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