Chai Time
We’re embarking on a new adventure. This one is quite different from traveling around the world, but has its moments of awe, inspiration, frustration, and challenge all the same. We would like to introduce you to the newest member of the Baretrax team, meet our spiritual teacher, Chai, the Red Merle Australian Shepherd.
We are so impressed with our 10-week old already. She has helped us out by loving every toy, bed, treat, and person she’s met so far. She is excelling at her commands, and makes sure to get extra bitey to let us know when she’s tired. Chai is the perfect name for her.
For years, chai tea has been a treat for me. I first had chai when I was studying abroad in India. There was a man named Ragu on our school staff whose sole job was to make mid-morning and mid-afternoon chai for the staff and students. He was called a Chai-Walla or chai maker. He would hand deliver the tea in tiny tea cups to each of our desks, rattling the platter of cups as he moved around the room, much to our enjoyment, while the teacher attempted to continue with our lesson.
In college, when others were out partying, I would be walking the opposite direction from the frat houses, to my Gujarati friend Heli’s house where we would (ok, she would) make chai from scratch, calling up her mom to make sure she was doing it in the traditional way. We would stay up late talking each other out of our cycles of perfection and overwhelm while sipping our fresh chai.
When I moved to Boulder, Colorado and got my first job and living situation as an adult, I sectioned out a small part of my limited income and dedicated it to getting a cup or two of chai each month. The times spent at coffee shops were not only for drinking a delicious beverage, but were also for meeting friends, listening to live music, drawing, reading, or journaling. They became times of pure joy, connection, and nourishment of the mind, body, and soul.
Chai has become a drink of love, rest, and an ailment for me. It is a salve for hardships. During a hard transition in my life, I met a friend who loved chai just as much as I did. Whitney and I meet for chai dates to process everything going on in our lives. Our love for chai brought us all the way to Nepal where Whitney met Larry and I at the start of our year of travel. We were able to drink chai all day long, often ordering a “Big Pot” for us to share.
When Larry and I decided to embark on this new type of journey, I couldn’t think of a better name for our new pup than one that represents pure joy, love, and connections. Cheers to many more adventures to come.
Welcome home, Chai. 👣