12/10/06

Word from India

Hello everyone!  I hope you are all well.  I am still alive and kicking.  I made it to India, although I wasn't sure if I would.  My flight from LA to Chicago was delayed due to light rain in 60 degrees threatening snow.  That made me miss the flight to India.  The next flight wasn't until the next evening.  I won't go into all the details but it took me 4 hours to get everything straightened out with my new flight, hotel voucher, taxi voucher, food voucher, and getting food.  But then when I finally found the taxi stand they told me they don't go to that hotel.  So I had to go back to the ticket counter but they were closed.  Then I tried to convince the guy at baggage claim to write me a taxi voucher.  That didn't work, but I got a toothbrush and toothpaste from him.  Earlier I had heard about some cots at one of the gates.  But all the security check points to get to the gates were closed.  Luckily I found out the next terminal was putting cots by baggage claim.  And I had to walk outside which of course I was not prepared for in my carry-on bag.  They had these little green cots under the lights with the announcements every two minutes.  Eye cover and ear plugs help.  You may have seen me on the news waving at the camera.  At 4 am they woke us up to put away the cots.  At least at that time the ticket counters were opening again.  I got the correct taxi voucher and went to my hotel only with enough time to shower and nap for two hours.  I was trying to get back to the airport to beat the predicted afternoon snow.  It never snowed, but at least I made it to India.  It took an entire three days to get here.

There is so much to tell about India this email will only briefly touch it.  I am keeping a journal and I can share more with you when I return.  Also there was a request to find out what all the supplements are I took.  That is listed at the end of the email.

I went straight to Varanasi after a night in the airport.  Varanasi is noted as one of the oldest cities in the world.  Let me paint a picture of this town:  Put together the noise, crowdedness, and speed of New York, LA smog, a fire smell worse than the one we smelt in Santa Barbara when it was snowing ashes, contaminated swamps around you, being in the middle of a dump, another time zone yet with cell phones, New Orleans during Mardi Gras dirtiness, backpacking in the Grand Canyon when the dirt and horse shit sticks to you (replace horse with cow, dog, and human), overcooking in your kitchen with curry, standing right by incense burning, and the traffic moving like a video game; whichever way gets you there faster.  Once you imagine all those things together you will get a small sense of what it is like to stand in Varanasi.  To my yoga students, some of you may remember me talking about staying as calm as you are in the easy poses as in the harder ones.  This is an exercise I must practice a lot here.

Once you can get beyond all that you can see how amazing this place and people are.  There is constant religion around you with processions in the street and loud prayers with bells and other loud instruments.  These people work so hard with their bodies carrying large loads or bicycling rickshaws around all day.  They remain calm and are content with a lot less than we are.  I was set up by a monk from Carpinteria with an organization called Vedanidhi.  They came and picked me up from the airport.  They set me up in an ashram with 10-12 year old "inmates."  The inmates turned out to be a bunch of typical boys very excited to interact with the foreigner.  We had a blast taking pictures and looking at the pictures afterwards.  The boys are brought there to learn Sanskrit so they can get out of the unreliable farming business.  Vedanidhi fed me and they fed me well.  I have started to eat with my right hand.  It's kind of fun!  (The left hand is for toilet duties.)  There was always a young guy from the program at my beckoning call to take me wherever I wanted.  They set up all my tourist visits.  I never got to study with the monk, but I did get to hang out and eat with a bunch of monks.  Most of them are quiet and don't speak English.  But they are well respected.  I didn't do much in the way of being a tourist because these people were so sweet to hang out with.  I always thought it was funny when they offered to take me on a nice stroll through the streets.

One of the things important to their religion is the water.  The river running through Varanasi is supposed to be one of the most holy.  Thousands of people wake up at 4am everyday year round to do a purifying wash in the water.  I am not sure how pure it is with 6 companies dumping sewage in the water.  They tried to get me to do the bathing with them but somehow I got out of that one.  I had to tell them I don't swim.  I didn't want to disrespect their beliefs.  The other thing they do is carry the dead through the streets to put them in the water before burning the body.  It is not as bad as it sounds.  The body is covered with a shiny gold or pink cloth and flowers. Everyone is chanting that is carrying the body and traffic stops so you always know they are coming.  Being Jewish, I have never seen a cremation before.  I really got the sense that the person was just a body and the body was meaningless.  Watching that, I always felt if there was a soul it must have left the body before I saw it.  I always took boats up and down the river to watch all these ceremonies.

One day I went to Sarnath where the Buddha supposedly had his first lecture.  While the rule in Hindu temples seems to be the louder the better, the Buddhist temples are the quieter the better.  All the temples use bright colors and paintings of different religious stories.  There is a lot of red in the Buddhist temple and clothes.  There always have a big Buddha statue in gold or black.

Now I am in the south in Chennai getting ready for my yoga program.  Thank goodness it is much cleaner, calmer, quieter, and western.  It is winter but still very hot and muggy.  I am left to eat at restaurants.  Since I have been trained to eat with my hand I thought I would continue to do so.  I must be doing it wrong because they keep trying to force a spoon on me.  I can't tell you if the food is good because my mouth gets numb from the spiciness.  I found places to study Ayurveda and dance here so I may stay for a whole month and a half.  Again I had a contact here of another student of the school who set up my hotel and has been showing me around.

I haven't had to figure out too much on my own, but am still faced with typical traveler challenges.  Please don't ask me to call you because I can't figure out what numbers to dial.  My favorite misunderstanding was when the police at the airport asked me what flight I was on.  I replied "603."  He pointed to his watch and said, "No.  It's 7:09."  They often answer yes to questions that are not a yes/no question.  Or they answer yes to opposing questions.  Trying to get somewhere involves many people in a long discussion until you get in a rickshaw and are not sure if they really know where to go.

Now below are some of the medicines I brought with me beyond my normal supplements.  Please consult your doctor before taking anything.  Warning:  Your bag will be heavy if you take all these things.  If you tend to have a strong stomach and never get sick traveling you may not need anything.  Most doctors will advise you to take the normal prescribed malaria pills.  Check to make sure the mosquitos in that area have not built up resistance to it. Most of these things you can get at Lazy Acres.  You may need to do your own experimenting to see what will work for you.

Garlic for immunity and to keep the bugs off of you, may also work on unwanted men
Neem also to keep the bugs off of you and build resistance against malaria.  You can use this as an oil on your skin (the scent makes me want to throw up) or take in pill form.  This has been used for thousands of years.  They use it on horse's bellies to keep flies off and as a natural bug repellent.
Artemisinin is the main natural pill to build resistance against malaria.  Best in combination with another med.  You can order this through this naturapath's website:  www.sbcnm.com (PhytoArtemisinin)
Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) for fighting bacteria and disease.  I take 12 drops in water everyday.
Black Walnut for fighting parasites.  I think this is what actually cleared my tummy ache away.
Nutribiotic is a nasal spray to kill all the pollution you are breathing through the nose
Propolis Echinacea is a spray for the throat, same idea as nutribiotic
Airborne for immunity while flying
Jet Lag homeopathic pills from local travel store.  Considering I had two hour naps here and there for three days, I think this really helped me stay feeling refreshed.
Immodium for diarrhea
Pepto-Bismal for stomach ache.
Cipro  anti-biotic for extreme diarrhea.  need doctor prescription.
Purell for washing hands before eating
Wet wipes for wiping the dirt off of you.  showers can do the same thing.
Carotenoid is my latest supplement to build immunity, cell growth and renewal, and cardiovascular system.  may need to get from doctor.
Emergency packets for rehydration and supplementation
Protein Powder in case my food lacks protein.

For more info on what I take traveling, see page 12 on planning notes doc from the following web page:   http://groups.msn.com/adventuresenelsur/page.msnw?&pps=k

Now send me news from Santa Barbara or wherever you are.  I will be in this city for a long time as one of only two foreigners.

Best Wishes,
Tali