Hey All…internet has been hard to get on a regular basis…so I am posting some of what’s gone on at the end of our time in Sri Lanka and the beginning part of India…enjoy.
January 14, 2011
Good god when did it get to be the 14th? I feel like I just began this trip and already I am leaving Sri Lanka. Tomorrow is India…a very different kettle of fish is what I am being told. We are in Colombo, the largest city in Sri Lanka (3 million), and while here Barb and I are practicing for India by trying to steel ourselves to the begging, and the poor animals, especially the dogs. We don’t get to practice too much haggling as it isn’t as prevalent here as it is in India. I cannot say I am too sorry about that, I have a feeling it could get old after a few days.
Colombo reminds me of many poor South American cities, I have visited, in the way it looks and feels. Drivers here are just as crazy as I remember Mexicans to be, but the dogs…ha…well they are something else. Suicidal is an understatement, they lie in the middle of the road or a bit to the side and either don’t move at all or just a bit as cars and busses whizz by. It’s unbelievable. The first time we saw this phenomena I thought it was a sun stroked dog but no, they all do that. Very wild and strange indeed! As for the cows and goats wandering all over the place, well, we just could not get over them…they continue to make us laugh…I can’t imagine what India is like if this is just her “poor sister” as someone told me Sri Lanka is called. Actually the comparison was made in the context that Sri Lanka is to India what Canada is to the States. Ouch!
As for my week of yoga I wanted to add that a week of yoga in a warm country, a cozy place overlooking the ocean, serious teachers and over twenty people who love it, has been quite inspiring for me. Oh and did I mention the upscale hotel (the $500+ a night kind) about a five minute walk from us? We sauntered over there for a delicious iced cappuccino a few times and I had a “to die for” dinner there one night…(grin) yes it was really rough. So rough that I could easily see myself coming back to do a month of yoga as many of the people I met there do.
Ah Sri Lanka, she has been a great beginning…a wonderful way to open the door to the next adventure in this journey in South Asia as well as my life.
January 18, 2011
We have been in India since the night of the 15th and so far the only scenery I can talk about is the aryuvedic clinic. It is comprised of a few heritage buildings on about a couple of acres with an old Hindu Temple right across from our room. The building we are staying at is a lovely 3 storied building made of wood and mud makes me think of an English I have to laugh I am half way across the world and the first place I end up in India has me cleaning myself rather rigorously. And when I say rigorously I mean intense!!! Without getting into too much information let me assure all of you that Barb and I will leave squeaky clean both internally and externally.
Humor aside, everyday we get massaged in oils and herbs that are combined for whatever we are trying to improve. We each have a person at the top of our head pouring oil onto our crown Chakra (the top end of our head) and two women one on each side rubbing our body in the oil…its quite the experience. It has taken until today my 3ed day for me to be able to be with the experience. On the first day, I found myself getting antsy. I made myself take deep breaths and kept observing my Western mind wanting to ask question and talk. The second day, I just wanted to go to sleep, (nothing wrong with that except they don’t want you to sleep during the day…something to do with the eliminating flow), bottom line I was still struggling. I am happy to say that today I was finally there, awake and aware without having something to occupy my mind.
It’s been quite interesting to watch myself as I struggle with time both here and Sri Lanka. Time in this part of the world moves much more slowly and for someone like me from the west, I think, it takes about three weeks to start living closer to the place where time resides here. But even then, I find myself jumping back and forth. Between wondering if there is a way to get on line to texting to forcing myself to just be, it’s really quite amusing to watch my mind.
Jan 19th
It’s my last full day at the clinic…phew. It’s been an incredible experience but to do it for any length of time (which one would have to, for it to have a lasting effect) I would have to be prepared mentally. Four days of treatment was enough this time. It was particularly interesting since it’s obvious that this is a serious clinic that is not geared for tourists who want to be pampered but is very healing oriented. Especially since they only have eight rooms and 4 doctors. There is a mix of Westerners and Indians here some are repeats and some came on recommendations. They are interesting but I think Barb and I are probably a little odder than most of their clientele for one thing we laugh and god knows as quiet as I try to be I am still loud. In any case, the place feels like the real thing and I feel lucky? blessed? to be here and have this experience. Best of all however, is I feel more energetic and positive…I wonder how it will be once we face the other faces of India.
Tomorrow we are off to Cochin and old town in the south….oh I look forward to a glass of wine and sea food. Did I tell you how relatively boring and bland the food has been?
The Relationship Creature 