have no responsibilities other than to just…be. Unni (the owner) was like a father to all of us, meeting with each of us individually every day to touch base and let us know what our schedule would be. He has such a gentle, beautiful aura about him. 

One day I had a raw, scratchy throat. He presented me with this thick dark brown paste in a recycled jar and a spoon with instructions: “take a quarter of this spoon 3 or 4, even 5, 6, or 7 times a day.” I shrugged, obediently followed, and by the next day, I was feeling completely back to normal. Natausha and I affectionately called the remedy “poop in a jar” because of the colour. I laughed that at home, I would never take any medication without doing a bit of research; yet here I was, blindly following Unni’s direction. We decided we are grateful Unni uses his powers for the forces of good. We wondered what would happen if this was all a ruse, and in reality, he was an evil genius who would use all of us sheep to help him achieve world domination. The way he anticipated our every need was uncanny, almost like he had spies everywhere, even in my own brain.

Being in an environment with relatively no distractions, where no decisions have to be made about anything, can be therapeutic. We have a lot of time to think, to meditate, to gain perspective. An average day looked something like this:

6am wake-up

6:30 – 8:30 yoga

8:30 Breakfast

9:30 – 10:30 Philosophy

10:30 – 11:30 Guided Meditation

1pm Lunch

3:30 tea/snack

4:00 – 6:00 yoga

6:00 juice/snack

8:00 dinner

In the free blocks of time in the schedule, there were many options. Unni would book us for ayurvedic massages every second day, as well as organized excursions for those who are interested. I had three massages, all different, and went on three excursions. One day we went on a boat trip over lunch on the backwaters, another day we just went into the nearest village, and yesterday we went into Fort Kochi to do a little bit of shopping and check out the vibe.  Unni also scheduled in some special programming, including an art class, cooking demonstration, and a session about chanting. I also used the free time to do a lot of journalling, catching up on the blogposts, and even doing a bit of songwriting. I also managed to go swimming every day in their pool. The wifi signal was very patchy, so I gave up trying to do anything meaningful online, which was better in my opinion, because I wasn’t worrying about my electronic devices as much. I could just focus on being present in the moment.

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Unni and his family run Hinterland as a self-sufficient, fully sustainable homestay. They do not waste even a drop of water.  They collect all of it, filter it, and reuse it to water their large organic crops. Ninety-five per cent of the food served at the retreat is grown onsite on their organic farm, even the rice. They use solar power to heat the water and to power the electricity. They also have a small store onsite where you can buy resource books, essential oils, and have clothing hand-made to order.

There is a menagerie here: dogs, cats, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, silky chickens, turkeys, even an emu, that run free all over the property during the day, but then go back to sleep in their fenced-in area at night. Their antics, and the cacophony of sounds was definitely amusing. There is, of course, a large population of both indigenous and migratory birds that make their home here as well.

While we were visiting Hinterland Village, the local temple was holding a four day festival, which resulted in loud music, sermons, praying, drumming, and chanting over the loudspeakers at all times of the day and night, sometimes even at four in the morning. There seemed to be a constant stream of people coming and going to the temple to join in the colourful celebrations. Generally it added to the varied sound landscape in a good way, and helped challenge me during meditation class, when I had to work hard to block out the sound and focus inward. Under the gentle guidance of Jayesh, our meditation facilitator, I was able to make breakthroughs in my meditation sessions I had never been able to achieve before. It will be interesting to see if I can continue with my progress when I am back to real life at home.

This place attracts fascinating people from all over the world. The week I was there, I met people from England, Belgium, Denmark, Israel, France, Australia, Germany, Thailand, Sweden, The Netherlands, and the US. Everyone has an interesting story of what brought them here, and these stories add to the flavour of the experience. I also particularly enjoyed observing how the energy shifted every day, as new guests arrived and others departed. Somehow, everyone was instantly accepted into the community, made their contribution, and then continued their journey. I especially loved bonding with Cat, and my roommate, Natausha, from Alameda, California. We spent a lot of time laughing together, and that added another amazing layer to my experience.  We were able to connect in meaningful ways, yet still gave each other the space to have time on our own.

Also noteworthy was sharing Shabbat with two women from Israel, Cheryl and Ruth. We requested a few candles to bless, some homemade grape juice for me to say kiddush over, and chapatis instead of Challahs for Hamotsi. We sang some songs from the Kabbalat Shabbat Service together, and it was beautiful. 

Last but not least, I cannot forget to mention the yoga and meditation component of the retreat.  Doing yoga in a natural setting, using a real tree as a focal point for my “tree pose”, listening to the nature sounds all around me was magical. We were exposed to several different teachers, each with their own style and sometimes, coming from completely different backgrounds. Yoga here is taught very differently than it is in the West. It took some adjustment at first, but I really appreciated the learning, and am looking forward to incorporating some of my new experiences into my classes and my personal practice.

At home, if I am lucky, I might do one hour of yoga most days, and try to fit in a bit of meditation at least once a day. Practicing the postures a minimum four hours every day and guided meditation for at least an hour, (if you don’t count the meditation component of our yoga classes) had an astounding effect on my body, my mind, and my soul. At first, the amount of activity left me exhausted, but surprisingly, my body adjusted, and I instead started to feel energized by the practice, even when I was tired, even when it was very warm. I came away with many insights about myself and goals for when I return home.

Jan 2

Today was the Bubbie’s 70th bday extravaganza. We had a wonderful breakfast in the common room of our homestay – we have really loved Indian breakfasts so far. Erez was feeling under the weather, so he stayed behind in bed.

We headed to the Amber Fort first (some of our kids are having “Fort and palace Fatigue”) We drove driving by the Wind Palace – Hawa Mawal –  the most photographed spot in Jaipur on the way. It is  basically a facade that the Queens and their handmaidens used to sit behind to watch the proceedings in the streets, because people were not allowed to see them in public.

The Amber fort was pretty amazing – the inlay work and carvings were exquisite.  The construction of this fort was from 1599 to 1667. There were Harem apartments for 12 queens and countless concubines.

One of the highlights was the mirror palace. It was a room that was completely covered by intricate mosaics with semi-precious stones and special curved mirrors. No photos we took could do it justice.

Here is a great description I found on an Indian historian conservation site:

“The reason behind why this mahal was made by glass because in ancient days the queen was not allowed to sleep in open air but she loved to see the stars while sleeping. So the king ordered his architects to make that kind of mahal which could solve the problem.And the architects built Sheesh mahal which was built with stones and glass and in night the reflection of two candles in glass looks like stars in whole room. And second reason was that for palace built. The King used to shift from Sukh Niwas to Sheesh Mahal in winter season. The ceiling mirror glass reflection of the candles keep the room warm. Now days entry in the Sheesh mahal is restricted however from the outside we can see the beautiful art work of the glass in the Sheesh mahal and with a flash light pointing to the ceiling we can easily see the stars in the morning “Din mai tare”. 

After the fort we had lunch, and then did a drive-by for a photo op at the lake palace. Our guide Kush left us at that point and we met up with another guide named Ummed. He met us for a walking tour of the market and to learn about the kite flying culture in Jaipur. 

On Jan 14th is the International kite flying festival in Jaipur, and little did we know that kite flying could be so intense. We were hosted by a family that owns a compound that includes a beautiful guest house and rooftop cafe. They explained that kite flying from the rooftops is a way for people to blow off steam as well as get some vitamin D after working all day. There are any different types of string, some are cotton, some are vinyl, and other have glass covered, “sharpened” string, so that their kites can cut other kites down. It is a bit crazy. We took turns flying kites off of their roof, and several times, a neighbours kite would come, and cut our kites down out of the sky. Teva was the one who kept encourage us to seek out other kites to cut down, and then actually succeeded in “defeating” a couple of other kites – some of the time, by complete fluke. It was lots of fun. Our hosts were very gracious, feeding us delicious hors d’oevres and refreshing drinks. If you are even in Jaipur, you should check out http://www.havelikalwara.com.

We finished off Bubbie’s birthday day with a special meal, home- cooked by our homestay hosts. They even made a cake and had sparkling wine to celebrate.

I asked Maxine if she ever imagined she would spend her 70th birthday in India on a rooftop flying a kite over the city at sunset…I think the answer is obvious.

Jan 1

We had to get up super early as we had to catch a 9am flight to Jaipur. We were sad to say goodbye to Hari and Pari, but were excited for our next adventure. We were met by our guide. Kush and our driver, Brij. Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and was founded in 1727 by King Jai Singh. It is a very well planned city. It was built on a grid system, and also has divided highways. One thing we noticed, was that in Jaipur, most people wore motorcycle helmets while in Udaipur, hardly anyone did. The current population is around 3.5 million people.

Jaipur is know as the Pink City because there is a bylaw that all buildings need to be painting with a particular Terra Cotta shade which glows pink in the sunshine. The main buildings downtown were originally painted pink to welcome H.R.H. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (who later became King Edward VII, Emperor of India), in 1876. There are many beautiful buildings all over India that used to belong to the royal families, however, after Indian Independence in 1946, the royals lost their status and gave much of their property back to the government. Many of these places are now historical sites, some converted to hotels and museums. Most royal families have still held  onto some of their assets, and many live in smaller parts of their palaces, not open to the public. 

One artifact that stood out in the City Palace was the largest silver object in the world – a water vessel made of 14,000 melted-down silver coins. He made two of these vessels to take with him to England when he went to visit because he only wanted to drink water that came from the Ganges River.

In the “audience room” there were portraits of all the kings of Jaipur with a small blurb about who they were. There were many interesting stories. First of all, if the current King did not have an heir, he would adopt an heir. This of course would result in many power plays from different branches of the family. Only two of the kings were sons of kings, the rest were adopted. 

Some noteworthy stories: Jai Singh lived in the 17th century and was very interested in Astrology and Astronomy. He built all sort sorts of instruments to measure things in the heavens which still stand today. For example, he built several sundials, and was able to measure the exact time by the longitude and latitude specifically of Jaipur which is not the same as Indian Standard time. There is a notice everyday based on his formulas how much IST is off from the “real Jaipur time”. he also built instruments to measure the earth’s rotation, and specific measurements for every one of the zodiac constellations.

Another of the kings, Maharaja Ram Singh II was interested in photography and is credited with introducing photography to India in the 1850s. He set up many self portraits, (the first selfies?) as well as photographing many of the members of the court. He also took many photographs of places in India, and now they serve as a historical record.

One king was actually declared King in utero. His father died while his mother was pregnant, so they declared him the king as soon as he was born.

Next stop was the Dera Amer Camp. This family homestead hosts several elephants who used to work at the Fort giving people elephant rides up the ramparts. there are 400 elephant giving rides there. This family rents the elephants so that instead of working, they can hang out at their homestead and relax. They are there for tourists to feed and interact with, as well as go on nature walks. Our elephant’s name was Rangmallah, which means colourful necklace. When we went on the nature walk, Rangmallah came with her handler. He rode her to keep her on track, but we were content to walk beside her and admire her beauty. At the rest stop we were given non-toxic paints to decorate her with like the local people do. I was not 100% comfortable with this, but our naturalist guide assured us it was not harmful to her, and the colours would come off in the morning when she bathes. The boys painted her for a bit and then Rangmallah headed back to her home. the staff prepared a beautiful dinner for us starting with appetizers by a bonfire. 

Another great day…

Dec 31

This morning we got to wake up 15 minutes later for yoga class – Hooray! These classes have been very different from our classes at home. There is very little instruction and no modifications are offered. She did some hands-on adjustments i.e. pushing some people deeper into their poses. If anyone could not execute the pose perfectly, her comment was: “If you do this everyday, you will then be able to do it”. I tried not to laugh out loud when she was teaching us alternate nostril breathing. Many of us were quite congested with colds, and were having trouble breathing through one nostril or the other – when this was mentioned, the answer was the same: If you do this everyday, your nose will not be blocked.” Overall, I really enjoyed the classes, and picked up a few pearls I will use in my classes. It was an eye-opener though. I am looking forward to seeing how the classes will be taught in Kerala on my retreat.

I was trying to fly under the radar, and not realizing this, Hari’s son Al, outed me to the teacher on the first day and told her I was a yoga instructor back home. She seemed shocked, in fact, asked three times to make sure that I was actually the person he was talking about. I realize I do not look like your average yoga instructor  – this did not bother me in the least, in fact, I found it quite amusing. yoga is for everyone, not just the super-fit.

We started our sightseeing after another amazing breakfast. The first stop was an inactive Hindu temple called Saas Bahu. It was built in the 10th century, and was destroyed by a moghul king in the13th century. The relief carving work in the temple was incredible, although all of the faces have been cut off by the Moghuls, according to the prohibition in Islam of “graven images”. 

Our next stop was an active Vishnu temple, built in the 7th century.  Because it is an active temple, we were not allowed to wear shoes, bring in our cameras, or wear any leather. Within this temple complex there are a total of 108 temples – a spiritually significant number in Hinduism. (put in examples here) Every Hindu god has their own special day, and as luck would have it, Monday is Vishnu’s day. The Royal family of Udaipur comes to this particular temple every Monday to pray. The temple was very busy – lots of people, lots of monkeys scampering around, and there were drummers and other traditional instruments being played as the crowd lined up to pay their respects at the shrine. It was an interesting, colourful experience.

There were many relief carvings at this temple, each depicting a different story. The guide showed Aubrey a relief carving showing forced bestiality as punishment for rape.  I felt badly for the animal being used for the punishment.

We had lunch at an outdoor restaurant called Urban Dhaba. We were the only patrons, which might normally be a red flag, but the food was a delicious assortment of homemade “Rajasthani village specialties”  Our host, Hari explained that we would taste food here that we will not find anywhere else. It was wonderful.

Our next stop was the Monsoon Palace. It is high atop a hill, and is often above the clouds. The views of the surrounding hills overlooking the city were absolutely beautiful. It was built in1884. The palace offers a panoramic view of the city’s lakes, palaces and surrounding countryside. It was built chiefly to watch the monsoon clouds; hence, appropriately, it is popularly known as Monsoon Palace. Previously owned by the Mewar royal family, it is now under the control of the Forest Department of the Government of Rajasthan and has recently been opened to the public. The palace provides a beautiful view of the sunset.

After the Monsoon Palace, we dropped the kids at home and headed for a walking tour of the market, including the spice vendor that our guide Lalit’s mother buys her spices from. I am pretty sure we paid fairly steep “foreigner prices”, but I am happy to have everything I need to start replicating some of the delicious food that I have been lucky enough to eat while we have been here.

As it was New Year’s Eve, we were torn about what to do.  There were many parties we could go to, but the admission prices were quite high. Considering that we had to get up before 6am to catch our plane to Jaipur, we opted to order some food in, and have a quiet evening. Hari presented us with many beautiful gifts on our last night. We were overwhelmed by her generosity. Besides choosing something personal for each of us, she also gifted us with one of her framed pieces of artwork. The walls of their home are covered with her amazing art. She is extremely talented. After we received these gifts, we had to repack our bags as the weight limits for domestic flights are much stricter than the international flights. Most of us tried to go to bed early, considering how early we were going to have to wake up, but it was more challenging than we thought: Udaipur is definitely a party city. There was loud music playing late into the night, and of course there were many fireworks displays at midnight. I woke up and watched some of them from our balcony. 22 years ago tonight, Aubrey and met in person for the first time. Because of this, I always feel very hopeful on New Year’s Eve, I always see the possibilities. Happy New Year Everyone!