Home Again

Rishikesh is a wonderfully strange place, a place I am quite happy to call home. Already this week I've been through a few unexplained ups and downs, i.e. a sudden burst of tears for no apparent reason, or a sudden burst of energy for, again, no apparent reason. Curfew at the ashram is 10 o'clock but I have not been able to sleep until midnight at the earliest, and then my nights are packed with wildly vivid dreams.

Then, as if on cue, yesterday I was struck by the mysterious 18-hour flu, which made my Sunday fasting super easy. I woke early to call mama and afterward crawled back to my bed sick as a dog - with a strong headache, nausia, and body aches - where I slept until four in the afternoon. The next day I was mysteriously back to full power. This is the stuff of Rishikesh, indeed.

I am struggling to avoid schedule overload, as opportunities abound! Some things I consider for the near future include volunteering in a hospital in Rishikesh (to challenge my fear of hospitals, blood, open wounds, etc..) and working as a yoga assistant (correcting postures). I'm also thinking to start practicing massage once again, a critical life skill that everyone should know how to do. But for the moment at least I will simply take another week to settle into my new (old) cage, nesting, building my kitchen, buying a cooker, and of course, hanging curtains! Does it get any better than this?

The whole clan is here (except Niko!) and we waste our extra time in the usual ways; drinking chai, playing backgammon, complaining about Germans (just kidding, people!) Actually, Germans are wonderfully innovative and precise peoples, if a tad bit anal-retentive at times. I'm not sure why we all get such pleasure out of picking on them, but, well, we all do. But I digress.

I think it must be impossible to live here and not be continuously grateful for such a good life. I could never reproduce something like this in my own country. In fact, I don't have access to health care in my own country. Were I to go back for a visit and, God forbid, have some kind of health problem...I shudder to think of it.

But here I have everything I need. I am so relieved and thankful for this I feel the tears coming even now...

If you ever have any problem in India, complete strangers will never hesitate to help. Perhaps this is why I never feel lonely or afraid in India. And another great thing about India; you can be anything you want to be. It doesn't matter one bit what you wear, how you speak or whether you bathe. It simply doesn't matter.

Thank you, God. And thank you to my wonderful family and friends. Thank you thank you thank you..
all my love,
Lola Masha

PS: Breaking News! I have just semi-confirmed my suspicions about my visa status. Normally, foreigners must cross the border into Nepal (Pakistan or Sri Lanka) for a stamp every six months, but.... if I register with the district police, I may not have to! Apparently, God truly wants me to be here and who am I to question it?