Technology is killing our souls.

Okay, so the title was a bit ominous and extreme... but I have been thinking about this for a while now, as I sumbmitted a project on friendship in Psychology last year. It's interesting how Facebook and other social medias have allowed us to hold on to our pasts with everything we have. Like... how many people do you have on Facebook that you haven't seen or contacted in the past 5 years? Why are they on your Facebook in the first place?

Surely these networks should be for keeping in contact with people you see often. Keeping in contact with those best friends who slipped through the net and moved abroad. Or friends at Uni you met, who lived abroad to begin with. Or for those friends you don't have time to see often, due to work, family, or other commitments.

Instead, it's become a platform of stalking your old classmates who have had babies, got "fit" or married. The friends that put on weight, or lost it. The people who are volunteering in Africa, and then the ones who share political posts about Donald Trump. 

It's not necessarily a bad thing that social media is so advanced; how would we know these things otherwise? Human nature is often about being curious, and comparing your own life with other people's (trust me.. I'm a psychologist ;D). But do you really want that person to share your life experiences, if you haven't seen them for more than 5 years? They are doing exactly the same to you; they are sitting with their current friends saying "look at this person I went to school with... look what they've turned out like!".

If you are reading this, and you haven't seen me in more than 5 years, don't take this personally. I'm not saying I don't want you in my life in any way. Those people who were so special to me once; I love being able to see what you are up to, and share in the beauty that your life has become. And I am also glad that you can share in my life too! I mainly mean those people who you didn't really know in school. Or those who friendships that didn't end as well. Or people who you never really got on with in the first place...

I am just finding the whole concept of Facebook strange at the moment. We are using it as a way to promote products, share pointless memes and vines (albeit they are often very funny). Don't get me wrong; Facebook is an amazing tool. It's innovative, and modern and reaches out to a large population of people. It's genius really. I just sometimes wonder about peoples motives when they use it.

I just think back to those days where you would wait a week for a reply to a handwritten letter you'd sent, but how beautiful that was when it finally arrived. A tag in a Facebook status, a mention in a tweet, or even a private inbox is just not the same.

Just something to ponder... feel free to leave a comment if you disagree/ agree... I'm always interested to hear other people's opinions!

Dear the man I met on the bus

Dear the man I met on the bus,

I know you will probably never read this. But I hope that this reaches you in some way.

I was touched by your story about your wife, and felt it needed to be shared. After a light hearted discussion about the buses, you opened up to me, a stranger, all about your late wife, and how you toured America's National Parks and collected the information leaflets at each one. I just want to let you know that I've made it my personal mission to do the same with my partner (although he doesn't know it yet!). The passion you told the story with was inspiring, and made my day. You spoke about your wife with such happiness and love, and I admire that. I have told many people about that bus journey, and have written this as a reminder to myself, and to share the story wider. There are good people in the world. People who will chat to a stranger as if they were a friend.

I saw you sat on your balcony the other day. I hope this doesn't sound like I was stalking you. I simply saw you as I drove past. You didn't see me, but I was moved... You looked so happy sat watching the sunset, and I hope that what I saw was a true reflection of how you were feeling at that moment. You are such a friendly person who made that one particular bus journey (and I have been on MANY) something to remember and treasure. So I thank you for that.

Love,

The Girl with Purple Hair

India 1.0 - Food

I landed back in the UK on Sunday night, after a heck of a lot of delays and two long flights. Almost missed my connecting flight from Abu Dhabi to London, and lost a Fitbit in the process (whilst trying to carry a roll-mat across the globe...). It was all-around an interesting experience. I want to do several blog posts about my month in India. I want to tell you all about the kids there, all about the food and amazing things I ate, all about the experiences I had, the temples I visited, the Campus I stayed on... I just have so much to tell you all, and so many stories, if you are interested in reading them. I won't post them all at once, because that would be madness, but my plan is to write as many as possible over the next few days, so they are fresh in my mind and as genuine as I can get.

I had an absolutely amazing time in India... I saw some beautiful temples, spent time with the most fantastic bunch of children I think I have ever met, stayed in various stunning locations throughout Tamil Nadu (the south east state of India), even visited Kerala (just) for a day, and most importantly... I ate a ridiculous amount of wonderful, and beautiful food. 

I think this blog post will be about food, as I think it is probably the easiest to describe, but there is a lot to go through, so grab a cup of tea and get comfy if you plan to stick this out until the end! I won't describe everything I ate, as that would take weeks. But key things that you might not know about, and pictures will be provided. 

Spiciness rating: 1 = milder than yoghurt, 5 = medium at Nandos, 10 = blow your brains out. I have eaten India food all my life, so if my ratings are off... I can only apologise. Everyone's taste buds are different! Things that were a 10 at the beginning of the month, can become a 4 by the end... so bare with me.

Drinks

Bit of an odd one to start with, but I had some amazing drinks that I thought you would like to see... so here goes!

Lassi

Served in a lot of restaurants, it is a yoghurt-like drink. Can be flavoured (e.g. banana, like the one in the picture, or mango), but generally comes either sweet (with sugar), or plain. Very yummy, and very classic.

Pineapple juice

Needed a special mention; it is literally just fresh pineapple juice, but served in a little shop just off the main high street in Madurai. It was 35p, and made with pineapple and crushed ice, as far as I was aware. Amazing!

Cold Coffee

From the same shop as above; it is a beautiful coffee milkshake type thing. It tastes like caramel coffee, with sugar, ice-cream and cream. It is so tasty; and was only 50p!

Masala tea

A tea made with spices. Tastes a bit like chai tea. Often served on the street in small paper cups for around 15p, but the best one I had was made with fresh spices in a restaurant in Kodaikanal. Yummy!

Sauces and accompaniments

Coconut chutney 

As it sounds; coconut chutney is a chutney made with coconut (sorry to state the obvious!). It often doesn't actually taste of coconut, but has the texture of liquidised desiccated coconut sometimes. It looks like something that will make your dish milder, and this is generally the case. However, in some, more local, restaurants/ cafes, this chutney can often have a bit of a kick, so be careful!

Spiciness rating: around a 4; taking into account that it is sometimes a 2, and less likely, an 8. 

Sambah

Sambah is a sauce/ gravy served with loads of things in India. It is orangey in colour, and usually contains a lady's finger, some other vegetables and many spices. 

Spiciness rating: 2-6. Generally around a 4. 

Tamarind/ green chilli with coconut chutney

I ate this a few times in various places, but can still not tell you exactly what it is. Have since had a google, and was correct in saying it is tamarind, but is often mixed with coconut. It is a sauce that is often spicy, but tastes of chilli, and goes well with dosa (see below). 

Savoury Foods

Masala Dosa

This is a staple food in India. Southern India specifically; as you wont find it in the North (or in most Indian restaurants you will have visited in your life). It is a rice-based crepe/ pancake, filled with potatoes and sometimes onion, marinaded in spices (it's a yellow colour). I ate this as breakfast, lunch and dinner (although not all on the same day!). It was often served with a coconut chutney (see above), a sauce called sambah (see above), and sometimes a green tamarind-type chilli sauce (also see above). Can also have dosa plain (see below).

Spiciness rating: 4-6, depending on where you go, and what time of day it is. Had one that was around an 8.  

Vadai

A savoury donut, that was described to also taste a bit like a potato croquette. It usually has mustard seeds in the batter, and served with sambah or coconut chutney.

Spiciness rating: 5. But this again depends on where you have it.

Idli

Only had this once, and I had it for breakfast. I was actually disappointed with this one dish, however I will still explain what it is, in the hope that you will find a more appetising one (I've had many in England that were lovely). Idli is a rice cake, but not in the way you will know of, like we have them here in England. It is soft, and it literally a savoury cake, made with rice flour. Again, served with sambah and coconut chutney, it is often served as breakfast in South India.

Spiciness rating: the cake itself; 1. The chutneys; see above.

Paneer 65

Okay, so this was my all-time favourite dish, ever. I absolutely loved this. Paneer is a type of Indian cheese similar to halloumi in consistency. It doesn't melt, but is usually served after having been deep-fried, so it has a crispy outer layer. It is then added to sauces like Tikka Masala, Korma, etc (in the North). Paneer 65 on the other hand, is the vegetarian, Indian equivalent to fried chicken (sort of...). It is cheese, deep-fried in a spicy batter. That's it. Cheese. In BATTER. It is so divine, I have attached several photos for your viewing pleasure... please enjoy.

Spiciness rating: 5.

 This one is actually Mushroom 65 - but just so you can see it's awesomeness, this was also incredible, so I have attached it. 

Breads

Laccha Paratha/ Parata/ Parotta

A bread that is served in a spiral shape, and is easily tearable. It is made with wheat flour, but is created slightly differently to parathas you may have had in England/ northern Indian paratha. It is my favourite bread in South India, and I will rave about it as much as I can.

Spiciness rating: 1. 

Stuffed Paratha

Similar to the above, but obviously, this paratha has things in it. You can get a million different types: masala (curried), aloo (stuffed with potato), paneer (stuffed with cheese), other vegetable parathas and meat filled ones. They are all delicious. I only tried a paneer paratha, but it was absolutely incredible. It tastes like a ray of sunshine on a rainy day (slightly dramatic, but thought I'd try and spice things up... mind the pun). See for yourself in the picture below- it was hot from the pan and absolutely delicious. You can buy stuffed paratha in England that you stick in the toaster... they are gorgeous.

Spiciness rating: depends on the stuffing, but around a 3. 

Chapati/ Chappati

Typical Indian flatbread that you may have seen in England. Similar consistency to a wrap, made with whole-wheat flour. Interesting story: I went to a cafe which served unlimited chappati, with various sauces and gravy. They just kept bringing them over!! All for only £1.10... ahh I miss India.

Spiciness rating: 1. 

Naan

Do I need to explain this?

Spiciness rating: unless topped with chilli, 1.

Dosa

As described slightly above, it is a rice based pancake. Often served slightly crispy, it can be plain and dipped in the chutneys/ sauces mentioned above.

Spiciness rating: 1. 

If you made it this far, you deserve a medal. Because I genuinely don't expect a single person (expect maybe Dom... and a few others from the trip) to get this far. And if they do, they are also troopers. But I hope you enjoyed this huge snapshot into Indian food, and keep your eyes peeled for another installment in the Sharla India Chronicles ;)

Bucket List 2.0

So it has recently come to my attention that I have never written down my Travel bucket list; i.e. all the places I want to visit in my life.

At the end of the day, life is short. We have to grab it by both hands, and experience everything. So, without further ado, here is a list of the top 25 places I want to visit in my lifetime.

1. New York (preferably at Christmas; but also during autumn).
2. California
3. Thailand (anywhere in Thailand... just anywhere)
4. Bali
5. Sydney
6. Las Vegas
7. Italy (just all of it; Vienna, Rome... take me everywhere!)
8. United Arab Emirates (I need some Abu Dhabi and Dubai in my life please)
9. Berlin
10. Amsterdam (Anne Frank museum, canals and bikes... please!)
11. Poland (I want to visit Auschwitz... but also experience Poland too!!)
12. Norway; mainly the Fjords, but again... general Norway too)
13. Copenhagen (been to Denmark before as my brother lives there... but lets visit the capital city!)
14. Nepal
15. India (obviously already visiting the south, but want to tour around India, do the north and other bits of the south too... it is a sub-continent after all!)
16. South Africa
17. Egypt (pyramids... duh?)
18. Morocco (I like homous ;D)
19. Japan (cherry blossom... all the cherry blossom. And I would LOVE to see a real life Geisha; as Memoirs of a Geisha is one of my all time favourite books)
20. San Francisco
21. Prague
22. Paris (again)
23. Barcelona
24. Greece (Santorini especially)
25. Rekiyavik (I want to see the Northern Lights... doesn't really bother me which country I see them in though, but Iceland is supposed to be beautiful!) 

Hope this blog post was interesting... I know it's basically just a list, but thinking of all these beautiful places has made me super excited for getting out there and exploring.

An interest in witchcraft...

... well sort of.

FIRST IMPRESSION: Witch Blemish Stick

So I was in Sainbury's yesterday with my housemate, and was looking for some kind of face wash I could use in the shower. I have make-up remover and stuff that I use on an evening (and morning sometimes....), but wanted something to help with the occasional breakout. I picked up this beautiful little witch (hence the witchcraft title...) blemish stick (because all the face washes were so expensive), and was so shocked. Seriously... it is like witchcraft; IT'S MAGIC.

The product is a witch hazel block that applies to the face in a similar way to that 4head headache product thing. It's almost like one of those rock salt deodorant type thing, but soft. It applied like a gel? Anyway, whilst difficult to explain what it feels like on the face, it is easy to explain what it did to my face.

I applied a few layers to one of my blemishes on my face on the evening, and woke up to find it was literally almost gone. Without a trace. And I swear, just now I applied some over it again just to see, and half an hour later it was gone. This is all within like 12 hours of having first applied it. I am so so impressed with this product so far, and am giving it:

For only £1.30 (although it was half price I believe), it has done an absolutely superb job. I will keep you updated in case my face suddenly comes out in hives or whatever, but for now, good job Witch!

I'VE BEEN STABBED (again); India Update 3

So, just to reiterate, I was only stabbed by a needle. 

Just another quick update whilst I am sat in a break in a lecture... I had another jab on Monday; my second Twinrex (combined Hep A and B). This one didn't hurt nearly as much as the Typhoid one. No-where near. I also organised a cake sale (finally) with a few of the girls on the trip. If you are a Loughborough student, and are around the library next Tuesday (which, come on, you should be because exams are very soon...), then come and buy a cake from us! As I say every post, every penny counts. And this way, you get something for your money too!!

I'VE BEEN STABBED... India Update 2

... with a needle. Two actually. I wanted to clear that up from the beginning!

So a quick India update. Can you believe its only 93 days until I fly to India for a month? I got my itinerary yesterday, and I've genuinely never been so excited for a trip, ever. It's going to be fabulous, and I can't wait!

On another note, I got two injections for the trip. Typhoid (which hurts like you wouldn't believe) and the Combined Hep A and B shot. I have another in one month, and a final dose in 6 months (after I get back). 

I'm also on the hunt for a cake sale outside the library around exam time... so many things to arrange and so little time. But for now... a link to my JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/sharla-bennison. 

It would mean the absolute world to me if you could spare a £1, or just give it a share so that people can see it. If you would like to learn more about the charity I am going to help, please click here: http://www.russfoundation.in/index.php 

Thank you. Your views mean the world to me!

Ten crappy things about being in a long-distance relationship

Being in a long distance relationship is hard work. Constant effort is needed by both parties to make sure it lasts a long time. Here is a (non-exhaustive) list of reasons it is pooey to be in a long-distance relationship:

1. They are never around for a hug (or kiss) when you need it the most. 
2. Fitting in a Skype into two very busy schedules can often be quite difficult (especially when she is addicted to PLL and he is loving How I Met Your Mother)
3. So many arguments about when you will next get to see them/ the fact that you haven't spoken properly for a while. 
4. Text messages always sound more blunt than they intend, or than it would in person, therefore arguments start following that too. 
5. Netflix and chill is nonexistent. We've all tried the "3, 2, 1 PLAY" situation; trying to get the show playing at the same time whilst on Skype. But lag is a genuine problem, and having a Skype call plus streaming Netflix means that neither will be good quality and someone will end up moaning. 
6. When you do eventually see each other, although you are excited and happy, there is always the thought at the back of your mind that you have to leave them for a few weeks again...
7. You will get sick of hearing about people who feel they don't see their boyfriend enough (3 times a week isn't enough?? Try once a month!).
8. However your friends will eventually get sick of hearing the same old stories about how you miss your other half too...
9. Having the most amazing summer together, seeing each other nearly every day and doing exciting things... then having to go back to seeing each other once a month. This is literally the hardest thing ever (and repeats with every holiday).
10. You will constantly miss them. Every time you see a couple in public, you'll miss them. Every time you eat a specific food, you will want them to be there eating it with you. Every time you see something they would find funny, you wish they were there to see it. 

But long-distance relationships do last. They can work, as long as you both put in the effort. Because nothing is as exciting as that feeling you feel when you see your other half after a long month without them. Awww.

*pukes*