The Days are Winding Down - March 20

Reason why home is looking better and better:
1. It gets hotter – in the 90s now. Again, thank all the gods above that there is no humidity and it cools down at night. Still, hotter during the day than I like. Delhi is even hotter AND humid.

2. I am not doing well in the battle with mosquitoes. I have 5 bites around my left eye and 3 more on my face, about 30 on my lower arms and several around my ankles and toes. I don’t feel them sting so have only been able to kill one of the little vicious suckers. Not a good score – about 50 bites to 1 death. Keep popping those malaria pills!

3. I killed a 2 inch June Bug in my room – I can’t STAND June Bugs. Most spiders are okay, I can deal with them. And I TRY to view June Bugs objectively – “Oh, look, it’s big, its body is hard and looks like Darth Vader’s helmet.” It doesn’t work. ICK! ICK! ICK! And they are hard to kill – you can’t just squish ‘em like a spider. And, Candy, I KNOW you are reading this and saying, “I LIKE June Bugs.” I will happily give you all of mine.

4. I am getting tired of Ashram food. After having the same basic meal twice a day (with the exception of the wonderful yogurt in the morning) for 9 weeks – well it is getting repetitive. Just how many ways can you fix veggies to go over rice? They do them about 12 different ways, but we have 2 at each meal, twice a day, so repeats happen quickly. They do the dal around 6 different ways – but again, twice a day, repeats happen!

5. We are starting to get info about the passage home – the train schedule, the flight from Delhi to Taipei, the last flight, hotels, etc. One bag is already packed and sitting on Betsy’s empty bed - so my mind is turning toward California.

6. Kavita left this morning to visit her husband and daughter in Rajasthan and won’t be back until after I leave. The Ashram feels a little emptier.

7. I’m tired of doing hand wash and hanging my underwear discretely on the line on the roof.

8. I am so tired of my chunni (the scarf I have to wear around my neck) I could scream. It is the first thing I take off as soon as I walk into my room. Indian females of all ages seem to be able to toss them over their shoulder in a languid gesture AND THEY STAY PUT. Mine never does. It falls down, it sags in the wrong place, even I pin it, it ends up hanging from the pins. Now that it is hot it is especially unbearable. Today I was defiant and went without – and got comments and had my neckline adjusted my other women because I was showing too much skin. I DIDN’T CARE. Just get it off me!

9. I can’t wait to see the beautiful, clear blue sky in Pacific Grove (and will welcome the fog once it comes in!)

10. Today at tea Arpita calmly mentioned, “Darn it, there is another tick on Babaji’s couch.” I am now continuously scratching and looking for ticks!

In rereading this list - bugs figure prominently! All the things that happen when it heats up. Last night I stepped into the bathroom barefoot and there was a 6 inch gecko on the floor - quickly turned to put on the light - and the gecko was gone. That's worse! Found it hiding, put a waste basket upside down over it, closed the bathroom door and dealt with it in the morning. Moved it outside to live long and prosper ELSEWHERE. I keep reminding myself they are good luck in Hawaii.

Things I will Miss about India
1. The children – my lap will feel a little empty.

2. My dhoubi! Never again will dirty clothes be whisked out of my hands and returned the next day as art - clean and beautifully folded.

3. The chance to study (and try to imitate) Indian gestures – they are languid and lovely and I simply can’t do them.

4. The very personal process of buying and selling – Being invited to come and sit on the shop owner’s bench, offered tea, discussion of products, agreement on a price, looking over other things in the shop, discussing how the shop owner knows the Ashram, finally passing over the money while the product is packaged. So personal.

5. The big, fat, red Indian sun as it sets each evening over the wheat fields. Truly remarkable (and I try to ignore the fact that the red is probably a by-product of air pollution)

6. The meandering cows – EVERYWHERE.

7. The color of India – I have seen the land during the dry time – so it is a dusty brown and green. But, oh my goodness, what the people add with their clothing is simply amazing. There is nothing like looking across a dusty environment and then watch a woman in a flaming pink or strong yellow or vivid orange sari enter and light up the scene.

8. The potential of Elephant attacks! When will that EVER be part of my life again?

9. The monkeys – leaping gracefully from branch to branch, trying their best to wrest food from the gardens before the dogs give chase, even those waiting to pounce on the bridge in Rishikesh. Again, not likely to be part of my future life.

10. The lovely people I have met.

Now having complained about Ashram food – I am, at the same time, so thankful that everything is carefully prepared. I have been sick such a little amount of time – and did I ever hear horror stories from friends and acquaintances about being sick in India! Kim and Jeff, your stories were by far the worst, but Carroll and Melinda, you had some good ones too. What I did have was head congestion for 2 days but it did not do what is usually does at home - go into a cold and then bronchitis. I had the necessary drugs with me but they weren’t needed. I did get Delhi Belly for about a week – but that was from one of the 2 meals I ate in Haridwar – both supposedly at good restaurants. But even then I had a really mild case. Wasn’t inconvenienced, no cramps, my plumbing just didn’t work quite right for a while. The water here is carefully filtered – and I can refill my bottles any time of day. I still have Delhi to get through – but the Y apparently also does a good job preparing breakfast and dinner and I will be careful during the day. So, it looks like I might make it. Oh, wait, I have a 7-hour flight and then a 12-14 hour flight – THOSE have gotten me in the past. We’ll see. But at this point, knock on wood, I made it through without having to use the arsenal of western medicine I brought with me (and has since been donated to the Ashram clinic).