Reflective Practice - Part 1 - (Meta)Reflection.

...Meta what?

Reflective practice; two words that bring instant hatred and mild psychological trauma to most first year university students. Whilst I was definitely in the same boat, initially. With some guidance from people who know better; I now know better.

This series will go away from India and more into general thoughts and theories behind reflective practice. Whilst rarely spoken about - we all do it, here is how:

- Thinking at the end of the day.
- Analysing memories, photographs, videos that we took.
- Listening and telling stories of our (mis)adventures.
- Learning from our mistakes.

It's easy m'kay?

Simple stuff right? Since I want this series to be an easy read we will focus on one thing at the time. The buzz word for today is Meta-reflection. A wise man has introduced me to this idea telling me I do it. what META-reflection refers to reflecting on your reflections. In the context of reflective practice - reflecting on the the reflective practice process.

- How do I do it?
- How do I make it better?
- How can I work better?

This is of interest to me as my dissertation idea focuses on the emotional journey of an intern. Questions I asked myself at the beginning is how do I record my emotions? Do I record my rants and happy moments? Do I make long videos on how the grass is green and the sky is blue? Photographs? Speak to my family and friends? Writing? In the fear of not doing the job good enough I ended up doing everything. Turns out its not a bad thing. Why put yourself through this ball ache? Easy, multiple sources of information. This means you have different perspectives on the same thing.

Tell me more...

To link this back to meta-reflection - whenever you do either of above, your memory gets a tease and a tickle in different ways. Imagine your brain to be like you were the first time you went on a date. You (by assumption) take time in making sure you cover all bases to ensure the courtship processes succeed; be clean, smell nice and say the right things. Now let your brain to be the partner of choice, it will not give us everything from the start, it requires stimulation from you, show it visual and audio stimuli helps it remind and analyse. The 'preparation' stage is collecting this data in a way that makes these processes the best they can be.

To make long story short. Meta-reflection is very simply about giving thought and attention in making sure your methods of reflection works for you. Help yourself by learning which tools work best for you and how to use them more effectively.

Dlaczego robie to co robie? Wyznania (przyszłego) przewodnika górskiego. Walka z matką naturą.

Jak zawszę, mogę jedynie przeprosić za bardzo odległy okres pomiędzy moimi wpisami po Polsku. Do tego, od razu przepraszam za potencjalne błędy gramatyczno-ortograficzne związane z tym że w szkole byłem jedynie przeciętny, mieszkałem w Anglii przez ostatnie 10 lat i zbyt rzadko mam okazję pisać w języku ojczystym.

Ale dosyć pierdół. Przejdźmy do rzeczy. Ten wpis jest poświęcony powodom dla których wybrałem tą drogę zamiast innych. Być może jest zbyt wcześnie na takie rozpisy biorąc pod uwagę że mam dopiero 22 lata (często czuję się za to jak stary pierdziel) i w sumie nie zdobyłem wielu szczytów (ha ha ha) ani nie miałem (nie)przyjemności bycia świadkiem wielu rzeczy które niewątpliwie mnie czekają. Dlaczegóż więc chcę się pchać w miejsca gdzie dostanę wpierdziel od matki natury, ba, nie chcę, potrzebuję tego do własnego szczęścia i spełnienia.

Zanim przejdziemy do tych głębokich myśli warto ustalić kilka rzeczy, ani nasza fizjologia, ani psychologia nie są zbyt dobrze przystosowane do pchania się w tereny w których lubię przebywać.
Otóż, w porównaniu do takiego np. psa rasy husky, wypadamy średnio (w zimnie). Jest to spowodowane tymi różnicami:

UWAGA: NASTĘPNY FRAGMENT ZAWIERA INFORMACJE O FIZJOLOGI PSÓW I LUDZI. JEŻELI CIĘ TO NIE INTERESUJĘ, NIE CZYTAJ. PO NUDNYM TEKŚCIĘ WRÓCĘ NA TEMAT

- Psy pocą się głównie gruczołami znajdującymi się w łapach, oznacza to że reszta psa pozostaje sucha (chyba że pada deszcz albo wskoczą do wody) w porównaniu do nas. Jakie ma to znaczenie? Otóż takie, że głównym mechanizmem chłodzenia człowieka jest pocenie się, niestety, gdy temperatura skóry przeskoczy nasze fajne i przyjemne 36.6 stopni zaczynami się pocić, odczuwamy wchodząc na przykład pod górę w zimie w kurtce, nasz kochany organizm o nas dba ale aż za bardzo, pot się zbiera wsiąkając w ubrania i chłodzi. Problem pojawia się wtedy gdy kontynuuje nas chłodzić mimo że bardzo byśmy chcieli żeby przestał. I dupa. Husky za to kontunuuje sobie zapierdzielać pod górkę patrząc się na nasz średnio wydajny sposób chodzenia na 2ch łapach i niewątpliwie zastanawiając się dlaczego śmierdzimy i pocimy się jak ćwoki. Nie ma w tym nic wstydliwego ani złego, po prostu tak jest.

- Izolacja cieplna. Ludzka izolacja ogranicza się do warstwy tłuszczyku i wątpliwej (dla większości osób) powłoki z włosów na naszym ciele. Super, umila to chwile spędzone na plaży czy nad jeziorem w dobrej pogodzie. Niestety, temperatura nie musi spaść żeby narobić nam problemów, wystaw człowieka w gaciach na 10 stopni i zobacz co się stanie? Husky, jak i większość innych psów ma bardzo przyjemne w dotyku i zastosowaniu futerku. A człowiek? Mamy dwie opcje, możemy wspomóc się matką naturą, rozpierdalając przy tym środowisko naturalne na uprawie np. bawełny lub wyżynając tysiące/miliony fajnych zwierzątek typy gęsi, owce, lisy itp na potrzeby 'kradzieży' ich izolacji. Oczywiście istnieją syntetyczne ociepliny cieplne które nie wymagają tego mordu, uff super. Mają swoje wady i zalety, nie są tak wydajne ani lekkie a i są większe do spakowania i mniej trwałe jak np. puch aczkolwiek trzymają ciepło w wilgoci. Dobry kompromis? Szkoda że do ich produkcji trzeba rozpierdolić dna oceanów i ssać to co było tam tysiące razy dłużej niż ludzie na świecie. Husky nie ma takich dylematów.

Będę kurtką ? Jak to?

KONIEC PRZYNUDZANIA

Pomijając kwestie poruszone w tekscie którego pewnie nie przeczytaliście, jest kilka powodów. Można je rozdzielić na osobiste i nie-osobiste. I tak właśnie zrobię.

Osobiste:
- Lubię nie pchać się między ludźmi.
- Lubię czuć się wolnym, być w miejscach gdzie mogę sobię pośpiewać "baby got back" i nie czuć się jak idiota. Miejsca gdzie 'normy' nie dopływają gdy jestem w nich sam.
- Fajnie jest być w miejscach które stymulują własny mózg, jakby nie było, jestem po prostu słabą małpą która posiada narzędzia i umiejętności potrzebne do przetrwania w miejscach gdzie inne małpy by miały problem/pozdychały.
- Fajnie jest zobaczyć np. takie świstaki!

- Często będąc w takich oto miejscach można się dowiedzieć i poznać prawdziwych przyjaciół, fajnie.
- Będąc w górach często zapominam o reszcie świata jak i o swoich problemach, jest to w pewnym sensie sposób medytacji i oczyszczania swojej duszy.

Super, następne pytanie, dlaczego chcę sobie zanieczyszczać wszystkie te powody wymienione wyżej biorąc w góry osoby których często nie znam, pracując dla kogoś, spełniając wszystkie wymogi (na przykład prawne) które zupełnie mnie nie interesują gdy jestem w górach sam/z przyjacielem?

Otóż jest kilka powodów, podejrzewam że te powody często są podobnie u np, pielęgniarek, muzyków, nauczycieli itp itd. O to i one:

- Fajnie jest uczyć ludzi radzić sobie w terenie w którym nie poradzili by sobie sami.
- To jest naprawdę super uczucie gdy sprawia się że ktoś mimo dostania przysłowiowego 'wpierdolu' dobrze się bawi w miejscu w którym nigdy by się nie znaleźli. Oczywiście w większości przypadków nie bierze się ludzi w miejsca w których wiemy że będą cierpieć.
- Często powoduje to refleksje i ciekawe rozmowy które w innym przypadku nigdy by się nie wydarzyły.
- Bardzo rzadko, ale jest to najlepsze uczucie (poza tymi o których nie ładnie wspominać) gdy zainspiruje się kogoś.

I w sumie to na tyle. Dziękuję za przeczytanie :)

On Leadership.

This must be the first entry which is actually relevant to the reason why I am here and my career.

Many times have I asked myself as to what makes a 'good leader' and many times the response always comes back to 'depends'. Just life with life experiences, we tend to approach problems in different ways depending on the circumstances - be it a schoolgirls torn off nail, first aid following a bike accident or managing a group when the state of your mind can only relate to slow dancing in a burning room. Coming up with a single answer is impossible!

One of the bits of feedback I have recently received was the 'rawness' of my delivery, in this context, it was positive. The 'rawness' I guess relates to the contrasting way of dealing with things than lets say 'the corporate talk' - where the instructions/feedback are often too diluted to make sense out of as described in a scholar article titled 'On Pseudo-Profound Bullshit' which I can highly recommend.
As an experiment, I have asked the group to give anonymous feedback on first impressions to both myself and Ellie. Whilst Ellie was described as an all round knowledgeable nice person (which I hate to admit she is) some of my feedback included bad cop, sarcastic, motherly and caring. How to interpret this I do not fully know (especially the motherly comment), but I am very happy my group saw me as caring.

Back on the subject. The outdoor work can only be describe as 'labour of love' (just like the UB40 1983 album), normally the pay (arguably) does not reflect the effort and quality of work - in our case (hopefully) at all, given that we are on an unpaid internship. The best teachers, doctors, nurses or in fact outdoor providers I remember are the ones who almost seep passion. Despite not always conforming to the norms their intentions and actions always reflected the desire to achieve the best possible outcome. An example of this can relate to a climbing session I have witnessed before ran by two instructors, when the junior lead climbers (at different times) asked if the instructors 'definetely have them' one replied 'Yes, I'm a qualified instructor' and the other 'I promise, go ahead' and begun singing 'I got you babe'. Whilst just a random example I do believe it differentiates perfectly a human who has become a robot and one that can emphasise with other human beings.

So how does that fit with existing theories of leadership? Let's have a quick look at leadership continuum.

Well... no luck... How about some of Hudson's offerings?



Woaaaaaah, HOT STUFF! Vision, gathering informtion, out the box thinking... and that's just the first paragraph! I'm sure we can all think of situations where we met people who tick all these boxes and its great. Is it relevant? Well, I don't think of vision or impacting others to unleash potential of others when slapping on a wound dressing, nor embrace diversity when telling someone the only worse place for a toilet tent is to put it on the other side of the river. So its all bollocks, right? Well... this is where the context comes in. The model shows the individual as a whole and what the 'context' is I can only guess, however, my interpretation is a whole range of situations, where these elements combine as a whole. This a lot of this stuff links into the 'clear intentions' mentioned by me at the beginning of the post... Awesome. We have the recipe!

... But wait, if I meet a person at the bar and decide they are the spitting image of Hudson's model does that mean we will spend the rest of the night envisaging and fantasising of all the crazy things we could do whilst crossing Svalbard together, chasing the northern lights and being chased by polar bears? 

Probably not. This is where more juicy stuff comes in (I know I know... 'ffs'... not any more). You could be the most able leader in the world but unless you also possess the technical abilities necessary for the job your usefulness is questionable. 

A simple example from experience is this:

Many people can make me laugh, and sure as hell there are many people that are able to catheterise me. Yet it takes a very very special person who can make me laugh following the process. Because of this simple act of cruelty and kindness, I was happy enough to follow all instructions given by the lovely Dr. Fiona of Southampton General religiously. She was, and is, in my eyes, a perfect example of a leader.

How could you apply this to the context of outdoor leadership? If we put ourselves in position where we tell a group of wet, tired kids that they still need to make a fire, help in the kitchen and dig a hole which 16 people will shit into you may, initially, face similar lack of enthusiasm. Play your cards right and you will face a fire bigger than anything you've seen before and onions chopped so small and precisely that you will feel pathetic about your own abilities. In fact, these exciting activities might spark off cohesion, teamwork and leadership that will continue beyond their time with you...

HOW you play the cards may vary. The key is to play them right, and this I can only think of to be an art rather than a science

...Of course this may also mean you will end up with bits of fingers in your veggies or a pile of burning cow shit every now and then,

To conclude, what I consider a leader to be is someone who can emphasise, understand, adapt and react appropriately to the situations he/he may face.... simple really?

Where it becomes complex is how.

When she begins - The pursuit of happiness

I guess every other intern on this internship has already written about the blues that sometimes gets to us. I've been (and am) no different. Whilst we all have our own ways of dealing with things and things that make us happy. For me, key material possessions right now feature buckets with no holes, coffee and down jackets.

That being said, down jackets, coffee and buckets with no holes are not the reason why I came here. So how do you (me) find happiness 6766km away from family and the pungent odour of little sisters hamsters? One of the things that bugs me is the general stress and business prior to departing for India, which meant I was often too busy or too pissed off to spend meaningful time on saying goodbye.

Trying to identify the 'happy' factors was not easy given that quite often they are interlinked, as well as the existence of things that enable to temporarily numb down whatever part of the brain it is that causes the blues. Below you will find the conclusion which has taken a fair bit of time to reach:

1) Purpose.

Work wise, having a purpose has almost always been one of the key priorities, why invest the little time I have in doing something which lacks any meaningful purpose (other than to buy more down jackets, pay for visa, a shiny new ice axe or some other shit - meaningless in the long term yet highly satisfying). A key reason for choosing Outward Bound is the claim of providing personal growth to young people. And what could be better then this? Who wouldn't want to make an impact? Whilst I am not completely convinced as to how much difference I am making out here it remains a pleasant thought when getting a honest 'thank you'.

I remember very vividly the day when I was saying my fairwells to my groups when working for Preston City Council - the reactions, emotions and sentences like 'You really made a difference to my child' meant I was feeling utterly euphoric while laying in my bed and staring at the ceiling for the rest of the day. Having been a window-licker turned renegade in my youth I am well aware that I have my dues to pay for being a right ass in the past.

2) Love.

This is not something that people tend to be open about. I remember a discussion with Ellie about MASLOWS HIERACHY OF NEEDS and how the local stray dogs have brilliantly adapted in this respect. Most of all, they seem the basics like shelter, food and security and they find these relatively well. The thing they go crazy for is good old cuddles. Play with a stray, show him some love and I guarantee he will never want to leave you alone (as Ellie has found out). I remember very well stumbling into one of the strays I met in Shivpuri in a village which is based about a three hour car journey away. Baster III has randomly ran up to me, I could not believe it, the same broken tail, skinny frame and black face with the very same nibble on the hand.

Where this relates to me is that it is comforting to know there is something/someone waiting for you. In my case, I run on the unquestionable love of the original Baster - whether an unhealthy obsession or an actual thing I have no idea. Regardless, unlike my family (who had no choice but to love me), this 16kg lump goes absolutely crazy when he sees me and has undoubtedly gotten me through some tough times which he probably doesn't even realise/care about - its just what he does. He can hear my voice over the phone even without loudspeaker and positions himself in a spot that covers both doors waiting for me to come in or sticking his paw to the laptop when on skype. This suggests to me that he did not quite understand when I explained to him where I am going and how long for. I could quite happily fly to England for one evening just to take him for a walk and more and more often stop myself from doing just that.

Always looking for trouble.

Ladies (or anyone in fact), if you are reading this, Baster takes priority.

3) People.

I said this to a few people out here, one of the things that makes my time here great is the on-ground staff. Despite the difference in backgrounds and sometimes a language barrier - we rarely fail to have a good time and a laugh. As well as the staff I have met several other individuals from the Netherlands, Czech, Poland and of course India that have had an impact in how I feel in this big place. And it makes me feel good.
Having lived with Jay and Roz (and Scoob) I do miss their company (probably more than they miss mine) - these are guys who allowed me to stay with them despite me loosing their snake. I miss having a girlfriend that moults ginger hair all over the place and puts up with all my shit. The cure for the loneliness seem to be... solitude. It enables me to reflect and savour the moment which has passed and makes me happy that such moment existed. I guess I need to find new friends and a girlfriend...

Example of "taking my shit"

It is important that other interns get mentioned here too. Whilst we all come from different backgrounds and is safe to say we were never the best of friends (ewwww... paddlers!) they provide a great support network - although very often it may seem a bit too much like hatred.

In fact, I miss a lot of people, the excellent lecturers who were always a good laugh and of great support when needed - something which I exploited heavily. The staff from "The coffee shop" where I visited many times during term-time, the kids and the parents I worked with at the wall who never stopped being a source of entertainment. For someone who doesn't consider himself a people person, I surely miss a lot.

4) Mountains.

Today must have been the longest I've been without my mountain 'fix' in the last two years. I'm not happy to report that it makes me not happy. Last time, in Poland, I had an absolute blast assisting with a group in weather which ranged from beautiful sunshine through to utterly sh***ing. Before that, taking my cousin and her (now) fiancee around Wales, again, in conditions ranging from absolutely no visibility to getting seriously sunburnt within less than 2 hours. I love it. I love being tossed about by the wind, stimulated by "co jest kur**" kind of feeling when staring at my compass and map - only to realise one of them was upside down few seconds later.

One minute in wales..

And one minute after...

When pulling on some piece of rock attached to a bigger piece of rock, roped or roped it makes me feel free, responsible for my own destiny and good. All problems go away (except "why the f*** do i put myself in these situations" or "what's for dinner?"). This is the feeling I've been missing, the immersion into 'right here right now'. To my demise, it is this very same dragon I was chasing with my rock climbing - rushing back into it after recovering from surgery - with the rush only beginning to make me question this love.

"Is it just me or is it a bit steep?"

I am yet to experience the Himalaya, or 'proper' high altitude for that matter. One of my main dreams in this place is to get high and cold and I really hope this will happen while out here. "High till I die" springs to mind. I can quite happily say I need mountain in my life, and without them I begin to feel just a little more lost.

5) Music.

If you know me, chances are you've told me to 'turn that shit off' at least once. The influence of music in my life is unbelievable, it resets my brain, brings back memories which otherwise remain forgotten. It inspires and provides the 'fire' in my soul that makes me do what I do (... on top of moaning a lot). No matter what the day was like, I can put my headphones in and 'transport' myself wherever my heart wants to be, and this is a great tool to have when being far from where you sometimes desire to be.



To conclude, this entry is about a lot of everything and nothing, you may notice there is little India/UCLAN/work stuff in it. I can also happily say that I knew all these things before coming up here, but never knew just how much of an influence they have in keeping me happy. Being here has somewhat 'stripped' me of most things I am used to - forcing me to seek and rediscover.

First time at Rishikesh

After two or three weeks time has come for myself to head over to Rishikesh, or more specifically Shivpuri - the hub from which we work from on most if not all rafting trips. The briefing was simple, to go there, find something to do and do it. Easy? Predicting the unpredictable I have decided to take all of my belongings

So we go to the office in Delhi, in my case, carrying the 140L mother of all duffle bags filled with necessities, such as clothes, buoyancy aid and coffee. This was an interesting excercise in terms of moving through the metro during peak time... Soon enough we were on the station waiting for the night bus to take us where we needed to be.

7 hours later, we arrive, have chai at the station, get picked up, go to sleep...

From New Delhi to Rishikesh. 247 km according to rthe ticket

.. 1 hour later, we get up and get ready for work

First Job. Morning walk with the clients, tea by the river 

Rishikesh is a location known for its religious significance, being the 'capital of yoga' and amazing rafting/kayaking. For those who do not know me, neither of the three apply to me particularly well. However, it didn't take too long to appreciate the beauty of the place. Long story short... Its nice!

For those who have been to Rishi you will notice that none of the pictures in this actually show Rishikesh, this is because we are placed close to it, but not in it - as well as that, there are millions of pictures of Rishikesh on the net, but not half as much of surrounding area.

So what did we do? Went for a walk with the clients, inspected/set up ropes course and equipment, office work, lists, rafting trips, recce expeditions, spent time with the team, spent time with clients and probably a lot of other things I forgot already. On top of all this, several thoughts on dissertation subjects.

Let's cut the bull****: Here are the pictures!

Baster the bull

Woke me up mid-nap.

Water angels - pick up the pieces (or people) should you get too wet.

Vehicle of choice on the Ganges - Raft.

Not a bad job when you think about it...

Treats. / Małe co nieco

Shortly prior to my departure I was lucky enough to have a quick catch up with the man who has gotten me into my outdoors and was (and continues...) to be one of the main influences to help me get to where I am, including here in India. Said guru offered plenty of advice, one thing that stood out the most was the 'need for treats'.

Admittedly, I thought I understood just what it meant and just what boost it can give. Music, (good!) coffee, yerba mate and pictures of Baster have gotten me through some shitty times - and kept me fulfilled and happy (in my own unique pessimistic way) during everyday life. Small things that keep me going.

The "treats" concept came surprisingly the other day. Our house-keeper and her lovely daughter have prepared "something we would get at home" - pasta with tomato sauce. Words cannot describe how happy I was to experience the similar taste to my dads spaghetti - it was a release of endorphin truly comparable to heavy drugs (administered strictly for the purpose of analgesia by qualified medical personnel of course).

I guess it really is the little things in life, and after only two weeks here, I really begin to see that.

_________________________________________________________________________________

To teraz wpis po Polsku :).

Przed wyjazdem miałem okazję spotkania się z człowiekiem który wciągnął mnie w ten cały outdoor-owy światek i kontynuuje byciem jednym z większych inspiracji w tym kierunku. Miedzy innymi dlatego jestem tutaj w Indiach a nie gdzie indziej. Ten sam guru dał wiele porad, między innymi potrzeby na "małe co nieco".

Przyznam się bez bicia że wydawało mi się że doskonale wiem o co mu chodziło. Muzyka, kawa (dobra!), yerba mate i zdjęcia Basterka pomogły mi w wielu gównianych sytuacjach - a i utrzymały mnie w dobrym stanie ducha podczas "normalnego" życia. Takie o drobnostki.

W związku s tym, zaskoczyła mnie niespodzianka skombinowana przez naszą panią domu (w sumie nie wiem jak to nazwać) i jej fajniutką córkę - zwykły makaron z sosem pomidorowym. Nie jestem w stanie ująć jakie to było zajebiste przeżycie być w stanie doświadczyć smaku podobnego do spaghetti mojego taty - hurtowe wydzielenie endorfin mogło być porównywane jedynie z twardymi narkotykami (z którymi, oczywiście, miałem do czynienia tylko w ramach znieczulenia administrowanego przez wykwalifikowany, medyczny personel).

Mówi się że chodzi o te drobne pierdółki w życiu, minęły tylko dwa tygodnie, a naprawdę zaczynam to doceniać.

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Song of the day/Piosenka dnia: James Brown - I feel good.

Delhi - metro survival guide

Few weeks in India now and I feel that I've been here for long enough to offer advice for short&long term Delhi stayers.

Much nicer than TFL. You will be greeted by endless ammount of lovely dogs.

To the best of my knowledge the Western world is unaware of recent happenings in India - the security is tight very tight. Here is a few things that are worth knowing when travelling through metro in Delhi:

SECURITY:
- No matter how big, your bag WILL fit through the xray machine.
- When the security find something normal in a place different to where they expect it, let them know what it is - a wallet in a low sitting pocket for example.
- Hold metal objects like zippos in your hand when going through the metal detector, they don't like it when you don't.
- I have not tested that, but I have been told gas canisters for burners, stoves etc are not allowed.This is because of their bang-potential.
- They do not appreciate being photographed or video-ed, at all.

METRO:
- Is much much cleaner and more humane than anything London underground has to offer.
- Single ticket/token will cost you 20-30 rupees, for 250 you will get a travelcard with 200 rupees on which you can then top up, in my experience, this is more than enough for a weekly commute to and from work with some travelling mixed in, getting them and topping them up is simple, just go to the counter near the barriers (after security).
- Ladies, there is a area just for you.
- Busy times are just that, fomparable with london underground, with people fighting to emter, exit and just to stay in. Be firm whichever you are trying to do, if that means pushing through a wall of people so be it.
- being white/non indian you will attract some attention, this ranges from kids staring through to people making conversation wanting to know your life story. Sometimes it is nice, sometimes it isn't.

OUTSIDE:
This is particularily for those visiting old Delhi however will affect you to a lesser extent everywhere else:

- Beggers
- Sellers
- Rickshaw drivers

To shake off any unwanted attention, reply in any non-english language, the faces they make are priceless. In case you don't speak a foreign language, I suggest Macarena, Lambada or, if you feel hardcore - Francky Vincent

Registering the visa. / Rejestracja wizy w Indiach

To all the lucky people visiting India for more than two weeks - you will be glad to hear that you will have the pleasure of enjoying some of the most exciting buerocracies the world has to offer. The ultimate alteration between highs and lows is undescribable.

The pain inflicted by the process exceeds the one of wisdom teeth coming through, fractured ribs and the sadness reaches the levels only putting down of a pet animal may give. That being said, the very kind man we had a chance to meet (twice) was incredibly helpful in making sure we do not have to come again - as one of the 'team' has particularily found out. I guess this video provides a good insight of what you feel going through the FCO. Alternatively, if you are of the musical breed, this song does it too.



To all those travelling into India who may have become concerned after reading this, fear not, the feeling when the process is complete can only be described as the utmost happiness :).

TOP TIP: Rickshaw drivers WILL double or quadruple the prices of the ride at will. Should this happen, never be too afraid to walk away.

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Każdy turysta przyjeżdzający do Indii na dłużej niż 14 dni ma obowiązek zarejestrwoania się w FCO. Proces ten jest w miare bezbolesny - przynajmniej w porównaniu do poważnych złamań czy kastracji bez znieczulenia. Indie to kraj ogarnięty całkowitym rozpierd*lem jeżeli chodzi o biurokracje.

Będzie wiele form, dużo kombinacji, kombinowanie z różnymi rozmiarami i formatami. Jeżeli będzie trzeba więcej informacji proszę śmiało pisać/komentować.

Warto też wspomnieć o transporcie, czasami te miejsca nie są w centrum więc będą potrzebne kombinacje, jeżeli nie udało wam się zamówić taksówki przez internet za ustaloną cenę warto pamiętać że:

tuk tuki (czy ich odpowiedniki), a w sumie ich kierowcy zawszę zawyżają cenę zanim wsiądziecie, lubią też jeździć w kółko,  jeździć inną drogą, wspomnieć ze źle podaliscie miejsce i przez to musicie zapłacić 3-4 razy. Można się kłucić, wyjść i odejść, zapłacić ustaloną cenę i odejść - nie można się wachać i dawać wydymać.

Visit to Taj

So we have come up to go and see Taj Mahal during a day off. Being a rather spontaneous idea of Ellie's we quickly jumped on the bandwagon and allowed the kind MHE and OB staff to deal with all the logistics for us.

The next day, we woke up at early o'clock and took the Metro (infinitely better than London Underground) and went over to where our driver picked us up. Greeted by the monkeys we got in the car and went our way (they didn't seem too keen on us anyway).

Three and a half hours to go... It didn't take too long before we enjoyed the Indian services, with many chains, two of which I worked in back in England it didn't take too long to feel 'at home'. The fixed prices meant that for once I did not have to worry about getting shafted - making a nice change.



During the journey I have spent most of the time plugged out with my one of my favourite bands, Sublime - reminding me of how much I love my dog. This means I missed out on the uneccessary stuff like whether we are guided or not (yes we were).

As we were getting out of the car we were welcomed by a lady with severe cataracts in both eyes with a starving baby in her arms begging for money. As much as I somewhat like the idea of being cold and surgical in some aspects of my life I would hate to become oblivious to suffering and poverty...

... On a happier note, we met our guide, and actually saw Taj, being foreign, we paid 1000 rupees instead of 40 - however the 'foreigners queue' moved much faster and came with a few perks so I guess it wasn't that bad. Screened and patted down we joined the crowd who seemed to be very focused on one thing. taking a good selfie.

Not even Ellie will stand in the way of a selfie.

The building (and the ones surrounding it) was nice, the stories told by the guide were really good and enjoyable (some of which later turned out to be complete bollocks, but that's fine). The architecture was fascinating, lots of ooh's and aaaaah's from me. If you happen to be in the area then by all means spend the 1000 rupees and 2,5 hours of your life to apreciate this place. Be aware, however, that everything around it is a complete shithole.

Being a good vibrations blog I had to think many times how to finish, so here goes.

You will be very impressed with the place the local guides take you to to buy the "real deal". And you will make said guide a very, very happy man if you happen to pay the 'western' prices for whatever it may be... Of course, this has nothing to do with the presents my family and a couple of friends will recieve in the upcoming weeks ;) .

Staff Training

Staff training came very quickly and before we knew it we found ourselves in Damdama meeting the new team.

Whilst the working days were hard, with early starts, late(ish) finishes and most importantly - no aircon - I and the others ploughed on and ensured that things got done.

The best thing about the whole experience however was what happened after work. The team, consisting of all sorts of individuals from a range of backgrounds showed remarkable friendliness and both sides did everything they could to bring down the wall that is the language barrier. From inviting us to their games through to sharing passion about the local flora all the way to inviting us on a reccie for a new potential trek. This meant we had an opportunity to see and meet the local monks (for lack of a more approporiate word).

Moral of the story is, that we expected a lot of things, from dengue to shits, malaria and 50 degrees celsius. Instead, we enjoyed getting to know the aspects of Indian culture unknown even to native Indians as well as the great company of the people with whom we will spend the next year with. So from now on, I shall stop expecting and learn to "roll with it".

Tomorrows stop, Taj Mahal

One of the beautiful things about this place is the fact you will never run out of surprises.

First impressions

A few people have asked me about my first impressions of India. I cannot quite decide myself just yet. Here is a few reasons why;

1. Food is great.
2. The divide between the rich and the poor is obvious, shocking and disgusting - very eye opening and enlightening.
3. Food is really great.
4. Shop keepers will try and fleece you at most opportunities.
5. Cultural differences are just that. Including the dynamic
6. The general attitude towards health and safety is... as in this video:

Health and Safety at work... or is it?

7. You will always get your kicks when crossing the road.

Crossing the road, india style!

So far so good!