Greetings to all who are interested while I am away. I won't give a general description of where i am. Yall will only glean details of how i have felt or what I personally have been fortunate enough to witness or be involved in. this blog is also for me because although i know I should i rarely if even keep a journal. Its 44degrees Celsius almost 24 hours a day. That is HOT for all you Fahrenheiters out there. The internet cafes are air-conditioned so i imagine i will be posting my thoughts often. The last 3 nights i slept on a concrete slab 12 feet off the ground. No sheet (too hot). No ground pad or pillow (too hot). I broke down today and dropped $15us on a fan only to get back and discover the outlets in my building do not work. I justified the expense because i have already spent $4us for 3 nights worth of bug spray. Even using my mosquito net is too hot. It is hot here. Ramana's Garden sits about 200ft above the Ganges River in the area known as Luxmanjula (also spelled 3 other ways that i have seen), above Rishikesh. Rishikesh and in consequence "Yoga" were made famous to the western world after in became known that the Beatles came here to visit their Maharajah. I havent signed up for a course as i thought i would. Funds dont go quite as far as i thought they would here in India. Sure i get 57 rupees for 1 USD but it costs around 40rupee(Rs) for a coke. I rarely drank cokes in the USA but I rarely experienced heat this entrenching. I am harping on this i know, but that is a great word. As if a mass of lava filled earthworms were constantly digging farther and farther into my being.
Again this blog is mostly for my thoughts and may run on and on at times. I also wear my heart on my sleeve and thus that is often how i write. These early days will give me something to reflect upon at a later date. Although i said i wanted to see how resilient i could be when broke or near broke in a foreign country when everything is practically foreign to me, similar to the scenes where Brad Pitts character in Legends of the Fall goes travelling for an untold many years, I now have experienced enough of me in a foreign land to think that i may have been better at a younger age but for me to wish for that younger mentality now is a fruitless endeavor. I like the USA. Embarrassing and not too cool in the traveler mindset. I thought the idea as a hip traveler was to embrace another culture and sort of slam the shortcomings of your own native culture for what it lacks. Take for instance "Greeks and Family" Greeks are known for their love of family. Outgoing, boisterous, flamboyant shows of love. Rarely have i seen Americans show this type of intimate love from father to son or brother to brother, sister to Aunt. The combinations are many but the point was made. In the USA, a fathers love or brothers love etc., as a generalized statement is more reserved, more thought out, distinct in delivery. It is a quiet love, and still quite thorough. That's just one but i really like how the USA has progressed. Nuclear war no longer scares me because India is filthier and its people more resilient than any depiction of life after an attack from movie or book script that i know of. If nothing else India is the polar opposite of the USA.
Walking around these roads and mountains (off the previous subject), could at times be compared to jumping up on the edge or a 4 story building and then walking its circumference. Its not that the roads are that narrow, its more that the passing cars trucks scooters and cattle seem to naturally force you to walk at the edge of the road, which is often sheered.
Again this blog is mostly for my thoughts and may run on and on at times. I also wear my heart on my sleeve and thus that is often how i write. These early days will give me something to reflect upon at a later date. Although i said i wanted to see how resilient i could be when broke or near broke in a foreign country when everything is practically foreign to me, similar to the scenes where Brad Pitts character in Legends of the Fall goes travelling for an untold many years, I now have experienced enough of me in a foreign land to think that i may have been better at a younger age but for me to wish for that younger mentality now is a fruitless endeavor. I like the USA. Embarrassing and not too cool in the traveler mindset. I thought the idea as a hip traveler was to embrace another culture and sort of slam the shortcomings of your own native culture for what it lacks. Take for instance "Greeks and Family" Greeks are known for their love of family. Outgoing, boisterous, flamboyant shows of love. Rarely have i seen Americans show this type of intimate love from father to son or brother to brother, sister to Aunt. The combinations are many but the point was made. In the USA, a fathers love or brothers love etc., as a generalized statement is more reserved, more thought out, distinct in delivery. It is a quiet love, and still quite thorough. That's just one but i really like how the USA has progressed. Nuclear war no longer scares me because India is filthier and its people more resilient than any depiction of life after an attack from movie or book script that i know of. If nothing else India is the polar opposite of the USA.
Walking around these roads and mountains (off the previous subject), could at times be compared to jumping up on the edge or a 4 story building and then walking its circumference. Its not that the roads are that narrow, its more that the passing cars trucks scooters and cattle seem to naturally force you to walk at the edge of the road, which is often sheered.
