First Impression!

Hello once again,

I am now in Bangalore, India and will be here for the next two days before I get picked up to be taken 40 km south east into rural, India and dear Shanti-Bhavan.

This place is INTENSE. The smells are certainly stronger than they were in the airports and planes. The city smell is a mix of spices, rain, car exhaust, garbage, corn (a lot of cooked corn that smells really good)...to name a few. It rains really heavy and then switches straight into bright sunlight in a matter of minutes. There is a constant roar of beeping rickshaws, buses and motorcycles, and Indians screaming in their beautiful and exotic Hindu language.

Drivers are CRAZY! I'm not kidding, compared to them, Italians drive like wusses, and I drive slow. There is absolutely no organization and where there should be two lanes (in American standards) and at the most three lanes (in Nicaraguan standards) these people create 4 or 5 lanes of Chaos, its thrilling. A sign on one of the stop lights read: Speed thrills, but it kills!

The streets dog are chubby and furry, kind of odd compared to your usual emaciated Nicaraguan street dogs. And off course i should mention the HOLY COWs! So, you know how in Europe you visit monuments adorned with statues of naked people or powerful lions? Well, in Bangalore India the few monuments i've seen have fancy marble cows on the columns.

I'm sure I haven't seen most of it (i'm going on a tour of the city tomorrow, since i'm actually staying in the ghetto, no joke.) but i have already seen the FAMOUS CONTRASTS of this country. Rapidly developing streets with i-stores and "Hard Rock Cafes" are crowded by women in their Hijads, with their faces completely covered, while males walk with there goats and on bare feet. Something i've noticed and perhaps its because the females are at home, the ratio of male to female seems to be something like 5 to 1, its crazy, there are so many men.

I have had one meal today and it will probably be my only meal. I feel like I ate ( i won't say a cow, beacuse that would be wrong, but i guess 7 chickens) its heavy food, very flavorful. I ate naan with this vegetable and cheese "Paneer Tikka Masala" and a spinach and cheese "Palak Paneer". They were really good, but thats enough for the day. Oh and i must mention there was a very cute, small elderly women, that all of a sudden let out the loudest burps EVER, in the middle of the restaurant while Francesca and I were engaged in a very intense metaphysical conversation...i guess its normal here.

I must mention these people's eyes. They have strikingly intense eyes, they are deep and dark and mysterious.

I am suffering from jet lag but i've tried my best all day to stay awake, and i have. I cannot wait to put my head on a pillow though.

I love and am grateful of the fact that i'm here in this very different world. I keep reminding myself however that i'm not here to find a personal external comfort but rather to find inner comfort with the children that I will be teaching, to grow in spirit and in humility...i hope for that at least.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Namaste..