Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!

Ok, so more like elephants and monkeys and deer. This past week I went to Jim Corbett National Park with other people from my city. It was so much fun! On the way there, we accidentally took a detour, which turned out to be really cool (for me anyways) as we saw village India that I've not seen before. There were no other cars on the road, mostly just ox carts, so I feel like I saw a place not many foreigners get to see. Once we got there, we stayed at a beautiful resort by the river. It was incredibly peaceful- no honking or other sounds of Indian cities. We met lots of other workers living in our area of the country. I made new friends and got to hear lots of awesome stories. We had some meetings- taking time to think about things we overlook in our busy days. I was able to take a break from language learning and do things like read, lay in a hammock (I felt like I was back in Brazil), play badminton, and sit by the bonfire. The food was delicious- I think I ate more in that one week than I did the whole time I've been in India haha! We even had a Thanksgiving meal- it was so kind of the staff to cook us mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, and green beans, among other things- a little taste of home! We even had smores one night!

But the real adventure of the week was the safari (hence the animal references). I was determined to see a tiger, but unfortunatley, the tigers didn't seem to care about my wishes, and stayed hidden. We actually went on two safaris! The first was on an elephant. I'd never been that close to one before and didn't realize how high they are- it was a little scary, especially going uphill. We saw a deer and some eagles, but apparently if we had gone a few hours earlier, we would have seen tigers! But, it was really cool going through the jungle on an elephant! Then later in the week we took a jeep safari. Still no tigers, but we saw lots of deer, some monkeys (although I see those everyday), some hens, and a jeckle. And we felt like true safari people, standing in our jeep going through the jungle. During the safari, all the jeeps stop at a food stand for a chai break. There are tons of monkeys hanging around, waiting to get your food. Now, these monkeys are not sweet and cute like in America. No, they are pure evil and terrifying. As I was walking down the path back to our jeep, I was idiotic and decided to take out my bag of chips, thinking that since we were in a crowd they wouldn't do anything. I was wrong! One of them saw me and leaped at me. I've never been so scared as in that moment. It reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean when the monkey bears it's fangs. But by the grace of God he didn't attack me. I leaped behind my friends (nice of me huh?) and I have no idea what happened next, but he didn't land on any of us. I tucked my chips into my bag and dashed for the jeep, thankful I had survived the monkeys!!! Other than that one instance, it was a great retreat. It was refreshing and fun, and I am so thankful that I was able to spend my Thanksgiving at Jim Corbett Park with such wonderful people!

They may look cute but they're vicious!!!

About to go on the safari!