Wedding Fun

Hello friends, I'm back in Minneapolis after a 6 days of wedding fun in "Nash Vegas."
I'm definitely transitioning still. I've been really tired--sleeping anywhere from 10 to 12 hours a night, almost every night. This is unusual for me. Sometimes I don't give myself enough credit in recognizing transitions--I don't expect to feel tired, etc and then I'm surprised when I do.
The wedding was incredibly fun. Since almost everyone from both sides of the family traveled for the wedding, my parents decided to include everyone in the groom's party. We rocked karaoke and danced at Andrew Jackson's historic plantation.
The wedding itself was very beautiful. I worked hard not to sob through the whole thing. I'm just really happy for my brother and new sister-in-law!
Here are some photos for your enjoyment:
Rocking "Suspicious Minds"

Me and Mom

Zayde looking like the Godfather

My bro and new sister-in-law

Mom and Dad lookin' sharp

It takes a village to put on a wedding dress.

More soon, friends!

I'm Stateside, Finally.

Hello friends, I finally made it back to the US of A yesterday, 24 hours behind schedule, thanks to those gosh-darned "evil-doers." I left India early Tuesday morning and got to London Heathrow after a 10 hour flight. I was lucky enough to fly into the terminal that got shut down and evacuated due to a suspicious package. We sat on the tarmac for 5 hours before they let us get off the plane. I was impressed that no one freaked out on the plane. At least they turned the entertainment system on and we got to watch movies.
We got off the plane and were instructed to pick up our bags. This meant I had to go through customs. Now I can officially say I've visited England. I got the stamp and everything. I assumed I'd be able to check my bags and not see them again till I got to Minnesota. Wrong. I got to carry them all over Heathrow.
Heathrow is a giant airport and over 6,000 people were either evacuated from terminal 4 or waiting on planes that arrived at terminal 4. So, all these people were milling about. Luckily I learned how to push through crowds in India. I got my flight rescheduled. All the hotel rooms in the area were taken except for a $600 one.
I had to go to a different airport in London. I bought a bus ticket and then the driver didn't show up. Sigh. I waited and got on a later bus. I arrived at Heathrow at 1:00 pm, got to Gatwick at midnight and "slept" on a bench in the basement of the airport.
I checked in for my flight in the morning. The lady at the desk printed my boarding pass, got my luggage all ready and then told me there was a problem with the ticket I was issued the day before. Time for a meltdown. I started to cry. As far as I'm concerned it was a problem she should have been able to take care of, but apparently she wanted someone who'd been awake for 24 hours to take care of it. I got it sorted out and eventually made it to Dallas. I got home about 7:30 last night after a grand total of 55 hours in transit--from when I walked out of my door in Mysore to when I walked in the door in Minneapolis.
I feel crappy still. I slept the night, but woke up at 6:00. I did an abbreviated yoga practice this morning, had a physical and had my bridesmaid's dress fitted. I slept for 4 hours this afternoon. I'm hoping the 2 days in transit screwed up my body's internal clock so much that I won't be super jet-lagged.
It feels weird and not weird to be home. It's nice to see my family, obviously.
I'm freezing in all this air conditioning. Is it really necessary to make the indoors 68 degrees???? It's weird to drink water from the tap--this is an act of suicide in India.
It's nice not to be a big, white, moving target anymore. I was in the airport having dinner last night and for a second I thought someone was behind me asking me for money. Nope. It was all in my mind.
It was lovely to sleep in a comfy bed. And it's so quiet here!!!
Anyhoo, friends, it's good to be home. I'm sure I'll start to miss traveling once I have the energy to do anything more than think about sleeping.
Hugs (in person, for some of you!),
Lauren

Audience Participation!

Hello friends, I had my last practice this morning. I don't know if Sharath knew or not, but he did try to get me into Mari D one last time...closer, but still not there. I'll go say goodbye and thank you to him this afternoon.
I leave Mysore at 2 am. I'm traveling with another lady by taxi to Bangalore and from there I fly to Heathrow. I'm hoping I won't have any problems flying through London. Someone told me it's probably the safest place in the world right now. Maybe. It's about 10.5 hours to London, a couple hour layover, about 9 hours to Chicago and then onto the Minni-apple. I'll be home about 24 hours after I leave India, but, thanks to the rotation of the earth, I'll be home on the same day.
Now to address reader categories for my trip! Thanks to Cate and George for participating.
-Book reading: the formula for reading lots of books is easy. First, have no where to go and no one to talk to. Second, read. I read about half of the books on my list while in Mysore.
-Things most missed about US: infrastructure/organization--paved roads, working electricity, hygiene (ie bathrooms and kitchens keeping a safe distance from each other), washing machines (beating your clothes on a rock doesn't really get them that clean)
-Things least missed about US: constantly being plugged in (tv, computer, cell phone), commuting
-Things most missed about MN: family, friends, and the mighty Mississippi!
-Things least missed about MN: commuting (I really hate commuting)
-Favorite yoga saying I like to make fun of: "Awakening the kundalini"
-Favorite yoga saying: "Practice and all is coming"
-Number of phone calls to family/friends: Hmm...I would guess Mom and Dad got about 15 to 20 total phone calls
-Biggest surprises: I was shocked by the amount of staring in India
-Thing I most wish I had a picture of: me practicing yoga in the shala here
-Most photographically interesting locale: India in general--India is full of photogenic stuff. It's colorful and full of people going about their business (ALL KINDS of business)in public places.
-Where were people most willing to have photos taken: Also India--people really ham it up. I was going to take a picture of a guy's stand where he sells red powder for people to put on their foreheads. He saw me taking the photo and ran over to his stand to give me a big, goofy grin.
-Country with the best accommodation: hmmm...what can top a bungalow on the beach? So, Thailand
-Country where I was least likely to get ripped off: Malaysia/Singapore--Westernized countries=fixed prices
-Country with most tourist friendly transportation: Singapore and Malaysia--good buses and subways and lots of people spoke English
-Most expensive country: Singapore ($20/night for a dorm hostel!)
-Least expensive country: Laos
-Where I would go for just one week of vacation fun: Southern Thailand
-Recommendation for a week of vacation for the average tourist: Southern Thailand
-Items I brought that I could have done without: I enjoyed using my binoculars, but I didn't use them enough to carry them around. I didn't need to bring a warm jacket for Nepal, my trekking company would have supplied me with one. I didn't like the skirt I brought and only wore it when I was having my pants laundered--I should've brought two pairs of pants.
Next time I write, friends, I will be in the US of A. Reverse culture shock, here I come.
Hugs,
Lauren