Well everyone – and by that I mean no one, since no one has yet looked at my blog – tomorrow, Sunday, I get on the plane at 2:30 pm, and then take a ten or so hour flight to Hong Kong. I have an hour stopover and then its back on the plane for a eight or so hour flight to Delhi.
I’ll get in at 2:15 am, their time. A Bahai from Parksville will actually be going to India a few days before me and he’s generously agreed to pick me up and help me get around. I’ll be taking a train to Lucknow where I’ll meet my host family for the first time.
Wish me luck! Now!
And now that I’ve made a Lucknow joke, there’s no need for anyone to ever make one again.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Prolouge
Heya,
Between my MSN list, Facebook, and the real world, it would be a hassle to send out messages to everyone, formatting for formats, and trying not to forget anyone. Thus I have created this blog as a central location, to let you, the reader, decide how much or how little of me you want to experience.
The name of the blog comes from a short story by Voltaire called “Zadig”. The entire quote is “…upon such strings as these do the fates of mortals hang!” The story is about a Babylonian named Zadig who, while virtuous, finds himself vacillating between fortune and despair for most of his life. Just when things seem to be looking up, something bad always happens, and it’s usually someone else’s fault. At one point Zadig was very wealthy and beloved by most people for his generosity, gallantry, and wisdom. There was one man however who envied Zadig. This man, Arimazes, was determined to ruin Zadig. One day Zadig was in his garden with some guests, and he wrote a quick poem for the lady that was there. The other guests were anxious to see it but Zadig was being modest so he tore it up and threw it away to show how little he thought of his own poetry. Arimazes was spying nearby and he found one half of the poem, which being incomplete seemed to insult the King. Arimazes took the poem to the King who immediately had Zadig arrested and condemned. Just as Zadig was about to be executed, the King’s parrot flew over Zadig’s garden and happened to pick up a pear to which the other half of the poem was stuck. The parrot dropped the pear at the King’s knees and the Queen realized that it was the other half of the Zadig’s poem, which in fact praised the King. Zadig was released, and was so charming about the whole affair that he fell into the King’s favour. Later on Zadig was talking to the King’s parrot when he said, “…upon such strings as these do the fates of mortals hang!”
Obviously the example is a little ridiculous, but the point is made. Our lives can quickly switch from bliss to tragedy and back, and all of the great weight of our lives hangs on tiny threads of chance and choice. I expect nothing more or less from my travels in India.
Of course the purpose of this blog is to relate to you my adventures in India, so I’ll begin by telling you a bit about the process that got me to this point. After graduating from high school I was determined to go on a year of service. This is something we’re encouraged to do in the Bahai Faith: go to another community and help out. There are lists available of Bahai communities that are requesting people, and on this list was the option to go to India, to write. I was sold.
I began communicating with the Bahai administration in Canada and India, and made contact with my host family. Plans were laid and needles were jammed into my arm. I got a job at a corner store to save up my money, working six-day weeks. Six months later all the cards have fallen into place. And Sunday the 27th I leave for India, taking a stop over in Hong Kong.
Between my MSN list, Facebook, and the real world, it would be a hassle to send out messages to everyone, formatting for formats, and trying not to forget anyone. Thus I have created this blog as a central location, to let you, the reader, decide how much or how little of me you want to experience.
The name of the blog comes from a short story by Voltaire called “Zadig”. The entire quote is “…upon such strings as these do the fates of mortals hang!” The story is about a Babylonian named Zadig who, while virtuous, finds himself vacillating between fortune and despair for most of his life. Just when things seem to be looking up, something bad always happens, and it’s usually someone else’s fault. At one point Zadig was very wealthy and beloved by most people for his generosity, gallantry, and wisdom. There was one man however who envied Zadig. This man, Arimazes, was determined to ruin Zadig. One day Zadig was in his garden with some guests, and he wrote a quick poem for the lady that was there. The other guests were anxious to see it but Zadig was being modest so he tore it up and threw it away to show how little he thought of his own poetry. Arimazes was spying nearby and he found one half of the poem, which being incomplete seemed to insult the King. Arimazes took the poem to the King who immediately had Zadig arrested and condemned. Just as Zadig was about to be executed, the King’s parrot flew over Zadig’s garden and happened to pick up a pear to which the other half of the poem was stuck. The parrot dropped the pear at the King’s knees and the Queen realized that it was the other half of the Zadig’s poem, which in fact praised the King. Zadig was released, and was so charming about the whole affair that he fell into the King’s favour. Later on Zadig was talking to the King’s parrot when he said, “…upon such strings as these do the fates of mortals hang!”
Obviously the example is a little ridiculous, but the point is made. Our lives can quickly switch from bliss to tragedy and back, and all of the great weight of our lives hangs on tiny threads of chance and choice. I expect nothing more or less from my travels in India.
Of course the purpose of this blog is to relate to you my adventures in India, so I’ll begin by telling you a bit about the process that got me to this point. After graduating from high school I was determined to go on a year of service. This is something we’re encouraged to do in the Bahai Faith: go to another community and help out. There are lists available of Bahai communities that are requesting people, and on this list was the option to go to India, to write. I was sold.
I began communicating with the Bahai administration in Canada and India, and made contact with my host family. Plans were laid and needles were jammed into my arm. I got a job at a corner store to save up my money, working six-day weeks. Six months later all the cards have fallen into place. And Sunday the 27th I leave for India, taking a stop over in Hong Kong.
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