It has been 5 days since I returned from India and yet I haven’t written anything about my trip. I’m afraid you’ll have a wait a bit longer. But I have something even better than my perspective on the trip. What you ask??? Well, on one of the last days in India I was having lunch with some friends and decided to ask them to write a little something in my journal. I had no idea what was to come but it turned out that Chris along with the help of Ben and Kelly ( photos to come at a later date) penned out a toast to everyone on the trip and also our experiences. So without further ado, here is a glimpse ( and a damn good one at that) of what we went thru during our time in India.

Here’s to the glasses and the gasses
and the smiling orphan faces
to muddy river boat rides
and Mexican family ties.

To talk of maria and talk of maria
and talk of maria and talk of maria
to copious amounts of medicine pills
the dire smells and squat toilet spills.

To monkeys, camels, and bears oh my!
but no hash this time to make us high
to banana leaves and cross legged pain
to dahl and veggies oh god, not again.

To rickshaw rides that near claimed our lives
to the men who offered their daughters and wives
not one nor three not five but seven
days of diarrhea; that was John’s heaven.

To the beggars we saw from rickshaw’s too small
our favorite the man with one giant ball
to the orphans we gave Christmas cheer
but lost our money on Bunti’s beer.

To dirty shoes and omiyage
the India blues and new words, eh?
to thai pants and smog, and the panskura mob
to the friends we made with no parents at all.

To the mainland JETs unknown at the start
who became by our trials okinawan in part
we came to India for a selfless cause
yet gained friendship that touched us all.

But where would we be without a dedication of sorts
to our mates, tomodachi, our beloved cohorts
to Elvira and Cory and Lauren and John
whose planning and strength we came to lean on.

To Alie and Blair, Thulani and Fro
Okinawa bound, I hope time will show
to Alicia and Marshall the south’ners from ‘ginia
who gave the orphans soapstone and San’na.

To Sachiko, Caleb, and Dan who we saw
only in panskura, for a time too small
to Reyhan and Linda and Becky who came
as guests to our group, but part just the same.

To Kelly and Craig and Yasemin Çakmak
and Elina who taught us how to “beat off”
to Andy and Ben (both the small and the tall)
the former of who had a massage of their balls.

Myself I would simply just like to say
what an honor it’s been each step of the way
so i raise this glass without fear of boast
to the best group of people I may ever toast.

Written by Chris Madole with the help of Kelly Ann Wiebe and Big Ben Coune.