Someone had just asked me from the previous post that what has been happening since last Sun post. The answer is not much to report except I did post some more pics daily with brief comments.
Mon and Tues were two calm days with some highlights:
- we had fruit time outdoor for change and it was pleasant! The weather was not too hot in the afternoon.
- one night we chanted 108 times one verse to celebrate the sun is changing direction??? Yogesh told us Indians celebrated for 3 days...
- I learned a lot but also had more homework to do, the poses get more intense, the philosophy sessions seems harder to absorb in this scatter brain :) so I was tired and hit the bed early.
- one student, Lija, was playing with the dogs, one scratched her that doctors said she needed rabi shots...
- Bhooma had assigned us to take turn to teach 2-hr intermediate class starting this Sat. There will be 2 group of 5 and I willbe the first one to teach my group. I am nervous but wanted to get it done sooner.
Well, two weeks of training has passed. On Wed we went on Backwater trip and elephant ride on our day off. The weather was still perfect in the last three days! It took about more than 1hr drive to get there (I don't know the name of the town). We used one canoe for 9 total including the paddler. (Liza, Dean, Sone, and Kamal went to the doctor's with Liza, so they met us later at elephant site)
The 2 hr canoe ride was so relaxing, starting from the open space then we slowly entered the narrow canal (that's why we didn't take the house boat which I would prefer ;) It was a quiet, calm, peaceful time! Having the fresh coconut served right from the trees along the way. We stopped by the paddler's house, he showed us some herbs by breaking, rubbing, then putting them in our palms; and the fragrance were amazing! His wife showed us how to make carpet thread from coconut husk (I have video clip only.) He was so nice, asked me where I come from and told me his children are in BC study... I gave him tips at the end. Bhooma also has great knowledge about medicinal herbs too. We went for snack with Masala tea (lots of cardamom taste) and some munches.
Then we went for the elephant ride. It must be at least 1/2 hr drive to get there from the canoeing location. Surprisingly, once we get there only 3 out of 8 wanted to ride the elephant (250Rs/person.) We saw 3 elephants on site, and one was from afar. We all felt sorry for one elephant which got one leg tied up to the tree. Here is the conflict in my mind: should I ride to give the elephant some exercise or not ride it so this business will be out and the elephant can be freed to the nature....? And I chose not to ride (I had this riding experience from Cambodia & Thailand trip already) Another distraction was most of us were so hungry and we didn't have lunch for another 45 minutes until we get to a hotel's restaurant on the way back. I think it was around 3:30pm from the 7am breakfast (I had a bag of almonds that many appreciated my offer ;) I also bought some extra bananas for the group too.
The lunch and ice cream desert at the restaurant were great, except a part that I had learned a lesson from is: don't try to modify your food order, this is s a different culture here! I only created confusion and disrespected the way they serve food in India (?) I ended pay more than what I got. Ha! That served me right!
Back to the ashram by 5pm. The "bucket" shower was much appreciated :) but the dinner was not. I was still not hungry from the almonds, bananas, and lunch so this kind of "baby food" dinner was not appealing to me a bit. I still showed up though, ate a little and disappeared to the Wi-Fi corner ;)
The 3rd week of intense training will begin again on Thurs. Deep breaths!
Until next post....Om Shanti, Om Shanti, Om Shanti :)
Mon and Tues were two calm days with some highlights:
- one night we chanted 108 times one verse to celebrate the sun is changing direction??? Yogesh told us Indians celebrated for 3 days...
- one student, Lija, was playing with the dogs, one scratched her that doctors said she needed rabi shots...
- Bhooma had assigned us to take turn to teach 2-hr intermediate class starting this Sat. There will be 2 group of 5 and I willbe the first one to teach my group. I am nervous but wanted to get it done sooner.
Well, two weeks of training has passed. On Wed we went on Backwater trip and elephant ride on our day off. The weather was still perfect in the last three days! It took about more than 1hr drive to get there (I don't know the name of the town). We used one canoe for 9 total including the paddler. (Liza, Dean, Sone, and Kamal went to the doctor's with Liza, so they met us later at elephant site)
Then we went for the elephant ride. It must be at least 1/2 hr drive to get there from the canoeing location. Surprisingly, once we get there only 3 out of 8 wanted to ride the elephant (250Rs/person.) We saw 3 elephants on site, and one was from afar. We all felt sorry for one elephant which got one leg tied up to the tree. Here is the conflict in my mind: should I ride to give the elephant some exercise or not ride it so this business will be out and the elephant can be freed to the nature....? And I chose not to ride (I had this riding experience from Cambodia & Thailand trip already) Another distraction was most of us were so hungry and we didn't have lunch for another 45 minutes until we get to a hotel's restaurant on the way back. I think it was around 3:30pm from the 7am breakfast (I had a bag of almonds that many appreciated my offer ;) I also bought some extra bananas for the group too.
Back to the ashram by 5pm. The "bucket" shower was much appreciated :) but the dinner was not. I was still not hungry from the almonds, bananas, and lunch so this kind of "baby food" dinner was not appealing to me a bit. I still showed up though, ate a little and disappeared to the Wi-Fi corner ;)
The 3rd week of intense training will begin again on Thurs. Deep breaths!
Until next post....Om Shanti, Om Shanti, Om Shanti :)
You will be awesome for your first teaching experience on Saturday. No worries as you are a natural. The food descriptions are interesting. I don't know if I would be as adventurous in some of the food choices. I felt for that elephant. Even though I have never "ridden" an elephant I would have made the same the decision and walked away. Your Bhooma seems to be a very educated teacher. You are lucky as you are having the opportunity to learn many new things. Deep breaths indeed as you continue on your journey. Om Shanti, Om Shanti, Om Shanti. Eleanor
ReplyDeleteWhat a wicked shot of the boats on the Backwater! Looks so unreal. Nirala
ReplyDelete