I forgot to mention that, while I was back in Auroville, I buzzed off all my hair. Well I guess buzzed is not the appropriate word, though it is kiwi-short. But the barber at the "saloon" (that's what they call barbershops here. And they call restaurants "hotels." Go figure.) used the comb and rapidly-snipping scissors method. The old fashioned way. It was an entertaining experience; I couldn't believe how fast he could snip, and the sound was interesting and pleasant in its way. Tiny snippets of hair rained down all over me, and stuck fast to the skin on my sweaty neck and chest. And he powdered my neck at the end, which was also awkward because of the sweatiness. And I walked around all day with hair all over me. They sweep all the cut hair into a pile, so when you walk in you can see it all there - a big pile of hair like a lazy little monster in the corner, black black black with just a little gray here an there. And the handiwork of the barber was just a bit uneven, which made my head look a little lopsided for a while...but that's cool, I guess. Right, guys? The whole thing cost about sixty cents. I think I'll visit Boy's, the men's hair salon a couple doors down, after this. Time for a trim.
I look quite different now in a number of ways, actually. I'm so brown from all this intense sun - much different than my multi-year Seattle resident color. I've halted some of my personal grooming habits, such as eyebrow maintainance. They are thick and bushy as the tropical jungle around me. My physique has changed a bit from the yoga practice. I've been wearing beaded necklaces and manskirts (things I never would wear in Seattle...) All that combined with the shaved head. Wren sometimes notes how different I look now than I did in Seattle.
It's a little crazy to see myself in the mirror now. We're staying in a fancy hotel right now in Calicut. There are big mirrors in the room. Most of the places we've been have teeny tiny mirrors or no mirrors at all - something I've gotten quite used to. And now it's strange to see so much of myself reflected back to me.
We didn't intend to stay at a fancy place here. We didn't really intend on spending time in Calicut. It was just a good stopping point between Appelley (the last place we were staying) and Kalpetta (our next stop). We arrived from a 7-hour train ride last night and tried to find a cheap room for the night, with the help of some friendly young men (they are Indian filmmakers) who we met on the train. For the first time, we were turned away for being foreign. And again. And again and again and again. Everyplace we went. There was apparently some terrorist activity around here, so hotels have to register foreign guests through the police, and the small hotels don't want to go through the hassle. After lots of attempts to find a cheap room and lots of failures (all this in an auto rickshaw with speedy maneuvers through traffic and small spaces that felt like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride), we came to a big fancy hotel that had a room for us. Expensive for here, but only about $40 per night. And it feels like total luxury. We had the first hot showers we've had in weeks. And it's clean and there's a TV with weird and entertaining Indian programming and I didn't wake up itching like crazy from nighttime mosquito bites. I got the first really good night of sleep I've had in weeks, too. Sank into the giant, super cozy, clean bed, under the covers (which I haven't used in ages, because it's normally so hot I don't want to sleep in or under anything at all), and slept con los angelitos panzones. It felt like the first real break from my waking life that I've had in a while. (I've been struggling with some unusual sleeping problems for the last few weeks. But they are gradually lessening.) Also, the free hotel breakfast here is delicious Indian food. Not like the super lame American hotel breakfasts.
The Indian people in Kerala are very friendly. More friendly than the people in any other area we've been. Sometimes it feels really extreme, like they don't know how to respect an individual's private space in the way Americans generally do. At the place we stayed at in Alleppey, the hotel people were always hanging around and talking to us, which was annoying at times. Sometimes you just want to lie in your hammock in a moment of solitary peace. Ya know? But they were very nice people, for the most part. The people here are also often very forward with their questions, and comfortable talking about things like personal bodily things in a way the Americans generally aren't. And because my gender presentation and sex are very confusing to people, they often think they've made mistakes in interpreting my gender. And instead of blushing but not saying anything, or apologizing profusely like Americans tend to do (I hate that!), they laugh and tell you about it. Like, "You look like a man. I saw you and thought man. Until you talking I thought you were man. Haha!" And then I usually say something like, "Kind of man. Man/lady, lady/man. Both. Same-same." And sometimes they seem to understand, and sometimes maybe not. Gender neutrality is confusing to people everywhere I go. But the Indians don't seem weirded out by anything. Just curious and interested, and they like to talk about it. Though it's hard to articulate thing well when they only understand some English. (Same-same is a phrase that I've picked up here, and enjoy quite a lot).
It's interesting to be read as a boy more often now. In public, men touch me sometimes (like to move me out of the way) and push me around to get ahead in line, like all the other men push each other around. (They don't touch women, because it's not culturally appropriate) It was weird for me at first, but I'm more used to it now. I've been laughed at and yelled at to get out of ladies-only spaces. (which I myself thought was pretty funny). The other day, as I was walking out of the ocean in Alleppey, a young boy invited me to play cricket on the beach with a group of young boys. He thought I was a young boy too. I smiled and shook my head and walked on, feeling amused, though grateful. And I watched the game for a while from a platform above the hammocks at our beach hotel, and there was something so perfectly sweet about it. A beautiful setting to see such picturesque joy of youth.
We stayed in a little hut in Alleppey. Only a small stone wall between us and the beachfront. Hammocks outside to lounge in. The sound of the waves at night was soothing and lovely. But in the very early morning (still dark) after our first night there, I was laying half awake and heard a small sound at the window that was by the head of the bed. It's a small window with vertical bars and no screen. I looked up and saw the black silhouette of a man's head and shoulders. I put my head back down, and it was then I realized how creepy it was. I looked back and he was gone. But I didn't feel like our safety was compromised, so I went back to sleep. The next night, I hung one of my lungis (manskirts) up across the window, to try to prevent anyone from seeing in. Around the same time the next morning, I looked up and saw a similar silhouette, meaning the man had reached in far enough to move the fabric out of the way. I said "Go away!" and he immediately did. And I spent the day feeling grossed out about a peeping tom. Later, when we were packing to leave Alleppey, I noticed that a small bag of half-eaten snacks that I had left near the window was missing. Turns out the perv was actually a theif. Or perhaps a combination of both. But he only made off with some Indian sweets already bitten into. Maybe he needed them more than we did. A slightly creepy experience, but neither Wren nor I were really phased by it. Just momentarily disappointed we didn't get to finish those sweets, but we bought more today and they were delicious.
Before Alleppey was our houseboat ride from Kollam, through Kerala's beautiful backwaters. The highlight of the experience was walking through the little village that we spent the night docked beside with our cook from the boat, whose family and friends lived in the village. It was a sweet and quiet little village with fields of rice and some cashew, almond, and jackfruit trees. The cook introduced us to everyone, and they were friendly and sweet and the children were very interested in us and very shy. A group of young men convinced Wren to play her uke and sing for them, which she did. And one of them showed us his impressive Michael Jackson moves. All in all, the boat ride was a lovely and super-relaxing (i.e. lazy) experience, if a bit overpriced.
Next, we leave beach for mountains...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Wow. So much has been happening since my last update...
At this very moment I'm in Varkala, in the state of Kerala. It's a beautiful beach town on India's west coast. Wren and I haven't yet spent any time in the actual Indian village here - we're staying near the beach, a short walk from a clifftop full of places for Western tourists (there are LOTS of them here) with a long set of switch-back steps that lead down to the beach below. The beach here is surprisingly clean for an Indian place. But you have to pass by heaps and heaps of garbage to the side of the stairs on the way to and from the shore.
I'm even more tan now. Just a little burned. The sun here is fierce, but I love it. The waves are strong, and being near the ocean is magical, as always. The Western tourists here like to wear really skimpy swim clothes on the beach, and some Western women sunbathe topless (something I find quite rude, considering this country's feelings about body exposure in public). Some of the Indian men swim in trunks, but many of the Indian people I've seen in the water are fully clothed in their day clothes. Women in beautiful full saris, soaked in sea water, laughing and holding hand with their friends. Circles of little children in wet clothes, gleefully enjoying the waves. It's lovely to see.
We arrived here on train from Kanyakumari, the little town on the southernmost tip of India. We spent only a couple days there. I wanted to go there to watch the sunset (we never made it out to watch it rise, as i thought we might), at the point where three bodies of water meet: the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and the Arabian Sea. It is a small place teeming with Indian tourists. Much different from the expensive, Western-tourist places and vibes here. We took a short ferry ride (which was rocky and exhilarating and the women squealed and Wren got drenched in sea water, even though we were sitting in the middle of the boat) to a little tiny island (or rather, a very large rock) out in the water, on which we visited a temple and a memorial to Sri Vivekanda, who is said to have swam out to the rock long ago, where he sat for days in meditation. We visited an ancient temple on the mainland near the water. It was the oldest place I've been here so far. Over 1,000 years old. The energy inside was powerful and wonderful and intense. And the energy in Kanyakumari in general was good and healing, though the people were not the most kind and the touristy-ness was quite annoying at times. Still, I enjoyed it greatly. The train from there to here got so crowded that there was at least one man hanging out of the door the whole way. Wren and I had luckily secured seats before it got so crowded, and we were right inside the door, so I could see the people spilling out of the train just beyond Wren's head as we traveled.
Train travel here is fun fun fun! Dirty and sweaty, sure. But fun. Beautiful scenery and interesting sights flashing by, usually with a moat of garbage between the train and anything it passes. Everyone just throws it out of the windows. The locals encouraged us to do so. And the toilets on the trains (some Western, some squat-style) are basically just holes through to the ground below. It's kind of fun to see the tracks rushing by below when the train is moving. And I understood why many of the train station platforms smell like poop. And pee. And garbage. And gross. But what a fun adventure to travel this way! We've had 2 overnight train journeys on our travels so far. There are small, vinyl-covered 3-tiered bed platforms (the middle ones fold down during the day for seating) to sleep on. They are hard and a little dingy, but it was fun to sleep on them, in a summer camp sort of a way. Wren and I made some friends on a train ride. An Indian mother/son pair. They talked to us a lot and looked through my sketchbook and made Wren play her ukelele and sing and seemed to be fascinated and entertained by everything we did. For hours. Evening and the next morning. When it was time to sleep, Helen (the mother) decided "little children on the top" (even though I told her how old we were....), and so Wren and I gladly climbed to the top bunks. Ooh, and also, the snacks on the train are good. Men pass by every now and then, selling chai, coffee, fried Indian goodies, dosas, etc.
We've been in Varkala for a week now. The time is really flying! We left Mysore about 2 weeks ago, hopped on a train to Pondicherry (a very French-influenced city on the east coast), and then an auto rickshaw into Auroville, to visit my dear friend Ethan. Wren wrote a lovely blog entry about the place and our experences there, if you want to read more about it. (The Wiki article is worth checking out too.) Some highlights of our stay there: the 3 of us riding around together on a tiny moped, eating Western hippie foods (tofu, kombucha, raw Indian food, salads, etc. omg!), hanging out on the beach, visiting an energetically inspiring Ashram in Pondicherry, singing in an OM choir (yes, all we 'sang' was om) (this experience was made all the more interesting and poignant for me by the addition of some intense intestinal cramps that began to occur during the singing....oh, India....), seeing the Matrimandir (which looks like the Indian Epcot), watching DVDs that we bought for 25 rupees each (just over 50 cents) on Ethan's laptop (Wren was especially overjoyed to watch New Moon), singing songs with Ethan on the guitar... etc. Auroville itself is such a fascinating place. An experiment in human unity. I felt a strong connection to the ideals and founding principles of the place, though I'm not sure how I feel about the reality of it all in practice. It seems just a little cultish and odd, and the Westerners there seem quite unfriendly to outsiders. Still, quite an interesting place to experience. We were only there long enough to get a little taste of it.
I don't think we planned on being in Varkala for so long. It just kind of happened. It's easy to be lazy here. Back and forth between out hotel and the cliffside business and the beach. Eating lots of good food, playing and lounging on the hot hot beach. Yeah, that's about all we've been doing. We found a hotel room with a ton of space in which we can do our asanas in the morning. Wren had been helping me with some of my practice. She's naturally quite a good teacher. I've started to do dropbacks (from standing) into backbends, with her assistance. I don't think it will take me too long to be able to do them on my own. And since I've been here I've been doing headstands without the help of the wall, finally. I was quite pleased with myself! :D
Wren and I have made some spontaneous friends here and there on our journeys. I had an especially great time with a French man named Bruno who I met on the beach. He and I immediately hit it off, and spent a lot of time together before he had to leave to go back to France. We were super silly and playful together and laughed a lot and played on the beach, jumping into waves and building things in the sand (like a mermaid tail for Wren, after we dug her a hole to sit in...and then she haggled with the lady who walked by selling fruit, and bought us mangos that she and I ate side by side on the beach, all while she was a mermaid. Ha!). Bruno's presence was like a breath of fresh air for me. It felt like one of those serendipitous meetings of spirits that happens just at the moment you need it and feels like a gift from god. For serious. What fun we had!
Tomorrow morning Wren and I are leaving Varkala to take a trip through Kerala's backwaters on a houseboat. It will be just the two of us, plus the driver and a cook, who will prepare us all of our meals. Two days and one overnight. I'm so excited to be on the water! And excited to leave Varkala as well. Time to go!
At this very moment I'm in Varkala, in the state of Kerala. It's a beautiful beach town on India's west coast. Wren and I haven't yet spent any time in the actual Indian village here - we're staying near the beach, a short walk from a clifftop full of places for Western tourists (there are LOTS of them here) with a long set of switch-back steps that lead down to the beach below. The beach here is surprisingly clean for an Indian place. But you have to pass by heaps and heaps of garbage to the side of the stairs on the way to and from the shore.
I'm even more tan now. Just a little burned. The sun here is fierce, but I love it. The waves are strong, and being near the ocean is magical, as always. The Western tourists here like to wear really skimpy swim clothes on the beach, and some Western women sunbathe topless (something I find quite rude, considering this country's feelings about body exposure in public). Some of the Indian men swim in trunks, but many of the Indian people I've seen in the water are fully clothed in their day clothes. Women in beautiful full saris, soaked in sea water, laughing and holding hand with their friends. Circles of little children in wet clothes, gleefully enjoying the waves. It's lovely to see.
We arrived here on train from Kanyakumari, the little town on the southernmost tip of India. We spent only a couple days there. I wanted to go there to watch the sunset (we never made it out to watch it rise, as i thought we might), at the point where three bodies of water meet: the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and the Arabian Sea. It is a small place teeming with Indian tourists. Much different from the expensive, Western-tourist places and vibes here. We took a short ferry ride (which was rocky and exhilarating and the women squealed and Wren got drenched in sea water, even though we were sitting in the middle of the boat) to a little tiny island (or rather, a very large rock) out in the water, on which we visited a temple and a memorial to Sri Vivekanda, who is said to have swam out to the rock long ago, where he sat for days in meditation. We visited an ancient temple on the mainland near the water. It was the oldest place I've been here so far. Over 1,000 years old. The energy inside was powerful and wonderful and intense. And the energy in Kanyakumari in general was good and healing, though the people were not the most kind and the touristy-ness was quite annoying at times. Still, I enjoyed it greatly. The train from there to here got so crowded that there was at least one man hanging out of the door the whole way. Wren and I had luckily secured seats before it got so crowded, and we were right inside the door, so I could see the people spilling out of the train just beyond Wren's head as we traveled.
Train travel here is fun fun fun! Dirty and sweaty, sure. But fun. Beautiful scenery and interesting sights flashing by, usually with a moat of garbage between the train and anything it passes. Everyone just throws it out of the windows. The locals encouraged us to do so. And the toilets on the trains (some Western, some squat-style) are basically just holes through to the ground below. It's kind of fun to see the tracks rushing by below when the train is moving. And I understood why many of the train station platforms smell like poop. And pee. And garbage. And gross. But what a fun adventure to travel this way! We've had 2 overnight train journeys on our travels so far. There are small, vinyl-covered 3-tiered bed platforms (the middle ones fold down during the day for seating) to sleep on. They are hard and a little dingy, but it was fun to sleep on them, in a summer camp sort of a way. Wren and I made some friends on a train ride. An Indian mother/son pair. They talked to us a lot and looked through my sketchbook and made Wren play her ukelele and sing and seemed to be fascinated and entertained by everything we did. For hours. Evening and the next morning. When it was time to sleep, Helen (the mother) decided "little children on the top" (even though I told her how old we were....), and so Wren and I gladly climbed to the top bunks. Ooh, and also, the snacks on the train are good. Men pass by every now and then, selling chai, coffee, fried Indian goodies, dosas, etc.
We've been in Varkala for a week now. The time is really flying! We left Mysore about 2 weeks ago, hopped on a train to Pondicherry (a very French-influenced city on the east coast), and then an auto rickshaw into Auroville, to visit my dear friend Ethan. Wren wrote a lovely blog entry about the place and our experences there, if you want to read more about it. (The Wiki article is worth checking out too.) Some highlights of our stay there: the 3 of us riding around together on a tiny moped, eating Western hippie foods (tofu, kombucha, raw Indian food, salads, etc. omg!), hanging out on the beach, visiting an energetically inspiring Ashram in Pondicherry, singing in an OM choir (yes, all we 'sang' was om) (this experience was made all the more interesting and poignant for me by the addition of some intense intestinal cramps that began to occur during the singing....oh, India....), seeing the Matrimandir (which looks like the Indian Epcot), watching DVDs that we bought for 25 rupees each (just over 50 cents) on Ethan's laptop (Wren was especially overjoyed to watch New Moon), singing songs with Ethan on the guitar... etc. Auroville itself is such a fascinating place. An experiment in human unity. I felt a strong connection to the ideals and founding principles of the place, though I'm not sure how I feel about the reality of it all in practice. It seems just a little cultish and odd, and the Westerners there seem quite unfriendly to outsiders. Still, quite an interesting place to experience. We were only there long enough to get a little taste of it.
I don't think we planned on being in Varkala for so long. It just kind of happened. It's easy to be lazy here. Back and forth between out hotel and the cliffside business and the beach. Eating lots of good food, playing and lounging on the hot hot beach. Yeah, that's about all we've been doing. We found a hotel room with a ton of space in which we can do our asanas in the morning. Wren had been helping me with some of my practice. She's naturally quite a good teacher. I've started to do dropbacks (from standing) into backbends, with her assistance. I don't think it will take me too long to be able to do them on my own. And since I've been here I've been doing headstands without the help of the wall, finally. I was quite pleased with myself! :D
Wren and I have made some spontaneous friends here and there on our journeys. I had an especially great time with a French man named Bruno who I met on the beach. He and I immediately hit it off, and spent a lot of time together before he had to leave to go back to France. We were super silly and playful together and laughed a lot and played on the beach, jumping into waves and building things in the sand (like a mermaid tail for Wren, after we dug her a hole to sit in...and then she haggled with the lady who walked by selling fruit, and bought us mangos that she and I ate side by side on the beach, all while she was a mermaid. Ha!). Bruno's presence was like a breath of fresh air for me. It felt like one of those serendipitous meetings of spirits that happens just at the moment you need it and feels like a gift from god. For serious. What fun we had!
Tomorrow morning Wren and I are leaving Varkala to take a trip through Kerala's backwaters on a houseboat. It will be just the two of us, plus the driver and a cook, who will prepare us all of our meals. Two days and one overnight. I'm so excited to be on the water! And excited to leave Varkala as well. Time to go!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
la luna llena y muchos colores
If you're enjoying the India bloggin', you should check out Wren's blog too!
Today is Holi, a festival of colors in India. The festivities began for some people yesterday. You could see people out and about, covered in splashes of brightly colored powder on their clothes, and even all over their faces. We haven't ventured out yet today - so far just asana practice and a relaxing breakfast/internet time at another yoga shala close to our apartment. But Wren and I have dressed in clothes we don't mind getting stained all over, in preparation. We'll see what happens...
The moped gave up today. She was going just fine, until last night when she began to lag and lurch as I was driving me and Wren home last night. This morning we had to leave her outside of our shala and walk away. Only about four more days in Mysore, so we may just go without our own scooter for the rest of our time here. We can take the little auto rickshaws around for cheap, and hoof it sometimes. (heh heh)
The past weekend was full of full-moon celebrations. A hilarious going-away dinner for an Australian friend of ours at a fancy restaurant on a patio beneath the stars. A full-moon party on Saturday night. Wren played fer little red uke and sang for a sizeable rooftop audience at one point during the party. People listened quietly and respectfully for quite a while, enjoying her music. And then dissovled back into their drunken banter. Low-key, mellow yoga student banter. We have been to a couple of parties since I've been here. And (no offense to the westerners here) I probably should have brought a book! Ha. The yoga people don't party like my people party. They sit around talking, maybe a little tipsy and probably a little high (or very...) No dancing. They liveliest thing I've seen them do was a pretty mellow jam session with some good vocals, and some folk music performances. The other night I was struggling to fight off sleep. Not my idea of a festive atmosphere, but good spirits nonetheless. And we have some friends here who are a blast to hang out with and talk to.
Our "western" friends here are from all over the place. Hardly any of them American. The people we hang out with the most are British and Australian. We make fun of each other's accents. And teach each other how to say special things in our own special ways. Wren is quite good at imitating their accents, and has even picked up many phrases and lilts from "the Queen's English." And so I find myself doing it too sometimes, unintentionally. It cracks both of us up.
We spent both days of the weekend at two different pools. Full of sunshine and luxury. How lucky we are!
I've been quite creative since I've been here. Still having vivid dreams, still seeing things I've never seen before, making music in my head, and drawing a lot for the first time in years. Sketching all sorts of things. I love drawing people the most (including myself), and one of my favorite pastimes here is sketching Wren while she is engaging in her own creative activities - like playing the uke, knitting, etc. I especially love the challenge of capturing the energy and movement of her quick, nimble, clever little hands. When I'm back in the states I want to start painting portraits again, with renewed inspiration and verve.
I love how full of spirit and magic and divine inspiration and faith everyone and everything is here. The other day I saw a man walking his tiny white dog, and even the dog had the little spot over its third eye. Love it. It really is a magic, tragic place here. I'm so excited to venture around and see more of India! Only a few more days, and then we're off!
And yes, I am still happy and doing well. Very happy, and quite well, to be precise. :)
Today is Holi, a festival of colors in India. The festivities began for some people yesterday. You could see people out and about, covered in splashes of brightly colored powder on their clothes, and even all over their faces. We haven't ventured out yet today - so far just asana practice and a relaxing breakfast/internet time at another yoga shala close to our apartment. But Wren and I have dressed in clothes we don't mind getting stained all over, in preparation. We'll see what happens...
The moped gave up today. She was going just fine, until last night when she began to lag and lurch as I was driving me and Wren home last night. This morning we had to leave her outside of our shala and walk away. Only about four more days in Mysore, so we may just go without our own scooter for the rest of our time here. We can take the little auto rickshaws around for cheap, and hoof it sometimes. (heh heh)
The past weekend was full of full-moon celebrations. A hilarious going-away dinner for an Australian friend of ours at a fancy restaurant on a patio beneath the stars. A full-moon party on Saturday night. Wren played fer little red uke and sang for a sizeable rooftop audience at one point during the party. People listened quietly and respectfully for quite a while, enjoying her music. And then dissovled back into their drunken banter. Low-key, mellow yoga student banter. We have been to a couple of parties since I've been here. And (no offense to the westerners here) I probably should have brought a book! Ha. The yoga people don't party like my people party. They sit around talking, maybe a little tipsy and probably a little high (or very...) No dancing. They liveliest thing I've seen them do was a pretty mellow jam session with some good vocals, and some folk music performances. The other night I was struggling to fight off sleep. Not my idea of a festive atmosphere, but good spirits nonetheless. And we have some friends here who are a blast to hang out with and talk to.
Our "western" friends here are from all over the place. Hardly any of them American. The people we hang out with the most are British and Australian. We make fun of each other's accents. And teach each other how to say special things in our own special ways. Wren is quite good at imitating their accents, and has even picked up many phrases and lilts from "the Queen's English." And so I find myself doing it too sometimes, unintentionally. It cracks both of us up.
We spent both days of the weekend at two different pools. Full of sunshine and luxury. How lucky we are!
I've been quite creative since I've been here. Still having vivid dreams, still seeing things I've never seen before, making music in my head, and drawing a lot for the first time in years. Sketching all sorts of things. I love drawing people the most (including myself), and one of my favorite pastimes here is sketching Wren while she is engaging in her own creative activities - like playing the uke, knitting, etc. I especially love the challenge of capturing the energy and movement of her quick, nimble, clever little hands. When I'm back in the states I want to start painting portraits again, with renewed inspiration and verve.
I love how full of spirit and magic and divine inspiration and faith everyone and everything is here. The other day I saw a man walking his tiny white dog, and even the dog had the little spot over its third eye. Love it. It really is a magic, tragic place here. I'm so excited to venture around and see more of India! Only a few more days, and then we're off!
And yes, I am still happy and doing well. Very happy, and quite well, to be precise. :)
Monday, February 22, 2010
suenos y faldas
It's getting hotter and hotter here! I think all the sweating alone has been great for my system - from the asanas, the pranayama, doing laundry, eating...really everything I do here makes me sweaty. I feel like my body is doing some serious detoxing. It makes me feel great sometimes and exhausted at other times. And I'm quite happy to be tan again. And every now and then I admire my own biceps, which have grown. (Just like you, Bronco!) Sweet!
I've gotten really into lungies. They are the traditional Indian man-skirts. Wren loves them and wears them all the time. Which seems totally normal to me, but is probably weird and funny to everyone from here, because she's so lovely and femme and wearing man clothes. And I'm used to wearing man clothes all the time, but it's been years and years since I wore anything skirt-like that wasn't in jest (like special dress-up drag moments in Indigo's costume room, etc). Anyway, it's freakin' hot here and the lungies are nice & breezy underneath. And the lungies come in super-sweet colors and patterns. I actually have a little bit of a collection of them now. Ha! I had no idea I would come to India and start wearing "skirts!" And in public! Whoa.
I have really intense dreams every night here. Normally, in my daily life in the U.S., I rarely remember my dreams. But since I've been here I've been having wildly intenso dreams every night, and remembering them at least fairly well. Sometimes very vividly. I've been keeping a journal, and I write about my dreams in it everyday. I find that the process of putting the weird dream images into words helps me gain clarity and understanding. They are all meaningful. I haven't had meaningful dreams every night like this, well, ever. It's kind of cool and strange all at once. Sometimes I wake up feeling not very rested; my mind has little rest here. So much learning, growing, changing, and considering lots of things.
Wren and I are on our way to book the first of our train tickets for the travel portion of the trip. We are going to go see my friend Ethan in Auroville first, and then head to Kerala for a while, then Goa, Hampi, and then back to Bangalore to send Wren home. I will have 3 weeks after she leaves before I fly out. Haven't decided what to do yet. I'm excited about traveling, but getting a little sad to leave Mysore. Just as I'm starting to get used to things here! Isn't that the way it goes?
I've gotten really into lungies. They are the traditional Indian man-skirts. Wren loves them and wears them all the time. Which seems totally normal to me, but is probably weird and funny to everyone from here, because she's so lovely and femme and wearing man clothes. And I'm used to wearing man clothes all the time, but it's been years and years since I wore anything skirt-like that wasn't in jest (like special dress-up drag moments in Indigo's costume room, etc). Anyway, it's freakin' hot here and the lungies are nice & breezy underneath. And the lungies come in super-sweet colors and patterns. I actually have a little bit of a collection of them now. Ha! I had no idea I would come to India and start wearing "skirts!" And in public! Whoa.
I have really intense dreams every night here. Normally, in my daily life in the U.S., I rarely remember my dreams. But since I've been here I've been having wildly intenso dreams every night, and remembering them at least fairly well. Sometimes very vividly. I've been keeping a journal, and I write about my dreams in it everyday. I find that the process of putting the weird dream images into words helps me gain clarity and understanding. They are all meaningful. I haven't had meaningful dreams every night like this, well, ever. It's kind of cool and strange all at once. Sometimes I wake up feeling not very rested; my mind has little rest here. So much learning, growing, changing, and considering lots of things.
Wren and I are on our way to book the first of our train tickets for the travel portion of the trip. We are going to go see my friend Ethan in Auroville first, and then head to Kerala for a while, then Goa, Hampi, and then back to Bangalore to send Wren home. I will have 3 weeks after she leaves before I fly out. Haven't decided what to do yet. I'm excited about traveling, but getting a little sad to leave Mysore. Just as I'm starting to get used to things here! Isn't that the way it goes?
Monday, February 15, 2010
educacion, amor, y huevos
OMG! So much has been going on to fill you in on. I feel a big one coming on... (no, don't worry - I'm not talking about poop at all in this entry)
(Although now it seems appropriate to note that here in Mysore, and pretty much all of India from what I gather, there is poop EVERYWHERE. Cow patties, dog poop, monkey poop, human poop, etc etc. All over the streets, and on people's hands all the time, I'm sure. There's hardly any TP around and only sometimes soap at sinks. And they use ungloved hands a lot for preparing and serving foods. And for eating. I try not to think too much about it, and have faith in my immune system.)
Yesterday was a wonderful magical Valentine's day with Wren. We started the day by exchanging gifts in our little apartment. She gave me a beautiful yoga mat bag that was filled with fresh roses and jasmine leaves, and wrote me a beautiful letter. Wren loved the presents and cards I gave her and said she felt like a princess! (foreshadowing...) After we had breakfast at an outdoor shala cafe with some friends, we headed just outside of town, with our little posse, to a gorgeous & very fancy hotel. The drive there alone was amazingly beautiful, and the place was like a huge magical castle. Complete with a horse-drawn carriage out front that made for a perfect photo shoot opportunity! Still a bit in awe, we went inside and paid for day use of the swimming pool. We walked through the ornate sunlit hallways and out to the grounds, where a lovely oval shaped pool was waiting for us to jump in . We spent all day there, laying in the sunshine, splashing around, sharing a pile of fresh cut fruit off of banana leaves, telling jokes, writing, chillin out/maxin/relaxin... It was splendid. For most of the day we had the place all to ourselves. From there we went to an Indian cafe, where we stuffed ourselves with dosas before heading to Mysore Palace to see it all lit up again (see how this all follows the princess theme?). A magical day all around. I went to sleep feeling grateful for all the love I have in my life (if you are reading this, that probably includes YOU!)
I am learning so much here, all the time. I start each day with asana class, for challenging physical learning. Then I go home for a while to do chores and rest before I head to philosophy class with the guruji. I am enjoying it so much. There is only one other student in the class - a lovely young man from Kerala who teaches hatha yoga and paints murals in Hindu temples. He is very enthusiastic to be learning from the guruji. The two of us sit on straw mats on the floor in front of our guruji, who sits in a plastic chair and tells us the history and fundamentals of yoga and shares all sorts of wisdom on spirituality and lifestyle and lots of other things. He has an uncanny way of knowing things about us that seem like things a 'stranger' wouldn't just know about us. He doesn't even know my name or where I am from, but in moments throughout the lessons he turns to me and gives me little jewels of advice and wisdom specific to my life, without being asked. It's amazing. He is 83 years old and has fewer wrinkles than most people half his age. He rides a moped around town, and says funny little things all the time. Until now, I have been getting a feel for who he is and what he does. And today I feel sold on him. I want him to be my teacher. I think I could learn so much from him. So I am hoping I'll be able to return to Mysore in the future to learn more from B.N.S. Iyengar.
Aside from my classes at the shala, I have been learning Pranayama (yogic breathing exercises) from Wren at home. Every night or 2 she teaches me a little something new and then I practice it. I'm starting to feel it more intensely. And I think it is helping to improve my breathing during asanas, which is making my practice stronger. Apparently after studying with Iyengar for a little while here, people start to look and act noticably different. I could see it in Wren when I arrived. She is more healthy and radiant than I've ever seen her. Glowing! She has lost weight but gained muscle strength and grace. And she thinks I already look different, after only about 2 weeks. She says I look more composed in my body, and that myface looks brighter. Well, I think there are many things around here that probably brighten my face! ;)
Wren and I have been taking some cooking classes here as well. They are held at a woman named Shaila's house. She is a sweetheart and an excellent cook, and happy to have us there. There are only a few people in the classes at a time. She gives us recipes and we watch her make them. It all goes on for about 3 hours. We get to sample everything as we go along, and at the end we stuff ourselves with everything. And it's deeeeeeeelicious! All for about $10 per session. We've learned to make idlis (little white cakelets made from fermented rice & dal), chutneys, curry, desserts, rice dishes, chai, many types of dosas, etc. We just got out of our dosa class, in which we watched Shaila make dosas and then each cooked our own masala dosa. And then ate it, of course! Mmm.... I am truly stuffed.
I have entered the feeding phase. For the first week or 2 I was here my appetite was nowhere to be found. I never really wanted to eat, and when I did I got full right away. Unintentional fasting. Apparently that happens to a lot of travelers when they get here and start the yoga. And then comes the feeding. Now I am eating tons. And fudging on my veganism. (Which probably comes as no surprise to some of you!) I knew I would probably not be able to avoid a little ghee here and there, so I decided to have an open mind about it. But after 2 weeks of intensive yoga practice, I found myself eyeing and drooling over other people's eggs at breakfast. I've eaten eggs a couple times since I became vegan, if they came from chickens that I knew for a fact have a happy life (like at my brother Chalo's house). But I haven't actually craved any animal products at all since I became vegan 4 or 5 years ago. I think the combination of the yoga practice and my dietary differences here left my body needing something, so after a couple days of wanting I caved in. I ordered a couple eggs over-medium with this amazing millet bread toast they have here. I took a moment to respect the chickens and recognize my gratitude to the universe before hoovering every crumb of it and immediately ordering another plate of it, which I wolfed down as well. I felt amazing afterwards! It was like a kind of high, and I was full of energy and happy. So I felt good about my choice. And the next day I did basically the same thing all over again! I won't be eating them everyday, but I am trying to take good care of myself and listen to the things my body is telling me.
Being here is already putting a lot of things into perspective for me, in a healthy way. And I'm feeling physically stronger. Wren and I have a lovely natural way of working in harmony and balancing things in our lives together, like house work, scooter driving, paying for things, preparing food & tea, etc. Especially with the drastic change of going from never seeing each other and barely speaking for 4 months to living together and spending nearly every waking and sleeping moment together! It's all playing out quite nicely.
(Although now it seems appropriate to note that here in Mysore, and pretty much all of India from what I gather, there is poop EVERYWHERE. Cow patties, dog poop, monkey poop, human poop, etc etc. All over the streets, and on people's hands all the time, I'm sure. There's hardly any TP around and only sometimes soap at sinks. And they use ungloved hands a lot for preparing and serving foods. And for eating. I try not to think too much about it, and have faith in my immune system.)
Yesterday was a wonderful magical Valentine's day with Wren. We started the day by exchanging gifts in our little apartment. She gave me a beautiful yoga mat bag that was filled with fresh roses and jasmine leaves, and wrote me a beautiful letter. Wren loved the presents and cards I gave her and said she felt like a princess! (foreshadowing...) After we had breakfast at an outdoor shala cafe with some friends, we headed just outside of town, with our little posse, to a gorgeous & very fancy hotel. The drive there alone was amazingly beautiful, and the place was like a huge magical castle. Complete with a horse-drawn carriage out front that made for a perfect photo shoot opportunity! Still a bit in awe, we went inside and paid for day use of the swimming pool. We walked through the ornate sunlit hallways and out to the grounds, where a lovely oval shaped pool was waiting for us to jump in . We spent all day there, laying in the sunshine, splashing around, sharing a pile of fresh cut fruit off of banana leaves, telling jokes, writing, chillin out/maxin/relaxin... It was splendid. For most of the day we had the place all to ourselves. From there we went to an Indian cafe, where we stuffed ourselves with dosas before heading to Mysore Palace to see it all lit up again (see how this all follows the princess theme?). A magical day all around. I went to sleep feeling grateful for all the love I have in my life (if you are reading this, that probably includes YOU!)
I am learning so much here, all the time. I start each day with asana class, for challenging physical learning. Then I go home for a while to do chores and rest before I head to philosophy class with the guruji. I am enjoying it so much. There is only one other student in the class - a lovely young man from Kerala who teaches hatha yoga and paints murals in Hindu temples. He is very enthusiastic to be learning from the guruji. The two of us sit on straw mats on the floor in front of our guruji, who sits in a plastic chair and tells us the history and fundamentals of yoga and shares all sorts of wisdom on spirituality and lifestyle and lots of other things. He has an uncanny way of knowing things about us that seem like things a 'stranger' wouldn't just know about us. He doesn't even know my name or where I am from, but in moments throughout the lessons he turns to me and gives me little jewels of advice and wisdom specific to my life, without being asked. It's amazing. He is 83 years old and has fewer wrinkles than most people half his age. He rides a moped around town, and says funny little things all the time. Until now, I have been getting a feel for who he is and what he does. And today I feel sold on him. I want him to be my teacher. I think I could learn so much from him. So I am hoping I'll be able to return to Mysore in the future to learn more from B.N.S. Iyengar.
Aside from my classes at the shala, I have been learning Pranayama (yogic breathing exercises) from Wren at home. Every night or 2 she teaches me a little something new and then I practice it. I'm starting to feel it more intensely. And I think it is helping to improve my breathing during asanas, which is making my practice stronger. Apparently after studying with Iyengar for a little while here, people start to look and act noticably different. I could see it in Wren when I arrived. She is more healthy and radiant than I've ever seen her. Glowing! She has lost weight but gained muscle strength and grace. And she thinks I already look different, after only about 2 weeks. She says I look more composed in my body, and that myface looks brighter. Well, I think there are many things around here that probably brighten my face! ;)
Wren and I have been taking some cooking classes here as well. They are held at a woman named Shaila's house. She is a sweetheart and an excellent cook, and happy to have us there. There are only a few people in the classes at a time. She gives us recipes and we watch her make them. It all goes on for about 3 hours. We get to sample everything as we go along, and at the end we stuff ourselves with everything. And it's deeeeeeeelicious! All for about $10 per session. We've learned to make idlis (little white cakelets made from fermented rice & dal), chutneys, curry, desserts, rice dishes, chai, many types of dosas, etc. We just got out of our dosa class, in which we watched Shaila make dosas and then each cooked our own masala dosa. And then ate it, of course! Mmm.... I am truly stuffed.
I have entered the feeding phase. For the first week or 2 I was here my appetite was nowhere to be found. I never really wanted to eat, and when I did I got full right away. Unintentional fasting. Apparently that happens to a lot of travelers when they get here and start the yoga. And then comes the feeding. Now I am eating tons. And fudging on my veganism. (Which probably comes as no surprise to some of you!) I knew I would probably not be able to avoid a little ghee here and there, so I decided to have an open mind about it. But after 2 weeks of intensive yoga practice, I found myself eyeing and drooling over other people's eggs at breakfast. I've eaten eggs a couple times since I became vegan, if they came from chickens that I knew for a fact have a happy life (like at my brother Chalo's house). But I haven't actually craved any animal products at all since I became vegan 4 or 5 years ago. I think the combination of the yoga practice and my dietary differences here left my body needing something, so after a couple days of wanting I caved in. I ordered a couple eggs over-medium with this amazing millet bread toast they have here. I took a moment to respect the chickens and recognize my gratitude to the universe before hoovering every crumb of it and immediately ordering another plate of it, which I wolfed down as well. I felt amazing afterwards! It was like a kind of high, and I was full of energy and happy. So I felt good about my choice. And the next day I did basically the same thing all over again! I won't be eating them everyday, but I am trying to take good care of myself and listen to the things my body is telling me.
Being here is already putting a lot of things into perspective for me, in a healthy way. And I'm feeling physically stronger. Wren and I have a lovely natural way of working in harmony and balancing things in our lives together, like house work, scooter driving, paying for things, preparing food & tea, etc. Especially with the drastic change of going from never seeing each other and barely speaking for 4 months to living together and spending nearly every waking and sleeping moment together! It's all playing out quite nicely.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Today was a stiff first day back in my early-morning asana class, after a three-day absence. Why, you ask?
LAS CAGALERAS.
Yes, the shits I mentioned in my last entry lasted for days and days. Both me & Wren. One little apartment. No TP. (Getting to know you.....)
I tried to stay strong. I was a trooper. A few days into it, I was dreaming of toilet paper. Literally.
After one particularly rough and sleepless night for Wren, we booked it to the doctor in the morning. In the ER. It took about 5 minutes, and it was free (except for about $4 for medicine for both of us). A few days later, we are almost back to normal. And I still have a shred or 2 of dignity left, somewhere around here....
Yes, it's been a humbling experience.
...
I had my first philosophy class with the guruji today. I'm very excited to be learning more than just the asanas with him. He is a tiny, funny little man witha twinkle in his eye. Wise and hilarious in his ways. A bit hard to understand at times, but I'm getting better at it. Today we learned about the first 4 of the 6 darshanas. More tomorrow.
Asanas are going well, despite the few days set-back. I think I'll be able to do a headstand without the help of the wall soon, which will feel like a victory for me.
Scootin' around town has been a blast! I've been doing most of the driving for us since I started, and I love it. Even with all of the crazy everywhere. I love the crazy everywhere. (And yes, the crazy is everywhere.) And I have no idea how to get around yet. It still all looks the same to me everywhere, so Wren has to tell me exactly where to go. Ha!
It's a weird vortex of time here. Life moves at an entirely different pace than I'm used to. So slow, it seems, but the days fly by so fast - I can't believe I've been here for almost 2 weeks!
I got the clothes back that I had tailored for me. They mostly worked out well, except an interesting orientation of the fabric on the drawstring pants I had made resulted in some nonsequitor bursts of bright color right in the crotches. Ha! It sometimes surprises me when I look down. Sweet.
The other night Wren and I went to Mysore Palace, where for an hour every Sunday evening they turn on lights that cover every line of the architecture, outside and in. It was stunning. We sat in a grassy patch with a nice view, entertained by each other and many little Indian children running and playing all around us, while a band played music for all.
Getting into the groove of this foreign (in more ways than one) domesticity with Wren has been going quite well so far. Yes, every moment with her is a blessing.
LAS CAGALERAS.
Yes, the shits I mentioned in my last entry lasted for days and days. Both me & Wren. One little apartment. No TP. (Getting to know you.....)
I tried to stay strong. I was a trooper. A few days into it, I was dreaming of toilet paper. Literally.
After one particularly rough and sleepless night for Wren, we booked it to the doctor in the morning. In the ER. It took about 5 minutes, and it was free (except for about $4 for medicine for both of us). A few days later, we are almost back to normal. And I still have a shred or 2 of dignity left, somewhere around here....
Yes, it's been a humbling experience.
...
I had my first philosophy class with the guruji today. I'm very excited to be learning more than just the asanas with him. He is a tiny, funny little man witha twinkle in his eye. Wise and hilarious in his ways. A bit hard to understand at times, but I'm getting better at it. Today we learned about the first 4 of the 6 darshanas. More tomorrow.
Asanas are going well, despite the few days set-back. I think I'll be able to do a headstand without the help of the wall soon, which will feel like a victory for me.
Scootin' around town has been a blast! I've been doing most of the driving for us since I started, and I love it. Even with all of the crazy everywhere. I love the crazy everywhere. (And yes, the crazy is everywhere.) And I have no idea how to get around yet. It still all looks the same to me everywhere, so Wren has to tell me exactly where to go. Ha!
It's a weird vortex of time here. Life moves at an entirely different pace than I'm used to. So slow, it seems, but the days fly by so fast - I can't believe I've been here for almost 2 weeks!
I got the clothes back that I had tailored for me. They mostly worked out well, except an interesting orientation of the fabric on the drawstring pants I had made resulted in some nonsequitor bursts of bright color right in the crotches. Ha! It sometimes surprises me when I look down. Sweet.
The other night Wren and I went to Mysore Palace, where for an hour every Sunday evening they turn on lights that cover every line of the architecture, outside and in. It was stunning. We sat in a grassy patch with a nice view, entertained by each other and many little Indian children running and playing all around us, while a band played music for all.
Getting into the groove of this foreign (in more ways than one) domesticity with Wren has been going quite well so far. Yes, every moment with her is a blessing.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Scootin'
(I wrote this many days ago, but the power went out before I could post it. Finally back at an internet place, so here it is.)
I'm starting to feel a lot more energetic today.
Finally starting to get over the jet lag, I think. I've easily gotten used to Wren's yogi schedule. We go to sleep around 8 or 9, and wake at 4:30 (believe it or not!). She makes us teensy cups of coffee, and we're off to the shala for practice.
My practice is going quite well, I think. I'm still a bit wobbly at some of the asanas, and sometimes I fall over and laugh, but I'm getting better at others, and stronger little by little. Wren thinks I'm naturally talented at it. (She flatters!) Says she thinks it's my vegan diet and open mind/heart. :)
I got my first bought of the shits yesterday! I was expecting intestinal turmoil at some point on this trip, but I was a bit surprised that it has happened so soon after my arrival. But then again, not surprised. Ha! But I feel fine in spite of it. Yes, it's all part of the experience.
It's hard to keep anything clean here. It's just dirty everywhere. I've already gotten quite used to having dirty feet and smelly armpits all the time. Everybody else does too! We have a very "rustic" bathroom at the apartment. Wren calls it a "medieval princess bath" - it involves two big buckets for hot and cold water, and a little plastic pitcher (just like the toilet ones) to pour it on yourself with. It's actually quite nice. We do our laundry in there as well, by hand with a detergent bar, and hang it outside to dry. I'm enjoying that so far too. (And it makes me feel so much more grateful for all the conveniences I have in my normal daily life. So spoiled we are!)
I've been driving the scooter around for the first time today! I was a bit nervous about it, but once I actually started doing it I was having a lot of fun. I'm still just a bit tentative and wobbly (I've never driven a moped before), but I don't mind the crazy traffic. I'm getting quite used to it. There's something a little relaxing in the chaos of it. And it's exhilarating to zip around, with my darling in tow.
Yesterday we went to the lake here in Mysore. Wren and I layed in the sunshine, meditated, watched the water birds. It was so peaceful and beautiful, and there was hardly anyone around. Such a nice break from the heavily populated, dirty, noisy buzz of life everywhere else here.
Today we spent hours laying in the sunshine by the pool. We shared the headphones and listened to songs from my tiny ipod. Our current fave: Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. I introduced Wren to it, and she loves it like I do. It's so wonderful to have such relaxing downtime here. I feel like I'm really living in the moment for the first time in months. Before this I had been so busy with moving and traveling and making plans and preparing for things. And now, life is easy and great. Oh yeah, and I'm getting tan already from all this sunshine.
I'm starting to feel a lot more energetic today.
Finally starting to get over the jet lag, I think. I've easily gotten used to Wren's yogi schedule. We go to sleep around 8 or 9, and wake at 4:30 (believe it or not!). She makes us teensy cups of coffee, and we're off to the shala for practice.
My practice is going quite well, I think. I'm still a bit wobbly at some of the asanas, and sometimes I fall over and laugh, but I'm getting better at others, and stronger little by little. Wren thinks I'm naturally talented at it. (She flatters!) Says she thinks it's my vegan diet and open mind/heart. :)
I got my first bought of the shits yesterday! I was expecting intestinal turmoil at some point on this trip, but I was a bit surprised that it has happened so soon after my arrival. But then again, not surprised. Ha! But I feel fine in spite of it. Yes, it's all part of the experience.
It's hard to keep anything clean here. It's just dirty everywhere. I've already gotten quite used to having dirty feet and smelly armpits all the time. Everybody else does too! We have a very "rustic" bathroom at the apartment. Wren calls it a "medieval princess bath" - it involves two big buckets for hot and cold water, and a little plastic pitcher (just like the toilet ones) to pour it on yourself with. It's actually quite nice. We do our laundry in there as well, by hand with a detergent bar, and hang it outside to dry. I'm enjoying that so far too. (And it makes me feel so much more grateful for all the conveniences I have in my normal daily life. So spoiled we are!)
I've been driving the scooter around for the first time today! I was a bit nervous about it, but once I actually started doing it I was having a lot of fun. I'm still just a bit tentative and wobbly (I've never driven a moped before), but I don't mind the crazy traffic. I'm getting quite used to it. There's something a little relaxing in the chaos of it. And it's exhilarating to zip around, with my darling in tow.
Yesterday we went to the lake here in Mysore. Wren and I layed in the sunshine, meditated, watched the water birds. It was so peaceful and beautiful, and there was hardly anyone around. Such a nice break from the heavily populated, dirty, noisy buzz of life everywhere else here.
Today we spent hours laying in the sunshine by the pool. We shared the headphones and listened to songs from my tiny ipod. Our current fave: Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. I introduced Wren to it, and she loves it like I do. It's so wonderful to have such relaxing downtime here. I feel like I'm really living in the moment for the first time in months. Before this I had been so busy with moving and traveling and making plans and preparing for things. And now, life is easy and great. Oh yeah, and I'm getting tan already from all this sunshine.
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