Well, let me tell you what, I only have two weeks left in
India, which means I only have two, maybe three, posts left for this blog. So, today I am feeling lazy and thus we will
be using a bullet point format.
·
Yesterday, I was head-butted by a cow. I wasn’t hurt, but I was shocked. I was out walking with Ashley, and so when I
jumped to the side in surprise, I just ended jumping on her. Then, this Telugu lady who saw it told us
that it was because I was wearing a red shirt. I had always thought that was just an old
tradition, but apparently not. That was
pretty funny, all in all, though I was grateful that the cow was a momma cow
and didn’t have any horns!
·
I went to the Devi Puram temple again this
week. One thing we did was to walk
around the main temple 108 times. We did
so from 11 pm on, so that we could avoid the crowd of other devotees, and it
was actually really cool. There is
something powerful in the continual, repetitive movement, accompanied by the
sound of your own voice chanting. It
leaves little room for your mind to focus on anything outside of the moment you
are in. While I don’t think I would
quite classify it as a spiritual experience, per say, it was a powerful
experience, and I can see now why so many people turn to this type of
meditation to find personal peace and even divinity. Also, it is a lot more physical exertion than
you might thing to do your 108 rounds.
·
Also at the temple, I stayed overnight with a
room full of Indian women. I don’t know
much what to say about this except that I really am grateful for the manors and
rules of basic hygiene that we have in America.
And, our understanding of personal space.
·
And, I made a fire offering to the goddess while
at the temple, which was actually really cool.
No animals were harmed in the making of this sacrifice – just fruit and
trees. But I was able to actually be
sitting at the fire, making the offerings myself. It was SO HOT, which wasn’t great, but man, I
was glad to be a part of that homam,
as it is called. And then Krishnayya
said it was the first Homam he had ever been to, so that made me feel even more
cool.
·
I did more Kalavahena as well this weekend. I am a certified … priestess, spiritual
guide, teacher of Hinduism… at this point, and while I am not planning on propagating
these borrowed beliefs when I return home, well it is pretty neat to have so
much ‘street cred,’ or ‘Hinduism cred,” as it were.
·
I went shopping on Tuesday, just because I could
and because I was quite bored, and while all I ended up buying was a necklace,
well I just love the beautiful things that can be found in India. I love the bright colors of the blouses, even
if I don’t think I would be courageous enough to wear them back home. Still, I was browsing on Zulily yesterday,
and India seems to be at the head of the fashion industry just at the moment,
so maybe I will try and be brave after all.
·
I saw Ant Man.
He is definitely no Capitan American, but considering it’s a movie about
a man who can shrink to the size of an ant, well I think that Marvel did a
pretty good job.
·
Um, I ate lots of rice…
So, yeah, life is slowing down here, but it has been
good. Hopefully, I will have a good
story or two next week. Love to all,
Emilee
