Couch to ATHLETE!

Our Bed for the Night Our trip in India included several flights around the country, countless hours in our vans, and an overnight train to a wedding. Since I have been back, people have asked me what my favorite moment was in India, probably expecting me to say seeing the Taj Mahal. While the Taj Mahal was spectacular, and certainly a highlight of the trip, the real response to the big question is that my favorite memory is of the 'train ride'. OK, so, let me be fully transparent here. I can't say that the sleeper car was my favorite experience, but I can say the experience will always be etched in my brain, and will be remembered as a great international adventure. So, while I was preparing for this trip, I paid close attention to our modes of transportation, and was knowledgeable about the weather. These two things are very important for a person who is traveling with special medication that needs to be refrigerated (but I'll leave that for another post). So...

The soundtrack from the van while we were driving around India: Person A: "Oh my, and ENTIRE family is on that bike..." Three people shout: "COW!!!!!!!!!"  Person B: "Look at that scenery." Three different people shout: "MONKEY!!!!!!" Person A then asks: "Do you have any aspirin." A combination of any three people shout: "DOG!!!!!!!!!!" Me: "How far is the next place?" And then another combination of people shout: "GOAT!!!!!!" And repeat... No seriously, repeat for 18 days... We all had an understanding that cows are holy in India, but it wasn't until we got there that we truly understood how holy the cow, and goat, and monkey and dog truly are... On the first day of our trip we encountered the first of the cows hanging out in the middle of the highway, while all of the cars gingerly snaked around the cow. In my mind, I thought it would make much mor...