Why Being a Tour Guide is Possibly One of the Coolest Jobs Ever!

Hey Guys! I hope everyone's having a great week. 

A week ago I hung out in Munich and worked for a couple days. Aside from working, I had a voice lesson (so great!), hung out with an old friend, and did a little (window-)shopping ;) 

I absolutely had so so so much fun though! That was definitely one of my favorite trips to Munich. First of all the weather was perfect (so ideal for giving tours in the city), and the tours were awesome! And I got to thinking, you know, this is one of the best jobs you could ever have (even if you're shy like me!). Here are some of my favorite reasons.

1. You can do this nearly everywhere in the world. People are always traveling, and if you're really lucky, you could be one of those guides who lives at home but gets to travel with the groups. Yes yes yes!

2. The people! Yes the people. I'm very shy and can be super introverted. But this job has really pushed me out of my comfort zone, in talking for almost three hours to groups of upwards of 60 people! And when you really give your best, it pays off. The people are happy, they're laughing, they wanna get lunch with you, etc. A couple from Siberia once gave me a magnet from their small russian hometown. So awesome!

3. When you give a great tour, people love it. And as result, you leave work with more energy than you started with. Hellooooo!

4. If you live in an interesting place where people come to visit, you can literally get paid to talk for a few hours about your favorite place. It's the most natural thing in the world! And if you want to live somewhere interesting, this is totally an option!

5. If you live in a place where tourists often come, but so far there are not really any tours, then you have a huge advantage on the tourism market in your location and could start your own company. Hello entrepreneurialism! And there are tours for nearly everything. Cheese, Beer, Chocolate, Fishing, Bungee Jumping, Bridges (yes there is a "swinging bridge tour" in Maui, Hawaii), etc.

6. Lots and lots and lots of free time. In my company, a guided tour of Munich lasts about 3 hours a day. Generally each guide would only work one shift per day, and not every day. And so you take 3 hours to work and hang out with awesome people from all over the world, and can totally get ice cream/go to the gym/hang out with the besties/bake that cake for Omi/whatever else afterward!

So I'm going back this weekend for even more! And now I must say, I look forward more and more to my trips to my european hometown. Why? Because I lived there for almost two years. I know where my favorite bars are. I know which restaurant is my favorite. I know where to find the least overcrowded but still cool beer garden. And best of all, I know the best places to find a hot deal on a pair of Manolo's (the best shoes known to man!).

This past weekend was also excellent. The weather was super beautiful. But I caught a cold, yay me! Being sick in gorgeous weather is also possibly one of the cruelest forms of torture ever. It's like one big massive hangover (minus the over 'alcoholized' feeling. but you still feel gross). The sun is too bright, the shade is too cold but the covers on the bed are too hot, you can't smell anything thanks to sinus congestion, you can't taste anything because you can't smell, and because your whole head is quite literally full of sickness crap, you can't think straight (or see very well) to save your life. Thankfully I'm mostly over it though, now that it's cold and raining outside. My life is like a trying-to-be-a-comedy-but-not-that-funny movie. But I still have fun though ;)

talk to you sooooooon (and get a job as a tour guide!)

Much Love

India

Music for the murky weather: Wait by M83

The One Thing That Changed Everything

Okay, I know for a while all I've written about is how wonderful life is here. But there is something that bothers me (here's my blog-rant). Central Europe is so traditional, that it makes it  conservative! I'm looking at you, Southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. You should have seen the way people looked at me in High School (in Munich) when my hair was slightly tinted powder pink. It looked awesome (and I felt awesome)! But I was the shock of the century, with all my non-Bavarian conservative a.f. ways. Then I went a few kilometers south to Italy where everyone loved my hair! Hello fashion capital- they know what's going on! 

Well most people know I had platinum blondest blonde hair for a while- starting in spring 2012 'til a few months ago. That was also a terror for my poor fellow Austrians. When I flew to America, all I got was compliments on my striking hair. Especially because I have such dark features, the contrast was pretty cool. Eventually, my closest friends told me "the rules 101" of living here in the country (which Innsbruck practically is). Be as natural as possible. That means- natural hair, no makeup (except mascara)- like Abercrombie-Uniform-Style. So I have to pretend to be an Abercrombie girl for as long as I live in Austria and am "un-famous." I was also told that once I'm successful and have made a name for myself, then I can do whatever I want. But for now, I have no name and no reputation, which means that people will make up my reputation for me based on what they see.

I'm sorry guys who say "natural beauty is the best." In High School in America, that's more what I was known for. But the amount of makeup I wore in America would be considered at least outlandish here. And "the natural look" is just not my style! I don't feel like I'm being myself or anywhere close to being true to myself when I wear dowdy plain jane clothes and a swipe of mascara. Sure, I'm confident enough to do it, but it's just not me. The India inside is loud, hot pink, full of glitter, glam and passion! I rinsed my hair powder pink because I'm an 18 year old just having fun! Okay, while I don't feel 18, I still very much feel my youth and I'm going to do youth-appropriate things now- I mean how silly will I look with pink hair at 35? See what I mean?

So I dyed my hair back to my natural color- dark blonde- and people's reactions toward me changed entirely. How insane is it, that we live in a society so heavily influenced by the appearance of things? Even though we know that most things are not what they seem!

Sometimes I feel so hemmed in. Like I have to live up to other people's standards. But it's my life! How can I please myself when I'm living to please and gain the approval of others? It just feels ridiculous and I'm really tired of it. I know this all sounds very much like a "first world problem," but I think there is no worse feeling in the world than being made to feel like you aren't okay the way you are. It's not fair to make anyone feel that way, no matter how they dress, speak, where they come from, whom they love, etc. I don't care what your society, religion, family, etc. tells you. Hatred/discrimination/intolerance is just not okay. Period.

All I pray for in the world is tolerance. That is the single message I tried to convey in my tours up in Munich. If we actually lived in a tolerant world, where we accepted one another because everyone has something amazing to bring to the table, we would live in one fantastic place!

Anyway, I landed my butt in "high society" here in Innsbruck. You would be amazed at all the rules of etiquette that exist that most people don't know about. So I am being groomed! For example, when a man and woman walk down the street together, the woman has to walk to the right of the man because a dog would go on his left. Excessive jewelry is vulgar- for a lady it should be simply pearls! And everyone is dying to watch how you act in public- it's like a royal court for the modern age. True, this is the life and world I always imagined for myself. When I was a little kid, I imagined that my family was royalty that had met some misfortune and that's why we lived in the ordinary. So my visions are coming true! But now that they're arriving (one by one), I am happy, but I wish I had known all of these petty "rules" sooner- then it would be easier to glide right through!

Wish me luck guys. I'm gonna have dark blonde hair for a while :P

India

Music today: Sympathique by Pink Martini

The Dance Must Go On

Spring has sprung and we are happy. Unfortunately I didn't finish learning Alejandro yet, but I made good progress and I'm excited to keep going. The weather in Innsbruck is so gorgeous. It's getting really hot and sticky and warm rainy. Everything springtime ought to be- and I am enchanted. And everything is on the up and up- there's a really good energy in the air! Things are changing for the fantastic. I can't wait to see what summer will bring. Plus I'm turning 19 in just over 4 weeks! It's my last year of being a teenager (thank goodness, haha). The main reason is most of my friends are at least 5-6 years older than me. I don't really feel 18 at all. And I never fit in with kids in my age group. It's just not my world at all. Whenever someone asks me how old I am, I always tell them to guess. The top guess is 22! The oldest I ever heard was 25, and that was really funny. 

Anyway, my week so far has been okay. On Tuesday I ran to the grocery store to get stuff to bake a cake, I was in a hurry so I took the skateboard. I haven't skateboarded in something like 3 or 4 years. And I fell. And I sprained my left foot. I really wonder how many times I've written in this blog that I fell down somewhere or dropped something. I really need to be more poised! Anyway, at first it only hurt a little and I figured nothing was wrong, so I kept skateboarding and walking. Then I went home, baked the cake (at this point I realized I couldn't walk anymore), and when I finished the pain really set in and I cried like I don't know what!

Then something amazing happened. Yesterday was also not possible to walk and it hurt, but today when I woke up nearly all the pain was gone and I can walk already (limping)! At this rate, I can dance again by next week! It's a miracle. I can't express how happy and amazed I am at how fast my foot is healing. The dance must go on!

Yesterday I went to the studio to fix some things, and I started the new recording of my latest song. I am really excited for this one. On Sunday night I watched the Sorcerer's Apprentice- I sat on the filming set with Nicolas Cage and Jon Turteltaub for this 5 years ago in New York. Suddenly after I finished the movie, a beat came to mind and words and melody and everything! True inspiration. This song is about how it really feels to be in love. I remembered the first time I did fall in love, which wasn't even a year ago. I didn't know if I was sick or there was something really wrong with me! And that's how they say it is, right? Well this song is about what it's like. I can't wait to record it and release it!!! (Will take a while, but it'll be worth it) ;)

Anyway, I'm busy singing away, writing, planning, imagining the future. Life is so unbelievable!

Love love love,

India :)

Music Tonight: Untouched by The Veronica's

Sturmfrei!

Sturmfrei is a cool word. There's no exact English word for this, but it's like when your parents go out of town and you're home alone. In my case, my favorite guy is out of town so I've got the apartment to myself for a few days. 

And boy, do I have a plan! Aside from a few pleasant surprises for when he comes home (I've committed to thoroughly cleaning the entire place for example), I've got a few ideas for how I will use the time for myself (I'm a little excited).

1. DANCING. The apartment has a gorgeous wooden floor that is absolutely perfect gettin' down. So I've decided to learn the choreography for Lady Gaga's Alejandro (one of my favorite songs, ever). I figured it's time to get used to choreographic dance, and why not learn from my favorite dancer? It's very tricky, but I always love a challenge. Maybe when I have it down I'll post a video ;) (hopefully this happens by Monday!)

2. Singing! Most of the time, we're at home working and either I don't have much time to sing, or it's too distracting. Well for the rest of the week, I'll keep working, but I will be singing very loudly as I do it. I listened to a Jack Canfield audio file the other day where he was saying how people know they're born for something. Like, how does a writer know he's born to write? Because he just cannot not write. How do I know I'm a singer? Because there does not exist a world for me where I don't sing! (My mom told me when I was very little and sat in the shopping cart at the grocery store, I used to sing while she shopped. So it's a very long-going thing for me I guess).

3. Minor music sessions. I had a musical epiphany yesterday in the form of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. Music can really teach you a lot, and boy am I excited to go on a journey with these groups. It's easy to get lost in a deep sound or a moving video, and for me that has always expanded the musical part of my mind. Let's go!

It's almost Friday, so that's good news! Saturday I'll be back in the studio recording yet another two songs. It's getting bigger and better! Yesterday I had the most fun singing a new song written for me about a very funny subject... I'm just laughing and having a ball right now, I can't wait to let everyone listen to my work and hear feedback. I'm very proud of the stuff we're doing right now, and excited to release it. Dance with me tonight, and we will live forever! Who wants to come to the album release party (location immer noch undisclosed)? ;)

I'll be writing again soon. 
Have a sunny Thursday!

India

Music for the morning: Anybody by Bad Things (Shaun White plays in this band, I listened for the first time this morning- they're pretty cool!)

Castles, Caves, and Cakes!

Good morning, world! How was everyone's weekend?

I must say, this past weekend was one of the best in a very long time. On Thursday we did some spring cleaning (always feels good to get that done), got the apartment organized, and got rid of a lot of unused clothing. Friday was not spectacular, as we had talked about doing something outside but hadn't gotten around to it.

(P.S. when I say we, I mean my favorite guy and me)

Well anyway, Friday we wound up visiting a small island in the middle of town and had a walk. We talked about hiking up to a cave and spending the night there, but it was supposed to rain and is apparently a very dangerous trail to get there. 

Schloß Ambras

Saturday was a lot cooler. We got a really late start, but we wound up visiting the castle Schloß Ambras (my first visit) and seeing the grounds there. It was beautiful! And still being under 19, I got in for free (haha- buying the tickets was pretty strange). I packed a picnic and we ate on the grounds (I kept spilling all of the food- in typical India fashion). There were a lot of suits of armor from the middle ages. They were really cool (there was one from a giant who was like 2.5 meters tall!), but there were so many... There were also other trinkets and there were plenty of family paintings from the Habsburg Dynasty, but that was it. The Castle on the inside hasn't retained it's original form (like the rooms aren't furnished or anything), it's just an art museum.

Lanser See (Lake Lans)

We finished up the tour and set sail for Lans. Expecting to just be able to chill out at the cabin in the woods (and finish lunch), we drove up there and went to get a few things organized. But the rest of the family was there when we arrived, so we just hung out for a while and had some coffee and cake. It was so warm that day I was in shorts and a t-shirt; I could not believe how lovely the weather was! After we left the house, we went down to the lake and chilled out there for a while. There was hardly anyone else there, and it was nice to just finally relax for the first time in ages. Just to be alive and breathe, to perceive the things around you... it was all so beautiful and cool. Being at the lake made things get chilly pretty fast though, and as the sun was setting we had to hurry to the car because we were shivering so much! 

Dessert at "Zum Wilden Mann"

At first we didn't know what to do. There was the option of going home, but we were both so tired and didn't feel like driving all the way back down to the valley. So we went back to Lans and ate at a lodge I'm told Grace Kelly used to eat at from time to time. Then we drove back to the cabin and made a fire in the wood stove and spent the night in the woods. It was so cool! I love these "field trips." It's so good to get out into nature every once in a while and just enjoy life. It's important too- I think when you get so close to the edge of burning out from continuous strain from work, it's necessary to take some time out.

Anyway, by Sunday the weather had changed completely (to clouds and rain) and we packed up and went back to Innsbruck. The rest of Sunday was also pretty easy- we made Schinken-Rahm Spatzl (an amazingly fat dish that is very anti-abdomen). It consists of Spätzle (homemade egg-dough noodles), Ham, Cream, and Mountain cheese. It tasted like fat-heaven. (Needless to say, yesterday was my "cheat day").

because I was in such a good mood during my "workout"
this morning,  I couldn't resist throwing in a selfie!

That's another thing! I've been doing a mini ab-workout every morning. I'm doing pretty well with and definitely notice a difference (it's been exactly two weeks since I started). Feels good!

Now that I'm completely recharged and contented, it's time to focus still more on music- I'm writing a new song, and I'll be in the studio hopefully tomorrow to record new things and put finishing touches on the others. It's getting exciiiiiiiting!

Happy Monday everyone! (it's not as bad as it seems)

India

Music for the (late) morning: Fancy by Iggy Azalea (a little generic, but pretty cool)

Jour et Nuit

My life is only a movement of constant change. It's like day and night, but from day to day! ...If that makes sense.

Anyway, yesterday I got my first two songs sent to me, which are still being edited, but the latest versions were awesome! Of course the one is a little heavy and sad, but it's cool to listen to. The other one is just a pure fun jam, with a super vintage feel. I can't wait to release them and share them with the world!

Today I'm going back to the studio and recording another two or three songs. Needless to say, IIIII'm excited!

Otherwise on the menu this week is composing, getting the rest of my life together, and so on... 

I am so ready to break out of my shell and out of the "old world." I just want to see and hear and feel everything. I'm dying to go back to New York (it's been 5 years on the dot!), I want to see Singapore, Peru, Russia, etc. Just bring it on!

I am also coming to an unfortunate realization that some things in my life just aren't working. It's up to me to fix and change them, but it's not the easiest thing in the world. There will be people I say goodbye to. There will be doors closing very soon from my side. It makes me sad, but I know in the long run, there's so many things in this world to see and experience, I won't lose by saying "no more!" to negative influences. I feel an extreme pull to get out of Innsbruck. It's a lovely town as I always shouted from the top of my lungs, but I feel like I need to be somewhere else right now. I'm thinking Chile or Hong Kong.

Anyway, I need to get my hands on some cash, and then I will be gone like lightning! And I will be absolutely everywhere...

I dream of a clean earth. I dream that one day the Hudson River will be drinkable, and that in India there will be farms and (good) food and houses for everyone. I want to give people hope through my music and my work. I truly hope that I am able to inspire people to dream and dare to achieve their visions for their lives. There's so much more that I imagine for my life and the lives of others...

My dear readers, I hope all is well with you and that you enjoyed the holidays with your families. Have a wonderful Wednesday and rest of the week. Try to do something you love today. Something that makes your heart sing.

All my heart

India

Song for the day: Ich lass für dich das Licht an by Revolverheld

About Life

Yesterday was our life coaching event in Innsbruck with Alexander Vitocco. It was brilliant! There are so many things you can learn at these kinds of events. I love always being able to walk away with something new. It's even like when I re-read a "self-improvement" book, even though the words on the page are the same, I always find another point that stands out in a way it hadn't before!

What stood out to me yesterday is how you can kind of get stuck in an old (and useless) mindset. There was a time at the end of 2013 when I was constantly changing, improving, feeling wonderful and harmonious all the time. The number on my bank account was steadily growing, I was doing great on my tours and everything was seemingly "perfect."

Then I spent some of money on various things once I moved to Innsbruck and I started accepting something I call "half-successes." A half-success is the pain-staking average, the minimum wage you accept because "that's the way it is," the mediocrity of day to day life, etc. I know, know, know life is beautiful and full of magic. But sometimes I allow a type of figurative cataract to cloud my vision. The smog sets in, so to speak. And so I accept disrespect as normal, I start to "get used to" the amount of money on my bank account, and I adapt to the status quo of life.

But people, life should adapt to us! My life is about me and no one else! Of course I care for the people in my life, but my life isn't and shouldn't be about anyone else. I want to help people deeply and I want to change the world, but I will never be able to do that before I help and change myself! And so I'm realizing it's beneficial to read, re-read, re-read again, watch seminars over and over, listen to audiobooks every day, and really fill up your "think tank" with positive information. Mostly everyone knows this principle anyway, but why do so few of us make it stick? It's easy to read a book once. It's easy to watch video and say, "mhm, yes, that's so true!"

But I found that December and January had been possibly the most harmonious, joyful, and positive months of my life. Why? Because I practiced principles and lived them all the time. I read The Secret over and over and over again, all the time, every day. And the information and principles stuck! I started writing every morning and every night what I was grateful for. Even if it was stupid things like, "I'm grateful for my long hair," (yes, potentially superficial I know, but I wrote anything I was grateful for which would eventually lead me to deeper things). I dreamed my big dreams and lived my vision. Everyday, I reminded myself of where I want to go. I lived my vision! In La Palma, I created feelings of giving and receiving love, the feeling of being in a relationship. Now I had no idea where a relationship would come from, but it didn't matter. All I did was just 'feel' this thing into existence- and it worked. I literally created the world I live in. And the thing is, you and I do that every day. But we forget. We get distracted by things like spilling the coffee, the people who cut us off in traffic, the kids who won't give us a break, etc.

And then the phone rings and your sister is bugging you and the trash needs to be taken out and the darn rain flooded your basement and this person showed up too late and, and, and...

Do you see what I mean? And unfortunately I've kind of "stuck" myself since I returned from Florida. Some major fears set in the back of my mind and actualized themselves in the form of this contented attitude, more stress, arguments, whatever. It's so easy to forget that I have the power to change this! If something scheiße happened, I have the power to decide for something wonderful! If my day didn't go the way I wanted, I will lay back and visualize it the way it "should've" happened. Everything I desire. There is no reason to be satisfied with average because "other people have it worse." Saying someone can't be sad because because someone else may have it worse is just like saying someone can't be happy because someone else may have it better! (In this case by sad I mean dissatisfied with the current situation, whatever it is).

So as I mentioned in my last post, I've already put an end to the complaining. By complaining, you're defeating yourself and rendering yourself powerless against any negative force.

I'm also done accepting the ordinary. I mean, I have nothing against down-to-earth, but that's not what I mean with ordinary. I mean just mediocrity. I am grateful for what I have, but it could be more. Like Alex said yesterday, he likes to be happy but dissatisfied. Happy and grateful for the things you have, but it could be better. It could be more. And that's the point. When I see something happen that I don't like, I won't reject it or evaluate it as "bad." I will move on and focus on what I do like and what do want. And I know what I want!!!

So a big thank you to Alex Vitocco for opening my eyes again and helping me to understand that it's all to easy to get "settled" into the way things are, but it's important to reach for what you really want. If you want more money (easiest example), state it. Decide it and live it. I am so so so tired of "scraping along." So I will create a new reality, over and over again, life will adapt to me, not the other way around!

Sound good? Cool thing is that every human being on the earth has this power. I mean really anything is possible. In November or December, I remember writing down things I wanted (some of them were pretty far-fetched, believe me)- and in January I looked and I was amazed to find that nearly every point had been achieved! All I did was imagine my ideal world, felt it, and it came true.

Yeah! So I have to resolve, re-resolve, and practicepracticepractice until I achieve the reality I desire.

With much love

India

Music for the day: My Hero by Foo Fighters