have bag, will travel

Roman Holiday

2008-07-09T02:45:00.002-05:00

Hello friends,
It's heating up in Rome and the Romans are getting out of town. It sounds like pretty much everybody goes on vacation for the month of August and the city is full of tourists and no locals. I can tell people are already starting to leave. The buses are getting less crowded and the FAO cafeteria is clearing out.
I'm glad I got a place with AC. One of the other interns is forced to wander the streets till it cools down to the point where he can go home to an apartment that isn't a million degrees inside.
A perk of the heat: All along the river, near my house, they set up outdoor restaurants, bars and shops that only open after the sun goes down. They appear to be open pretty much all night. I went out with some of the interns last Saturday and when I left at 2 there were still masses of people out and with no sign of letting up.
I sort of finished this paper I was working on. I couldn't find information on the second part of what I was writing about. And my boss took off for a week without telling me in advance, so I'm left without much feedback. I wanted to create something that would be useful to the organization in some way--not sure if I accomplished that.
I have one more weekend in Rome, then I'm off to Geneva/Paris for a week and then I head home. I'm excited to go to Minneapolis! I haven't been since December and I miss all my people there.
I hope everyone is well!
Hugs,
Lauren

Update

2008-06-26T04:48:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,
I went to Venice last weekend and had a nice time with my friends who are there for a few weeks this summer. We went to the Doge's palace, St. Mark's Cathedral, wandered the streets and had a lovely time. Culinary highlight: Squid in its own ink. It was surprisingly delicious. Not chewy at all.
This weekend I'm off to meet Peter in Genoa--birthplace of Christopher Colombus. After this weekend I'm staying put in Rome for my last 3 weeks here. Time sure flies! I can't believe how fast this has gone.
I got a new pose at yoga 2 nights ago--Bhujapidasana. I'm finding it difficult. And, I'm finding that I'm really exhausted after practice--more than usual. I think new poses take not only extra physical exertion, but extra/new emotional exertion as well and that can be very draining.
I slept the sleep of the dead last night as a result. I woke up in the same position I fell asleep in with one arm completely numb.
Work is good, but my project is progressing slowly.
More updates soon. Sorry this one is so short!
Hugs,
Lauren

Roman Sinus Infection

2008-06-20T07:37:00.002-05:00

Hello friends,
I've decided I have a sinus infection. I've been sick all week. I started to get sick over the weekend, not sleeping on Sunday night didn't help things and I am still sick and haven't really been getting better. You don't need a prescription for things like antibiotics here (I'm not sure if you need a prescription for anything) and they gave me some at the FAO pharmacy. Hopefully they will make me feel better.
Feeling better is in order since I'm going to Venice this weekend. Vanderbilt has a study abroad program for the law school in Venice, so I'm going to stay with some friends there. It's nice to hang out with people who know their way around a place. Especially a place as confusing to get around as Venice. And it will be nice to stay with them on the islands and get to experience tourist-free mornings and evenings.
In other news, my yoga teacher here helped me into Yoga Mudrasana yesterday. I've been doing full lotus for a while but she helped me grab my toes and bend forward. Here's a link to a picture:
http://www.sanatansociety.org/yoga_and_meditation/images/gp_asana_yoga_mudrasana_jpg.jpg
I am not as flexible or as creepy looking as this guy, but at least it gives you the idea.
I can't wait for my head to feel better.
Nothing else to report.
Hugs,
Lauren

Genetic Diversity in the Food Supply

2008-06-18T09:00:00.003-05:00

Hello friends, I thought I'd share this article from today's NY Times with you. It deals with a topic that I'm currently working on at FAO--preserving the genetic diversity of the world's food to avoid situations just like this one.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/opinion/18koeppel.html?ex=1214452800&en=8f110d855cac5e76&ei=5070
I can't figure out how to make the web address into a hyperlink, so you'll have to cut and paste into your browser. Sorry.
Enjoy.

Switzerland, etc

2008-06-17T03:10:00.003-05:00

Hello friends,
It's been a while since I updated you with my happenings.
Last weekend I met Peter in Southern Switzerland. It's the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, only about 1.5 hours by train from Milan.
We met in Lugano, a lovely city on a lake. The lake was beautiful--it almost looked like a series of fjords, with mountains jutting out of the water.
Saturday we were lucky enough to have beautiful weather (which I'm told is rare in Switzerland) and we went hiking in the foothills of the Alps. It wasn't clear enough to see the really big mountains, but we had good views just the same. The hike was lovely and it was nice just to be outside without many people around in the woods. We had a really nice lunch in an old town on the side of the mountain. It was very medieval looking--the buildings were made of stone and the streets were windy. It reminded me of Nepal a little, actually.
Sunday we went to Bellinzona, only about a half hour away by train, to see 3 medieval castles that used to protect the mountain pass in the area. It sounds like that area was fought over regularly. The castles were really, really cool. And we had an amazing lunch in the castle--polenta, gnocchi, wine, salami and cheese, etc! It was delicious. The company wasn't bad, either.
The whole weekend would have been absolutely perfect, except there was a strike in Italy on some of the train routes (at least that's what they told us). So, I had the displeasure of eventually making it to Milan from Lugano, but having missed the last high-speed train to Rome. I had to take an overnight train from Milan that didn't leave till 11:30. Then, I had to persistently bother people until they let me sleep in a bed on the night train rather than sending me back to sleep in the seats in the back part of the train. I was so upset-I was trying to explain that the fact that I missed my train was not my fault, I paid for an expensive seat on a high speed train, etc. It took some time, but eventually they let me pay the 7€ difference to use a bunk. Thank goodness.
I arrived in rome yesterday morning at 7:15. I went home, showered and went to work. I was so tired and I seem to have picked up a cold, which is unpleasant. I slept for 12 hours straight last night! I hope to do the same again tonight.
I'm sorry I haven't posted any photos yet. I'm having some trouble finding a place that will do it quickly. it doesn't seem right to do it at work and the internet place by my house won't let me download the program I need to upload lots of photos at once.
Hugs!
Lauren

Milano/Cinque Terre

2008-06-06T03:54:00.003-05:00

Hello friends,
I'm back from a lovely 6 days of fun in Northern Italy. I had 4 days off this week because FAO had a conference about food safety and global climate change and all non-essential personnel were told not to show up. Yay for being non-essential. You may have seen the conference in the news?? It seems to have gotten a lot of press.
Anyhoo, my gentleman friend, Peter, happens to be working in Geneva this summer for the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization. So, he and I met in Milan over the weekend. We had a lovely time in Milan. We walked the streets of the city, window shopped at the designer stores, and saw the Last Supper. I was unaware before reading about the Last Supper (by Leonardo da Vinci) that it is on a wall and is about 29 feet long. Finally, a famous piece of art that didn't make me think "I thought it would be bigger." It was immense and really amazing in the space. I could only imagine having dinner in that big hall and looking up to see that painting on the wall--very powerful. We also had an amazing sea food meal--mussels and clams, followed by seafood risotto and then a local fish. It was so good.
Milan was very different from Rome--the roads are wider, the streets seem cleaner, and the buildings newer, but it also seemed more sterile in a way. Part of the fun of Rome is that there are people everywhere all the time and it seems so full of life. p.s. I love it here.
On Sunday we took a day trip to Stresa on one of Northern Italy's lakes. Some guy built a palace on an island in the lake with a giant garden. Let's just say conspicuous consumption did not originate in the US. This place was almost gaggingly decorated--lots of naked babies with wings, seashells, and the coup de grace...a giant unicorn on top of the gardens that can be seen in all its glory from the mainland. It was a beautiful day and nice to see the foothills of the Alps and be outside in the fresh air.
Peter went back to Geneva and I went on to the Cinque Terre on the Mediterranean--5 old villages on the cliffs overlooking the sea. I did the 8 mile walk between the villages on Tuesday and was tired of climbing stairs by the end (I was having Nepal flashbacks!) and Wednesday I sat my butt in the sun, next to the water and alternated between reading my book and watching the water. It was lovely.
This was my first real time off since spring break and it was nice to do nothing for a little bit. I think last year really took a lot out of me and I'm tired. But I'm happy to be here. I get why so many people visit Italy--because it's pretty awesome!
My one semi-complaint...the food. Great, wonderful, etc for a 2 week vacation. Three weeks of eating food derived from bread and cheese is taking its toll on my poor tummy. I require more roughage and some whole-grain products.
I hope you are all well. I'll post some photos soon.
Hugs,
Lauren

Baptized by a Pigeon

2008-05-29T03:44:00.003-05:00

Hello friends,
I got pooed on by pigeon last night. Luckily I was with a friend who was kind enough to use a napkin to get the poo out of my hair.
It's been really hot in Rome for the last few days. Today it's raining, so it cooled down a little bit. The heat during the day is ok because at night it is absolutely the perfectest temperature ever. I had some vino and pizza with one of the other interns on Tuesday night as a birthday celebration. Last night me and the other intern from Vandy went and had a beer and a stroll. It's so pretty outside.
I'm headed to Milan on Friday afternoon. Then, I have Monday through Thursday off because there's a "high level conference" in the building and non-essential personnel have been instructed not to come to work. No problem. So, Monday I'm heading to the Cinque Terre to sit on the cliffs and look at the ocean for a few days.
No complaints from me thus far. I'm feeling more comfortable here this week--both with being in Rome and with the research I've been doing at work. I've been using public transportation a lot, which makes me feel good. I like knowing how to get places on the bus.
Hugs,
Lauren

Ostia Antica/Happy Birthday to me

2008-05-27T03:18:00.003-05:00

Hello friends,
I'm writing from my very hot office in Rome. They are apparently "working on" getting the AC going, but the work has been fruitless for the past couple days and the sun is beating in the window. I'm afraid of standing up and having a giant sweat mark on my butt.
Sunday I went with the other Vanderbilt student to Ostia Antica, Rome's old port town. It housed 75,000 people at its height and it was quite a sight to see! I will post pictures at some point. They restored a lot of the old buildings. On one block they were able to restore the first and second stories, so you could really get a sense for what it looked like to walk down the street and you could see what the apartment buildings looked like. They think the apartments in Rome were similar.
It was neat to see the size and scope of the ancient city. In Rome people kept building on top of the old stuff, so you can't really see how big the city used to be. Here, we could walk pretty much the whole city and get a good idea of its size (it was big!). We saw old warehouses, apartment buildings, etc. It was fun.
Yoga is still going well. I got a new pose yesterday: Navasana. Blessing or curse? I'm not sure yet.
Today is my birthday--I am now in my late mid-20s. I was in India for my birthday last year. I'm going to have to be home for my birthday next year--this getting older by myself thing is getting old.
I hope you are all very well.
Hugs,
Lauren

Marichiasana D!

2008-05-23T02:15:00.002-05:00

Hi Friends,
one of the teachers at the yoga studio pulled me into Marichiasana D last night!! It didn't hurt at all--my body's been ready for it for a while, I think. I just haven't been able to get myself into the posture. It made me feel like I have been making progress over the last year while I've been practicing alone, even though it felt like I started to spin my wheels. I wish I could have a teacher all the time! I'm hoping that I'll be able to do the pose by myself by the time I leave and that maybe they'll give me a few more poses.
There's my big news for the day.
Hugs,
Lauren

Roga

2008-05-22T03:32:00.002-05:00

Hello friends,
I'm writing to report I went to Yoga class in Rome last night (hence the "Roga") and it was awesome. I haven't practiced in about 5 weeks, due to finals, etc. so I expected to have a really hard time yesterday. But it went fine, though I'm really tired today. It was so nice to practice in the same room with other people again! They have a Mysore-style class, so I was able to just go in and do my own practice and there were 2 teachers, one of whom has been certified to teach Ashtanga by Patthabi Jois, walking around and adjusting. My yoga practice has stagnated a bit over the last few months and I think this will give me a push to the next level and an injection of much-needed yoga energy! yay. It also gives me something to do after work.
I'm so tired...I think I'm still sleeping off the finals tiredness. If only I'd had a week off somewhere in here. I fell asleep at 8:30 last night and slept till my alarm went off at 7:30. I had a terrible time getting myself out of bed. I'm looking forward to sleeping more this weekend.
The job is ok--I feel like I'm going really slow on all my research and it's a little unclear what the expectations are, i.e. how much and what I should be getting done within what time frame. But I'm learning lots about international disputes over GMOs, which is pretty interesting.
Rome is still growing on me, though i wouldn't mind if it stopped raining. I've started to navigate the buses, which means I'm learning my way around the city better.
Hope you are all well!
Lauren

FAO

2008-05-21T02:52:00.001-05:00

Hi Friends,
I started work on Monday and it's pretty cool so far. I'm working on a project advising a European country on how to comply with international treaties regarding GMOs. People in the office seem pretty laid back. I'm in the "intern" room with one other intern. No one seems to care too much when I come or go. Right now I'm doing a lot of research on this topic. I've been having a hard time coming up with a lot of information. It sounds like the professor who I got this job through talked me up a little bit. This makes me nervous--I want to do a good job and meet their expectations, but what if the professor set the expectations a little too high?
Anyhoo, I got lost on the way to work this morning. I decided to take public transport rather than walk for the first time since it was raining (and has been for days). I ended up spending more time in the rain than I would have if I'd walked. Oh well. I met a new friend on the bus who placed me as an American by my Chacos.
After work tonight I'm going to start yoga classes at the studio nearby. It's a dedicated Ashtanga studio, which is awesome. I haven't practiced in about 5 weeks, so I'm going to be pretty exhausted for a couple weeks while I get back in shape.
I hope all is well wherever you are! As always, emails and comments are appreciated!
Hugs,
Lauren

Rome and stuff

2008-05-18T10:38:00.002-05:00

Uh, oh, I've already run out of snappy titles. I spent today wandering the city with no particular agenda. I started at the Pantheon and made my way over to the Piazza Navona, which were both pretty and cool. Also absolutely overrun with people. I've never been anywhere so full of tourists, except for Disney World. Which brings me to my next point. It's kinda weird to be in this city that so many other places have tried to imitate. It's so beautiful everywhere and it just goes on and on and on. It seems surreal and larger than life everywhere. The little cobblestoned streets are so wind-y and picturesque.
In my wanderings today I somehow ended up at the Vatican. I went into St. Peter's and it was massive. The art inside was really cool, including the Michaelangelo original: La Pieta. Most of the people carved in the walls were twice as big as a normal sized person. There were also lots of really beautiful mosaics.
Yesterday I wandered around after I submitted my paper for the law journal and decided to go to the Colosseum. My first reaction: I thought it would be bigger. Ha. I did. It was pretty cool. I didn't go in. I'll have to save the Forum, Colosseum and Palatine for another day.
I also found my way to work. To my delight it's within walking distance of my house. I also found the place where I'll (hopefully) be going to to do Yoga after work on the map. It's not far from where I'm working.
Everything of note seems to be in walking distance from my house (as long as you don't mind taking a long walk, which I don't). It's nice to be able to walk myself around. I think it's the best way to get my bearings. The river is a nice landmark running through the middle of the city that helps me figure out where I am.
I'm still a little jetlagged and had a hard time sleeping last night (and then a hard time getting up this morning). Hopefully it will get better when I start work.
I'll post some photos soon. I'm still trying to find out where I can get free wireless in the city so I don't have to pay so much to use the internet. When I do that I can start uploading photos.
Hugs,
Lauren

Rome Wasn't Built in a Day

2008-05-17T08:22:00.003-05:00

That much is obvious now that I've arrived in the fair city. I saw a guy jogging around the place they used to have chariot races earlier. Awesome.
I made it here without anything too eventful happening, which is always a plus when it comes to traveling. I left Nashville Thursday morning, spent 5 hours in Philadelphia and then embarked on a very uncomfortable plane ride. It was hot and I swear my seat didn't recline as far as it should've (it certainly didn't recline as far back as I wanted it to). I sat next to a senior in college who asked me to talk to her during takeoff because she was desperately afraid of flying. When the plane would bank, or we went through turbulence, she would try and adjust it by moving her body or grabbing on to the seat in front of her.
The plane trip to Italy was very different from my plane trip to Vietnam. There were far fewer tourists, annoyed looking kids, etc on the plane flight to Vietnam. This flight was like going to Cancun. The streets here are filled with tourists here too--this could be a good or bad thing. On the one hand, people are used to dealing with foreigners and they don't stare at me like I'm an oddity. On the other hand, I feel less cool.
I waited a really long time for my luggage, which always makes me a little nervous.
I'm glad I arranged an airport pickup. My "studio" lies behind an unmarked wooden door to an apartment building. I never would've found it. Rather than having a room with a view, I have a room with no view. The only windows are above the door and in the ceiling in the bathroom. It'll do, but I though it'd be a little bigger.
I was feeling pretty overwhelmed yesterday. I barely got any sleep on the plane, not to mention the general exhaustion from the last 4 to 6 weeks (finals, moving, journal competition, etc). I fell asleep at 9:30 last night and woke up at noon! Maybe the exhaustion will help with the jet lag.
It appears my studio is next to a restaurant. I didn't notice from the outside, but as I was falling asleep last night I heard the general buzz of conversations, along with the sound of people washing dishes. Hopefully it was only so loud because it was Friday night.
To get on to our Law Review at Vanderbilt we had two weeks to submit a packet of items, including a 12 page paper based on materials they gave us. I worked on that yesterday and today and just finished it. Now that that is finally out of the way I can wander the city and explore with more ease. I may take a long walk today and try to figure out how to get to work.
I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to eat here, which always seems to be an issue for me right when I get to a country. Not that there isn't plenty of food around, but sometimes I'm shy about going up to a counter or something because I don't speak the language (and somehow failed to bring an Italian-english dictionary with me).
Anyhoo, friends, I made it here ok. I still have to figure out Rome's wireless hotspots so I can avoid paying $6 an hour for the internet. I set up a skype account, so if any of you want to talk to me over Skype, email me and we can exchange skype names.
TTFN,
Lauren

Romeward Bound

2008-05-12T14:56:00.002-05:00

Hello friends,
I'm on the cusp of yet another international journey! I head to Rome on Thursday. It occurs to me that Rome lends itself to many hilarious (read: cliched) blog titles. Imagine my excitement.
I've been a bit stressed. I finished finals last week and I'm now working on a submission for our competition to be on Law Review. I have to write a 12-15 page paper about the law and then submit it. It will be judged by upperclassmen who will either admit me into their organization or not.
I also just spent several nice days with my parents and grandparents. They were in town celebrating my brother's graduation from lawyer school. Yay Aaron.
I'd post pictures of graduation, but I accidentally packed my USB cable for my camera. If I don't go buy one, or search through all my boxes, my gentle readers may have to wait for photo documentation of my trip until my triumphant return.
I should be writing this law review thing right now, but it's hard to motivate now that finals are over.
More posts later this week, and to come in the future. I start work Monday the 19th. I'm very excited. I think my job is going to be super cool.
Hugs,
Lauren

AKSB2K08

2008-03-16T19:53:00.003-05:00

Hi Friends, here's a belated report about my fun fun spring break in Alaska visiting Bridget.
Bridget's been living and working near/in Denali National Park since the year 2004. She and her boyfriend are in the process of buying a cabin and are already the proud owners of about 18 sled doggies!!!
What does this mean for me, dear readers? Sled dog fun! Not only did I get to see my BFF, but I got to learn to mush in Alaska for spring break. Best spring break ever.
We saw the start of the Iditarod, Bridget taught me to much for a day, and then we took 2 trips that lasted 2 days each.
Here are some photos for your enjoyment!
Me and Bridget at the start of the Iditarod:

A guy starting the Iditarod:

The loo:

Bridget's Doggies:

The bus from "Into the Wild"

Mushing

The Alaska Range

Rolling into Windy Cabin

Oh, and by the way...I got the job with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome!!! That means you can await more international blogging!
Hugs,
Lauren

Mid-Semester Post

2008-02-27T21:02:00.003-06:00

Hi friends,
I know I haven't been writing much. I think a lot of the things that I've been doing/thinking about seem either too boring or too personal to broadcast on the internet.
I'm in limbo waiting to hear back from summer jobs. Originally, I was planning on doing a summer academic program abroad through Vanderbilt, but I'm feeling less jazzed about that now. I don't know that I need more academia when academia won't teach me to be a real lawyer.
I'm interviewing on Friday for a position at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Pretty much my dream job. I've been interested in food issues on a global scale for a while now. The job's in ROme. I'm nervous and excited about it. I will be very disappointed if I don't get the job.
Spring break starts on Sunday and I'm going to Alaska to visit Bridget. yay. She's taking me dog sledding. I'm sure I'll have blogs/pics to share when I get home.
I'm making a real effort not to let law school stress me out this semester. It's mostly working. Until this week--too much stuff on my plate all at once.
I hope you all are well!
It snowed in Nashville today and made me a little homesick :(.
Hugs,
Lauren

Yes, we can!

2008-02-04T21:21:00.000-06:00

Hi friends,
I know I haven't written in a while. I'm not posting this to try and force my politics on anyone. I just found it really captivating.

In the unlikely story that is America, there's never been anything false about hope.
Hugs,
Lauren

Procrastination

2007-12-16T09:23:00.000-06:00

Hello friends,
The end of the semester is nigh, bringing with it the requisite reflection on how the semester has gone.
Tomorrow is my contracts exam and Thursday I have torts. Then I have FUN scheduled for Thursday evening. Fun is something I have not had in quite some time. Not to say I've been sitting around weeping or anything, but I have had very limited human contact in the last 1 to 2 months. This is getting boring. I was freaking out about my contracts exam a couple days ago, but now I am just so bored. Offer, acceptance, consideration, damages, bla bla bla. Just get it over with! (or put off studying it by blogging)
I've been thinking about how happy I am with this semester and my choice to come to Vanderbilt. I love this school and I love law school--I don't get the sense that most people have fond feelings about law school, especially in the midst of studying for the first round of finals. I feel lucky to be here.
There's a lot of general anxiety over grades, jobs, etc pulsating through the school body. I'm trying my best not to get caught up in it. I decided to be happy with whatever grades I do get. I also decided not to judge any of the choices I made this semester if I am less-than-happy with my results (or otherwise). Time will tell if this works or not.
I can't believe I've only been here for 4 months. So much has happened in that time. I made the best choices I could with the time and energy that I had going through this wild ride. Moving to a new city, being in school again, meeting hundreds of new people and being confronted with an academically rigorous program all at once. I did the best I knew how. Good for me.
In other news, I got x-rays at the chiropractor on...gosh, I don't even know what day it was, because I don't know what day it is...earlier this week. Traction worked! Yay, we decompressed the 2 discs in my lumbar. They now have fluid in them again. The bone spurs on my vertebrae moved away from my nerve column. That has to be a good thing. My discs will never go back to normal size, but he said that by maintaining my core muscles I will be able to hold my spine in its current position and keep it from getting compressed again. He said he's 100% sure my discs aren't ruptured because if they were, the traction wouldn't have worked. He told me I should feel good about the shape I'm in and that I seem to be a fast healer. I'm just happy that this worked. It's not like I never have to worry about it again, but I'm glad it's in my power to manage.
Ok, enough procrastination. Time for a day of studying contracts. Thhhbbbb.

Exams!

2007-12-10T10:15:00.000-06:00

Hi Friends,
I'm pretty tired. I take my first exam tomorrow. It's the one I feel the most confident about, but I'm still pretty nervous. I didn't sleep so well last night. Tonight I will preempt insomnia by listening to my Mediation for Insomnia CD before bed. It usually helps me get to sleep. I'm glad to have an exam tomorrow. All the anticipation and build up is getting annoying.
I have almost a week to prepare for my next exam, and I'm going to need it. Contracts = boring and tons of detail. Then I have 2 days before Torts. Then I have a day to recover from my hangover before flying home.
In good news, I'm almost done with my series of 10 traction sessions at the chiropractor. I went this morning and he didn't have to adjust my lower back because my spine was all in the right spot. Yay, I'm holding my adjustments from visit to visit. This is a very good thing. Thursday I'll get x-rays and we'll see if the traction did me any good or not.
TTFN,
Lauren

Law School is a lot of Work

2007-12-02T12:25:00.000-06:00

Hello friends, I'm sorry I've neglected you for so long. Law school is a lot of work. My exams are weeks away and I started preparing before Thanksgiving.
I haven't been writing for a couple reasons:
1. I've been really busy with school
2. I don't feel like I have much of interest to say because all I've been doing is school
I'm looking forward to next semester when I'll have a couple months of a lighter workload. Now that I have friends, I think I'll have more opportunities to get out and explore Nashville.
I really love law school so far, despite the mountains of reading/writing/preparing. I can't wait till next year when I get to choose my classes. Yay.
I'm trying my best not to stress out about grades--the only grade we get is the grade on the final exam. Grading is done on a curve in a class full of really smart people. So, how I do in my classes doesn't necessarily correlate to how hard I work as much as how hard everyone else works in comparison to me. Because I have zero control over that I'm trying to let go expectations of how I'll do in my classes.
On the yoga front, I started going to the student rec center to practice next to the pool where it's nice and warm. I keep injuring myself when I practice at home because it's so very very cold in my house. The pool area is much nicer.
That's all I have to report! Back to learning about regulation and administrative agencies!
Lauren

Nash Vegas Celebrity Sighting, part deux

2007-10-19T10:11:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I saw Jack White of The White Stripes last night. Whoa.

Top Ten Reasons Law School is Like High School

2007-10-17T18:26:00.001-05:00

10. I have a locker in the building
9. I'm usually done with class by 3 pm
8. There's a school dance for which I'll probably have to agonize over getting a date
7. Every class consists of the same group of people
6. There are cliques of jocks/frat boys and geeks/nerds
5. Gossip and he-said/she-said
4. I eat lunch in the cafeteria and hope people will sit by me
3. People pass notes in class
2. People don't pay attention in class
1. We don't have any money of our own
I'm tired.
TTFN,
Lauren

Smoky Mountain High

2007-10-06T14:05:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,
by some crazy fluke I have a nearly homework-less weekend. Woohoo.
Last night I went mini-golfing and go-carting with some friends. It was awesome. I was probably 12 the last time I putt-putted. We stopped doing it as a family activity because my brother would get so angry when he missed the hole. Zayde's advice to me yesterday when I told him what I was going to do: "keep your head down." Good advice.
We had a 4 day weekend last weed. The 1st year students get a mini-break because they've been working us so hard.
Christina and I went backpacking in the Smokies for a couple days. We had tons o' fun. We got to hike part of the Appalachian Trail, sleep outside, make new friends and drive past Dollywood! Does it get any better?
We had perfect weather and the mountains were beautiful.
Here are some pictures for your viewing enjoyment:
Ah, that fresh mountain air

Delicious Breakfast

The AT

The AT Shelter

Coziness

Me and Christina

The Smokies

Dollywood, here we come

Hugs,
Lauren

Are we dating ourselves by quoting "The Big Lebowski"?

2007-09-27T16:08:00.001-05:00

Someone posed this very important question today. I think the answer is yes.
Discuss.

Red Shirt Guy Strikes again

2007-09-26T22:43:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,
I'm up later on a Wednesday night than I should be, but I'm feeling some after-dark inspiration! I should get up tomorrow morning at 5:30 to fit my yoga practice in before class, but I'm having a hard time feeling good about that right now. I lost some of the intensity in my practice last week and this week. I know there are ebbs and flows to the practice and my energy level, etc, and I'm trying to be ok with that. But I don't want to get so ok with it that I just get really lazy. At the same time there are a lot of new things coming at me still, and the daily practice is also relatively new, so I've got to give myself adjustment time.
Speaking of adjustment time, I need to give it to myself in general. For some reason, I tend to assume transitions will be totally uneventful for me. I have this idea that they should be easy. When they're not (and they rarely are) I get annoyed and impatient. The truth is I've been through a lot of big changes in the last year, and a lot of physical and mental transitions in the last 4 months. I haven't been giving myself the space to feel lonely and out of place--I get impatient with feeling that way and I resent it, especially when I know I've got plenty of awesome people in my life around the world, and concentrated in the Cities. I've been resenting starting all over again.
But, things are going pretty well for me right now in this exact moment. I feel like I'm meeting more people, I'm really enjoying school--in all I'm feeling fairly balanced.
Enough about me, the only reason you're all still reading is because you want to know what red shirt guy did this time!
He sits in the front row in contracts (and plays solitaire for a lot of class...) in the middle of the foreign LLM students. On Monday during class, he accidentally spilled half his water bottle on the Swedish girl who sits next to him (and on all her stuff). She's staring in shock at her soaking notebook and books, he looks at her, shrugs and says "sorry" and goes back to typing. She starts sopping up the table in front of her with a tissue and then laying all her wet materials in a row on the carpet behind her. Red shirt guy never offers to get her paper towels, or help her in any way.
I think this incident is a window into red shirt guy's psyche. Some suggest he was home schooled and socially inept as a result. Others think it's part of his strategy to take out his competitors in the class. Someone else suggested that the front row represents Europe (because of all the exchange students), and then said "I think we all know who Germany is..." Hilarious. I thought it would've been funnier if he had spilled on the Polish girl and then it would be like the invasion of Poland....no one laughed (well, I laughed, but I don't think that counts).
Now it's actually time for bed.
Peace,
Lauren

Nash Vegas Celebrity Sighting

2007-09-23T16:02:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I had my first Nash Vegas, country music star celebrity sighting this morning. (I keep typing "citing" and then erasing it--that's because I'm writing a paper right now in which I have to cite after every sentence, but I digress).
Crossover star Leann Rimes (is that how you spell her name?) showed up at the place I was brunching with the Vandy Law Brunch Bunch this morning. Pandamonium did not ensue.
I have a cold.

Local Hooligans

2007-09-16T18:07:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I'm writing to you on a Sunday evening, enjoying the delightful twilight time. Soon, I will have dinner.
Some local hooligans tp-ed my car today. Those darn kids. I live right by a small liberal arts college and we have college kids all around us. On the weekend, there's a lot of "whoo-ing."
I thought the tp was funny. They even used 2-ply! If you're going to tp, I guess you may as well do it with the softest stuff you can find.
Here's a picture:
My roommate and I cleaned up the mess and I went inside for a while. I came back out and someone left two pages from a notebook on my car that said "DO NOT PARK HERE." Well, we just went from fun to really annoying. I asked some people who live in that house if they were the culprits, but they denied it. Liars! It's a public street, they don't get to tell me where to park!
I hit some downtown bars of Friday. Country music can be fun! I've decided to try my best to like it. Someone had a shirt on that said "if you don't know 7 songs by (some guy), then you shouldn't be here." I think that shirt referred to me.
Hugs to all!
Lauren

Fall has sprung!

2007-09-12T15:50:00.001-05:00

Hello friends, I'm happy to report that Nashville is no longer so unpleasantly hot. It happened overnight! Today it's a sunny 78 degrees, with a slight chill in the air that promises colder weather to come...
I may change my mind later on, but at this point I'm excited to experience a little cold weather after being in extreme heat and humidity since December of last year (except for my brief Himalayan interlude). The only downside is that it was to cold to do yoga on the porch this morning. I had to move it inside.
In yoga news, I did a headstand by just lifting my feet into the air, not kicking off the ground, for the first time last week! I've been trying to do this for a while.
Here's a video of a guy teaching the headstand, but it's the only one I could find that actually shows what I can do now. It doesn't come till about 1:50 into the video.

The girl in front of me in class today was looking at a gossip column that showed a picture of Britney Spears' unmentionable feminine area. Can I sue her for exposing me to material that caused me mental distress? I don't know. We haven't learned that yet. Things to look forward to.
I'm really enjoying law school so far, for all the reasons I thought I would. We even talked about Seinfeld today in torts. They're teaching us about this:

On a different note, I'm noticing an inordinate number of men wearing pink shirts walking from their cars to the law and business schools in the morning. Discuss.
Oh, and George, thanks for your comment! I laughed out loud.

Does watching People's Court count as studying for law school?

2007-09-08T19:02:00.000-05:00

The answer to this question on Thursday was an emphatic: YES!
People's Court helped me analyze tortious claims involving negligence, liability and helped me appreciate the role contracts play in our daily lives. Look at the stuff I've learned to throw around and only two weeks in law school!
I went to my brother's house on Thursday. He was having a party for watching "football." He made some diagrams and whatnot for me before the game started so I'd understand what was happening. I ended up socializing for most of the game anyways.
Tonight I'm hitting the town with some law school buddies, venturing off my usual home to law school to home route.
Oh, and for the record, my underwear was in a hamper that was accessible to the dog. I have since moved it.
Nothing else to report!
Hugs,
Lauren

Red Shirt Guy

2007-09-05T15:28:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, sorry it's been so long since my last post. Now that I'm starting to get into a groove with this law school stuff, I think I'll be able to put in a little more time blogging (yes, it definitely can be used as a verb).
I'm happy to report that I'm actually enjoying law school this week. Last week at this time I definitely could not have said the same. My midweek meltdown went something like this:
Waaaaaa, I think I made the wrong choice and I don't want to be here.
What caused said meltdown, you ask?
Well, the first week was extremely overwhelming. I had 5 hours of class on Tuesday, and about 6 hours of homework to prepare for my 4 hours of class on Wednesday. Yikes. Luckily, this week I could anticipate the Tuesday/Wednesday shit storm and prepare for it.
My classes this semester:
-Torts (not the kind you bake, but that might be preferable)
-Legal Writing
-Regulatory State--the role of administrative agencies and bureaucracy in the creation of law--statutes and regulations--believe it or not this is my favorite class so far
-contracts
I've been meeting some nice people and some people I'm indifferent to, but isn't that to be expected?
Computers in the classroom: a new development since I was in college. I've decided to fear using new technology where old technology did me just fine and I'm taking my notes by hand. This seems to be working for me so far.
My objection to computers in the classroom: I have to watch everyone else surf the web all through class. It's really distracting. Facebook, shoe shopping, news reading, and today, the girl in front of me was reading "Advice for 1Ls" and law blogs. I've got some advice for her: PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS!!!
On to Red Shirt Guy. I'm afraid this story is not going to be as interesting as all the build up to it. During orientation a professor was giving a lecture on the difficulty in interpreting the law even when it seems straight-forward. She asked everyone with a red shirt to stand up. We went around the room "why did you stand up, your shirt has stripes." "The stripes are red." "I don't think that's a red shirt, it's a striped shirt." Then comes red shirt guy. He refuses to stand. She asks why he won't stand and he replies, in essence, "'cause I don't wanna." Then the professor tells him to leave. He refuses. She tells him he better not be in her class. It just seems to me that he was being arrogant. What's he got to prove? What's the big deal with standing up??? In any case, he will forever be known to our class as....red shirt guy. I guess we couldn't think of anything more colorful to name him (ha! I laugh at my own little joke).
People are already freaking out about the exams and asking professors about them. This strikes me as a bit premature. It's only the second week of class. I'm trying not to care too much about all that. I must focus on the task at hand: the hundreds and hundreds of pages of reading assigned each week. And it's not undergrad reading--I actually have to pay attention to it and learn from it. Sigh.
My home situation is really good. I like my roommate and her doggie, although he ate 2 pairs of my underwear. I figure, at least I get a funny story out of it. It's way funnier than if he ate my shirt. Now that I'm learning some lawyering skills I'm asking myself if I can hold my roommate liable for damages to aforementioned underwear...
I wish I could tell ya'll that Nashville is a great town, but the truth is I don't really know if it is or not. So far, I don't get out much. I did go to a party this weekend. I also hung out with my new sister-in-law, which was really fun.
I read a case for my torts class that took place at the Nicollet Hotel in the 1960s! How I miss fair Minnesota. And I'm very upset about missing the Minnesota fair for yet another year. That just isn't right.
Hugs to all! I'm glad you're still checking the page--I'll keep writing!
Lauren

THe Halls of Learning

2007-08-25T11:53:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I'm finally reporting to you from Nashville, or "Nash Vegas" as some people call it.
I'm already using blogging as a homework-avoidance tool. This does not bode well. The laptop is a dangerous thing.
Dad and I drove down here last week. It was nice to spend the time together, though Dad would have preferred less togetherness with the car trailer. He did not enjoy towing my car.
We made it here in one piece and had the joy of unloading at 1:00pm in hundred-degree heat. Nashville natives keep assuring us outsiders that this heat is unusual, but I'm not so sure....
My plan all along has been to bike to school, but since it's been over 100 every day since I got here, I folded and bought a parking pass. I have never enjoyed AC as much as I do now.
Orientation started Wednesday and went through Friday. It's been a little overwhelming. Meeting hundreds of new people gets exhausting.
Here are some stats on my class:
-20% are 25 or over. This means 80% is under 25. I did not expect this. Why not? I don't know.
-several of the men showed up in pink polo shirts. Draw your own conclusions.
-one guy managed to annoy the entire class on the second day of orientation and earned a nickname he will probably never be able to divorce himself from (unless he transfers schools...)
-the guy sitting next to me in my legal writing class was working at a bank and survived a bank robbery! Exciting stuff!
I have no problems to report from the homefront, other than the fact that the dog ate my underwear. This is much funnier than if the dog had eaten my shirt, so I decided to forgive him for it.
I was trying to find the bookstore today and took a wrong turn. I ended up in the middle of hordes of freshman moving into the dorms. I have to say I'm glad those days are behind me.
I'm reading about the origins of contracts and contract law for my first class on Monday. I actually think it's interesting, but blogging is providing a necessary break.
Hugs.
Lauren

Learning from shampoo

2007-08-01T14:43:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, it's been a while since I blogged. I think I'm suffering from the same thing that kept some of you from writing to me while I was away: is my life really THAT interesting? Does anyone really want to hear what I'm doing? The answer for me was "yes" when I was away and wanted to hear from people, so at the risk of boring you all, I'll assume the answer is "yes" for you too.
If you are bored, be consoled by the thought that I'll once again be a stranger in a strange land all too soon: Lauren in the South. Hopefully that will produce some fun anecdotes.
Anyhoo, I'm feeling mostly readjusted to being at home. At first I was having some trouble with having to be places at specific times. It made me feel anxious. I'm doing better with that now.
I got home from the wedding and crashed. I think all my tiredness finally came out. I've been sleeping anwhere from 9 to 12 hours a night, which is really unusual for me.
The biggest transition thing for me right now is integrating the things I learned in India into my everyday life and interactions with people. In India, I could choose who I wanted to spend my time with and when, etc. There was no real obligation to invest in relationships and compromise with people the way we all have to every day in the real world. I'm trying to figure out where to draw the line with people--where I can be myself and be true to what I want and need, but not be a jerk to other people or to myself. It may take me some time to find a balance point.
A silly example:
I bought shampoo yesterday and the sales lady kept trying to upsell me at the register. "I really think you should get this, did you know about that, this would be really great for you, bla bla bla." I was getting irritated because I just wanted to buy the shampoo. So I said, "could I just buy the shampoo now?" I wasn't rude, just matter-of-fact. She looked shocked. Was that an inappropriate thing to say? I'm not sure. I said it without malice, but who knows. Where to draw the line between just wanting to buy the shampoo and having to sit there for 10 minutes while she tries to sell me hair product I don't want???? These are the questions that shape our times.
TTFN,
Lauren

Wedding Fun

2007-07-20T12:28:00.000-05:00

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.

2007-07-05T17:23:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-07-02T00:14:00.000-05:00

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

Wrapping Up

2007-06-30T23:20:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, my trip is coming to a close. Let me be cliche and say, "what a long, strange trip it's been."
I had a good last led class today. My back is feeling much better.
There's a lawyer that opened an outsourced entertainment and intellectual property law office here in Mysore. Apparently, they are Borat's lawyers. I got his email from one of the ladies that serves breakfast to yoga students. I emailed him yesterday to tell him I'm here studying yoga, going to law school, examining some options for internships next summer and to ask if they take summer interns. He emailed me back right away and told me he thought it could be good for both of us and to let him know if I'm serious about it. I'm excited that I may be able to grow professionally and spiritually all in Mysore! We'll see. I'm just glad to know it's an option. A lot could change between now and then.
I decided to make my blog today interactive! How, you ask???
I compiled a list of bests and worsts from my trip. I invite you to email/comment on your own categories.
Oh, and by the way, I'll probably continue to blog even when I'm home. So, George, don't think you're off the hook as my "blog pal."
On to the main event:
-Countries Visited: Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Nepal, India (Airports: Hong Kong on the way here, London on the way home) My passport is nearly full.
-Nastiest Hotel Room: Kuala Lipis, Malaysia--reeked of smoke, bathroom was unusable
-Craziest Travel Companion: Vasec, hailing from the Czech Republic--one wild and crazy guy
-Least Favorite Country: Vietnam
-Best Outdoor Experience: Too many to name!
-Vietnam: Kayaking Ha Long Bay
-Cambodia: Scaling temples overgrown with jungle
-Malaysia: Sleeping in a cave, while covered in bat poo and leeches
-Singapore: None of Singapore is outdoors. It's just one big shopping mall.
-Thailand: Diving, of course!
-Laos: Zip-lining through the jungle and sleeping in tree houses
-Nepal: Pretty much all of it
-India: too polluted/hot to enjoy the outdoors
-Coolest Building: Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat (I couldn't decide between the two!)
-Best Museum: Museum of Islamic Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
-Favorite Previously Untried Fruit: Tamarind
-Favorite Cuisine: Thai (duh)
-Least Favorite Cuisine: Nepali--not sure if even qualifies as "cuisine"
-Food I miss: good cheese
-Favorite National Dish: Nasi Lemak, Malaysia
-Most shocking moment: In Vietnam, when I realized the bathroom and the kitchen were essentially the same
-Favorite City: Georgetown
-Biggest splurge that was worth the $: Live aboard dive trip
-Best last-minute impulse purchase before leaving home: tiny travel hairbrush
-Grossest Toilet: 5,000 meters (about 15.400 feet) at Thorong Phedi High Camp in Nepal--imagine no running water, people missing the hole in the ground and then all of that freezing in the cold
-Country I most love to hate: India
-Dirtiest Moment: Every moment of my 4 days in Taman Negara, Malaysia
-Best Travel Companion in India: earplugs
-Max Height Reached: 5500 meters --Thorong La Pass, Nepal
-Max Depth Reached: 28.3 meters (about 79 feet)under the sea, Thailand
-Best advice from an astrologer: I must wear a 6-carat rose-colored diamond
-Lowest moment: Uncontrollable, lonely weeping in a hotel room in Da Lat, Vietnam ("What am I doing here? What was I thinking? Etc...")
-Biggest "it's a small world" moment: running into a friend from high school on the streets of Chiang Mai
-Travel Lust fueled for: Brazil and Africa
-Best Lessons Learned:
-Don't have expectations. Period.
-It's not me, it's you.
-I met people from: England, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Taiwan, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Spain, France, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Turkmenistan, Israel, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Scotland, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Colombia, Denmark, Hong Kong, and people from the countries I visited, obviously.
Books read since I quit my job:
-Vanity Fair, William Mackpeace Thackery (the novel, not the magazine)
-Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
-Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
-In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
-A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
-Persuasion, Jane Austen
-The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
-American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
-First They Killed My Father, Loung Ung
-The Inscrutable Americans, Anurag Mathur
-In Retrospect, Robert McNamara
-Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
-The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
-Bangkok 8, John Burdett
-The Beach, Alex Garland
-War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
-Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
-The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
-Into Thin Air, John Krakauer
-Middlemarch, George Eliot
-Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
-Living with the Himilayan Masters, Swami Rama
-The Alcehmist, Paolo Coelho
-Middlesex, Jefferey Eugenides
-Kim, Rudyard Kipling
-Journey to Ithaca, Anita Desai
-The Mapmaker's Opera, Bea Gonzalez
-The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
-So Long, See You Tomorrow, William Maxwell
-The Death of Vishnu, Manil Suri
-Holy Cow!, Sara MacDonald
-Naked, David Sedaris
-Barney's Version, Moredechai Richler
-The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
-East, West, Salman Rushdie
-Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
-Life and Times of Michael K, JM Coetzee
-Plainsong, Kent Haruf
-The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
-The Angry Tide, Amitav Ghosh
-Paradise, Toni Morrison
-The Bookseller of Kabul, Asne Seierstad
-Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
-Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne
-Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell
-It's a Long Way to the Floor, David Byck
-The Russian Debutante's Handbook, Gary Shteyngart
Now it's your turn to come up with categories! I will blog in response tomorrow. Remember, the quality of the response depends on the quality of your participation!
Enjoy your day, friends!
Hugs,
Lauren

Ode to Mom and Dad

2007-06-28T09:37:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I've been ruminating on my trip and think it's appropriate to mention how much I appreciate my parents.
I know they really miss me (and I miss them). Despite how much they knew they'd miss me they still encouraged me to leave home. They put what's best for me ahead of their own desires. Their support helps give me the confidence to do things that may seem unconventional. I appreciate that. I'm lucky to have parents that really and truly want me to do what makes me happy and who take joy in helping me figure out what that is and how to go about doing it.
Dad says: "As I have said repeatedly, God love you for taking the time, as a gift to yourself, of the seven months traveling."
Thanks Mom and Dad.

YouTube Fun

2007-06-25T23:11:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I'm still feeling excited about my jump throughs. My friend was getting adjusted by Sharath next to me this morning. She said they both looked at me when I jumped and I had a look of total shock and surprise on my face. She said she and Sharath both busted out laughing. I didn't notice. I can only imagine that the look on my face expresses exactly how I feel every time I do it--it's a sort of holy-crap-did-I-just-do-that incredulity.
The weather here is so screwy--it's cold and rainy when I leave the house so I go back inside to get my raincoat. By the time I walk out the door it's sunny and hot. It keeps bouncing back and forth all day. It's not hot enough to dry my clothes very well. Someone told me the shala will start to smell, because no one's yoga clothes dry completely so they get all moldy. Eeew.
I saw Guruji sitting on his balcony yesterday. I said hello to him and he waved and smiled at me. It makes me happy just to see him. He seems to be feeling better.
Posting a video was so fun yesterday, I thought I'd do it again. Pictures speak a thousand words, right??? Here's a video of Guruji's teacher in 1938. Enjoy!

I feel like an Ashtangi

2007-06-25T03:31:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, here's some big news that will mean nothing to most of you. I jumped through with my legs crossed during my vinyasas today!!! We do a little series of movements between each yoga posture--oh, poo, I'm going to look for a video to post here, so you can see it, because I can't describe it. I say "nuts to Marichiasana D!" Being able to do the jump throughs is way WAY more exciting. One million times more exciting. I did it for the first time yesterday and it startled me, because I didn't expect it. Then I didn't try to do it again...I was afraid I'd lose it.
I kept doing it this morning over and over and looking around at people wanting to ask "did you see that??? Did anyone else just see that???" No one noticed.
I was practicing next to my friend during the led class and she told me she noticed I was getting my knees through, but my feet were getting stuck. True enough. She told me to concentrate on my feet--somehow this did the trick.
I feel like last week and this week are extra bonus yoga weeks. I felt satisfied with what I've learned last week, so any more stuff I learn is extra special fun. Oh, and Guruji led our class yesterday. It's such a treat to have him! His voice has a very special quality. I like stopping at Mari D, because then I can watch him for the rest of the class.
My back bends are getting a lot better.
In short, I have no complaints.
Yesterday I went with some other people to a Tibetan refugee community. More giant gold buddhas! The temple was really beautiful--especially the paintings. It was a fun day, except I got really car sick. I don't know if it's because I haven't been riding in cars much, or if it's the fact that the roads here are either: awful, non-existent or full of obstacles (like cows...), but I felt like puking. Bleh.
I leave Mysore one week from today and will be back in the US of A one week from tomorrow. Time sure flies!!!
Now, lets all thank YouTube for explaining through video what I can't explain with words. Please realize my jump throughs do not look as nice as this guy's. I'm still working on the jump back.

Rainy goodness

2007-06-22T03:27:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, it's been raining off and on for the past few days. It's nice because it's cooled down a lot. I actually needed a blanket to sleep comfortably last night! I love being snug as a bug in a rug for sleeping.
I had a friend go home yesterday and it made my imminent journey seem a lot more real to me.
My practice was good yesterday. I went to the chiropractor in the afternoon. She worked on my psoas again and it left me more shell-shocked than the previous time. It was so painful. I'm sure I'm holding emotional stuff there. Then, when I feel emotionally vulnerable, I start to worry about things that don't occur to me at other times.
The main thing I'm worrying about: forcing myself into a situation where I'm not happy or things start to seem important that really aren't. I think I'm really going to like the academics of law school, but I'm not interested in all the hype--grades, salary, prestige, bla bla bla.
I keep telling myself that I have to trust that I won't get wrapped up in all the bs. I don't know if this makes sense.
In other news, we didn't celebrate the solstice in any way here. In fact, I'm so disconnected from the passage of time I didn't realize it was the solstice! The days here seem to just float on by.
George, thanks for your update! I'm looking forward to some "cabin time" (my friends and I refer to it as "CFT," or, "Cabin Fun Time"--maybe this abbreviation will catch on) when I get home!
Internet is spotty here with the rain. I don't know why it knocks out the power and internet, but it does.
I've been realizing more and more lately that talk is cheap, especially where yoga/meditation is concerned. We can talk about it all we like, but to really get it you have to just do it. In the words of Guruji: "Practice and all is coming."
I don't have much else to share.
Hugsies,
Lauren

Enough with the Marichiasana D

2007-06-19T23:14:00.001-05:00

Hello friends, Sharath and I had another short talk about Mari D after practice today. I'm really touched that he's so attentive to me. He said "one more week...", I told him I'm leaving in 2, so the pressure's on.
But, honestly, I'm getting really tired of thinking and talking about Marichiasana D. Boring. It'll be nice to have some other stuff going on in my life.
My back's feeling much better. Jump for joy.
Not much else to report--oh, I got my roommates to talk in Portuguese, but slowly, and I do understand the gist of what they're saying. Now I have to make myself try to talk.
TTFN,
Lauren

Mysore Madness

2007-06-18T23:04:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I had another Brazilian woman move in to my apartment here. The apartment is now at capacity. She lives in Barcelona, so I have someone to speak Spanish with for the next few weeks. And I get to listen to she and Rose speak Portuguese. I thought I understood a lot of Portuguese, but I must be honest. I really don't know what they're saying to each other most of the time.
My back is starting to feel better. I've been focusing on keeping my abs engaged during the practice and it seems to be helping. Yesterday and today I felt really exhausted after practice. I feel my body changing. I'm using new muscles as I get more flexible.
Sharath helped me in Mari D today--still not quite there, but it's close. He said, "every day a little closer." True enough.
I finished applying for my student loans yesterday. I think most of my pre-law school administrative duties are taken care of. Hooray.
I went online to try and get an idea of class times. It looks like most classes start after 9:00am, so I won't have to get up at 4:00 to keep up my morning yoga practice. This is good news. I think it'll be easier to ease into a 6-day practice at home if I can get up at 6:00 rather than 4:00.
Right now I'm just enjoying being here. I'm glad my back isn't bothering me quite so much. I don't have that much to do here, so when my practice goes poorly, it colors my whole day.
2 weeks from today I leave Mysore for Bangalore and then London and then Chicago and THEN Minneapolis. I'm excited to go home. I did all the things on my trip I wanted to do. There were some low moments and some high moments, but overall I'm satisfied with the entire experience. I hit my stride somewhere in Laos and things have been great since then (except for a few incidents in Northern India...).
It's funny that I'm thinking so much about going home and that it feels like I have such a short time left. Two weeks is longer than some people get for a vacation!
Oh, and just because I'm coming home soon doesn't mean I don't still appreciate hearing from you....
Hugs,
Lauren

My back still hurts

2007-06-16T23:53:00.000-05:00

Sorry to be all whiny today, friends, but I'm feeling a bit ornery this morning.
The shala is really packed full with people on Sundays and Fridays--we have a led class, so everyone's there at the same time, whereas people have different start times when we do a self practice the rest of the week. This girl looked at me like I asked if I could kick her dog in the stomach or something when I asked her to move her mat over this morning. It's really irritating. People won't move over and then Sharath has to come out and start telling people to move. We're supposed to be doing yoga. Shouldn't that involve moving over a bit to let someone else practice too????????
I thought my back would feel better this morning after all the rest, but it doesn't. I've decided my body doesn't want Mari D, since the muscle that hurts is directly involved in the twist. I know I have to let it go. I just dislike practicing at less than full intensity.
I went to the office after class to tell Sharath about my pulled muscle. He told me he saw me walking back from town this weekend (it's about 2.5 miles) and that I shouldn't walk so much because it's tightening me up. Okeedokee. I'm flattered he recognized me.
I'm trying to dig myself out of my mood. There's no reason to feel annoyed at the world today.
TTFN,
Lauren

Earplugs=good

2007-06-15T05:59:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I wore my earplugs to sleep and I slept like a tiny, sleepy baby. Who knew sleep was just 2 little earplugs away? Maybe they're the solution to all my sleep problems.
I decided to stay in Mysore, even though we had a moon day today and tomorrow is our normal day off. I've been sleeping and yesterday I did some whirlwind souvenir shopping. I'm glad I'm getting that taken care of before I head home.
This morning I went up to the top of a hill here where there's a temple. I'm still feeling entirely unenthused about temples.
I had a cockroach crawl on me again last night. I turned on the light and he just sat on the end of my bed acting all satisfied with himself. I hope he's satisfied now that I flushed him!
Sidewalk watering: this guy comes every morning and hoses down the sidewalk and driveway and then sweeps it. It makes no sense to me in a country that's A. plagued by water problems and B. where the monsoon drops more water in an hour than I've seen it rain in my life.
George, you're the bearer of bad news! I have to miss the State Fair for yet another year. I like feeling Minnesotan while I look at the seed art, the state's biggest pig and the likenesses of young ladies carved in giant blocks of butter. Sigh, I doubt if they carve young ladies' likenesses out of giant blocks of butter in Tennessee.

Rat!

2007-06-13T01:24:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, we got our first serious monsoon rain yesterday afternoon. It rained and thundered like it was going out of style for about an hour and a half. Luckily I was inside when it hit.
I got home and my roommate, Rose, was upset. Why you ask?
First, I should explain that we don't have showers here. Just a tap and a bucket. You fill the bucket with water and then use a little pitcher to pour water over your head. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to a shower when I get home. At least the water is warm.
Anyhoo, Rose, was bathing during the rain when she heard a little noise coming from the drain. The drain covers are not sealed in our house. Much to her dismay, a rat crawled up through the drain and into the bathroom! We thought the rat left the way it came, but it made a reappearance this morning. I was meditating and hear her start to scream. She got the maintenance guy who waters the sidewalks and driveway around the house every morning (I don't get it either...) to come in and kill it. The rat was hiding behind the fridge. He hit it with a stick, Rose screamed and ran out of the house and I couldn't help but laugh. Then the guy picked it up by the tail and kept bopping the rat on the head to make sure it was dead. Then he threw it in a ditch.
Rose kept apologizing for interrupting my meditation. I assured her it was fine. Why would I want to meditate through such a hilarious episode???
I also had an ant caravan invade my bedroom. I think they were trying to get out of the rain. They were moving into a hole in my wall. I sprayed them with some poison and then slept in another room. They bite. No more ants this morning.
Practice today was not so great, but my back feels better. I really took it easy. My backbends are getting much better. I don't hate them anymore.
Stay well friends and delight in your rat-free (and cockroach-free) homes!
TTFN,
Lauren

A Disturbance in the Force

2007-06-12T04:27:00.001-05:00

Hello friends, I've been feeling a little off today. Halfway through my practice I started to feel really sad. I felt like crying when Sharath didn't adjust me in Mari D. That was my cue to move on to finishing sequence. Crying about this stuff is totally unnecessary. I am really close to getting the pose--my elbow is at my knee. Just a couple inches and I'll be able to bind my arm.
I went home and avoided people for a couple hours. I felt not sad exactly, but like something was off--a disturbance in the force. .
There are some really annoying birds here. I like birds, but there's one here that sounds like an alarm clock. It sounded sick this morning. I was listening to that and the kid upstairs having a serious temper tantrum when I got home. It was a little more than I could handle.
My body's opening up and I think I'm moving into parts of my muscles that have gone undisturbed for a long time. We carry emotions and memories in different parts of our bodies and when you open stuff up, those emotions come out. Incidentally, I keep tripping on stuff and falling over in balance poses, which is unusual for me. Someone told me it's because I'm getting more flexible--your balance changes.
I went to the chiropractor today and my back is better but it's still spasming. My left psoas is really tight and I can feel it spasm, which is a weird sensation since it's buried deep in your torso. Here's an image of the psoas for your edification: The chiropractor dug into it today and it was all knotted up. She found one of the knots and when she pushed on it I started to cry--it hurt, but not that bad. I think I'm carrying something emotional there that's trying to get out. I'm not sure what it is yet.
We have a moon day on Friday, which means Friday and Saturday off. Some people are going out of town. I feel like I should go, but I'm not super motivated. I only really want to go if someone arranges it for me...The 2 days off will be good for my back to heal. I think I just have to stop trying to stretch it for a while.
TTFN,
Lauren

Musings

2007-06-11T01:34:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I haven't written for a few days.
I'm feeling really relaxed and comfortable here. I feel really calm. It's nice.
Friday Guruji led our class! It was so nice. I think he was only 'supposed' to lead the opening chant, but then he just kept counting. Sharath looked surprised. I'm really happy to have had the chance to be in a class with him. Sharath adjusted me in Mari D and said "Monday we bind." Well, we didn't bind today, but he was busy adjusting other people. It feels so close. I definitely feel like he'll be able to get me into it on one side. Or, maybe he'll be so busy that I'll eventually just get myself in.
I'm feeling stronger. I think when I was doing the whole series I was getting stronger, but my flexibility wasn't getting better. Now, I feel like they're both progressing in tandem.
My back is sore, which makes forward folding difficult. I see the chiropractor tomorrow. Even though the muscle hurts, it doesn't feel nearly as bad as it has in the past. I definitely feel like it's getting better.
I was talking to someone this morning about interacting with people you don't really like or get along with. I feel like my attitude towards those people is changing. I can be judgmental. I don't want to be anymore. I've felt myself move from judging someone else to just distancing myself from that person and acknowledging that I don't want to be around that person's energy.
The guy I talked to today described it as being a window, rather than a door. Let the negative stuff other people are giving off pass through you, but don't attach to it. Shutting yourself off from it pits your ego against the other person's, and I think this is where the judgment happens. I'm not sure if I'm making sense, but I'm definitely feeling a shift in the way I'm reacting to people.
I was feeling really nervous about coming home and integrating all this stuff into my life on top of all the changes. I don't feel that way anymore. I'm confident that I will keep up my morning practice. It's a privilege to be here and practice, but the practice is a privilege and a gift anywhere. The beauty of it is that I can take it with me and feel joy and gratitude for it no matter where I am. I also feel confident this is not my last trip to Mysore. I didn't feel that way a month ago.
It's weird to think of weeks left of my trip rather than months! I've got 3 weeks till I get home on July 3. I go to Nashville around August 19, so I have some time to enjoy the Minnesota summer and hopefully the State Fair! Although, the Awesome Blossom holds less appeal for me now that it once did.
Books I've been reading:
The Kite Runner
Paradise by Toni Morrison
Madame Bovary by Gustave Somebody
Other books I can't remember right now. I'm finishing a book almost every other day. I write them down in my journal, otherwise I'd forget. When I sum up my trip, I'll write a detailed list of books read.
Hugs, etc.
Lauren
p.s. who thought mixing yoga and politics could be so fun? Check out the new link on my blog to bushyoga.com.

Guruji

2007-06-07T00:29:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,
Guruji came to practice this morning and did the opening chant with us! I don't know that I felt a real connection to him before I came here, but feeling him in the room I got a little teary-eyed. He stayed for a little bit and then went back and sat in the office. I'm glad he's feeling better. I'm also glad to have had this brief opportunity to practice while he was in the room. Hopefully there'll be more opportunities!
I had some pants made at the tailor and they did not fit. I had to argue with the guy about it. He kind of just shrugged his shoulders. I got a little angry. I was surprised to feel myself get mad. His attitude really bothered me. He just didn't care at all. Eventually, I got him to fix them--now they're only slightly ill-fitting. Getting clothes made sounds like a great idea till you actually do it. Then it's not so fun.
It's been raining here. Now it's really hot and humid, rather than just really hot. Ick.
My back is sore.
Other than that I can't complain! Life is pretty good.
XO,
Lauren

New Roommate

2007-06-04T23:59:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I got a new roommate here last night. She's from Brazil. I will force her to speak to me in Portuguese! Maybe I can still realize my long held dream of being fluent in Portuguese...
I decided today that I want to get through Marichiasana D too much. I need to let it go and be ok with leaving here not having gotten any new postures.
I spent a lot of yesterday on a fruitless search for an A/V cable. I was with a friend and we are trying to hook her laptop up to the tv so we can watch movies at an audible volume. We found a cable, but it didn't work. It only cost a dollar, so I'm thinking maybe it was just of really crappy quality.
My backbends are getting better. I'm curious how they'll feel one day to the next, which is motivating me to actually do them with a some effort. They're a bit of a black hole in my practice. I just lay there on the mat for a long time trying to convince myself it's a good idea to attempt them. While I lay there, I become the victim of inertia. "Laying here feels so nice, maybe I'll just lay here a little bit longer...."
I feel good about life today.
I started drawing a little bit yesterday. One of my friends here paints and it seemed like a good idea to me. I bought some oil pastels and paper and have been playing around. It's fun. I like to draw, but can never think of subject matter.
Anyhoo, friends, it occurs to me that a month from today I will be at home! Time has flown. At the same time, Vietnam feels like a long time ago.
Hugs,
Lauren

Blah

2007-06-03T23:31:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I woke up this morning feeling very blah. I didn't sleep so great last night. I think I sleep better when I have more to do...
I was really tight at practice this morning and I took it all slowly. I think my backbends are getting better.
Today I have resolved to work on applying for financial aid. How exciting.
Meh,
Lauren

Mania

2007-06-03T04:15:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,
I started week 5 of practice today and I feel great. Time is a-flyin'. I think Mari B is getting closer on my left. My right knee is starting to feel better and my right hip is loosening. Slowly, slowly.
I talked to my new roommate in Nashville yesterday and she seems really cool. I think we'll get along well. Arranging that was easier than I expected. Yay.
I've been a lot more social this past week than when I first got here. I think in my time traveling alone I forgot how to talk to people for longer than the prescribed "where you from?" "where you been/going?" "how long you traveling?", etc. It's nice to talk to people and hang out and laugh and stuff.
I've been feeling a bit manic--I have tons of energy and my mind is racing, but in a sort of creative, fun way. This kept me from sleeping. It's interesting. I realize the meditation, yoga, etc is supposed to make these high kinds of moods less intense, along with making the lows less intense.
I went through a period a couple years ago where I'd go work out/train capoeira in the evenings and then I had so much energy still that I would jog the mile or two home or else I knew I wouldn't sleep. I feel that way now. I kinda like it, to be honest. The world is very bright.
Love,
Lauren

Color

2007-05-31T01:38:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,
we didn't practice this morning, because it's a moon day. We take a rest day on the full and new moons each month because of the way they affect our energy. If you want to know more read this: http://www.ashtangayogacenter.com/moon.html, but it may all be Greek to you.
I've been going through financial aid info for school. It's not as daunting as I originally thought, but after spending 6 months not reading anything that really required my attention, I'm finding it slow going.
I'm going to talk to my potential Nashville roommate on the phone this weekend. I hope it works out. I have a good feeling about it.
The astrologer told me to stop wearing dark colors because they make me contract, whereas light colors will make me expand. I've been thinking about it. Most of my wardrobe is black. I think I've been wearing black to hide myself to some extent. I'm sure some of it has to do with body image--black is slimming, after all. I'm thinking it's time to embrace brighter colors and white.
My neck still hurts, but is feeling much better. I'm still waging a war of attrition on the muscles in my hips. They will yield just like the French! It's only matter of time...
Hugs,
Lauren

If it's not one thing, it's another.

2007-05-29T06:07:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I'm happy to report my lumbar region is feeling a-ok. Unfortunately, I pulled a muscle at the base of my neck yesterday and it's quite sore. I had to cut out a bunch of the finishing sequence today. I went to the chiropractor this morning and she made it feel better. Yay. We joke that every time you feel like you've just damaged yourself, it's actually an "opening." We'll see...
Today, as I approached my bane, Marichiasana D, Sharath came over and pulled on my arms to start to twist me in the right direction. He looked at me and said "it is coming..." Yay. I can feel it's only a matter of time. That was the highlight of my practice today. My neck hurt and I felt tired and heavy. Some days my whole body feels wrong and other days I'm floating on the air.
Here is a picture of Marichiasana D, so the uninitiated can get a visual (I met this guy here!):

It's cooled down a little here, which is a relief. And I've been sleeping better.
Not much else to report!
Hugs,
Lauren

Happy Birthday to....

2007-05-27T06:10:00.000-05:00

...ME!
Hello friends, I completed a quarter century today. I prefer odd numbers to even ones, for some reason, so 25 feels good.
I didn't have the greatest practice this morning, but the day's been really nice.
I had my astrological chart read this morning (more on that momentarily), then I went out for lunch with some people and hung out at someone's house. One girl brought me cake with candles. I was really touched, because she didn't have to go out of her way to do that. It was nice.
I'm making more friends and feeling more comfortable with being here.
I got in an argument with my rickshaw driver today. He brought me to the astrologer last week. He took me the long way there on the meter. Then, he took the short way back without the meter. He asked me to tell him when I was going back to the astrologer so he could take me. I did, but I told him we were going the short way there and the short way back.
So he took me there off the meter again and then I had him drive me to the place where we had lunch. Then he demanded exorbitant sums for waiting for me at the astrologer's, even though the rate is clearly written on the side of the rickshaw. "no, no, that's the old rate..." Yeah right.
So I told him I was angry (without raising my voice) because he was cheating me and demanding a different price from me because I'm a foreigner. Then he got angry and dramatic and told me to keep my money like I'd insulted his honor. Then he told me he was going to tell all his rickshaw driver friends not to drive me anywhere. Whatever. They're a dime a dozen. I'm sure I'll be able to find someone to drive me around. This is why I don't go anywhere. It's always such an ordeal. Sigh.
I asked a woman here who's a dietitian about my chronic iron deficiency (I'm never allowed to give blood, because my iron is always too low). She told me it is not good, asked me about my diet and we concluded I'm eating very few iron-rich foods. The most interesting thing she told me was the deficiency can make me short of breath, because I don't have enough iron for the O2 to attach to in my body. I do get the sensation that I can't take a full, satisfying breath on and off--I always thought it was stress, but it may just be due to lack of iron. The lack of iron could actually contribute to stress if I'm not supplying my body with as much oxygen as it needs as a result.
Now for the juicy stuff.
The astrologer had me take notes and record him giving me my reading on a cassette.
This is astrology in the south Indian, Vedic tradition. My sun is in Taurus, not Gemini. That's ok. I've let go of identifying as a Gemini.
More importantly my ascendant is in Cancer as is my moon which seems to be what plays a dominant role in my personality.
I really didn't tell him anything about myself before the reading.
He told me that I have tenacity of purpose and that I stick to my principles. Cancer is a water sign and is flowing. I'm emotional, excitable, love travel and am interested in international commerce.
I have strong intuitive power and am interested in the healing arts. I like water travel.
I'm interested in yoga and philosophy and seek guidance from yogis.
I will have a love marriage (this is definitely a cultural thing--most people here don't choose their own partner--I will bring home the marriage classified ads from the paper. They're a trip). My partner will be someone who can appreciate the different aspects of my personality and my traits. He said I would find this person or a prospect between August and November of this year. Holy crap. We'll see. Then, later he gave me dates: Aug 6 things will take shape, 25 November things will get decided, by 15 January something will be finalized.
I'm a good artist and have a fertile imagination. I like music, literature, decoration, painting, drama. I'm expressive. I have an idea and I express it through my body--gestures, gait, etc.
I'm very communicative, language flows through me.
I have lots of foreign travels.
He said in school I don't meet my own expectations and something holds me back from manifesting my total capacity.
Then he asked me if I had practiced martial arts. Ummm...yes.
I have a magnetic personality.
He said I'd be successful in the hospitality industry. I like to be pleasant to the customer and to make people feel comfortable. He said I like to make my environment beautiful. He said I want to drive a luxurious vehicle.
He told me my pleasant face and smile are part of my gift of bringing other people joy.
My business will involve pleasing the customer, I'll be a top executive and will be a good manager.
I'm very quick.
I'm a peace-maker and a go-between. Again, my business will involve mediating between parties. Some kind of networking/being a liason. I will eventually work for myself, but it will take time.
I am a good student and teacher of yoga.
He said I had a change in my professional course in 2005/2006--true enough. I got promoted in 2005 and then I quit in 2006.
He told me all this is preparation.
I won't just be a good wife, but I want to be a good mother. I am tender, soft, generous and have affection for all.
I would make a good water-diviner.
I will rise to the top in 2012-2013, professionally. I'll be connected with international tourism. I'll be the boss.
He said I shouldn't wear dark colors. Black makes me shrink, whereas light colors will make me expand. Too bad most of my wardrobe is black...
I'm magnetic and attractive. I will keep the company of people of rank and position.
I would be a good civil engineer.
I will deal with others' money. Their money is safe with me.
The best gem for me is a rosy-colored diamond. He told me it had to be minimum 6 carats and I must wear it on my ring finger on my left hand. Who's going to bankroll that? I won't be able to lift my hand.
I must also have a 3 to 5 carat ruby on my right hand which will give me authority and queenly qualities.
Some people are jealous of me so I have to filter my friendships. He said I will rise very quickly and people will become spiteful.
I should avoid eating potato and onion.
I have the capacity to handle the professional challenges that come my way. August 6 is when stuff in my life begins to take off.
I'm frank. I don't like hypocrisy or flattery.
He said I may have sleeping problems...
I'm responsible, but human.
Anyhoo, I take all this with a grain of salt, but I don't think it's totally invalid. I do think there is some kind of energy that exists in the universe that affects us all. Actually, a lot of it was surprisingly accurate. Especially because he told me that law/international commerce were professions I would have an affinity for. I don't know that I have a need to beautify my surroundings or drive a nice car. I definitely don't need to be wearing a 6 carat rock.
A lot of what he said about my professional life are things I've been discovering about myself over the last few years.
Sorry there's no clear narrative here--I mostly copied the notes I took during the reading.
Well, friends, it's been a good birthday. I hope you are all having a nice Memorial Day!
Hugs,
Lauren

Rain

2007-05-26T00:51:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, we've started to get some rain here, which is lovely. I'm told everyone in India lives in anticipation of the monsoon, because it cools everything down.
I finally slept really well last night and now I'm feeling a bit lethargic.
I have one really good prospect for housing in Nashville. I hope it works out.
Not much else to share, otherwise, but I wanted to write something!
Hugs,
Lauren

Nashville is far from here...

2007-05-24T00:54:00.000-05:00

I'm getting a little stressed about finding housing in Nashville all the way from India. I'm trying to find a roommate, because it's so very expensive to live alone. I just spent an hour emailing people on craigslist. We'll see what happens. Luckily, my family is helping me, because they are wonderful, helpful people.
At least the stress gives me an opportunity to practice my de-stressing techniques. I think it's working, actually.
Yoga is good. I think I'm starting to understand and appreciate the teaching style here. Because I'm not allowed to go further in the series than Mari D, I'm really taking more time to focus on the postures I do have in a way I haven't focused on them before. With the new focus and the time I'm spending opening my hips, I'm feeling myself move deeper into a lot of poses. It's nice. I can also see how mastering these poses will allow my body to naturally move to the next postures in the series. I tried bujapindasana today at home, just to see where my body is at and I was shocked to be able to get my legs around my arms. I still can't balance, but I can tell that really focusing on opening my hips, etc, will allow me to get into the pose later.
I'm feeling a lot of stretching in my knees, hips and shoulders. I feel like I'm moving into a new body, in some ways.
Not much else to report.
Hugs,
Lauren

It's hot still.

2007-05-22T03:59:00.000-05:00

Hi friends, it's still really hot here.
George, I'm not sure how much I like being quoted back to myself. I sound a little preachy. Oh well.
I will definitely come visit the crew when I get home.
Stuff's good here. I'm becoming a little more social. I had so much to think about when I first got here and it'd been so long since I'd talked to people for extended periods of time, that I think I was a little overwhelmed by social contact.
I'm feeling a little stiff and sore, but that's to be expected. I think I moved through the old hamstring injury. I can feel my shoulders opening up. The changes aren't so dramatic as they were right at first, but I can feel little changes every day. I'm definitely stretching into some heretofore uncharted territory. How exciting.
Insomnia is still rearing its ugly head, but I think it's good that I'm getting it here. It's giving me an opportunity to analyze why I get it and what I can do about it.
Oh, and I did get accepted to the University of Minnesota. Too late, suckas.
TTFN,
Lauren

Old habits...

2007-05-21T04:16:00.000-05:00

Old habits are heard to break. This meditation and yoga business are all about breaking old, negative habits in your mind and body.
One thing I've been doing is observing the thoughts in my head without attaching myself to them in any way. I was shocked at how negative I am! If I talked to anyone else the way I talk to myself in my head I wouldn't have any friends at all. I'm constantly nagging and judging myself. How annoying. No wonder I'm anxious. Anyhoo, awareness is the first step. Now I have to remind myself that those thoughts are not useful and to let them go. This seemed to work for me this morning.
George, I'm glad you appreciated the construction photos. I'll take some more. It blows my mind. People are manually sifting sand through screens, breaking up big rocks into smaller ones, digging foundations by carrying dirt on their heads in round pans, and when they're up on the "scaffolding," you can bet your life they're not harnessed into anything. I demand a donut hole from every member of the Habitat crew as royalties for sharing the photo.
And, I think my rugby days are over.

Clearing out the Coconut

2007-05-20T04:13:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I'm back in Mysore and feeling less assaulted from all sides by noise and pollution and stuff.
I found a lot of my old thought patterns came back while I was away from here. It surprised me. I realized it's going to be much harder to maintain the mental tranquility when I'm in the real world. Some of you may be saying "duh" to yourselves. It seems so obvious, but I didn't think about it till now. So now I know that I'm going to have to find a way to make real life and meditation merge.
Someone here asked me if I came here to clear out the coconut. Yes. I'm attempting to clear out the coconut.
George, sometimes I really can't motivate to move from a horizontal position. I justify it by stretching and reading while lying down. That means I'm multitasking, right?
Shopping here is a different experience than at home. There always seem to be more sales people than customers and they follow you around while you shop. I mean they are ON TOP of you while you browse. I think in the malls it means good customer service. In the grocery store in Mysore they follow me around so I don't steal anything. It's annoying, but I'm trying to be culturally sensitive about it.
I went to a movie yesterday, which was fun.
I got back here around 9:30 last night. Practice wasn't that great this morning. I think I'm sleep deprived from my couple nights of no sleeping and I didn't eat that well in Bangalore. It's nice to really be able to feel how those things affect my practice. There are so few variables that it's easier to isolate which ones might be making me feel icky. On the plus side, my knee felt better this morning. I've decided I have 5 lbs in the way of Mari D.
In other news, the U of M wrote me an email saying they're trying to contact me with their decision on my application, but my cell phone is disconnected. I can only assume this means I've been accepted, otherwise I don't think they'd bother to call. Of course, I had to briefly revisit my decision in my mind, but I think I made the right choice. I will stay the course. I tried to make the decision assuming I would be accepted to the U. It's still hard to leave home, but the hard part is already out of the way, right? Again, that's the only tough thing about the choice.
Shesh, thanks for the clarification on the bullock. Now, I'll have to admit my ignorance and say I don't even know what the BPO industry is, so I probably won't be pursuing a career in it.
Here's the email I got from a lady at a yoga studio in Nashville I asked about Ashtanga:
"We are laid back here in the south. Ashtanga seems to be a bit too intense for the masses." There you have it.
I'm going to spend the rest of the day continuing to clear out the coconut and convincing myself I made the right choice about school.
TTFN,
Lauren

Bangalore

2007-05-18T07:26:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I decided to leave Mysore for my day off from yoga and visit the bustling city of Bangalore.
It's such a time warp. People are walking around in Western clothes, there are malls and stuff. It's weird. I went in a mall briefly and sort of felt at home.
I took the train here and it took over 4 hours to go the app. 150 km. India is slowly growing on me. People are mostly really friendly. Where else can you see a Swarovski crystal store and then walk 10 minutes and see some lady breaking up rock into gravel by hand and a guy transporting it on a cart pulled by a cow. I think I know I'm going home soon and I'm getting nostalgic about all this stuff already.
Something I will not be nostalgic about: the cockroach that crawled on me while I was trying to sleep last night. I had insomnia again last night and the night before. The cockroach did not help things at all. I kinda hoped the insomnia would just magically disappear when I started meditating...it has not. I think it will probably go away gradually. I'm not even actively worrying about anything. I think with all this new awareness in my body, I've been finding muscles where I was holding tension and didn't know it. I've been releasing the tension from those muscles, but I think the tension has transfered itself to the muscles in my face. These muscles are more difficult to control consciously. Anyhoo, I'll continue to work on all the stress and stuff and then I think the insomnia will not rear its ugly head so often.
I emailed Iowa to tell them I'm not going to their school. That makes it all official!
It was nice to get out of Mysore and be moving around a little bit. I'm feeling more motivated than I was a week or so ago.
Hugs,
Lauren

Changing world view

2007-05-17T04:10:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, my opening shoulders are changing my whole outlook on life. Just a few days of focusing on stretching out my whole shoulder girdle are having a noticeable influence on my practice! I don't have to use so much arm strength to keep myself back in down dog and my heels almost touched the ground this morning! And, I was able to do all 3 backbends for a full 5 breaths this morning, which may be my first time ever. The flexibility in my shoulders made it easier to hold myself up and breathe through the icky feeling I get in backbends.
I haven't had one day yet where I woke up at 4:30 thinking, "ugh, again? I have to go do that again?" Every morning I feel so happy and privileged to be going to practice. I've been feeling really delighted to be here and to be alive and all that bologna.
I was next to someone doing third series today (I think it was third). He had a leg behind his head for, literally, every pose. Jumping back with his leg behind his head, etc. Janu shirshasana A felt so pedestrian in comparison.
I went to an Astro-Numero-Palmistry-Magneto-Gem-Yoga-Psycho Therapist today. That's what his business card says and I think it's hilarious. I went for an initial consultation today to give him my stats: date, time, and place of birth, name, photo, signature, etc. He is going to read my chart on...my birthday. He said, why not start the new year with a reading. Why not, indeed. He was conferred an honorary phd in astrology by some university in California. Apparently, he's the best. He's 83 and really cute. He told me I like to take command--I want to be the leader. I do stuff and then show others how to do it. I think talk is cheap. I guess that's true.
It's really hot here. You can't walk around in the sun for more than 5 minutes at a time. Good thing I don't have any reason to do so.
TTFN,
Lauren

Good posture feels great!

2007-05-16T06:28:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, we didn't practice this morning and I got to sleep in till 6:30! Delightful.
I went to the chiropractor this morning. She's slowly fixing my neck. I have muscles in my shoulders that are so tight they're pulling my neck forward and I've lost the normal curvature in my cervical spine. She's got me doing some exercises that are putting the curve back in place and stretching my shoulders and pecs. It feels so great! I feel like a new person when I'm walking. I can feel a difference in my lower back even. I don't have to use my stomach muscles as much to keep my pelvis in place when my neck isn't jutting forward. I also feel taller. She said the neck thing is really common in people who do office work.
Not much else to report.
I'm still feeling good about my school decision, but it's going to take some mental adjustment. I really love Minneapolis for a whole lot of reasons and its going to be hard to be away for so long.
The internet cafe here has headphones and I'm listening to music on Myspace. I haven't listened to music for so long. I'm entranced.
Here's one of my favorite poems by Rumi, for your reading enjoyment:
The Pickaxe
You have a lease and you've set up a little shop
where you barely make a living sewing patches
on torn clothing. Yet only a few feet underneath
are two veins, pure red and bright gold carnelian.
Quick! Take the pickaxe and pry the foundation.
You've got to quit this seamstress work
What does the patch-sewing mean, you ask.
Eating and drinking. The heavy cloak of the body
is always getting torn. You patch it with food,
and other restless ego-satisfactions. Rip up
one board from the shop floor and look into
the basement. You'll see two glints in the dirt.
TTFN,
Lauren

Decisons, decisions

2007-05-15T09:05:00.000-05:00

Well friends, I'm writing to tell you I decided today to go to Vanderbilt Law School. This is a rather unexpected development, but an exciting one.
In other news, my knee is still sore. I had a dream about it last night. Then when I was walking down the street someone fell right on...my right knee. I'm sure it'll get better and I should just stop pushing it.
Anyhoo, I'm having a hard time believing I'm moving south of the Mason-Dixon.

Still sore

2007-05-15T04:03:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I'm still feeling pretty sore. We don't practice tomorrow because it is a "moon day." I'm still not entirely sure what that means, but it'll probably be good to give the ol' body a rest.
The U of M is giving me the same response to my newest email: wait till the end of the month. The biggest news for me is that I'm actually not obsessing about this decision in the way I would have a couple months ago. It would've upset my sleep and made me feel anxious all the time. So, I feel like the yoga is working. I actually feel a little happy excitement over the uncertainty!
I'm really leaning toward Vanderbilt, though.
I know I had something I wanted to write about, but I can't remember what it was.
Oh yeah, I've been thinking about how far I'll make it through Primary series while I'm here, even though I know its the wrong attitude--wanting to get past Mari D is clouding my practice! I finished Mari D today and looked up expectantly at Sharath, hoping he would let me continue. Why? I think I want to feel like I'm advancing, even though I am advancing in a million ways that don't involve binding in Mari D. Must let it go.
TTFN,
Lauren

My sore....

2007-05-14T03:36:00.000-05:00

...everything. I had to use that pun at some point, right? And what better time to use it than when I'm actually quite sore. Today made 10 days of practice and I'm feeling little patches of soreness throughout my body. They are helping me revist injuries past: "Hello, hamstring I painfully overstretched during the winter of '05!" "How are you tiny muscle in my shoulder I pulled last summer?" And then there are new aches, telling me I'm entering previously uncharted territory. My hips have probably not been this open since 1992. I'm passively stretching my hips for what probably amounts to hours a day, mostly while I'm reading.
I was feeling a bit antisocial and homesick the past few days. I think the same thing happened to me here as at the Ashram after a bit--I got a little bit of sensory overload and I wanted to not talk about yoga for a little bit. I'm back to feeling social again, which is good.
It's been really hot here the past 2 days. I spend the majority of the day hiding from the sun. Then I go to bed at 8:30.
I'm having some trouble making decisions about law school...I sent the U an email telling them I would appreciate a response on my application ASAP, since I have to tell Vanderbilt whether or not I'm attending their institution by Friday. The good news is, neither choice is a bad one.
After researching their respective web sites, I think Vanderbilt has a better international law program than the U of M. But the U is in Minneapolis, along with my family and friends...but my brother and his (soon-to-be) wife are in Nashville. He has also offered to give me Ed,the most loveable cat of all time, if I move there. You may remember Ed from a post long ago...here he is again:

I met a British guy who studied law in London and now works in Brussels for the EU doing international environmental protection stuff. Talking to him got me excited about school. For some reason just thinking about being involved in international treaty negotiations makes my heart go all aflutter.
I also met 2 guys from Turkmenistan. I didn't know there were actual people in Turkmenistan. I've also met 5 people so far on my trip from Estonia. Who comes from Estonia? Blondes.

A Spaniard in the works...

2007-05-12T06:37:00.000-05:00

...as my dad likes to say. I'm not sure what to do about this whole Vanderbilt thing...it will require some serious thought. There's more Ashtanga (but not much) in Nashville than in Iowa City, so that makes the Vandy vs. Iowa choice easy for me. The Vandy vs U of M choice is a little less clear to me right now.
I've been feeling a little homesick today. I really don't have much to do. The less there is to do, the less I feel like doing and then I spiral into a tiny emotional black hole. I need to find another class to start next week.
I also seem to alternate between embracing all this new knowledge and feeling overwhelmed by it. Right now I feel a little overwhelmed.
Anyhoo, have a nice mother's day!
Lauren

Lazy day

2007-05-11T06:57:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, not much to report here today. I saw the chirporactor again this morning and she worked on my hips and lower back. She did some work on my psoas muscles. They were really tight and were pulling my pelvis out of alignment. My back feels better now.
Practice this morning was led. It felt so different from led practice last week. I feel so much stronger already. I didn't feel like I'd been hit by a bus at the end of it. I've been getting fewer adjustments than when I first got here, which is fine. I think I have to work with what I learned in those adjustments for a while and then I'll be ready for more.
I just got an email that I've been admitted to Vanderbilt Law School. Hooray for me. How about you, U of M????
Hugs.
Lauren

Letting Go

2007-05-10T03:41:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I have so many things to share, I don't know where to start!
I had my last day of anatomy class today, unfortunately. I wish I could go every day! It's so nice to have all this yoga knowledge around me that I can soak up.
Yesterday we talked about arms and shoulders. There's very little holding your shoulder into place. The shoulder was not designed as a weight-bearing device the way the hip joint was. So, in Ashtanga we have to rely on musculature to keep everything in place, not on the nature of the joint. We practiced engaging muscles in the hand and felt the muscle chain react all the way up the arm. In down dog, etc we want our weight to be in the inside of our hands (ie the thumb and pointer) because that's the side of the arm with the most weight-bearing capacity. I've had a really hard time with this in my practice. We were told to practice clawing the ground whenever we're in a posture where our palms are flat. This engages muscles and tendons and stuff in the hand that set off the chain of muscle engagement through the arms.
I tried it this morning and it changed so much stuff! I was able to shift my weight much more easily to the inside of my hand and I felt like I had to use a lot less muscle in my shoulders to keep myself in the position.
I had a really good, focused practice this morning (maybe because we were practicing together??). I felt really aware of a lot of things in my body. I got home and crashed for an hour and a half! I haven't been sleeping after practice, but this morning I couldn't stay awake.
Today at anatomy we talked about core muscles and engaging mula bandha and uddiyana bandha. It was really informative, but a lot of the information was sensory, so I don't know if I can communicate it.
Anyhoo, we practiced feeling the difference between the core muscles engaging and the sleeve muscles engaging.
Also, apparently most of the nerves associated with the sympathetic nervous system are in the lower back. Could my low back pain and anxiety be directly related to and feeding one another?? I think so.
Something that kept coming up in class was how our habituated movement patterns manifest themselves in the body and how we have to un-habituate ourselves to make the body healthier (sound similar to te process of dealing with anxiety?). The yoga helps do that, but the teacher suggested giving up other sports for a year or two to get those movements out of the body. It made me think about some of the things I've given up and how going through yoga and reexperiencing old injuries and working through muscle tension that originated in activities I used to do requires a lot of letting go. A lot more than just physically letting go. We hold so many emotions in our body along with physical tension. I'm not sure what else to say about that, other than the yoga helps move through and past the things that have happened to us, which is directly related to how we hold and how we've used our bodies. Yoga practice can't progress till you're ready to let some of those familiar patterns go.
In other news, I went to the chirporactor for an initial consultation on Tuesday. She had me go get an x-ray of my lower back at the local hospital. It was included in the consultation fee, but if it hadn't been it would've cost me $6. But I digress. The long and the short of it is I have some narrowing of my discs between my L4 and L5, and L5 and S1 vertebrae. These are the vertebrae all the way at the base of the spine. Surprise, this is where my back hurts. There's also some calcification on those vertebrae. The chiropractor gave me an exercise to put movement into that part of the spine. She said that will increase fluid in the discs and help them heal. My shoulders are tight and hunched a little forward and my neck goes forward too. She worked on bringing my shoulders back and gave me some exercises to stretch out the front of my chest. Today, she's giving a posture class, so I can learn to sit up straight, which she thinks is what I need more than anything else.
I must admit, I freaked out a little bit when I saw the narrowing of the discs. I feel like I'm too young to have this. The chiropractor told me it's not that bad, and that it's actually fairly normal in someone who's done the kind of physical activity I've done.
Now that anatomy class is done, I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do with all my free time.
I'll figure out something. Although, exercises and meditation and playing around with sensations, etc can take up quite a lot of someone's day. It's nice to be here and have the time to focus on it. It's harder to spend a half hour a day stretching out your shoulders at home.
We have a led class again tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how different it feels after 4 days of self-led practice.
Hugs,
Lauren

Not a Gemini?

2007-05-08T04:51:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, still really happy to be here. My mind wandered a little more than I'd like in practice this morning, but otherwise no complaints.
Anatomy today: pelvis and hips. We looked at different femurs today. Wow. People's femurs are SO different! Unbelievable. We saw how the shape of the ball that goes into the hip socket and the angle it attaches to the bone, etc effect hip movement and one's ability to get into...padmasana. Some people's are shaped in such a way that the femur bone hits the bone of the pelvis and they have to torque their knees to get into padmasana. I'm not sure how my femur is shaped. We'll just have to wait and see.
Right now, I'm still working through all the soft tissue.
I'm going to a chiropractor this afternoon who came recommended. It'll be nice to go to someone who's used to dealing with yogis. She apparently does other kinds of body work too. Yay. I'm really hoping to understand my back better and to heal it.
Not much else to report today, after my purge yesterday. Although, I was reminded of something emotionally traumatic that happened to me a long time ago yesterday. It made me feel that anxious feeling in my stomach. I sat down and meditated and I felt so much better. It's nice to know that this anxiousness is just habit, it's not how I'm hardwired. I can un-habituate it. Yay.
I got bored while I was eating today and read my book. Can't change habit over night....
Oh, and I forgot to explain my title! I met another student who also studies astrology...he tells me our Western system is out of date, the planets have realigned since it was set up and that according to Vedic astrology I am not a Gemini! I am a Taurus!!! He's going to do my chart for me and show me tomorrow. I'll keep you informed.
Love!
Lauren

Blogspot Confessional

2007-05-07T04:05:00.000-05:00

Thanks Mo and Cate for your comments! I'm glad what I'm writing about is interesting to someone...I wasn't totally convinced, so I'll keep sharing thought with you about my inward journey, so to speak.
I'm going to try and be as candid as possible about things I'm thinking and feeling while I'm here. Confessions of a 24 (almost 25)-year old blogger:
I've been thinking about what I wrote earlier about grace and my quest for it. I know a lot of times we leave home only to find in the journey that what we were looking for was at home all along. I realized yesterday morning that I find grace in my Ashtanga practice. Surprise.
I came here not really knowing what to expect. I also came here without any clearly defined goals for what I wanted to learn. I think this is probably a good thing. When people asked me why I wanted to study yoga in India for 2 months, I told them mostly just to be in the atmosphere here, to be in the presence of a guru, to have time where all I have to think about is yoga.
I think these things are all true, but I'm also finding how much more I want to learn! My stay at the Ashram started this exploration of the inner self and I'm finding that message reinforced over and over from a variety of different sources. These things I'm looking for: grace, strength, awareness of my body, freedom from stress, etc are all tied in to the same thing. Yoga and meditation will bring me closer to my true self. Knowing myself will calm my mind.
I'm also realizing how completely un-unique my anxiety and fears are. Everyone's got them! We've all got the same problems, friends. They're rooted in the 4 basic drives: self-preservation, food, sex, sleep. Sharing this with humanity makes it easier to bear somehow.
This brings me into my next topic. Of the 4 drives, food is the one that I've had the most challenges with. The message I'm getting everywhere is: mindfulness, pay attention. I'm applying this to eating. I think this will be the most difficult thing for me when I get home. I do a lot of social eating. Anyways, the first thing I've learned is to take a moment before eating. Prayer? Not necessarily, just a moment to relax so you can eat while in a calm, centered place. Second, no multitasking. I've stopped reading while I eat. I'm trying to pay attention to every bite, really chew and taste my food thoroughly. This helps me know when I feel full and should stop eating. I'm trying to heed that physical signal. I'm redefining my relationship with food, a journey I started when I graduated from college.
Anatomy class: holy crap. Lots of info, fascinating stuff. We spent almost 5 hours between yesterday and today talking about feet to knees. I'll try to accurately divulge some of the info I learned.
First fascinating thing: our core muscles are not just in our abdomen! We have core and sleeve muscles all through the body. The core muscles are close to the bones and we can't really see them. They're responsible for sensing, rooting, stability--our movements begin here. Sleeve muscles are bigger and do more outward movements. We saw yesterday how the muscle chain that you engage in your abdomen and pelvic floor originate in your feet! Moral of the story: the feet are very important.
We stood with our eyes closed and swayed back and forward, feeling different muscle groups engage in the body as we moved. Then, tried to find center, where we were relaxed. Also, to really feel the quality of the ground beneath are feet--texture, temperature, density, etc. The idea is to sense these things in the feet and be firmly grounded in the feet and with the core muscles, before reaching out with the sleeve muscles.
We were encouraged to go home and practice sensing subtle things in the body that we may not have been paying attention to before. Holy crap, sensory overload. I felt so many things that I had never felt before. Firstly, while walking I noticed my right leg is turned slightly outwards. Standing still, after a while I could feel the twist in my pelvis and which of my legs was made shorter from that. I could also feel the twist in my pelvis while lying down.
This brings me into my back injury. A lot of its physical, but I've decided a lot of its mental too. I think I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with it. It's definitely a horn I like to toot (meaning, for some reason I like to tell people about it). It hurts and limits my movement sometimes, but I think I also regard it as a bit of an old friend. Also a crutch--"I can't do that, my back hurts..." I think part of me doesn't want to see it go. Why? Unknown.
Are you bored yet, gentle reader?
Yesterday was the first day that I actually felt, from inside, what the structure of my back felt like. Until yesterday, I'd only understood the structural problem in my pelvis and sacrum from what other people had told me about it. How unbelievable to actually feel it from inside, just by paying close attention! There's a lot of really cool stuff going on in there. And this is only the beginning!
I really focused on my feet this morning while I was practicing. How do you make a perfectly formed footprint in every standing pose? How do you even out the pressure across the foot and then extend outwards and go deeper into the pose?
I'm finding in my practice I can turn off my thoughts in a way I'm still having trouble with while meditating (I'm doing a little every day). I noticed today that while my mind isn't turned outward, I don't know that its turned deeply inward either. I'm not sensing these things I started to feel after the anatomy class yesterday. This is the next step for deepening my practice. PAYING ATTENTION!!!! It seems so simple, but it's not.
Today was my first self-led practice. The shala is packed by 4:50, even though most people's start time is at 5. I got there at 4:55 and had trouble finding a spot. It was so different from the led practice. The led practice is SO fast compared to me practicing following my own breath. Have I mentioned we only do 3 Surya Namaskara Bs??? Some of you may appreciate this news. I nearly forgot purvotanasana, as I am wont to do.
I got to see some people doing intermediate, but I digress.
I used my new cotton yoga mat for the first time in the seated series today. It's awesome. No more hydroplaning on my own sweat. Sharath had time to sit down and help me through the Marichiasanas today, which was nice. Mari D is still a long way off. I got stopped there and then you go in the other room to do finishing poses.
After class I enjoyed fresh coconut water from inside a real coconut. Yummy in my tummy. There's a guy with a truck full of coconuts who parks in front of the shala every morning and waits for us to emerge...
I went home and read a book for a while, slathered myself in tiger balm (my new best friend: goodbye immodium, hello tiger balm!), made breakfast, and meditated. Then came anatomy class number 2.
We talked about the feet some more, then about muscles in the lower leg and the knee. What did I learn today that I want to incorporate into my practice tomorrow? I always thought that you had to contract the muscles on one side of the body while completely relaxing the other side to stretch--ie contracting the quads, releasing the hams. Apparently, we will get a deeper stretch by contracting the muscle we want to stretch. This stabalizes the joints the muscles are attached to. If the joint is not stable, your body will not let you stretch past a certain point. We tried it and it works! So, in seated poses, pressing the heel into the ground a little will give you more flexibility in the hip. I will try this tomorrow.
The knee is unbelievable, friends! We saw video of a cadaver's knee sliding back and forth over the meniscus.
Tomorrow, we learn about a number of things, including the structure of the femur and how one's particular femur shape may help or hinder getting into padmasana. I'm curious about my femur/padmasana potential...I know you're all on the edge of your seats.
Then I had lunch, and then I started writing this and then its now. I will probably go to bed at 8:30.
Not much else to report.
Love,
Lauren

Stress

2007-05-05T23:21:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I just finished a book I bought at the Ashram in Rishikesh about freeing oneself from stress. Step number one: breathing. Apparently, most of us chest breathe, and we should be breathing from our diaphragm. A lot of the ideas in the book are about retraining our physical and mental habits that create stress. Chest breathing puts us in a constant state of anxiety. Diaphragmatic breathing uses oxygen more efficiently and calms us down. So, I'm trying to concentrate on breathing with my diaphragm all the time.
Class was really nice again this morning. My knee isn't sore anymore. I think whatever I felt on Friday was an opening, rather than tearing. Yay.
Today, I'm starting a 5-day anatomy class, given by another yoga student. Should be interesting.
Being here is helping me see the barriers I've been putting up for myself in my practice and the lazy habits I've developed. It's nice to be pushed (compassionately) through those barriers. The barriers are fears, of what, I'm not sure.
Anyhoo, It's 10 am and I've already been awake for 5 and a half hours! Crazy.
TTFN,
Lauren

No roaches last night

2007-05-04T03:12:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to report last night was roach-free.
Practice this morning was good, but not as intense as yesterday. Yesterday after class I felt like I'd been in a car accident, but the good kind--I didn't know where I was, or what just happened to me and my whole body was shaking.
I think one of the nice things about being here is the energy in the shala and the extra incentive to really push yourself. These are not things one needs to come here to find, necessarily, but it helps.
The side of my right knee hurt today and I didn't do Mari B on that side. It really feels like I opened something up, as opposed to having torn a ligament or something. It's already feeling better, aided by the application of copious amounts of tiger balm. It's weird to see how far my knee has dropped when I sit cross-legged--there's a pronounced difference. I spent 10 days at the ashram sitting cross-legged on the floor, with a lot of pressure on my right foot, which would always fall asleep. That pressure has been mostly alleviated.
Sharath adjusted me in several poses again this morning--someone commented to me about it after class. I appreciate the help. He helped me in utthita hasta padangusthasana again. He's holding my leg up so I can get my nose to my knee. I' m flexible enough to do this, but not strong enough. When he let my leg go to balance with it out in front of me, I was able to hold my leg much higher than I ever have before. I think it helps to start out higher. Sharath let go of my leg and then wiped his hand on my pants, saying "sweat," while making a little face. It's pouring out of me. I can't help it, I'm my father's daughter.
He also helped me bind in ardha baddha padma paschimatanasana again. My arm and my left leg are flexible enough to accomplish the bind easily, but I can't seem to get my arm around to grab my toe without assistance. I'll keep exploring.
I ran into the girl I met on the train from Rishikesh to Delhi (did I mention I met her?? not sure) in class today. She introduced me to some other people and invited me to have dinner with them. I think without a social scene, there's not much to do here other than yoga in the morning. We'll find out. From listening to people, it seems like most of the people here are yoga instructors.
It rained really hard last night. The monsoon may be here early.
There's a woman here who makes really beautiful yoga mat bags with different stuff embroidered on them. I posted some pictures today and included photos of what she makes, so if anyone wants one, let me know and I can ask her to make it in a particular color/style/design, even to put your name on it! They're about $12. I'm becoming an importer/exporter, just like George Costanza.
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/laurenemilywinter27
I just had lunch at a lady's house--lots of people in the area are capitalizing on the presence of so many yoga students. I am capitalizing on the delicious food this lady cooks for lunch.
Tomorrow's a rest day. I'm glad I'll have a day to lay off my knee and see how it feels on Sunday.
Sitting here at the computer, waiting for my photos to upload, I'm compelled to tell you about an untalked about source of embarrassment: the sweaty behind. It's so hot and you sit in a chair for a long time and end up soaking through your pants. One more burden I have to bear. Sigh.

Mysoric Inspiration

2007-05-03T00:27:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I had my first yoga class today and it was amazing!!! Cate and Margie, consider "it" brought.
Class started at 5 am and was led by Sharath. Guruji is apparently recovering at home and may be coming to classes sometime soon. I thought I'd try and claim an inconspicuous spot in the back. My plans for remaining unseen were spoiled! I got to the shala and the only space left was in the front row. Sigh. Pride swallowed.
Those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, feel free to use the comments section to discuss something completely unintelligible to me, like football.
We have led class 3 days a week: Thursday, Friday and Sunday. I'm glad class was led today. I was able to concentrate on following along, rather than being nervous about forgetting a posture, or something. Happily, we practice at home pretty much how we practiced here today, though it seemed to go much faster today than at home. One difference, though, they didn't let me modify any of the standing postures. I was instructed to grab my toe in triangle, even though I can't keep my torso straight, and they wanted me to go for completed revolved side angle, even though I can't put my hand on the ground. Oh, and keep my hands together over my head in warrior 1 and utkatasana, even though I can't straighten my arms.
I got adjusted a LOT this morning. It was really nice. First pose: Sharath pushed me further into padangusthasana. Then, later he held my leg up on both sides of utthita hasta padangusthasana. The room was packed with people (our mats were inches from each other) and it was really hot. My muscles got really warm and I was sweating hot-yoga style.
Next, seated poses. The incredible-est thing happened. I bound on my left side in ardha baddha padma paschimatanasana. Sharath came around, moved my arm, and I caught my toe! With ease! Holy crap. I have never come close to binding in this pose and I figured I'd spend the next 2 months not binding in it. It blew my mind to do it my first day here!
2nd wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles: I bound in Marichiasana B! On both sides! What??? Who's body am I now inhabiting? How did this happen? The only possible bad thing: when my right leg was in half lotus, I felt a sort of crunching sensation on the outside of my knee. Did I injure myself on my first day? I hope not. I'm hoping I just moved something that needed to be moved. So far its a tiny bit sore, but nothing extreme. My right knee seems to be resting lower in easy pose than it was before. I'll report back tomorrow. It happened in an instant, it came without warning!
I was stopped after Marichiasana D (which I did not bind in--if I had we would have had to rethink all the laws of the universe). This was actually a bit of a relief. I was really tired. I sat on my mat while the rest of the class finished primary series. I rejoined when we started the finishing poses.
I went straight into the best backbend I've ever done. I couldn't hold myself up for all three, though, and had to come down onto my head. Uttana padasana was hard, but it always is.
I fell when I went into headstand. Oopies. I didn't hit anyone, luckily. I was really tired and my whole body was shaking. Sharath made a joke about it not being time for chakrasana and then held me up for the duration of the headstand.
Then it came, sweet, sweet savasana. Aaaah.
I really pushed myself to the limit today, in a way I never have before. I think the blocks I've had to these poses I've been unable to complete in the past must be mental, not physical (although, I'm sure the heat helped me physically today). I don't think I've ever given myself up completely like I did today. I didn't think about being tired, or about stopping, etc. I realized last week that the problem I have in wheel pose is mental, not physical--this revelation came after I discovered the tension I was holding in my belly. I think wheel stretches the area that was tense and it was really uncomfortable for me, so I was avoiding it. The half-lotus postures, I really don't know what to say. I assumed I would go home from here without being able to bind in any of these poses, so I guess after day one I can go home happy. Not that being able to complete poses is the ultimate goal of any of this.
I was completely exhausted after the hour and a half practice. I had to sleep for an hour after I ate breakfast.
I need to get one of those cotton, woven mats to put on top of my yoga mat. Otherwise, I will continue to slide around on my sweat.
In other news, I didn't sleep that great last night (nervous excitement). I had a bug fly in my ear while I was drifting off. Eew. I got up to use the bathroom and there was a giant cockroach on the wall. I know I've claimed not to be squeamish, but I screamed like a little girl and then tried to coax it into the toilet so I could flush it, all without touching it or going to close to it. Obviously, this didn't work. So, I lay on my mattress, on the floor, worrying that the cockroach was going to leave the bathroom and crawl all over me.
Sorry if this has been all Greek to you.
Love to you all!
Lauren

Shopping

2007-05-02T00:41:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I moved into my new room yesterday. It reminds me of the semester in college when Bridget and I shared an apartment on Gilman. We had no stuff. My bed was on the floor. Same situation here. It took me all of 10 minutes to unpack. Then I went to buy some clothes.
Shopping here is not like shopping at home. You go from store to store that specializes in whatever it is you're looking to buy. Then, rather than browsing, they have everything behind a counter. They take stuff off the shelves to show you. You kind of end up ripping the whole store apart, because its the only way to see everything they have.
Anyhoo, I now have more than 1 and a half outfits.
I also went grocery shopping. A kilo of mangoes cost me 50 cents. Halleluja. I love mangoes.
I'm kind of just sitting around, twiddling my thumbs till class starts tomorrow. I haven't made any friends yet, so I've been sitting inside, eating mangoes and reading a book.
It thunderstormed here last night. I love thunderstorms.
Hugs!
Lauren

I'm excited!

2007-04-30T08:06:00.000-05:00

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

I made it

2007-04-29T08:30:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, it took me about 12 hours to get to leave my hotel in Delhi and check in to one in Mysore, but I made it!
It's really pretty here. I have to be honest...I like it better than Delhi so far.
Some of the vegetation is reminding me of Thailand and Malaysia.
Tomorrow, I register at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute and I try to find a place to live near there.
I'm feeling nervous and excited!!!
Love,
Lauren

Mysore Bound

2007-04-28T06:48:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I am back in Delhi and on my way to Mysore via Bangalore tomorrow.
I happened to meet a woman from England on the train who is also on her way to Mysore to study at the same yoga school.
I'm feeling a little nervous about it, but also excited.
It's still really hot here.
Love,
Lauren

Scattered thoughts

2007-04-26T00:10:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I'm still here at the ashram, toiling away on the path of self-improvement.
My mind is turning towards home and the things in my life I want to change when I get back. I'm in a period of transition right now and I'm not entirely sure what my life will be like in 6 months. So, I'm trying to learn things here that are internal--things I can focus on, no matter what is going on around me.
First, I'm learning a lot of things about my yoga practice that I haven't thought about before. I have a class every day where we're talking about anatomy and yoga postures, etc. The focus is on using the postures to remove energy blocks in the body. I'm trying to create more mindfulness while I'm practicing yoga. According to this class I'm in, hatha yoga is about creating awareness of not only our gross physical bodies (bone, muscles, skin, etc), but more importantly awareness of our subtle bodies (blood vessels, lymphatic system, organs, energy flows). I'm trying to shift my awareness to this subtle body through my practice.
The other thing I came here to work on is the anxiety I get over, well, lots of stuff. I've been thinking about it and I think I have a really deep fear of failure and a fear of not meeting my own expectations. I talked with one of the teachers here yesterday and I'm going to work on separating the action from the fruits of the action. We need to perform our tasks and jobs well, skillfully, mindfully because we want to, that's our duty. But, we need not identify with the outcomes of those labors. Not sure if this makes sense, but it does to me! I think it's about questioning our own motivations in the things we undertake--am I going to school because I want to learn? Or am I going because of what other people will think, etc? I am going because I want to. I need to remember that and take joy in the process, rather than being attached to the outcomes.
These are some of the things I'm thinking about and working on.
Hugs,
Lauren

Meditation is still hard

2007-04-23T05:34:00.000-05:00

lHello friends, not much to report to you today, other than the fact that I'm still finding meditation difficult. My mind keeps wandering off to other places. I'm told it takes practice and you can't force it, so I'm trying not to attach to much expectation to it.
It's really hot.
TTFN,
Lauren

Meditation is hard

2007-04-21T00:24:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I'm still enjoying my time here at the Ashram.
I'm finding myself having very intimate discussions with people about the nature of spirituality, personal fears and anxieties, etc. People are here because they want to confront and understand these things and are open to talking about them.
I'm enjoying the study I'm doing here. I've been practicing Ashtanga vinyasa yoga at home for a couple of years now, but the focus has been largely on the physical. The 8-limbed Ashtanga system is more than just the physical postures and I'm learning a lot about the other 7 limbs here. I feel like I'm getting context for understanding my physical, asana practice.
I think sitting in silent meditation is difficult, though they teach a systematic approach to it. First, establish the seated position, relax the body, establish a breath flow, direct the breath and then introduce a mantra into your mind. The goal at this beginning level is to focus the mind on observing the mantra and breath. I'm finding it difficult to maintain my focus on these things for long periods of time. I have other thoughts that pop in. I'm also finding the part of my body I can't relax is my stomach. This surprised me. I have to constantly go back to my stomach and make it relax. It's a process that can only get easier through consistent practice.
TTFN,
Lauren

Silence (grace?)

2007-04-19T06:19:00.000-05:00

Well friends, the time has come where I think I'm going to alienate most of you while I describe my spiritual quest.
Before I begin, though, I think I forgot to tell you all about my experience in the train station in Delhi. Imagine it's (literally) 100 degrees. Now imagine the biggest crowd you've ever seen at the State Fair. Then triple the amount of people that are in that space. Now imagine all those people trying to push their way into tiny doors on the side of a train. Madness, I say! I can see how people die in mobs. I found myself getting swept away in the crowd! People on the train say they didn't know what was going on at the station, but there were more people than they'd ever seen. I'm constantly amazed at the masses of humanity.
I made it to a legitimate Ashram here in Rishikesh. More difficult than you might think. One of the things that drew me to it is the fact that they're directly associated with a meditation center in Minneapolis! I think it's so funny that you leave home to find it again in unexpected places. Here's the website if you're interested: www.bindu.org
I'm staying at the Swami Rama Sadaka Grama retreat center, doing an individualized program.
I started some meditation classes this morning and am reading books about the philosophy of the Himilayan Masters.
I read a book in Nepal by Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air) about his expedition to the summit of Everest in 1996, where lots of people died in a big storm. He was talking about what motivates people to do things, like climb Everest, that are really very counter-intuitive. He said he thinks people go up the mountain looking for grace. That idea resonated with me and has stayed with me since I read it. I think we're all looking for grace in our lives, though sometimes in the wrong places. I'm sure that's what led me here. I watched a video today where the Swami was talking about meditation. He said the world/life/our experience is like a spinning wheel--in the center of the wheel exists a spot that's always still. Without that still spot, the wheel cannot turn. Through meditation, we're not looking to stop the world, we're looking to put ourselves in that silent spot. Anyhoo, I knew when I wanted to meditate that I was looking for a silent space in my mind and a way to find it. So, hearing this man speak today really resonated with me.
I'm staying at the Ashram till April 28. I'll write periodically, but probably not every day. I'm following a sort of personalized program. I have some classes in the morning and I'm reading a lot of books.
Stay well!
Lauren

Sexy Sadie

2007-04-17T02:37:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, allow me to explain the oblique reference in the title of my blog. It's the name of a song written by the Beatles about being disillusioned with their Swami while in Rishikesh...which is where I am!!!
I got here last night and I met a girl on the train who works here. We got in late and she arranged for me to stay at a hotel and helped me get there and everything! I am continually grateful for the kindness of strangers. Really. She asked me what I've learned so far on my trip. All these people asking questions I should be able to answer! I told her I've learned there's good company and bad company and I've learned to completely let go of expectations.
I met an Indian man on the train who lives in Atlanta. He told me the staring is just curiosity and I shouldn't feel threatened by it. Ok.
I'm spending the day trying to find a yoga/meditation retreat. It's proving more difficult than I expected, if only because there are so many charlatans and I don't really know how to judge. I'd like to stay at an Ashram, which is like a spiritual community that has a set schedule for the day of yoga and meditation. I have one promising lead.
It's more laid back here than Delhi, which is nice. It's still hot, but not nearly so much. It was around 110 in Delhi yesterday. Blech.
I'm having trouble relaxing and I don't know why. It's like I always have to be doing something or I get anxious. It's annoying.
Anyhoo, I'll let you all know what I decide meditation-wise.
Lauren

A monkey ate my shirt.

2007-04-16T02:49:00.000-05:00

No shit. I did my laundry at the hotel in Varanasi and hung it out to dry over the railing. I went to the courtyard to enjoy a cool drink. I got up to use the facilities and saw a monkey walking on the railing torwards my clothes. I thought, "I wonder what he's going to do when he gets to my clothes?" Then I left the bathroom and my shirt was gone. I asked some people in the patio if they saw what happened to my shirt. The monkey ran off with it! I ran up the 2 flights of stairs to try and catch him, but I just scared him off. Some guys from the hotel were able to recover it after prodding the monkey with a steel pole. Unfortunately, they didn't get it back before the monkey ate most of the buttons and took two big bites out of the fabric. I wouldn't believe this story if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.
In other news, I'm feeling better today than I was the last time I posted. I was thinking about the staring and how uncomfortable it makes me feel. I went to the train station last night with a bunch of people my age from France. We were sitting, waiting for a train and literally 20 to 30 people stood around us in a circle and stared at us. When I was in a group it didn't feel so invasive, although I did feel like I was in a zoo. I think maybe the staring is very intent curiosity, as opposed to being predatory??? I don't know. I think I didn't expect to be so culture shocked when I got here, especially since I've been to cities with large Indian populations (all of Malaysia, Singapore) and Nepal seems culturally similar. I think that was unreasonable. The good thing is I'm more able to recognize that culture shock is what I'm feeling now than I was at the beginning of my trip. I'm better now at giving myself breaks from the sensory overload when I need them.
Another situation that totally confused me today: I got to Delhi this morning from Varanasi on an overnight train (the train here is really great). I take a train this afternoon north to Haridwar and then take a bus to Rishikesh. I wanted to leave my bag at the station so I didn't have to carry it around with me all day. I went to wait in line and sort of attached myself to the side of the mass of people waiting to check their bags. Up till now, I've never seen an orderly queue--usually people just elbow their way in a chaotic mess till they get to the window. Someone yelled at me for not queueing! I don't understand. I really don't. When is the queue sacred and when is it not??? I have no idea.
I think part of the culture shock is you just don't understand the rules--I don't know how to act and I don't know how other people are going to act towards me.
Anyhoo, I have to say thank you to the monkey who ate my shirt, because I was forced to by some new clothes. I bought an Indian outfit that I think will be more culturally appropriate.
The ladies I was traveling with asked me how I think I've changed over the course of my trip. It seems silly, but I haven't really thought about it. I don't know. I think it will take going home to understand how I've changed.
I ran into a girl I met trekking in Nepal in the train station in Varanasi yesterday. It's a small world!
Anyways, friends, I'm trying to blog honestly about the things that happen to me and how I'm feeling. I'll be fine, but I think all this will take some getting used to. It builds character, right?

Varanasi

2007-04-14T06:15:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I made it to Varanasi by train yesterday around noon. The train ride was fairly uneventful. I did however, have to eat with my hands for the first time! Usually they bring us Westerners a spoon for the rice and curry, but not on the train. I think I did ok.
Varanasi is pretty incredible, but to be honest, I'm having trouble being excited about being in India right now. I debated whether or not to share this stuff, because I know some of you will be overly-concerned for my safety, but I had a police officer grab my breasts on my way into a temple today (they search you when you go in because there's been some tension between the Muslims and the Hindus). I told another police officer what happened and made a stink about it, but I got the "it's so crowded..." excuse. I've been here six days and every other day had a man follow me in a way that makes me feel uncomfortable, or I've been groped. Every day I've been made uncomfortable by staring and comments. Anyways, after that happened this morning I just really wanted to get on a plane and come home. It doesn't matter how amazing India might be if you can't be here without getting constantly sexually harrassed. I wrote an email to the Indian Tourism bureau. I'm sure it won't help, but it made me feel a little better.
I met some nice older ladies from the US who I spent last night and today with. I can tell the attention is less when I'm with other people. They're really nice and it's nice to be with other people.
The old city here is really interesting. People come here to die because they believe that if they are burned on the Ganges they liberate themselves from the cycle of rebirth. People also come here to pray to the Ganges from all over India. There are masses of people dunking themselves in the river. We took a boat ride at 5:30 this morning to witness these rituals. It's really very beautiful.
I do, however, have some disdain for the holy river, since it's one of the most polluted rivers in the world. According to my guidebook it's septic--it no longer contains any dissolved oxygen and it's full of e coli and other lovely stuff. You'd have to pay me a lot of money to put even a toe in there.
Incidentally, I reported when I was in Malaysia that the Taj Mahal is a mosque--the Museum of Islamic Art in Kuala Lumpur claimed it was. They took some liberties. It is not a mosque, it is a tomb, although there is a mosque on the site.
Thanks to everyone who commented/emailed. I don't have the energy to write you back right now. I'm sorry. Shesh, I have noticed your comments and would appreciate any insight you could give as to why I can't go anywhere without being harrassed.
TTFN,
Lauren

Tajtastic

2007-04-12T00:22:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I went to the Taj Mahal this morning and it was unbelievable.
I don't think I've ever looked at anything and thought "that is perfect" before. I mean really perfect. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but it had this otherworldly quality. The marble actually glows like a cloud when the sun hits it. I sat there and looked at it for hours. Literally.
Maybe I need to process my impressions more thoroughly before I can communicate them, but I was in awe. I thought it wouldn't live up to the hype, but it really does.
Tonight I take a night train to Varanasi.
If you sporadically don't hear from me, it's because there are frequent, unscheduled power cuts here. If there's no power, there's no internet.
Today, I've been blessed with super-fast internet. How does this benefit you, you ask? Pictures! Lots of them. Enjoy: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/laurenemilywinter27/
TTFN~
Lauren

Serendipity

2007-04-11T09:36:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I think someone was smiling down on me today. By the grace of god did I make my train this morning. It left at 6:15 am--usually, no problem. I don't really have trouble getting up early for things like trains. Last night, however, I wore my earplugs to bed because the guy in the room next to me was watching tv ALL NIGHT. So, my alarm went off for half an hour before I woke up enough to realize what the noise was. My first reaction: holy crap! Second reaction: you still have a half hour to get to the station. No problem.
My clock, unbeknownst to me was 10 minutes slow. The giant clock at the station said 6:10 when I arrived! So, I ran. I made it on the train, sat in my seat and the train began to move. I'm very happy I did not miss the train. I even got served breakfast!
I made it to Agra and got a prepaid rickshaw to my hotel--the government provides this prepaid service (you go to a booth, pay and give a voucher to the driver) to help we vulnerable tourists avoid hastle. My driver was the nicest guy in the world and I hired him to take me around to the sights for the day.
I went to another red fort that was absolutely magnificent. Much more so than the one in Delhi. And it had views of the Taj Mahal. I went to another mausoleum that was a precursor to the Taj Mahal, that is likewise gorgeous.
I also went to a garden where I looked over the river at a lovely view of the backside of the Taj Mahal.
Have I mentioned the Taj Mahal? You can see it from the rooftop of my hotel. It seemed unreal to be able to sit up there and read a book and casually glance at...the Taj Mahal.
Tomorrow, I see it up close. I want to go in the morning, at sunrise, when it won't be so hot and there will be fewer people.
It's hotter here than in Delhi. It's 8:15 and it's still 93 degrees. The high today was 100, tomorrow it's 107. At least it's a dry heat, right?
This afternoon I bought a ring to wear as a wedding ring to stave of untoward male attention.
I met some really nice people today and I'm really glad I'm here! I feel lucky to have made it to Agra this morning, and lucky to have met all the nice people I did today.
TTFN,
Lauren

Ok, it is hot.

2007-04-10T08:44:00.000-05:00

I take it all back. It was really hot today. The sun was really intense.
I had a much better day today than yesterday. I pursued a more limited itinerary and I think that helped.
I went to get breakfast this morning on the roof of my hotel and ran into a French couple I met my first night in Nepal. The traveler world is a small one. I talked to them for a while and then went to the Red Fort--a big red fort in Delhi that was built by one of the kings. Sorry if my information is not more detailed than that. That's all I can remember. It was really cool, though.
I had a little trouble actually arriving at the red fort, even though it's huge and unmissable. I decided to catch a cycle rickshaw there, because they're so much more fun than the motorized rickshaws. I told the guy where I wanted to go, he seemed to understand, but then he biked me somewhere that was clearly not the big red fort and started saying something to me that I did not understand. What we have here is a failure to communicate. I pointed out on the map to him where I wanted to go and he told me that was in the opposite direction. I said, goodbye! and walked away. I went in search of someone who could actually deliver me to my appointed destination. I found someone else and asked the price (very important to agree BEFORE setting off). He quoted me a price that was 10 times at least what the price should've been. Anyways, I walked away and the price came down. We agreed on one price and then when he dropped me off he told me another. Luckily, I had exact change.
I spent the morning at the fort, which was really beautiful. There were some white marble structures farther back, with inlaid stones that were gorgeous.
After the red fort I went to the National Museum and spent the afternoon there. A point of interest, one has to go through metal detectors when going into the museums and public monuments. I spent the whole afternoon at the museum. Then I went to the train station again to book my train ticket from Varanasi to Rishikesh. The trains book up here and you have to make reservations several days in advance, at least, to be able to get a seat.
This afternoon I got my hands covered in mehndi. I figured, I'm in India, what the hell. It's really beautiful--they make designs on your skin with henna and it stains your skin. The designs last about 2 weeks. The guy who did it was really nice and friendly and I talked to he and his nephew for about an hour. I had to sit there and let it dry before I could use my hands for anything.
I can smell the curry coming out of my pores. It's kind of gross.
Tomorrow, I see the Taj Mahal!
Lauren

Delhicious

2007-04-09T09:09:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, it's been a long day, full of contradictions.
First, let's say that I've never been a huge fan of Indian food. It always tasted a little bit like old feet to me. Well, let me tell you the Indian food in India is REALLY good. I had a thali last night, which is like the Nepali Daal Bhat--rice, curry, lentil soup, etc--but with actual flavor. I had a mushroom curry this evening that was also delicious.
Today is Monday and all the museums and things are closed, so I had to go to the attractions that are open on Mondays.
Anyhoo, I started this morning with the intention of walking to the biggest mosque in India, the Jama Masjid. I consider myself to be a fairly skilled navigator, but I had a really hard time finding my way around Old Delhi. Plus, there are waves of people and rickshaws (both with motors and human-powered--a little guy bikes you around on a glorified tricycle) and cows. I didn't really feel comfortable whipping out my map. Also, I was the only other Westerner I saw. I sometimes use the presence of other tourists to gauge whether or not I should be in a particular are or whether or not I'm on the right track. Anyways, I decided to have a guy half my size bike me to the mosque. The mosque was huge and really beautiful. It was built of red sandstone with white stone accents. I got to climb the minaret and look out over Delhi.
I walked around the bazaars in the old city for a while. This was not quite as romantic as it sounds. There was an unbelievable crush of people. I really don't think I've ever seen anything like it. Other cities I've been to, you'll be in a big crowd for a little while, but eventually you get out of the crowd. The crowd here just went on and on and on.
I got in an auto-rickshaw and jetted across town to an old fort built by one of the mughal emperors. The fort, Purana Qila, is in New Delhi. New Delhi is the half of the city that was built by the British. It has broad avenues and lots of gardens. The fort was pretty cool.
Then, I walked to Humayana's tomb, which is a precursor to the Taj Mahal. It was really beautiful--contrasting white marble and red sandstone, with pretty gardens all around.
I hung out there for a little while and then walked to some gardens a little ways away.
Then, I went to the train station and booked my trains to Agra and Varanasi (holiest Hindu city ever). They have a little office above the train station for tourists only. What a relief! We got to queue in an orderly fashion and wait in the air conditioning. And the agent was very helpful. Everyone downstairs was pushing their way to the ticket counter with zeal.
When I list the things I did today, it doesn't seem like that much, but I put in a full 9 hours.
It's hot here, but I think Bangkok was hotter. Or maybe just more humid. In any case, the heat today was not unbearable and it cools down at night enough for sleeping.
I'm staying in Pahar Ganj, which is widely considered the backpacker area of the city, in between New and Old Delhi. It's not like other backpacker areas I've been to, though. Foreigners seem like a drop in the bucket--maybe because it's off season.
Nothing is for free here, which I felt pretty prepared for. But, I was taking a photo of myself at the mosque today and someone offered to take it for me. I said ok, kind soul. Then he demanded I give him some money. I said no. If you're going to offer, then it should be out of the goodness of your heart! Then, at the tomb a guy was following me around spouting off bearly discernible bits of information. I told him I preferred to walk around alone, saavy to the fact that he was trying to provide me with services I'd then be obligated to pay for. He said "no, no, I work here, I'm not a guide." I said "ok." He eventually finished the speech he'd memorized and then said, without ceremony, "my tip now." I, again, said "no, I told you I wanted to walk alone." As I said, nothing is free!
Now for the staring. I'm getting stared at. And I don't mean quick, furtive glances. I'm talking, intense, penetrating stares. It's invasive. Is it just because I'm a woman? The guidebook says so, and that I just have to develop a thick skin, wear my sunglasses and not return the gaze. Is it also because I'm alone? Definitely. I get the impression people are making assumptions about my moral fiber, being a woman alone. I also encountered some couples who pointed at me and laughed. I have no idea why. Although, I did discover a bird had pooed on my shoulder while I was at the train station...
Men also yell at me, something to the tune of "hello, madame, hey! hey! HEY!" (it gets more insistent as I continue to ignore them). I finally had to tell one guy to f--- off when he followed me around the gardens, asking if I wanted to make an Indian friend.
This could get tiresome, but I understand it's worse in the North than in the South.
Tomorrow, I go to another old fort and to the National Museum and the government offices and stuff.
TTFN!
Lauren

The air here smells like burnt rubber

2007-04-08T08:17:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, I successfully made it to India today and I'm having trouble believing it's my last stop, so to speak!
I got up early this morning and said my goodbyes to Kathmandu. I was at the airport by noon and in Delhi by 4. It's a quick flight. My travel agent told me she couldn't issue me an e-ticket for this leg of my journey, which is why I had to pick up a package from her in Bangkok. I realized today, an e-ticket requires...a computer system, which requires...computers. Nary a computer was to be seen in the Kathmandu airport today.
There are cows in the street as expected. Other than that, I'm pretty tired and plan on a raucous evening of reading my book and sleeping. Tomorrow, I'll go exploring.
TTFN,
Lauren

Durbars Squared

2007-04-07T10:06:00.000-05:00

Hello friends! I awoke this morning, not sure if I really cared to do more sightseeing. After all, there was shopping to be done and someone had to do it. Good thing I did, though, because I had such a fun day!
My guide picked me up this morning and it just so happens his two sons are studying at the University of Minnesota. He was just tickled when he found out I was from Minneapolis. He called his wife, told everyone we met on the street, etc that I was from the city where his sons live. It was so cute. He decided to take extra special care of me and took me to lesser visited spots in the Kathmandu valley.
The main itinerary for the day included going to the Durbar squares (plazas with temples and the former kings' residences) in Bhaktapur and Patan, two other cities in the Khatmandu valley. I've been trying to think all day why I'm so enchanted with the architecture here. The streets are winding, and cobblestoned. It feels very old everywhere. It's beautiful and ornate without being opulent, like Thailand. The buildings are all ornately carved--the woodcarving is unbelievable. I think it also has to do with the fact that it's not so hot here. I think the architecture is different because of that, but I don't think I can articulate why exactly. Also, a lot of the interesting architecture in SE Asia was colonial. Here, it's purely Nepali. I really feel like I'm on the silk road. The silk road has never held much fascination for me, but it does now.
So, today was really fun. As I type, I'm trying to upload some photos for your viewing enjoyment, but Yahoo is giving me some problems.
George, to answer some of your questions. I know I'm utterly insane for going to India right now. I've met a number of people who look at me like I'm a complete idiot when I tell them I'm going to visit India in April.
I'm glad discussion of my bodily functions entertains rather than shocks you. I'm sure some people are aghast at my immodesty. Speaking of immodesty, I will accept comparison you made of me to Mozart with the utmost appreciation. Feel free to share with Bud and the crew!
Thanks for the happy Passover wishes!
Anyways, I can't get Yahoo to upload my photos, so I had to do the even more time consuming photobucket to here route. In other news, while I wait for my 3 photos to upload (and that's as many as you're going to get! I've been at this for a long time...), some of you may be interested to learn that I've become a religious flosser. Others of you will not be interested at all. I used to feel like flossing was the straw that broke the camel's back--bathing, exercising, eating well, wearing clean, matching clothes, doing your hair, getting enough sleep, brushing not once, but TWICE per day, etc. Flossing on top of all this struck me as one task too many. Maybe it's my reduced-stress lifestyle, but flossing no longer strikes me as the odious chore it once did. No longer will I be forced to lie to my dental hygienist. This is good for my karma.

Kathmandu's Durbar square

This is a wall of carvings of the Tibetan Buddhist mantra "Om Mane Padme Hum."

These are the sections of pipe some porters were carrying. The straps hanging down go across their foreheads. This does not appear comfortable to me.
Hopefully I'll be able to upload more photos from India.
TTFN!
Lauren

Immodium is a girl's best friend

2007-04-06T10:13:00.000-05:00

I've been debating whether or not to share my personal, intestinal problems with the world at large, but I decided that, in the interest of science, I should not allow a sense of propriety to force me to omit details of my trip. In short, I'm pining for the days of SE Asia, where food must have been relatively germ-free and my intestine was functioning normally. I'm beginning to worry I will not pass anything solid till I get home--India can only make things worse. Don't worry, friends, I'm not in such a state as would require me to sequester myself in the hotel, but I have definite rumblies in my tumblies. But I persevere!
I went to the Royal Chitwan National Park on April 3. It's located in the south of Nepal, in the flat, hot plains. There were some communication failures that made it difficult to arrive at my final destination, but I eventually made it to the "Eden Jungle Resort: A place for romantic holiday." It was not quite as flash as the name suggests, but the staff was friendly and knowledgeable about the wildlife.
I had to take a local van part of the way and it was like a clown car. You would not believe it possible to fit as many people into one vehicle as they did. And when the inside is full, they put people on the roof. I kept thinking they couldn't possibly fit anyone else in, and then the driver would stop and we'd all squish a little bit more. My height is a liability in these situations. I kept thinking about a time my dad told me I had overloaded my car by taking 4 passengers and a full trunk up north. If that was overloaded, I don't know what to call this.
I went to the river to watch the sunset and saw two rhinos!!!!!!! Whoa. Without even trying, really.
That evening we went to a cultural dance show of the ethnic group of the area. It was very fun to watch.
In the evening and early hours of the morning, I had a cultural experience, and perhaps a taste of things to come, at the resort. There was a giant family of Indian tourists staying in the rooms next to me. They exercised absolutely no volume control. Inside voices? No sir. There was a guy up at 5 am yelling at all his friends. I can only imagine what he had to yell about at 5 in the morning. On the other hand, I'm sure you can guess what I had to yell about at 5 in the morning. Regardless, they were very friendly and I caught some of them taking photos of me.
We went on an "elephant safari" in the morning, where I briefly thought I lost my camera. I tried to remind myself you can't take things with you when you die, but I was really sad about losing all the pictures of my trek (I will download photos as soon as I get my USB cable--I didn't think it was necessary on the trek, so I left it, along with some other things, at my tour operator's house). Luckily, I found my camera and all was well again.
On the elephant safari we saw 2 more rhinos!!! A mama and a baby. We were really close to them and they were enormous. We also saw some monkeys and a deer.
Then came the real fun! The elephant handlers bring their steeds down to the river for "elephant bathing," ie "play with silly tourists for an hour." We got to help clean the elephants (they cover themselves with dust to keep of bugs and the heat, and if they don't get washed they can get skin infections) and the elephants played with us in the water. I got thrown off into the water and sprayed in the face from its trunk. It was fun to see everyone laughing with childlike joy. Sometimes I can be a stick in the mud with activities that involve getting wet, but I'm glad I've been forcing myself to participate anyways.
I went for a canoe ride and jungle walk in the afternoon. And saw another rhino! Crazy. We also saw a big turtle and a crocodile and tons of cool birds. And...fresh tiger footprints! But no tigers.
By the time I got back to the hotel, the large Indian family had been replaced by...another large Indian family. They were not as loud. One of the guys invited me to stay in his house when I go to India, but I politely declined. He could not believe I walked the Annapurna circuit when I told him about it. He told all his friends and then we had to take a photo together.
I'm getting the, "You're traveling alone?" "Yes." "You're not married?" "No." line of questioning more lately--not from other travelers, but from locals. I think I'm an old maid by their standards.
They were burning grasses in Chitwan and the air was shockingly polluted from it. The smoke obscured the sun when it was setting and made the moon a fiery orange color. It also made my sinuses ache. I've never been anywhere where I felt suffocated by the air, but you couldn't escape it.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting a Spanish couple at the hotel and we chatted and came back to Kathmandu together today. It was nice to get another opportunity to use my Spanish.
Yesterday morning I went to the elephant breeding center, where I got to see the cute little elephant babies. They were cute. Then, I went and bathed the elephants again. I couldn't resist the fun!
Today, we did some birdwatching in the morning before getting on the bus to Kathmandu. I saw some cool birdies, but I couldn't tell you their names now.
One of the guides at the hotel told me India stands for "I'll Never Do It Again"--I think Vietnam was just a warm-up compared to the kind of aggressive hassling I'll receive in India. I'm trying to prepare myself mentally.
Today, I spent 7 hours on a bus that took me the 130 kilometers from Chitwan to Kathmandu. Needless to say, traffic was bad, stopping was frequent, and the pace (when there was actual movement) was slow. I've only seen about 4 vehicles here that were built after 1972. And that's a generous estimate.
It's strange to be back in Kathmandu. The weather is warmer and there are people everywhere. It's more polluted now than before--burning on top of normal pollution.
Tomorrow, I have sightseeing in the morning and then finally I will get to do some souvenir shopping. This cannot be overlooked. Sunday I fly to India.
I feel like my month here flew by! I think spending 3/4 of it in a meditative haze, brought on by walking, contributed to that.
I spent 3 hours writing my circuit blog and I haven't gone back to read it. I'll do that later and add anything I left out tomorrow. Allow me to apologize for any spelling/usage errors it contains.
Good evening!
Lauren

The Annapurna Circuit

2007-04-02T01:21:00.001-05:00

Hello friends, I'm sitting in an internet cafe with nothing planned for today except napping, eating and reporting back to you about my trek. I have a lot to write. Sorry if your boss yells at you Monday morning while you spend hours reading this rather than working. Especially you, George. I will try to use my journal to help me relate my journey to you as it happened, rather than purely through the filter of my memory.

13 March: Bus ride from Kathmandu to Besi Sahar I got on the bus this morning with my guide Babu (yes, just like Babu Bat from Seinfeld). Babu talks about as much as a photograph of me talks. I keep trying to think of conversation topics, but found myself getting nowhere. We took the longest bus ride of all time, compounded by the time spent fixing the bus when it broke down by the side of the road. Everyone used this as an opportunity to pee in the bushes. I finally decided I should too, since you never know when the bus is going to stop again. Being the only tourist on the bus, everyone watched me ascend to a bush-obscured spot to do my business. Is a tourist peeing really so interesting? We arrived in Besi Sahar maybe 8 hours after leaving Kathmandu and I was happy to be off the bus. I found people honk a lot here, but it's different than it was in SE Asia-there it was a friendly reminder that someone was coming. Here, it's a warning to get out of the way or they actually will hit you. I had a craving for chocolate, but there was no chocolate to be found!

14 March: Besi Sahar to Bahundanda I spent the morning wondering what I'd gotten myself into. The trekking was fine--we definitely took the "slow and steady wins the race" approach, but the morning started off raining really hard. We could see it snowing in the mountains. We didn't really see any other hikers this day and I was feeling lonely--especially since Babu is 1. silent and 2. his English isn't good enough to carry on a long conversation even if he weren't predisposed to silence. I was worried I wouldn't have anyone to talk to for the whole trip. I hadn't showered since I arrived in Nepal and decided today was the day to do it, hot water or no. I took the iciest cold shower of all time and vowed never to do it again. I could feel my skull shrink under the cold water. Then it hailed for a while. Luckily, we were indoors already. The hike was definitely not through wilderness--people have inhabited these regions for a really long time. It was strange to see the juxtaposition of modern and well, un-modern--people living in stone houses with grass huts, but with electricity (all hydroelectric!) and solar powered hot showers.

15 March: Bahundanda to Chamje This was a more difficult day hiking. We were up and down all day and my stomach was feeling rather iffy. We also saw a lot of people going the opposite way down the path. They had tried to make it over the Thorung La pass and found it under 2 meters of snow. So began days of anxiety over whether or not we too would make it over the pass. A little background: this pass is sort of the lynch-pin that would allow you to complete the entire circuit--if you don't make it over for whatever reason, you have to go back the way you came. I figured if I was going to haul my ass uphill for 10 days I'd like to go down for the next 10 as a reward.
Anyways, obstacles to making it over the pass include:
1. Snow--too much snow and you can't get over
2. Weather--snow storms and high winds will prevent safe passage
3. AMS: acute mountain sickness (also known as altitude sickness)--this became the most worrisome of the obstacles--mostly because it can result in death and you don't really have any control over it, other than ascending slowly and drinking lots of water. To give you some context, the pass is at 5,415 meters or 17,766 feet high, the highest pass in the world--apparently this is almost 2000 feet taller than Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps. The O2 content is 50% of what it is at sea level. So, it's high up.
We saw a bunch of porters carrying sections of pipe for a hydro plant that weighed 80 kilos each (about 175 lbs!!!)! None of the guys could’ve weighed over 150 and even that’s stretching it. As I walked farther and farther in, I appreciated more and more that so much of what I saw was carried in someone’s back—concrete, mattresses, Snickers, water, suspension bridges, etc.
This day we saw a lot of pretty waterfalls and marijuana growing wild on the side of the road.

16 March: Chamje to Bagarchhap: 4701 feet to 7100 feet
This was one of my more difficult days. The real problem for me was not the endless uphill, so much as the lack of adequate sustenance.
The national food here is Daal Bhat: rice, lentil soup, some curry and some kind of pickled vegetable. The plate is bottomless—you can eat as much as you want, but unfortunately, I never really wanted to.
We mostly traveled uphill this day, through a river valley, over a glacial moraine and started to get into more arid areas. While we were crossing a suspension bridge over the river, a big gust of wind blew a tree branch into my hand. This hurt, but I’m glad it didn’t hit me in the head. The event was all the more curious because there weren’t really any trees around…
Anyhoo, I was pretty hungry by lunch time, ready to eat my fill of daal bhat. Unfortunately, it was so salty it was inedible. It was actually burning my tongue. After sitting for a while at lunch my muscles cooled down and got really stiff and sore. That, on top of being hungry, made the afternoon quite unpleasant. I was in a bad place for the last hour of the trek and wished I had someone with me to offer some encouragement. I wanted to sit down like a donkey and refuse to go any farther.
But, never fear friends, I picked myself up by my bootstraps and made it to the guesthouse, where I laid down for 45 minutes before I felt well enough to get up and get something to eat.
We saw a monkey in the morning, which was unexpected….

17 March: Bagarchhap to Chame: 7100 feet to 8901 feet
Today’s walk was really beautiful. We walked through pine forests that smelled really nice. It reminded me of the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico.
I started off the day really sore from the day before, but still felt really good in the morning.
Lunch was again inedibly salty, but I choked it down because I wasn’t sure when I’d have another opportunity to feed the machine. We spent more time in pine forests and windswept plains, and started climbing into areas inhabited by Tibetan Buddhist communities. We also started encountering snow and ice on the paths.
I saw people plowing their fields with oxen and a wood plow. This blew my mind.
In the afternoon, we stopped for a rest and I think my blood sugar must have crashed. I tried to stand up and almost fainted. I actually lied down and went fetal on the side of the path. This is quite funny in retrospect, but wasn’t so funny at the time. I thought I was already feeling the altitude, but I think I just wasn’t eating enough. Later, I was telling some people about it and they asked me how long I was laying there—I said I thought about 20 minutes. My guide, Babu insisted it was 40 minutes….how could he be so sure? He said he knew because he had time to smoke 2 cigarettes…while I was lying fetal on the side of path. Again, I can’t help but laugh, though I wasn’t laughing at the time.
I finally got up and we made it to town. I lay in my warm sleeping bag for an hour till I was able to move again. I ate several candy bars and forced myself to drink a bunch of water. I resolved to eat more protein.
When I had difficult moments, I tried to cheer myself up by thinking of Larry David saying, “must go on, can’t go on….MUST go on.” This usually helped.
The other people staying in the lodge were all other women trekkers, which I thought was cool. One of them told me she’d been feeling the same way I was and that eating and drinking more really helped her feel better. It was nice to finally have some other people to talk to. I ended up trekking with these women for the majority of the rest of the circuit, which was really wonderful:
Robyn and Rebecca: mother and daughter from Melbourne
Segoren and Natalie: friends from France
Nadia: solo trekker from Australia
This day and the day before were my most difficult 2 days on the trek. I think I was getting used to how much I needed to be eating, the sudden increase in physical activity, etc.
I really felt and still feel like everything I saw was so amazing, but I can’t hold on to any of it. I try to think of it and I forget what it looks like later. I’m left only with impressions and feelings, no concrete images. I think that’s what happens, though, when you’re existing from moment to moment.

18 March: Chame to Pisang: 2713 meters to 3185 meters (sorry, I didn’t write it down in feet)
Quoted from my journal: "Yay! A day where I don’t feel like s--- when we roll into our final destination!”
I was so sore the day before this and not at all this day—amazing how quickly your body adapts to changing circumstances.
This walk was not terribly strenuous, but was really pretty. We walked through more pine forests, and then through the snow. The snow was really slippery, which made it a little more difficult.
We saw tons of avalanches high on the mountains. It kept taking me a minute to realize I was hearing avalanches, not airplanes. There was no reason we'd be seeing airplanes, although we did see someone get evacuated in a helicopter the day before.
Pisang was the first town we came to that I absolutely loved. It was so pretty and quaint. The buildings are all made of stone. Call me the biggest nerd alive, but I really felt like I was in Rohan. We climbed up to the tallest part of the city to see the Buddhist temple there. When we came out of the temple there was mist rolling through the valley and we could see the Himalayas. It was really beautiful.
The sun is unbelievably intense--I could feel myself frying even with SPF 50 on.

19 March: Pisang to Manag: 10,449 feet to 11,650 feet
I didn’t much care for the first part of this day’s walk. It was not that pretty and the path was all thick mud, so walking was really tedious. It did, however, get really beautiful after we stopped for a morning snack (a freshly baked chocolate roll, much to my delight!).
Supposedly, this area looks like Tibet. We were surrounded by tall mountains and it looked like desert. There were no more trees, just scrubby brush.
I think I burned my eyeballs from the snow glare, even though I was wearing my sunglasses. My eyes watered uncontrollably for the next 24 hours, which made me look like I was constanly in tears about something. It was annoying, but then it got better.
We met a guy at lunch on his way back down from the Thorung La Pass because he got altitude sickness up high. He did not look good and he made me nervous about getting altitude sickness also. The good news he had, though, was that the weather was good, the snow was melting and lots of people were making it over every day.
At this point, the only effect of the altitude I was feeling was being a little more out of breath climbing uphill than I felt like I should be.
Manang is on a plateau, so it really didn't feel like we were that high up.
I think drinking tons of water and eating more was really helping me feel better than I had been.
I had a little bit of a cough in Bangkok, and it got worse as we got higher up. I was told this is normal because the air is so dry. It really only started to get better once we came down.
I was thinking in Manang what a nice mental break the trek was after the previous 3 months of traveling. It was nice to just walk and look around and not have to think about any kind of logistics. Also, we went to bed anywhere between 8 and 9 every night--it was dark and we were tired, so I got lots of sleep.
It was also really nice not to be so hot. The only time the cold bothered me (and it only really got cold when the sun went down) was when I had to get up to pee in the middle of the night. It's rough to climb out of your warm sleeping bag, find your flashlight and shoes and walk 30 feet to the bathroom.
I decided in Manang that I'm more fit than I was giving myself credit for. There were some days that were challenging, but none of them were un-doable.

20 March: Rest/Acclimatization day in Manang
We stayed in Manang to acclimatize to the altitude. I woke up with swollen hands and feet, which I was told was a natural reaction to the altitude.
We hiked up to a Buddhist temple 1500 feet above Manang to help with acclimatization--they recommend you climb high and sleep low. For only 100 rupees (about $1.30) we were blessed by 90 year old monk for a good and lucky and safe crossing of the Thorung La. He seemed to be running quite a lucrative operation up on the hill. The climb was not terribly difficult, but I could tell it was getting harder to breathe as we ascended.
I went to a talk on Acute Mountain Sickness given by the Himalayan Rescue Association in Manang. They succeeded in making me nervous about AMS. They told us some of the physiological things happening as your body attempts to adjust to the altitude. One of the things I found particularly interesting is that you breathe faster to take in more oxygen, but as you breathe out, your expelling the same amount of CO2 you would be at sea level--this messes up the pH of your blood in some way. You have to drink tons of water (at least 4 to 5 liters per day) so your kidneys can filter out the byproduct of this screwed up pH. The altitude also suppresses appetite and makes it difficult to sleep. I was definitely having to force myself to eat. Why is it that when you can justifiably eat candy with abandon, you don't really want it?
From the Buddhist temple on the hill, we had a really great view of Gangapurna (a big mountain) and it's glaciar and glacial lake. There was a huge avalanche on the glaciar, which was really cool to see. I had a bit of a "Lauren" moment when I felt all weepy and happy to be here.
In the evening I went to see the film version of Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air." Krakauer was played by the guy who played Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore. This did not lend him credibility. It was a bad idea to watch this movie after going to the AMS lecture and before attempting the Thorung La. It's about a bunch of people dying on Everest.
I woke up in the middle of the night and watched the stars from my window. They were really bright and the sky was really clear. I also had the pleasure of watching the sun rise and the light hit the mountain peaks from my bed. Needless to say, the view from my room was really great.

21 March: Manang to Letdar: 11,650 feet to 13,701 feet
We set off walking again this morning. There were no more trees on the trail. We saw some really great sweeping mountain vistas, and glaciers too.
I was feeling the altitude this day more than previously. It was harder to breathe and I started to feel like my body was really heavy, like I was walking through pudding. I also got a headache during the walk. I felt fine when we stopped.
The morning was sunny. We stopped for lunch and I was dragging at that point. We left lunch and it started to snow that icy pellet-y snow. This was not that fun.
The walk to Letdar was not that far, but you're not supposed to sleep more than 400 meters above the last place you slept, after 3,500 meters. Sorry I keep mixing meters and feet.
We were supposed to stay in a village lower down than Letdar, but the locals were saying that there was going to be snow in 4 days, so we moved on a day faster to make sure we could get over the pass.
This French guy with an unbelievably effeminate voice got really mad at the guy running the guesthouse about the price of a liter of boiled water. He yelled at him for 15 minutes, "it's just water, you just put it on a fire" bla bla bla. To clarify, after Manang there are no permanent settlments. Just guesthouses for tourists doing the circuit. However, there's no running water and no fuel--whatever boiled water you buy has first been carried up the mountain on someone's back and then is boiled by fuel that was also carried up the mountain on someone's back. We kept running into this guy for the next week. He was annoying.

22 March: Letdar to Thorung Phedi High Camp: 4925 meters
We left Letdar and fortunately the trail was mostly frozen. This was nice because it meant we didn't have to slog through the mud for hours. We got to Thorong Phedi by 11:00, had lunch and then climbed the extra 500 meters to High Camp. This climb was straight uphill through the snow. I had to stop every couple minutes to catch my breath.
The lodge up there was really nice and the views were spectacular. And we saw some yaks.
I didn't feel that great at high camp--but no one did, really. I felt like there was a giant weight pressing down on me, although I wasn't breathless, like some people.
The outhouse was really nasty--people missed the hole and then it all froze after dark.
It was cold at night--this was the only evening where I was uncomfortably cold at dinner.
Some people were smoking at high camp, which I found beyond my comprehension.
Creepy French guy kept staring at me while I was writing in my journal.
Tomorrow, the pass and no more wondering if we'd make it over or not.

23 March: High Camp to Muktinath: 4925 meters to 12474 feet
We got up at 3:30 in the morning and rolled out around 4:30 to complete the much-anticipated Thorong La crossing. We left so early because, apparently, the wind picks up as the day progresses. By 10 am it can be strong enough to blow you away!
It wasn't so cold in the morning, which I was happy about. I was wearing all my clothes. It was really beautiful to be walking through the snow in the dark, looking at the stars. We saw the dawn break over the mountains. I was huffing and puffing my way to the pass. my nose wouldn't stop running, which was really annoying. There was nothing I could do about it and sniffling kept interrupting my breathing.
I could not catch my breath, which was such an odd sensation when you're barely moving at all.
It took us about 2 hours and 45 minutes to reach the pass. The last 45 minutes were pretty difficult for me. It took all my energy to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. It didn't help that we kept reaching false ridges that I thought were the pass--then we'd get to them and see we still had to keep climbing.
We got to a little stone tea house at the pass and enjoyed a cup of tea! I was with the 2 French ladies I'd met days earlier. We were the first people to cross the pass for the day. I felt more relief than enthusiasm when we finally saw the Tibetan prayer flags at the pass. It was nice, after all the worry and anticipation, to finally be there. I got all weepy again, as I'm wont to do. But I had to bottle it up, because it was cold and windy and I didn't want to tell the strangers I was with how happy I was to be there and how I felt like I brought a little piece of all the people I care about to the top of the mountain.
We were so close to the peaks of the mountains all around us. I really felt like I was on top of the world. It seemed we could reach out and touch the glaciers around us. It would've been more amazing if I could breathe.
Then came the 1600 meter descent. This is a long way down. At first we had a lot of fun sliding down in the snow. I was making an art out of falling on my a--. No problem, till I torqued my knee when I fell in a weird way.
Then, the path got nearly vertical and it seemed that if you fell, you'd slide right down the mountain. This did not appeal to me.
The descent was rough, but infinitely better than the ascent.
I was really dreading going over the pass--I was cold and out of sorts the night before. After I made it over, I felt like it was a long day, but it wasn't necessary to dread it.
We rolled into Muktinath around noon and enjoyed a celebratory beer--much deserved.
I definitely felt better being at a lower altitude. My cough was painful on the pass, and was much improved in Muktinath.
This side of the pass looked completely different from the other side. The mountains had a different shape and it was much drier.
It was nice to make it over and not have to worry about drinking and eating enough and other altitude-related worries.

24 March: Muktinath to Kagbeni
We got up in a leisurely fashion and visited a temple in Muktinath that's very holy for Hindus. People walk all the way from India to make pilgrimages to this site. This side of the circuit is also called the Pilgrim trail, as a result.
There's a natural spring and a source of natural gas that burns perpetually--apparently the confluence of water, fire and earth make the place very holy. In any case, I had my karma cleansed by the 108 water spouts shaped like cow heads, issuing forth holy water.
This day one of the most amazing, crazy things ever happened to me.
I ran into Jessica, my bestest travel buddy from Laos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As if you can "run into" someone while on a 3 week walking trip. I knew she was coming to Nepal and I even thought about altering my itinerary so we could trek together, but she was coming a week later than me and staying for less time, so I decided to stick to my guns. Running into her was so inconceivable and so lovely. We spent the next 5 days of the trek hiking together!
This side of the pass is full of apple orchards, so there were lots of apple products to be enjoyed, including apple brandy, which was gross.
At this point in the trek, I really started to feel the outside world fall away. I felt detached from anything outside the reality of the current experience. I felt like the walk was really helping me prepare for the coming journey inside myself that awaits in India.
I spent a lot of time talking to Rebecca (one of the women from Australia). She and her mom are Buddhists and she's been to a number of meditation retreats. We spent a lot of time talking about it.
I had several painful blisters on my feet after the downhill walk and my achilles tendons were strangely sore.

25 March: Kagbeni to Marpha
I had the opportunity to use the internet, which brought me back to reality in a weird way.
I was really tired this day, more so than the day before and my feet started to really hurt. I had to take my hiking boots off at lunch and walk in my sandals. Rebecca thought that the stiffness of the hiking boot sole was aggravating my achilles--she was having the same problem. My ankles swelled up and looked like granny ankles. I wore my sandals for most of the rest of the trek.
It made all the difference in the world to be with Jessica--suddenly everything is funny and you have someone to share it all with.

26 March: Marpha to Ghasa
This walk was long, but flat, mostly through a river bed. We got to walk through more pine forest, which was nice.

27 March: Ghasa to Tatopani
Another day of walking! Still really happy to have Jess along for the ride. Not her guide, though. He had the manners and attention span of an 8 year old. He was constantly making annoying noises, banging a plastic bottle against his leg, joking in completely unfunny ways, etc. He also patted her on the behind the first day--she threw him the elbow in response and he punched her back! Unbelievable. I think she's glad we ran into each other.
I was really feeling how nice it was to walk when you could breathe sufficient oxygen.
We ate some delicious, locally grown oranges.

28 March: Tatopani to Shikha
Begin days of neverending upward stone staircases. Sigh.
4 hours of endless stairs. Not much else to report.
Jess and I hung out and played cards for the afternoon after we finished walking.

29 March: Shikha to Ghorepani
Yet more endless stairs, though it only took 3 hours to reach Ghorepani. We went slow enough to talk today and went up with Robyn and Rebecca most of the way. We enjoyed a game of hearts with them upon arrival at our destination.
Babu had a couple glasses of Roxi, the local moonshine and he got unbelievably chatty. I wanted to know if I could get him drunk in the morning so we could have some conversation during the day.
As we gained altitude, we got to see more and more big mountains--until it got too hazy to see anything. People are burning the grasses in preparation for the growing season, so there's a lot of haze.

30 March: Ghorepani to Tadapani
This morning we woke up before the dawn to climb another endless staircase to the (apparently) famous view point: Poon Hill. We watched the sun come up over the mountains. I cursed the whole way up the hill. I was so over climbing up endless staircases at this point.
Jess and I had to part after Poon Hill and breakfast and I spent the morning in denial of this fact.
The views were really beautiful.
Jess and I split up after breakfast--she had to get back to Kathmandu for a flight. It was sad.
At this point I REALLY lost all motivation for climbing up hills. Too bad that's what we did all morning. One cool thing though, an airplane flew by and we were looking down on the top of it. Crazy.
The walk happened to be really beautiful, much to my delight. We walked for 2 days through forests of rhododendrons. It felt like fairy land.
I was still wearing my sandals....when I cut my foot. It bled a lot and I attracted a bit of a crowd of porters while I was treating it. Where's Babu? Having a smoke.
We arrived in Tadapani, which is supposed to have great views of the Annapurnas, but it was still hazy. Alas, no sweeping mountain vistas were to be had.

31 March: Tadapani to Nayapul to Pokhara
We shortened the trekking itinerary by another day and walked in one day from Tadapani to Nayapul. This was an endless day of descending stone staircases. I preferred this infinitely to ascending them. I felt sorry for the poor bastards on their way up. I was really tired by the end of the day. The walk was really beautiful through the valley, but it got hot and humid as we continued to descend.
While I was tired I kept reminding myself that I walked myself in and I could walk myself out.
I definitely felt some culture shock when I saw cars and buses again. It felt sad to be done with the walking. I missed some of my favorite places on the trek.
We got to Pokhara and it was nice to get my clothes washed and have a bathroom attached to the bedroom.

I feel like I have more thoughts and impressions to share about the trek, other than just events, but I can't think of them now and I've been typing for about 2 hours. So, they'll have to wait for later.
We went on a little city tour yesterday. I was tired, and then what do I discover is on the itinerary? Yup, climbing up another hill. The extent to which I did not care about the viewpoint or the stup on top of the hill is inexpressable. But I made it up and live to tell the tale.
Today I slept in till the delightful hour of 8:00 (first time in a long time...) and enjoyed some baked goods from breakfast. The Western food is really, really good here--I think it's because the local food is so crappy.
Did I mention there are tons of people from Tibet here? I don't think I realized how many Tibetan refugees and how much Tibetan influence there would be here. I met a lady in Marpha who says she has relatives in Minneapolis and that there'sa Tibetan community there. Who knew.
Anyways, friends, I hope you've enjoyed my accounting. I'm afraid it doesn't have the same spark it has when I'm writing in the moment, but it will have to do.
Tomorrow I go south to Chitwan National Park for 4 days. I think there's probably internet there, but I'm not sure. You may not hear from me for a few days. I will be looking at rhinos. Sweet.
TTFN,
Lauren

Back to the Future!

2007-03-31T07:56:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, thanks for all the nice comments while I was gone! I'm sorry to have kept you all on the edges of your seats, waiting with bated breath for my return.
I'm currently in Pokhara, having walked out of no-transport-except-by-my-own-2-feetsville this afternoon. I'm pretty tired--I've walked 4 to 7 hours every day for the last 18 days. I have a huge amount of information to report to you all and not the energy to do it now. I will have to make you wait at least 36 hours.
At least know that the trek was really fun, physically demanding, but not undo-able and I met a lot of really nice people on the way.
Sorry to keep you waiting for more, but I want to do the trek justice and I just can't right now.
TTFN!
Lauren

Namaste + Addendum

2007-03-11T21:43:00.000-05:00

Namaste friends! I'm writing to you from Kathmandu. I got here with no incident yesterday afternoon and I love it already! I think partially because it's a reasonable temperature here.
I got picked up at the airport and I'm staying with the family of the trekking company I arranged my trip with. They are very friendly. I feel like an exchange student all over again!
We saw the Himalayas and Everest from the window of the airplane yesterday. It was beautiful. There was a line of clouds and then a line of mountains--it looked like the clouds were the mountains or the mountains the clouds. I felt like crying it was so pretty.
There's another woman from the US staying with the family also. She just finished the trek I'm about to do and said it's really amazing. She also said that my itinerary is the safest possible itinerary to prevent getting altitude sickness. Sounds good to me.
My guide seems very nice also. I'm not trekking with a group, but we stay in lodges along the way where there will be other people to meet when the day's walk is over.
I like Kathmandu a lot so far. It reminds me a little bit of La Paz, Bolivia.
Anyhoo, I'm going to look around the city today and tomorrow, off to the mountains!
Ok friends, stay well and behave yourselves! I will try and do the same.
Lauren
Hello again friends, internet and electricity are both a bit spotty here. There are six hours of mandatory blackout every day and other unannounced blackouts whenever it fancies. Inevitably, when the internet works there's no power and vice versa.
I really love it here so far. I had a tour of some of the sights today and it's like taking a step back in time. The streets are a bit hilly and definitely were not built for cars. I think this is my favorite place I've been so far and I've only been here a day! This bodes well for the rest of my month here.
I went to a temple today dedicated to Shiva (I also got a crash course in Buddhism and Hinduism from my guide and my head is still spinning--every ritual has a story behind it that takes at least 10 minutes to explain). There were funerals there today and people being cremated on funeral pyres, just like you hear about on the banks of the Ganges. It was amazing. Fun fact: the pagoda originated in Nepal.
It's interesting to be in another country that was a trading route between China and India, but to see how different the overland trade route is from the maritime one through SE Asia.
There's a large Tibetan Buddhist community here. We visited 2 temples with Tibetan prayer flags and stupas and monkeys today.
There are no street names/signs here which makes navigation complicated....
Did I mention the other woman from the US I met is now engaged to her trekking porter? Crazier things have happened.
Friends, I will attempt to take meticulous notes in my journal over the next 3 weeks so I can report back to you with the utmost detail. It's helpful to me to blog every day because then I can let you all know what's on my mind at the time and I don't have to try and remember what I did the day before, etc. It will be hard to try and summarize the 3 weeks for you when I return, but I will try!
TTFN,
Lauren

"Kathmandu, I'll soon be seeing you..."

2007-03-10T05:31:00.000-06:00

I'm told Kathmandu is no longer like the Cat Stevens song, but I will have the song on a continuous loop in my head just the same.
Today I said goodbye to Southeast Asia by going to the unbelievably huge weekend market here in Bangkok. I bought some things I probably don't need and I ate my last delicious pad thai.
Goodbye chopsticks! Hello eating with my hands!
Goodbye horrible, unbearable hottness! Hello horrible, unbearable coldness!
Goodbye polluted air! Hello thin air at altitude!
Goodbye cold shower! Hello no shower!
I bought an extra battery for my camera so I can take more pictures while I'm trekking in Nepal. I can only assume there will be no electricity and the camera battery only lasts so long without being charged.
I bought a guidebook for India yesterday. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the choices. India's huge. You'd need at least 6 months to see it all properly. I have 3 weeks during one of the hottest months of the year. Another solo traveler told me this is what she finds to be the hardest part of traveling alone--making decisions about where to go without any outside input. I'm not sure I think it's the hardest thing, but it's definitely a challenge. It would be nice to be with someone who had strong opinions one way or the other about where to go, especially when I feel like I can't decide between all the places.
I forgot I uploaded some photos yesterday:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/laurenemilywinter27/#page1
Enjoy.
I'm never sure what the communication situation is going to be like when I get to a new country, so you may hear from me before I head off into the great beyond and you may not.
Either way, stay well!
Lauren

More Bangkok

2007-03-09T02:12:00.000-06:00

Hello friends, I visited the National Museum this morning and spent several hours there. I've officially seen as many Buddha images as I can handle: sitting buddha, standing buddha, reclining buddha, fat buddha, teaching buddha, meditating buddha, instructing buddha, etc. I'm going to see one final buddha in Chinatown this afternoon that is 3 meters high and solid gold. Then I renounce looking at more images of buddha.
I've been thinking a lot about transportation lately. Not a very sexy topic, I know. At home, I take ease of transport very much for granted. With a car, cheap fuel and good roads, I can get myself anywhere, at virtually any time. To know me is to know I hate to commute and I hate traffic. I really do. But the truth is, it's a real privilege to be able to get oneself from point A to point B in order to earn a living.
I talked with my grandparents on the phone the other day and my grandmother asked me "how do you find all these places you go to and how do you get around?" I think this is a question others may have also, so I will answer it in the public domain. Most of the places I visit are in a guidebook on a map. When they aren't, I consult the internets. I use buses or trains to travel between cities. Most of the places I've been, the sights are in walking distance of most of the guesthouses. In a city like Bangkok, I get around using the sky train and river boat taxi. I also walk a lot. I've been walking to get around so much that getting in a private car is quite a novelty. I had to take a taxi to the bus station yesterday and it was so nice to go straight from one spot to another without having to move.
I hope you are all well.
Enjoy the blogs while you can, they will soon be in short supply!
Lauren

The Bridge on the River Kwai

2007-03-08T06:17:00.000-06:00

hello friends, I took a day trip from Bangkok today to Kanchanaburi, site of the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai/Death Railway. There was a very edifying museum, a not-so-edifying museum and a photo-op at the bridge. All in all a successful day.
I hope you are all well!
Lauren

Operation Indian Visa

2007-03-07T06:15:00.000-06:00

Hello friends, I'm happy to report that despite much bureaucracy, I got my visa for India today. Yay.
Other than that, not much else to report. I spent most of the day wandering around an area of Bangkok that looked like it could be any large international city. I had to drop off my passport and then go back and pick it up a few hours later from the embassy. I wandered around shopping malls and side streets.
I also went to Jim Thompson's house--an American guy who was in the CIA, then moved to Thailand and rejuvenated the Thai silk industry. He built an interesting teak house with lots of art in it.
I saw some guys working on power lines outside that were live, with no safety equipment on, standing on a ladder made of bamboo.
I thought I'd hate Bangkok, but I really don't. I think it helps that I like the guesthouse I'm staying in. I find where you stay makes a big difference on how you feel about a place.
TTFN,
Lauren

I love GOOOOOLD!

2007-03-06T00:07:00.000-06:00

Hello friends, remember that infinitely mediocre Austin Powers film "Goldmember"? Goldmember yells "I love GOOOOLD!" throughout the whole film. My brother and I may be the only people who think it's funny.
I bring it up because it's all I could think of at the Grand Palace in Bangkok today. Everything was gold, glittery, or in some way over-the-top gaudy. There were also approximately one million tourists swarming the palace.
I got into Bangkok this morning. I met a German guy who's doing an internship for the UN here. He showed me the guesthouse he's staying at which is not in tourist-central. It's nice. I can even watch movies there! I splurged on the AC room. Have I mentioned it's really hot here? And not heat to be envied. It's also really polluted, so the pollution sticks to your body as you sweat. Ick. Reminds me of Santiago. My sinuses are inflamed!
Tourist central is also known as Khao San Road. It is an abomination. It's a kind of tourist-limbo land. Cheap clothes, cheaper guesthouses, people partying, etc.
I'm feeling ready to go to Nepal, but I don't fly there till Sunday. I have to pick up my Indian visa tomorrow.
Here's my Nepal itinerary for you. Because of my limited time there, I chose to schedule my time with the tour operator:

Annapurna Circuit (Round) Trekking
This route is considered one of the true classic trekking routes of Nepal...rated widely as one of the "Top 20" treks worldwide. The trail offers amazing mountain scenery as it penetrates the Northern Himalayan range and Tibetan plateau.
We pass through villages populated by a wide diversity of people. Gurung, Magars, Chhetris, Thakali and Newars heavily settle the Southern slopes of Manaslu and Annapurna ranges. At higher elevations, human populations thin out and thick forests of rhododendron and fir emerge.
As we enter the Manang valley small fields of millet, wheat and flocks of sheep and goats abound. The Manang people, traditional traders, are Tibetan by origin and Buddhist by religion. As a result, their life style is quite different to those tribes on the Southern slopes.
The Thakali and Mustang tribes control the busy trading and pilgrimage trail along the Kaligandaki and Muktinath Temple and the on through the gap between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna.
Day-to-Day Itinerary:
(Program designed for Lauren)
11 March: Arrival to Kathmandu at 1 Pm by Thai Airlines. Then transfer to Himalayan Humanity / Overnight at Arjun Home.
12 March: Day Sightseeing in Kathmandu (Pashupati, Boudha Nath, Soyambhu and Kathmandu durbar square and inner city of Kathmandu)
13 March: TREKKING Kathmandu to Besi-Sahar (760 m) (175 km/ 7-8 hours): Drive by bus.
14 March: Besi-Sahar to Bahundanda (1310 m.): Trek.
15 March: Bahundanda to Chamje (1430m): Trek.
16 March: Chamje to Dharapani (1860 m.): Trek.
17 March: Dharapani to Chame (2670m): Trek.
18 March: Chame to Pisang: Trek (3200m)
19 March: Pisang to Manang (3540 m):
20 March: Manang (Acclimatization Day in Manang): Rest.
21 March: Manang to Yak Kharka; Trek
22 March: Yak Kharka to Letdar
23 March: Letdar to Thorung Phedi (4450m) / High Camp (4925 m): Trek.
24 March: Thorung Phedi/High Camp to Muktinath (3760 m): Trek. (Early morning pass Thorung la- 5416 m)--this is the highest elevation we'll reach
25 March: Muktinath to Kagbeni; Trek
26 March: Kagbeni to Marpha: Trek.
27 March: Marpha to Ghasa (2010 m), Trek.
28 March: Ghasa to Tatopani (1190 m): Trek.
29 March: Tatopani to Shikha; Trek
30 March: Shikha to Ghorepani (2860 m): Trek
31 March: Ghorepani (2860 m) to Poonhill (3193m) to Tadapani (Poonhill is the excellent view point- Early morning view)
01 April: Tadapani to Ghandruk; Trek
02 April: Ghandruk to Nayapul to Pokhara (Trek & 1 Hour drive by Taxi)/ End of Trek Program
(END OF 21 DAY TREKKING)
03 April: Pokhara Sightseeing / Overnight Hotel in Pokhara.
04 April: Pokhara to Chit wan: Drive by Bus. Day Activities in Royal Chit wan National Park (tigers live here!)
05 April: Chit wan Tour: Early morning takes breakfast. Dugout canoe trip followed by a Nature Walk Program or a visit to the Elephant Breeding Farm. Enjoy an ox-cart ride or a jeep drive back to the resort. After refreshment you can wash the elephants and swim with them in the Rapti river. Lunch. Elephant back safari. Take Dinner and evening and watching Tharu dancing performance.
06 April: Bird watching Tour in morning and day visit in chit wan. .
07 April: Drive to Kathmandu from Chit wan and rest in Kathmandu, Overnight at Arjun Home.
08 April: Patan Durbar Square and Bhaktapur Durbar Square Sightseeing (Guided Tour) / Souvenirs shopping in Kathmandu / Overnight at Arjun Home.

So, you see lots and lots of trekking. If I'm not in shape now (which I'm not) I certainly will be by day 21 of the Annapurna circuit. I think I'm going to break down and buy trekking poles.
TTFN,
Lauren

Ko Chang Crazy

2007-03-05T05:14:00.000-06:00

Hello friends, I've been incomunicado for several days now, both with you and with all other living beings on the planet. Ko Chang was quite deserted. Except for the Germans. Ohhh, the Germans. I met not one English-speaker on the island and spent the last 4 days speaking to no one except to order meals. This takes a toll on the psyche. I never have the opportunity at home to go days without communicating at home. Not that I'd want to, really. I'm definitely a talker. As in, I like to talk a lot. Especially about my feelings. I also like to tell jokes. The time on the beach was quite strange.
Allow me to make no sense for a little bit.
I started to feel disconnected from the whole world. The best example I came up with is being on a space ship and hearing the noise of the engines and feeling gravity and then getting ejected out into space in a space pod and it being totally silent and weightless. I felt like I was floating unattached in silent space. Then, when I talk to people again, I hear the ambient noise and feel grounded again. I think this sounds crazy, but it's the most lucid way I came up with to describe how I was feeling.
Ko Chang was not as beautiful as Ko Lipe. I've become a beach snob. Sigh. It did, however, have some very relaxing waves that soothed me to sleep at night.
When I was a sophmore in high school I visited China with my orchestra. It was such a novelty to me that I learned to use a squat toilet that when the local paper came to ask us about our trip I eloquently announced to the reporter that I'd "learned to pee in a hole." The orchestra director was mortified. She wouldn't let it die for my next 2 years of high school. We went to Italy my senior year and her husband told my parents what a mouth I had on me. Anyways, squat toilets are no longer a novelty. I don't really like them. You can't really sit and read the paper or anything.
I'm nearly finished with War and Peace, thanks to having no one to talk to on the beach for days. Tolstoy asserts that individuals are impotent to alter the course of history. History is as inevitable as the tide and we are all swept up in it. Discuss.
I was doing all sorts of philosophizing in my head while I was alone and now it all seems irrelevant or too weird to write down.
And George, I think in these parts, OSHA is a four-letter word.