that's it

OK! So I've made it to the last week!

Delhi wasn't nearly as terrifying as I had expected. I actually enjoyed the place- even old Delhi which is pretty busy. We got to Navdanya last week, just chillaxing on a farm. I can only compare it to a camp atmosphere, so clearly, I love it here. Four of us girls went into Rishikesh a couple days ago and decided to go bungee jumping, it was unreal! To be fair though, it wasn't nearly as frightening as the jeep ride up the mountain to get there.

Here's a link to my pictures...

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150687325218923.451176.502398922&type=3&l=3c9e775373

 

Thanks again for everyone reading my blog and keeping in touch. It makes coming home a lot easier to know I've got such fantastic people to come home to :)

Namaste to Jaipur and Namaste to Dehra Dun

So our time with our host families in Jaipur is almost up!

Just finished school and had our farewell party, it was super sweet and amazing and I'll show you a wicked slideshow of our trip if you'll give me the time when I get home :)

So yesterday was our last day as a group. We did an exit survey then said our goodbyes, so sad. BUT on the positive I saw a parade of about 8 donkeys on the way to school- so that was amazing! i love those guys. We also went out to a cricket game for the first time. It was a relatively shorter game- about three hours, and it was fantastic! one of my favourite experiences! the crowd, oh the crowd was just hilarious! it was almost all young, excited, Indian men. We got there an hour early and already the stands were full, everyone standing on their seats just cheering! Once the game actually started i began to realize how similar the experience was to a catholic mass. mostly in the way that i had no idea when to stand up or to sit down... We watched the Rajasthan Royals play the Kolkuta Nightriders. There was so much music and at one point one of our girls started dancing. THIS caused a potential riot. mostly because about 100 guys got on their seats, yelling and clapping just hoping she would dance again. she didn't but the security had to come over to restore the peace.

Anyway, I'm off to Delhi tomorrow morning then going to volunteer at Navdanya (organic seed saving farm) http://www.navdanya.org/

Oh and I saw that building...

Who cares about that, lets here some cow stories!

So I guess I accidentally deleted one of my posts. It was short and sweet and related to cows so what more could you really ask for?

Well, here goes. When I was in Varanasi with my other dairy farmer friend (Stacie) we were sauntering carelessly down one of those picturesque cobblestone alleys when we saw two heifers. Aw yeah. Cows. I love those guys! (the word for cow in Hindi is 'gui') (so that was a pun) (it still wasn't that good). Anyway, these heifers had that glint in their eyes that was full of manic excitement (you know that look they get)- well to be fair I guess I really couldn't see their eyes because they were charging at us. One special thing about Indian heifers- they are not dehorned. At this point my mind flicked to the wise words of Dennis Martin 'never get between a cow and a wall, always have an exit plan' and with that I grabbed Stacie's arm and took our only exit- back out the other end of the alley. We just looked like such terrified tourists- mostly because we were! We managed to make it out to the end about a second before the cows did, they took a wide turn (cows are terrible at cornering) and managed to miss us. Anyway, that was hilariously humiliating, but the shopkeeper at the end of the alley got quite a kick out of it. Good for him- at least we were alive. So yes, that's my dangerous cow story. Otherwise the cows have been everywhere, docile (even the bulls at the train stations, like in the train stations) and content with chewing on whatever cardboard they can get their massive tongues on.

Ok, back to studying.

Happy Maple Syrup Festival!

TA-DAH!

So some of you have noticed that merely posting pictures of a dinosaur doesn't count as blogging. I would say you are wrong but here I am. Writing words and such.

Right now I'm resentfully here, blogging, on the rooftop of our host family watching the sun come up over the mountains. Ugh. It's so beautiful. But yeah, not resentfully blogging I guess just at this point it's been so long that I have no clue where to start! But here I go!

Oh so I finally got sick for a while. Nothing too bad but I remember planning to mention Damien Rice. While losing my insides to the toilet I just couldn't get that cheesy line from "Delicate" out of my head. "When there's nothing to give, well how can we ask for more?" An appropriate thought both for any brokenhearted high schooler as well as anyone suffering from food poisoning. Ok. Enough about that. I'm all better now, no worries.

Hampi was AMAZING.  First of all the rocks themselves at this UNESCO world heritage site where just mind blowing. And it takes a lot from a rock to hold my attention for so long. *These mountains where actually more epic than the one at Canada's Wonderland that the Vortex goes through.  The temples were magnificent and we were able to walk through them, then took a boat ride in a boat that resembles what a saucer (you know those sledding round plastic things) looks like. I really can't figure out what else blew my mind about this place but maybe I'll show you pictures and you'll get it.

Hampi

We had yoga back in Mysore. I can't remember if I have already mentioned this or not. Our guy was hilarious or maybe just manic. Either way,  kept me entertained. Whenever people couldn't make it into a pose he would help them out by forcing them. This may have been a dangerous technique but I loved it just to hear his maniacal laugh while the person struggled. Oh yes. Fun times with yoga. We also spent a bunch of nights just hanging out on the roof where I discovered something horrific. *Bats are actually huge, like in Magic Schoolbus. But seriously, I thought these things were birds for a good month and then someone dropped the mind bomb on me that no, those are massive bats. Makes our ones in Ontario look like little baby mice with wings.

So we took a 29 hour train up from Hydrabad (oh we went to the horse races their and ended up on the Jumbotron about 4 times= life goal fulfilled) to Varanasi. The train was a train, nothing new there but being woken up by someones alarm at 5 am, along with him singing along to it go me thinking. If someone woke me up at home that early on a train I would be upset, BUT because his alarm was Indian music it kinda made me feel like I was in Dargeeling Limited, so I let it pass.

Of course Varanasi was beautiful and amazing. It's difficult to talk about this time without sounding cheesy. Because I really felt a connection with this place. or whatever. The best moment came when we went out for a sunset boat ride on the Ganges. We went down to the cremation area (felt a little intrusive there) and then back to the main Ghat to watch this performance that is put on every night. It was full of music and dance and FIRE so *it reminded me of having the Olympic ceremonies, only every single night. The river was filled with people on boats from all over the world as well as hundreds on land. Once the sun had set we lit an arrangement of flowers and a candle and let it go in the Ganges. While you let it go you were supposed to think of everyone you love , those who have passed away and your hopes for the future. If you're still reading this blog then I'm sure that I thought of you :) It was just an amazing moment to share in while watching all the lights twinkle down the river- all of those hopes and prayers from around the world. Yeah. Then we got pizza and apple pie. (it was getting to soft, I had to throw in some more itinerary facts).

Varanasi at night

I guess that brings me to one observation about India, well Varanasi at least. People seem to live closer to life and death, not in a bad way but in a way that addresses this reality more openly. Older people will come to Varanasi to die in order to have themselves cremated there. Amongst these fires you can also see someone watching a cricket match on tv while trying to sell you some chips. The contrast is alarming but in a way the death mixes in with all the life around it. Their is also the belief regarding karma and having a future life or eternal salvation so the thoughts surrounding death differ greatly from ours at home, well, mine at least.

mmk. more fun stuff. I already mentioned that cow in Varanasi. hmm.
,
I've started to go by Katrina now because their is a famous Indian actress named Katrina Kaif. Google her.

So I'm in Jaipur now with one other girl (Lauren) in a host family. They are fantastic and have hosted for almost 20 years now. I really appreciate how comfortable and open they have been about discussing basically everything from corruption to making sure I respect my parents. Love you Mom and Dad! Yesterday Uncle (host father) told us that we can't always see or understand what God has done for us but our parents are like demigods that have openly loved and sacrificed for us. He also went on to say that westerners have brought the 'male gigolos' to India. But yeah. Great host family and we have been able to meet some of their daughters which has been fantastic. We are really happy here.

Two weeks ago some of us went to see a dance show here in Jaipur. It was put on by The American Dance Center in New Delhi called "Bad Boys of Dance" clearly it was fantastic. They were from the States and we got ushered down into the front row as soon as we got there (I figured out later it was purely because we were white, how lovely!). But yeah it was like watching a more theatrical version of So You Think You Can Dance- they were actually good but the song selection and props were hilarious. One particular dance involved the use of blowup dolls- a rather racy choice but the crowd loved it! Kept me entertained!

Last week we went to Jaisalmer, Jodpur and Udaipur. Now this train ride was special in the way that it was gross. Let me just say that I've worked maintenance as well as at a sewage plant but I have never seen anything as horrifically disgusting as the washrooms on this train. I won't go into it- but it was upsetting. Made me appreciate the relative cleanliness of all of the other trains. Ok so we went to desert areas that are absolutely beautiful. The first hotel we stayed in looked similar to an intricate sandcastle on the inside. We went on a camel ride into the desert and stayed in tents overnight. Camels are basically awesome and have massive feet. Just massive. It was so windy when we were on the camels that I can only imagine that is what a sandstorm is like. Nothing at all like the song, though we did sing it a couple times. Jodpur had a fantastic fort filled with crazy history. One thing we learnt was that in order to brake a curse that had been placed on the mountain where the fort was built a man sacrificed his life and was buried within the foundation. They didn't go on to say if the curse was broken, but seeing as it was a curse of water shortages I'm sure that mans life didn't help the fact that they were still in a desert. We also saw hand prints as we entered the main gates. They were left by the wives of rulers as they went along with their husbands funeral procession. This was the last time they would leave the gates because Sati was practised then when the wife would be burned along with her husbands body. Eerie.

Udaipur was absolutely breathtaking. We got their at night and saw thousands of lights reflecting along the water from the intricate buildings on land. This was the city where the James Bond movie Octopussy was filmed (the hotel on the water was pretty epic). I just loved this city, can't really say why. *Though the lake breeze and cool air reminded me of southwestern Ontario on a late August afternoon. We weren't able to go out to celebrate Holi (the festival with all of the colours) for our own safety but I did make it out in time to get some colour on me. Of course we have been warned that they are all made from dangerous chemicals and filled with glass- but hey, it looks pretty! *Everyone was so friendly that day, it felt similar to Christmas. Without the tree. And a lot more kids with water guns.

On Saturday (thanks for the birthday wishes :)  ) We went to explore the forts in Jaipur; I spent most of that time chasing people around. Forts would be fantastic areas for paintball, so many rooms! They even had tunnels *like the ones in Casa Loma! I went out for dinner at some fancy place in Jaipur and at the end of dinner fireworks went off (totally for my birthday and not the wedding across the street). Also my host family even got me a cake for my birthday, so sweet! On Sunday I was visiting the barefoot college of Tilolnia. This village focuses on grassroots knowledge and learning. They have a bunch of programs, one of them teaches otherwise illiterate women how to make and maintain solar powered lamps. Not only have they helped Indians but they also have a program tied with African countries. So at one point we were saying our "Namaste"s to a woman from South Sudan. Such a crazy moment. But they seem to be doing amazing things. Google Tilonia mmk?

Now I'm just back at school. Learning the things. Hindi has started again so I've got some memorisation to get done. We are also taking Natural Chemicals, English Literature, Indian Philosophy and Government and Politics (all related to India). Great profs so I'm enjoying it.

ok. enough. that is all.


*Kat Komparisons- People in my group have noticed that I tend to make comparisons to things back home which often only expose just how small my world is. It's cute.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, so it's kinda like I wrote a large blog post...

Meet Tzatziki!

Chenni

Kanyakumari (most southern point)

Reading on the train

Chillin on the train with Stay-Stay

Checkin out the rose garden in Ooty

Relaxing with Paul in the rainforest (golden mist)

Rickshaw ride in Mysore

Stuck shopping with Dylan at the Mysore market

Greeting the sun on the Ganges

Supplementary Reading

So I've been busy ok? I got a little overzealous with with the two posts in one week thing. Tuckered me right out! I'll be posting hopefully next week once we arrive in Jaipur and are living with our host families. We just finished up in Mysore, and took a 30 hour train from Hydrabad to Varanasi (current location). I'm in a colourful internet cafe looking out onto narrow cobblestone streets meant for pedestrians though I've seen them shared with motorcycles, carts and my personal favourite; water-buffalo (a surprisingly hairy creature).  I'm just a few steps from the Ganges though judging by the glowing fever showing up on my skin, the hour I spent down their in the sun is probably enough for today. We're going on a riverboat ride tomorrow morning on the Ganges to catch the sunrise. 

Anyway, my blog has no pictures and is a little sparse as of right now. Here are some of my friends blogs if you're interested! I think some of them have been keeping up with this blog thing better than me :)

http://learningtobefree-heather.blogspot.in/

http://gibblr.tumblr.com/

http://rebeccatravels.wordpress.com/

http://nathalietakesonindia.blogspot.com/2011/12/quick-intro.html

uogindia2012.tumblr.com

eringlenys.wordpress.com

Oh we are also on the UoG and Cannon websites!

http://atguelph.uoguelph.ca/2012/02/guelph-students-explore-india/

http://www.thecannon.ca/page.php?id=22&v=8005

Hunny get the kids! TWO blogposts in ONE week!

I've decided to just mention some other stuff, because I can.

Let's get into what Mysore is all about. It is one of the cleanest cities in India so that fact is much appreciated. Not only is there minimal garbage but everything is swept clean. Like everything. For instance a dirt path, or umm a dirt path is mostly what has caught my attention. Its just too funny seeing broom marks on dirt. Mysore also has this wicked palace that we are visiting this Sunday. It is only lit up on Sunday nights (just between 7:00 and 7:45) so we will have to make sure we get our rickshaws there on time.

Rickshaws in this city have been pretty all over the map for service. I've had a terrible time making it to one particular street, well they can always get me to the correct street but not the part of it I want to be at. I was with two other girls the other night and had a particularly friendly one. He noticed that some guy had offered to drive us home via his motorbike as we were getting in his rickshaw and promptly instructed us never to get on a motorbike. Not because  1) three girls would not have fit 2) we didn't know the guy 3) that could be dangerous BUT because he was not a licenced cab driver and could rip us off. Then he proceeded to pull over, take out his licence and explain how was a licenced cabby for the state of Karnataka and those unlicensed guys will just cheat you. He also continued on (once he realised which neighbourhood we lived in) to mention that Muslims will also cheat us. That's always an awkward conversation to be on the receiving end of... thanks for the advice? The neighbourhood is quite beautiful, finally walked around our dwelling today. I have no idea what jobs those people have but some of these houses put that mansion in Maryhill to shame (shout-out Maryhill!).

The place we are staying and learning at has treated us well so far, but we have had some unexpected moments. One came on one of the first days of classes. Some girls were sitting in their room only to be intruded upon by a monkey who walked across their room, picked up their bananas and left. We got to watch him eat his prize outside of our classroom (he seemed quite proud of himself). So we have learnt to keep doors closed and not to trust monkeys.

I'm typing this blog out on top of our building right now. We have yoga here three mornings a week- no big deal or anything. We just actually do our sun salutation to the rising sun. Oh that reminds me of one quote from our yoga instructor. "Now rise up and salute the sun, healer of all skin diseases". I didn't have the heart to correct him... Just so you know, my yoga is actually improving! Well, my pants ripped on me last time so that must mean I'm getting more flexible right? Right.

Big news. I've purchased my first sari (for about 7 dollars) so hopefully (once it's fitted) I will be able to pass as a real Indian girl soon!

And just in case you were worried I'd be missing food from home- I went out with my friend last night, made raymen noodles (without the sauce) threw some Ragu on it and enjoyed our makeshift spaghetti. Needless to say, it was amazing. 

This weekend we will be visiting two NGO's, one dealing with deaf children and the other focusing on children with special needs. We will also be seeing some sort of palace or, temple (?) and the Chumundi Hills.

Also, thanks for all the emails and messages, I'm missing you guys at home so it's always good to hear from you!

ok... INJAH blogging time!

It’s tough to remember everything that we’ve been up to but I will do my best to fill you in. Oh first of all, my location. I’m currently in Mysore (where I’m taking classes) sitting on my morbid yet glamorous bed. Morbid and glamorous based on its hospital like simplicity paired with the elegance of a bug net. I’ve decided these bug nets resemble the canopies of princesses- so I’m basically Cinderella.

I’ll start off with some observations I’ve been running into in this lovely vast country.

The head bobble. Just bounce your head side to side with a blank expression on your face. This translates to, well, nothing to me. It lands somewhere between an OK (I agree) and OK (I’ve noticed that you are communicating with me). It makes for confusing, entertaining and often frustrating results if you are on the receiving end. Which is why I’ve done my best to start dishing it out myself. Why give a straight answer if you can just make someone else decide for you? I like it for bargaining with rickshaw drivers and salespeople, mostly because my words don’t work well so why not try the bobble? I’m no master but I’ll get it down by the end of the trip.

Oh, and you want to know what we don’t do enough of in Canada? Horking! Public displays of loud phlegm projectiles are not gender specific nor frowned upon in India. And if they are, then maybe we just frown harder upon them in Canada. Even professors, everybody loves a good spit. Ok that’s clearly a sweeping statement but that’s how it feels most of the time.

We’ve also discovered that due to our location in a Muslim neighbourhood we have been given the opportunity to eavesdrop on the call to prayer from not only one but two mosques! So earplugs have been a necessity when it comes to trying to sleep in past, I think its 5:45 am, but I could be wrong, maybe its 6am. OH man! Right now it’s like a yelling competition; I’m totally saying that in the most culturally sensitive way possible. Anyway, this is India, noise is a constant.

One comforting thing from home has been pizza. We’ve got dominos and pizza hut here in Mysore though we have some bonus veggie options including pickled baby corn, mint and well, everything else is basically the same. Its nice to have the tastes from home, but man having such inexpensive food is dangerous. We were told it was the bread and rice that would fatten us up but I’m currently struggling to limit myself to one icecream a day. Oh and I’ve discovered that my favourite flavour of cookie is now butter- who needs to add anything else?

So like, where have I been?

Aiight, so after Kochin we headed up by train to Kundapura to a resort called Turtle Bay. This was the first clean and basically abandoned beach I’ve seen here.  Turtle Bay taught me an important lesson that I would once again learn in the Rainforest: India can be cold. Yes, cold. At night I have no idea what the temperatures went down to, but, probably below 5. I know that’s not that cold but it is when you only have a silk liner to keep you warm. So we went to the rainforest by Madicary for 4 or 5 nights. This trip was supposed to take 6 hours, but due to our bus drivers, we made it there in only 13. I have only them to thank. But that brings up bus drivers. You don’t get one, you get two, or three! I have no idea what the third one does but one drives, the other hangs out the door, whistles and argues at other drivers.  Quite the production.

We made it to Mysore about a week ago and are staying at the Organization for the Development of People. So I guess I’m being developed now, and it’s great! Our classes are similar to a high school, so not much free time. I’m taking culture & civilization, women’s studies, science & tech, chemicals in the natural environment and hindi.  Not that they use Hindi here, but it will come in useful in the North.  Ah yes the North. I guess to end this off I should mention that all my fears regarding India being really hot, full of creepy men and spicy food sound like they may be realized once we hit the top half of the country. I’ll deal with that when the time comes but for now I’m quite content here in Mysore.

Hey! Kat posted something!

Well, here it goes. Trying to blog. I have no idea how this will go simply because I'm not sure if I have enough words or time to capture what exactly India has been like so far. ALAS! I will try my best!

Just for some context, I'm currently in a internet cafe in Kochi, a gorgeous beachtown. I have a lovely breeze from a fan, a pencil locking my little green cubicle (for security?) and a uneasy feeling as my shoes are outside. I'm not the biggest fan of the whole leaving your shoes outside, but I'll do my best to respect that rule until I get hookworm :)

So right off the bat I'm just gonna say it, I was completely freaked out about coming to "INDIA". It was completely due to my fantastic imagination which had created a version of India in my head which resembled a stiflingly hot/humid/muggy climate filled with constant and overwhelming poverty combined with, um, super creepy dudes? I know I'd been told that it wasn't going to be anything like that, but yeah, that's what I went with. And to tell you the truth, when I got off the plane and hit the streets of Chennai (Madras) at 1 am, I wasn't exactly convinced that I was wrong. It was muggy, with people everywhere (well, it was an airport) and the idea of crossing the road with no crosswalk seemed quite daunting. It wasn't until the next day on our first tuk tuk (rickshaw) ride that I finally relaxed and could see what India really is like.

Sure, that traffic is NUTS! Like, rickshaws, motorbikes and cars everywhere. But after a riding around with our enthusiastic driver for about an hour, I had convinced myself that death was not indeed as imminent as it had first seemed. There is a system, it does not involve nearly as many stop signs, turning lanes or lights but people get around. Our group has been trying its best to fit in though our second stop in Pondecherry (Pudcherry) had a reasonably busy road outside of our hotel, we took so long to cross that one passerby actually helped us across the street. That was hilarious though slightly embarrassing, but I'd say I can successfully cross the street now. Proud? :)

Oh yes, the food. I definitely expected unbearable hot and spicy curry, non-stop, all the time. Surprise surprise I was wrong. The curry isn't that spicy. I'm actually ok with the food. AND haven't been sick. YEAH TAKE THAT INDIA! (now I'm just asking for it). I'd say the majority of the group is/has gotten sick. If you've watched any zombie apocalypse movies you would understand how fast everyone has gotten hit by some sort of virus. People have been dropping left and right, so travel days/nights on trains and buses have been less than pleasant for a lot of our group.

We've also done stuff. A lot of stuff. I will not tell you all of the stuff. BUT my favourite 'stuff' has been Auroville. It's this town about 8 km from Pondecherry that is basically a commune. So all a bunch of nice stuff like spirituality and organic crops lalalala, THEN we walked to go and see a 'scenic view' of the actual village. I was expecting to see, a village? or like some gardens? What I saw was a GIANT golden golfball shaped building that apparently contains the world's largest crystal. oh yeah, this commune just sauntered across that delicate line between commune and cult. I actually couldn't wrap my mind around it. haha.


This is getting long, you don't have to finish it. Maybe take a break? Read the rest tomorrow? Space it out because I cannot promise I will be updating all that often due to lack of internet access and umm.. being too busy with awesome things? haha.

One thing I have to mention is how famous I am. You may not be aware, but I, Katrina Elizabeth Martin, am white! YES! It is true! Hence my fame. I think I've taken well to it; I allow some pictures and even say hi to my fans. But actually, I've never had so many keen men/boys come up to me/everyone i'm with, and ask for a picture. And it's by no means just the girls, I'd almost say our boys get more attention. The most hilarious instance of this occurred up in Ooty (the highest point in Southern India) where we were taking pictures in the botanical gardens. There were a group of school boys nearby who clearly wanted to join in, Becca asked if they wanted to get in our picture and they just flipped. Like, freaked out. I've never seen such violent jubilation. Just jumping and pushing each other while yelling 'yeeahhhh'. Even their teacher came over with the same enthusiasm and pushed one of his students out of the picture so he could have a better spot. It was too funny, slightly alarming, but man, so funny. People also just say hi and start taking our picture, or my personal favourite, just take a picture whilst pretending to text. I decided one stealthy way to demonstrate how strange this feels to the perpetrators was to simply start taking pictures of them. This foolproof plan somehow backfired as these guys were THRILLED that I wanted pictures of them. From now on I will only use mock photography for good, not evil.

Ha ha, ok, this is one anecdote that I know will be gracing my friends blogs, so I guess I should also include it. While in Kanyakumari ( or Marui) we were just sitting in the lobby of our (seaside view with patio) hotel when a indian man asked us where we were from. We said Canada, and then the communication was confused. I COULD HAVE SWORN HE SAID "where is that", so along with some others we started to swiftly explain that it's in North America, then i said, 'above the US'. Helpful right? Anyway he meant where in Canada do we live cause it turns out he is a prof who has lived in Richmond Hill for forty years. Oops. Sometimes you can only laugh at yourself? I find myself doing that a lot here.

Our train rides have been interesting, most have been overnight. We took them from Pondecherry to Kanyakumary (the most southern tip where three oceans meet). Then to Coimbator (textile capital of India, aka, I didn't find it too impressive, though I did have a massage chair in my room so no complaints) and then to Kochin (Kochi- where we are now).  Next we are off to Turtle Bay,  a rainforest and finally Mysore (where we will be in school for a month). But yes, the trains. I've been lucky enough to have traveled on trains in Ukraine so I didn't find these to be much different. Though they are not as spacey or as clean as the Ukrainian trains. There are three bunks on top of one another and two across the aisle. I kinda feel like a princess when take out my silk sleeping bag liner, eye mask and travel pillow out on those trains, but you want to know how I also feel? Comfortable. yeahhh. Well except for the extra attention we get, it's really only on trains where I've been off put by the unabashed stares we receive on trains, mostly because I've always found it strange when someone is staring at me when I wake up. Maybe that's just me?

That's all for now. I'm off to another beach (this time I think I can actually go in the water!)

Love and miss you all.

Keep safe.

This will be quick! But I made it! India is beautiful and hot (but not too hot) so far. I've just been exploring Chennai today, enjoying the scenery, driving techniques and amazing views! Miss you all :)