We’re in India!  Since we’ve left you all hanging for so long as to our whereabouts, we figured we’d start off with a recap.   In March of 2009, we sold most of our stuff  (including our kayaks – proof of our seriousness), moved out of our apartment in Salt Lake City, quit our jobs, and worked our way through a long, long to-do list in preparation for a year of wandering the planet.  We want to explore the world, and hope to tailor our journey around opportunities to volunteer as we go (suggestions welcome!).  We are traveling with 2 like-minded friends, Steve and Kjrstin.  We are extra grateful to our families, for all the help behind the scenes, and to our friends for enthusiastically cheering us on!  We promise we’ll have photo galleries and more cool stuff up soon.  Come along with us….

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During our time in Hyderabad, we were befriended by Sesi, an amazingly generous lady, who invited us to tag along with her for 2 days while she checked up on some of the rural NGO’s, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, that her organization sponsors and fundraises for.  The first projects we visited were an overnight train trip from Hyderabad, on the coast.  The group is working to improve education opportunities in small fishing villages that were affected by the 2004 tsunami.  They train teachers and provide teaching materials to help the kids learn.  The kids were so excited to have visitors, and to show off all the things they’d been learning.  At one school they surrounded Heather on the floor to sing very loudly, the little English songs they’d been learning.  We visited about 8 schools and after-school centers.
The second day, we went 5 hours by train and an hour by bus further south, to visit an NGO that provides training for women, teaching them marketable skills like sewing and computers, and then teaching them how to train each other and form community support groups.  They also provide preschools and teacher training, to give the kids of the villages a headstart on the normal government education.  The 6 villages we visited with this project were much more rural, and most of the kids were much more nervous about the “whiteys,” but quickly warmed up, and loved it when we taught them all how to high-five.  We received incredibly warm, elaborate, ceremonious welcomes at all the villages, by the entire village.  And were kept very well-hydrated on plenty of fresh coconut juice in every one.  It was an amazing experience.

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India is busy and crazy, but for all those who insist on worrying about us, we actually had a very soft landing here.  Steve Walter’s has 2 siblings and their families who live in Hyderabad, India, who graciously welcomed all of us into their homes and have taken really good care of us.  Between shopping, seeing sights, wandering around the city, eating really yummy food in and out, getting henna-ed like we had something to celebrate, it’s been really fun to meet lots of new people and to have willing knowledgeable hosts to see and do cool things with.  My favorite place that we visited in Hyderabad was Golconda Fort, because it combines the awesome huge boulders of the local landscape with a castle-like fort right out of a fairytale.  Hyderabad doesn’t see very many foreigners, so my other favorite thing was watching tall, blonde, Spence always getting swarmed by excited locals who wanted to shake his hand, take pictures, and practice their English on him. Ha.

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A visit to some very, very ornate tombs in Hyderabad, that Steve’s sister Kim knew of. Well worth it once we finally found them. 16 photos.

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For a day trip, Chait Reddy and Ravi Settlem took us all to their old college stomping grounds – Warangal – to explore some ancient Hindu temple ruins. Some were maintained, some were hidden and crumbling. We also went looking for some old Jain ruins and carvings and to a temple in current use.  25 photos.

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The serene burial grounds of the bigwigs who also built and lived in Golconda Fort – The Qutb Shahi Kings. Surrounded by landscaped (sort of – dry season, maybe?) gardens. A quiet, cool afternoon spent wandering through domed mausoleums and other buildings.  7 photos.

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A sixteenth century fortress, ingeniously built with huge stone blocks, in and around the existing boulders. Probably our favorite place in Hyderabad, because it seemed like a castle right out of a fairy tale.  22 photos.

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Or a tree, for that matter.  We love to do it, but we weren’t planning to do much rock-climbing on this trip, for lack of space to bring the gear…but the Walters had other ideas, and are happily sharing their stuff.  And good thing too, because the city of Hyderabad is built in, and around, and using lots and lots of huge boulders.  Unfortunately, lots of them are getting blasted as the city sprawls, which is a shame because they add such character to the place.  There is a group here, trying to raise awareness.  Check ‘em out at www.SaveRocks.org.  And while they are still there, we will climb them.  By the way, I saw a guy the other day, scale a steel electrical pole like it was a coconut tree, and while he hung on with one hand and two bare feet, he used the other hand to fix something with the wires, which were sparking all the while.  Hmm.  I’ll stick to trees and rocks.

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A relaxing day in, while all the girls got hands and feet decorated with henna. 7 photos

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Shopping, walking, exploring the city, and hanging out during our first week in Hyderabad, India, where we stayed to visit with Steve’s family living there. 11 photos.

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  Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 • 12:58 pm
So, we're back in the USA... ...for now – and these are the adventures we still need to fill you in on: rice farmin' in Malaysia, wedding fun with the fam, Ouray Ice Climbing Fest 2010....and more if we keep procrastinating this!

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Spence & Heather...
...are two like-minded souls who have an itch to really live, no matter where they are. They are currently living out of a backpack, traveling the world in search of good experiences and adventure. This is their personal blog, and everyone is welcome!

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