There She Goes Again

Unfortunately, this year will be the first time in probably 15 years that I won’t be watching the Oscars. Tonight, I am boarding a 10 hour overnight train (my first overnighter in India) to go to a city in Karnataka called Hampi and none of the guesthouses there have TVs. No chance of getting a sports bar to play them for me either, since alcohol is forbidden in this ‘Holy’ place. I’m just going to be blindly rooting for Sicko and Cate Blanchett for I’m Not There to take home the gold.

Yesterday Dee and I got ’stuck’ in Bangalore and decided to spend our time watching Hollywood movies, since they are very rarely playing anywhere. We first saw Jumper, which was AWFUL!! I thought maybe major scenes were cut out to show here or something, but then I read a bunch of reviews saying there were plot holes left and right, so I think it really is just that bad. The reason I’m writing about this though, is that before the movie, they made everyone in the theatre stand-up and they played the National Anthem on the screen! Amazing. THEN, literally half-way through the film, the projector just shut off in the middle of a scene and it was intermission for the next 15 minutes. Workers came into the theatre to take people’s orders of popcorn/drinks/samosas and then would deliver them to their seats! Unlike the Bollywood movie, there wasn’t any phone answering or chatting- I was surprised, but maybe this city crowd was just more sophisticated?? FYI- Bangalore is a really big city and tons of people come here to work in IT fields. In the evening, we saw We Own The Night (so much better-thank goodness) and the theatre was freeeeeezing, so the manager brought me a blanket. Conclusion: cinema experiences in India are VERY different from America.

I am learning that there are many different games you have to play in this country. The first, and most useful and important, is the art of bargaining. This game ALWAYS needs to be played with a smile and a “let’s have fun, while making a deal, though I know I’m still probably getting screwed” attitude. I think the salespeople love it a lot more than I do, but if I want to get anything for a semi-decent price, it’s the only way to go. The second game is being touted around by a rickshaw driver or guide from store to store. In this game, you really only have to go into a store for five minutes, get majorly hassled by the salespeople then get out and get a free/cheap ride to the next touristy spot or shop. Today, Gunga took us around from 10am to 3pm, alternating between stores and errands and touristy spots. We had to go into six different stores for him, but he didn’t charge us for one ride. It’s extremely draining to pretend to seem semi-interested, but well worth the 500 Rupees we probably saved in the long run.

Going back to my time in Mysore, we befriended an English photographer named Peter, who in turn befriended an Indian rickshaw driver named Harish. Since we were friends of Peter, Harish took the three of us to his family home, where his wife and sister-in-law cooked us a fantastic thali lunch and then the girls dressed us up in their saris. Peter proceeded to do an America’s Next Top Model inspired photoshoot with us in our saris in front of a bicycle full of buckets and on top of a taxi. It was hilarious- all of the little villagers came out to watch in awe. The next day, Harish took us to this huge and incredible temple in his rickshaw on the bumpiest, holiest (not in the spiritual sense) road imaginable and let me tell you how LITTLE shock absorbtion those tiny 3-wheeler rickshaws have. It was very tiring being shaken around like that for 2 hours to get to the temple and back. Harish watched Peter with his camera and would take my camera and mimic everything he did. He eventually wore down my battery completely because, like Peter the professional photographer, he would take 4-5 shots of every little thing with all different angles. Never in his life had he owned a camera, so as a little present, I bought him a disposable one.

xoxo

Uploaded new pictures from the ashram and my time in Kerala- links are on the side!

Also, wanted to add a link to this slideshow from the ashram that this guy Rishi took during our Yoga Vacation. He’s an amazing photographer- enjoy! http://www.rishio.com/galleries/sivananda/index.html

After our “liberation” from the prison-like (at times) ashram, I finally got to see INDIA! The ashram was filled with mostly westerners and really could have been set anywhere in the world, so on our freedom journey from Neyyar Dam to Trivandrum (Kerela’s capital) by taxi- I took in the sights and smells of India for the first time. Kerela is one of India’s 28 states and is nicknamed “God’s Own Country.” I was really gearing up to learn some Hindi to communicate to those few who don’t speak English, but the state language is Malayalam- turns out, not everyone even understands Hindi- so that idea has kind of gone out the window. No way am I going to possibly learn even the basics of the hundreds of languages and dialects spoken in this country. 

As far as the smells are concerned, there is definitely a scent in the air, though it changes from absolutely delicious to absolutely disgusting. Nothing yet though has been as bad as the smells (or toilets) I experienced quite often in China- thank goodness. I have a feeling that the north is VERY different from the south and this will be changing fairly soon. It is true what they say about your senses being on overload. There are just sooo many colors and cars and cows that it’s hard to keep my eye on any one thing for every long. The taxi and auto-rickshaw (Indian Ferarri) rides scare me to no end- I’ve started to just avoid looking out the window entirely. I find in this situation it’s better to just be in denial.

Our first stop after doing some major emailing catch-up in Trivandrum was to a city on the coast called Kollam, where we did a backwaters canoe tour of Munroe Island. While waiting for our tour to start, we stopped at this four-story Wedding Center to have a look at the saris. About five different sales people were eagerly pulling saris of all different colors, designs and prices off the shelves for us to make our choice. We narrowed it down to 3 saris each, without any intention to actually buy one. I really just wanted to try one on and have a look at myself as an Indian lady. Unfortunately, it was extremely difficult to escape the grasps of the salespeople without buying anything. Even though I really like the “game” of haggling for prices (it really can be fun when done with a smile), I do not like feeling the huge weight of the pressure most sales people pile on to get you to just buy something. I also don’t like feeling that no-one can be trusted. If someone tries to help me, I often find myself thinking that they’re just doing it for a quick buck. It’s very very unfortunate, but happens too often to not be wary.

Anyway, on our canoe trip, we went through this little village and got out a few times to see how people there make a living and learned a thousand different uses for coconuts- from soaps to ropes. The canoe trip, clocking in at 3 hours, was a tad long, but extremely relaxing, minus the few minutes where I thought our ship might sink as the boat-man poured bucket after bucket of water out of our boat that was coming in through the HOLE in the bottom. In Kollam, we went to eat at the Indian Coffee House (a small chain restaurant) and discovered that there are seperate room for ladies only- how 1950s!  The non-western restaurants still have us eating with our hand off of metal plates, just like at the ashram, and full vegetarian meals cost anywhere from 50 cents to $1! I’m still not over how inexpensive most things are. For example, tomorrow we are getting a full-day guided tour for only $3!!

After Kollam, we traveled by train to Cochi and spent the next 3 days there. It was ridiculously hot, so we spent most afternoons drinking tea and devouring our books in cooled restaurants. I found a heavenly place with iced coffee comparable to Starbucks and went there quite often, of course. While wandering along the beach to see the neat-looking Chinese fishing nets, I passed a vendor selling peanuts cooked in sand and then sold while still covered in sand. Who eats sand?! I didn’t quite get how this would be enjoyable.  I also passed a long line of schoolchildren and each of them needed to shake my hand and ask me my name and where I was from. I really needed my publicist. It is funny though- how you feel a little bit like a celebrity. I think someone needs to teach these kids how to high-five- it would be much more time-efficient than having to shake hands and going down the line would be much simpler.

One afternoon, we decided to cool off while watching a movie at the local cinema. The box office man said that the movie, Jodhaa Akbar, was over 3.5 hrs long and entirely in Hindi without subtitles, but even with this warning, we went ahead and purchased our $1.25 tickets in the 1st class balcony seats. The experience was FANTASTIC!! First of all, from what I understood, the movie was pretty good and the cinematography was gorgeous. I was surprised at how much I was able to understand without knowing one word of Hindi- but it was a pretty basic historical love story with lots of elephants in the gorey fight scenes. The audience was a’hootin and a’hollerin throughout the entire movie, with cell phones ringing (and being answered) left and right. In the US, this would have driven me NUTS, but it somehow added to the experience. Everytime the two leads would come close to touching or kissing (they never did), people would start oohing and aahing and yelling stuff at the screen. I can’t wait to see another!! After we saw the movie, I was reading the NY Times and saw it reviewed in there, so I guess it’s coming out in the states if anyone want to see it- though I’m sure it won’t be the same seeing in a quiet, normal theatre. ]

Another interesting thing to note is that the men are extremely friendly towards one another. They are always clasping hands or walking down the street with their arms around each other. It’s very interesting since India is supposedly very homophobic, yet the men look very into each other.

 From Cochi, we took a train and a very bumpy, crowded bus that was missing window panes to get to Kalpetta in the Wayanard District in the Western Ghats. Yesterday, we arranged to have a full-day guided tour with our hotel, which started at 6am and finished at 6pm. First we went to a wildlife sanctuary in hopes of spotting wild-elephants and tigers (no such luck- we only saw a mongoose, peacocks, and birds), then to a VERY old Jain Temple, to the overly schoolgroup crowded Eddekal Caves to see petroglyphs dating back to 6000 BC (pretty spectacular stuff!), then to a waterfall and finally back to our hotel. There is a major transportation strike going on today due to petroleum hikes, so we had to thenrush and pack up to get on a 7pm bus to get to Mysore (since we wouldn’t have been able to travel today) and we arrived last night at midnight.  From here, we are going to Hampi for a few days, then to Goa, where I’m pretty sure I’ll be spending my 26th birthday! After that…I really haven’t a clue, but definitely heading north pretty quickly since my flight out of India is on March 25th and have to squeeze in as much as possible during the next month. Adios for now chicas and chicos! (I actually kinda miss Spanish!)

xoxo

Now everyone sit cross-legged with your left leg tucked in first, hips forward, shoulders down, back straight, with your hands on your knees in Chin Mudra. Close your eyes and take 3 deep abdominal breaths. Command the mind to be quiet and don’t play an active part in your thoughts- instead, just watch them go by. Focus on either your heart, if you are a loving person, or the spot between your eyebrows, if you are an intellectual person. Now repeat OM or your personal mantra mentally or quietly under your breath for the next half hour.

That is how we began each day at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari Ashram,
in Neyyar Dam, Kerala, South India in our satsang starting at 6am and again at 8pm. The 2 week program I did was called “yoga vacation.” In satsang, along with our meditation, we did a lot of chanting (I bought a CD entitled LIVE AT SATSANG so you’ll be able to get the idea once I torture you with it when I’m home) and then one of the head Swamis (monks) would give a little talk. Topics included love, God, and why you should not have sex (or go shopping!!) if you want to be successful in life. My meditation skills are relatively useless. I can’t even come close to sitting still the entire 30 mins because my lower back is so tight, which then transfers to my hips being unable to go down far enough and therefore, my knees want to kill me when I sit “Indian-style.” Also, there’s a cat named Tiger who enjoys making me giggle by meowing during meditation and birds are chirping from every which way and lions roaring from the sanctuary about a mile from the ashram. Yes, the ashram is surrounded by lions, there are crocodiles in the lake, and if you think any unpure thoughts, you are surely destined not to succeed- it’s a dangerous place! Needless to say, it’s hard to concentrate during meditation. After trying my heart out for the first 3 days, I subsided to using the time to simply daydream. I still really enjoyed the hour daily set aside for meditation though- I got lots of great thinking in that there usually isn’t time for on a daily basis and strange things definitely popped into my head every once in awhile. 

After our morning satsang, we were rewarded with tea (am now completely addicted) and if we were lucky, a banana smaller than my thumb. This is supposed to hold you over for another 3 hours until breakfast time at 10am-we wake up at 5:20am so the wait is trying.  After tea, it’s time for the first asana (posture) or Yoga class of the day. I joined the beginner class and we had two classes daily- each lasting for 2 hours. Yes, it is as tiring as it sounds, but from all the special breathing exercises, somehow it’s incredibly energizing as well. Our morning class teacher is a yoga therapist from Canada and tells us that if something hurts while yoga-ing to “talk to the pain like a small child and just guide it through.” Yeah-somehow that doesn’t work lady! My yoga accomplishments by the end of our 13 days included a pretty perfectly straight headstand, a few seconds in The Crow, and touching my toes for the first time in probably 20 years!

Meals, at 10am and 6pm, had us sitting on the floor in front of metal plates and cups. Our onionless & garlicless vegetarian food is ladled/slopped out onto our plates from huge buckets and I felt myself quoting “Oliver!” quite a few times. We proceeded to eat using only our right hands. Inevitably, my clothes and floor area were disasters by the time I finished, but it is really fun eating with my hand.

I served tea during afternoon tea time at 1:30pm for my karma yoga aka self-less service aka chores! Everyone at the ashram has to do some sort of chore for good karma. I’m not really supposed to say this because it goes against the purpose of karma yoga, but I pretty much had the best job possible. It was really easy and didn’t involve scrubbing toilets, so honestly I felt blessed. The crazy thing is though, that you’re supposed to WANT to do the most back-breaking and smelliest job unselfishly because it gives you better karma- oops! Other than our 2 satsangs, 2 teas, 2 meals and 2 yoga sessions, I spent a lot of time reading, siesta-ing, journaling and chatting with my new group of friends. It’s really hard to describe the vibe around the ashram, but it was usually very positive. There was even a talent show on Saturday night that was as painful as I’d expected. One German named Wolfgang even did some performance art.

No, I haven’t turned into a New Age-ie spiritual guru and no it didn’t change my life, but I did learn a lot about Sivananda hatha yoga, a bit about meditation, and from our lectures, a little more about what yoga culture is all about.  These Sivananda yoga centers are spread all over the world, including one on W. 24th St in NYC and one in Chicago.  In my daydreams during meditation, I spent lots of time thinking about how I’d come back to NYC and am able to afford joining both a fancy yoga studio and a gym and would go to yoga every morning on my walk to work and to the gym after work.  Uh-huh- keep on dreamin’! Om shanti blessed ones.

I’m obsessed with calling London “London-town”…well, actually, I’m kind of just obsessed with London…well, actually I’m truly fascinated with ALL of England!  The 3 days I had in London went by way too quickly. It was my third time there, but I still have so much I want to see and do. Most of my time on this trip was spent with friends, which was fantastic. I stayed in High Gate at my friend Jen’s adorable “flat.” My British bestie Ali drove all the way down from Nottingham to pick me up from Heathrow, drove me through the CENTER of London (no one in their right mind does this, but I gave her terrible directions), and then we went to a pub for some beer and catch-up time. Luckily, I get to see Ali at least twice a year, but we still always have so much to talk about. Jen was having a house-warming party that night, so I met lots of interesting Brits and drank some delish caprihinas that I brought from Brazil. The next day, after bacon sandwiches (a British speciality), Jen, Ali, our other friend Sam, and I strolled through a gorgeous park called Hempstead Heath- we did some government sponsored bird-watching, drank some tea (obligitory in England) and had a proper Sunday lunch at a pub called The Flask. I had vegetarian toad in the hole- which is sausages (mine were veg), over mashed potatoes with gravy all in a giant yorkshire pudding. I’m a vegetarian now, p.s.  We’ll see how long it takes before the smell of a juicy steak wins me back to the dark side. I LOVE all things English- seriously, I really think I need to live there at one point. It was wonderful to have a bit of cold weather too- it wasn’t freezing or anything- just perfect. After not having a winter this year, those 3 days in 50 degree weather was heavenly. Surprisingly, it didn’t even rain! That night, I went to the cinema with Jen, her bro Jamie, & my friend Dylan (from my Australia travels) to see Sweeney Todd- which I’d been dying to see. Pretty cool to see it in the town where it’s set.  The sightseeing highlight from this trip was going to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and “acting” on the stage! I’d been before when I was 18, but as a tourist, you are NEVER allowed to go on the stage. Luckily, my friend Susie from the Inca Trail works there and let us go up. It was FANTASTIC!!! It really made me want to go back into theatre- ah, I miss it!

After London, we flew to The Kingdom of Bahrain for a long-ass 16 hour layover where we couldn’t leave the airport! The internet was entirely too expensive, as was eating lunch and dinner in the CHILI’S RESTAURANT (!!!!) they had at the airport! I was in heaven eating my beloved broccoli cheese soup though. The women wore burkhas that covered everything but their eyes, while carrying Coach or Gucci purses and bejeweled cell-phones. The men wore long “dresses” and had red and white checked scarves covering their heads, which honestly looked like tableclothes. I would have loved to have been able to explore this small country in the Middle East outside the confines of the airport gates, but I guess my Middle East adventures will have to come at another time…HOPEFULLY Americans will be safe there at some point in the future.