I just drank my first cup of coffee in almost a month. The caffeine makes me feel like I just took a drug. I suppose technically it is.
Over the last few days everyone in India is celebrating Diwali. Diwali is one of the biggest and most significant festivals of the entire year. Each night our Ashram lights rows of candles and for two of the nights set off fire works. It was great to watch the fireworks. The young boys that work at the school lit them off and would kick and run around with them in bare feet. It was funny/scary at one point one of them end up in the bushes. If it was New Mexico the entire thing would have burned down, and I feel like people would have been yelling at how stupid they were. But here... no. People just laughed and watched the boys try to put out the mini fire, even the elders at the ashram. Its interesting- at the ashram we cannot eat any onion, garlic or caffeine, however they have ABSOLUTELY no rules about sugar. Because of the Diwali festival, they have been serving us sugared up candy, even at breakfast!
I've learned that even though I have lived in Taos, NM and went to Hampshire College, where people perpetually joke about being on their own schedule ("Taos Time" and "Hampshire Time")-- it does not even compare to "India Time." Things always work out I suppose. Our late night discussions are suppose to begin at 8:15 sharp, but the bell usually rings about 8:30 or 8:45. We've been trying to get tickets to go to Goa after the program. The travel agents say they will be there at 1 and don't get there until 3. They say they will come back the next day, we've been lucky if they show up within 4 days. It is interesting to see how much of the culture I am from puts so much emphasis on being on time. We want what we want when we want it. Not here so much, there isn't really the option.
So... we finally got hot water. Our little hut apparently was the only bathroom with a broken hot water heater. Although, when I say we get hot water I don't mean a hot shower. We can now get scolding hot water out a a faucet into our shower bucket. We must dilute it with cold water. I have to say, it was amazing to take my first warm bucket shower, after so many cold ones! I felt like I was indulging so much.
On the yoga side of things, we've been learning some interesting techniques. Namely something called Vaman. Vaman is a cleansing technique for the stomach, where you drink 5-8 glasses of warm salt water on an empty stomach and then literally force yourself to vomit it up. The water dilutes your stomach acid so it doesn't burn at all, and your insides get literally washed from the inside.. getting rid of toxins and mucous. (I don't think I'll be teaching Vaman when I get home..most yoga students in the US might go running. Either that or sue me probably.) This morning we did a partial master cleanse. We drank two glasses of warms lemon salt water, then did 6 exercises, drank two more glasses, more exercises. Then we waited for the water to come out the other end. It was interesting, but much less intense than the full master cleanse, where you do the series up to 16 glasses of water and wait until you poop clear water. Oh... the life of a yogi.
We also got to watch our teachers do advanced cleansing techniques of sticking a rubber tube up their nostril and out there mouth, basically flossing the nasal cavity. Another teacher showed us how to swallow and long cotton cloth, and then slowly pull it out of the stomach and mouth.
The program is almost done. We have one more week, which is where we do most of our teaching. Each of have to teach two one-hour classes. I'm so happy to be done with all of our writing exams. We've had three tests, which consist of so much writing for hours! My neck still hasn't recovered fully from holding a pen for so long.
I hope everyone is well. I miss everyone, but I'm busy and exposed to new things everyday.
