I'm excited!

Hello friends, I went to register at the yoga shala today. I noticed just last week that I needed to send them an application form. It said on the website that if they didn't receive it, you would not be admitted as a student. I sent the form right away, but I had limited faith in the Indian postal system. I was nervous it wouldn't get here before I did.
Anyhoo, they did get my form and I'm all signed up. I got goosebumpy when I got to the shala. I had to wait in line for a while to register. The shala's been closed since March 15 and opens on Thursday, so there were a lot of people registering today.
I found a room to rent on the first floor of someone's house that's a stone's throw away from the shala. This makes for a short commute to 5 am class.
I'm feeling a little nervous and a lot excited. I'm not sure how the series will be different here from the way I've been practicing it on my own. Also, my back's been a little sore, so I'm hoping it doesn't give me too much trouble.
The AYRI (Ashtanga yoga research instiute: www.ayri.org) is in what feels like a suburb of Mysore. It's quiet and clean--a welcome change from Delhi. I have a kitchen and a refridgerator at my new place. Yay for not having to eat out for every meal (or, skipping breakfast and just eating ice cream for lunch because I'm too lazy to find a place to eat)! Yay for not living out of my backpack!
It will be a little weird to be around so many fellow foreigners...I haven't seen that many since I got to India (and there were more Indians than foreigners at the Ashram).
It seems people here rent motorbikes to get around. I'm toying with the idea...we'll see.
Today, I went to the Maharaja's palace in Mysore. The city looks so similar to parts of Kuala Lumpur, which I guess makes sense, since they were both colonized by the British and are at similar latitudes. The rest of the day I spent.....watching tv. I have one in my room here. I haven't seen tv in quite some time, so I'm maxing out while I have the opportunity. I watched Oprah this afternoon, of all things. I always get weepy when I watch Oprah. I saw the movie "National Treasure" last night. It was craptacular, but I watched it anyways.
I was thinking yesterday that it's definitely cooler here than in Delhi. Then I saw that "cooler" meant a difference between 110 in Delhi and 93 here. So, I think it's more appropriate to say it's "less unbelievably hot" here than in Delhi.
I've been enjoying some local sweets (I know you're shocked I've been eating sweets!). I've especially been enjoying the burfi (also spelled barfi, which it becomes when you eat too much)--I think it's basically milk and sugar and some flavor, like cashew, made into a fudge-like substance. Yum.
I also enjoyed rice with spicy chicken today for lunch, eaten with my hands, on a banana leaf plate. It was quite delicious. I'm still not used to eating rice with my hand. I haven't eaten meat in a really long time--most food in Nepal and India is vegetarian. I'm usually not that thrilled about meat, but I have to say, it was nice to eat some chicken.
I'm not finding the food to be overwhelmingly spicy. Thai food was way spicier. It is, however, delicious, even if I can smell myself sweating out the spices later. The rice I had today was a little spicy, and it was also flavored with cloves and anise, which was delightful. After a meal, rather than a mint, you get some anise seeds and sugar to cleanse the palate.
TTFN!
Lauren