India, travel and the stars
I begin to understand why Indians have such a well developed astrology system. It seems to me that life here is much more prone to the vagaries of fate than life in the US. Sickness is abrupt and more intense. Travel may either be very fast, or very slow. Things can fall into place when they have no right to, and they can collapse into chaos at the slightest provocation.
Either I have gained great wisdom, or I don't know what the hell I'm talking about... I'm not at all sure which.
Today was my first day trying to do things on my own. I said I felt comfortable trying, and so the baby bird was kicked, politely, out of the nest. It has not yet gone so well... the good news is, I found my way back to the computer, and I'm not poorer, bruised, battered or otherwise harmed. So... let's call it "adventure". The only thing damaged is my ego - I'm used to being independent and to doing things on my own - even in foreign places.
Today I had too many missions. I have, at least, learned that more than 2 missions is dangerously too many missions for a day. Today I had these missions:
Each time I managed to reconnect. And I am proud that I got through the tailor's and home without incident. I feel 95% confident that I will get what I want from the tailor, although I won't get new sarees and blouse peices in time for Trivandrum. I will, however, have some in time for Hampi. Oh well. Anil won't know that I've basically been wearing and washing the same 3-4 outfits. :)
The show tonight was great. Very long and started really late -- I think it was late, even for Indians. But the kids danced great, and I even saw an Indian redaction of "street dance... very popular in the US", which is really hip hop. I always find it weird to see American kids doing hip hop, because the roots of the dance and the songs are so ghetto -- seeing suburban kids doing it is always funny, to me. It's not much weirder, actually, seeing Indian kids do it. And I was pretty impressed with the physicality that some of them had.
I saw folk dance in the show, which had me asking Amma about it. She's smart, she saw where I was going with it. She tells me that the folk dance I just saw was basic movements stylized like a folk dance, but not all that authentic - it's the same 3-5 moves that all Indian kids know, set to something folkish with a few moves thrown in... not quite the authentic thing I was looking for. Too bad. :(
All told, I'm happy I survived the day. My ego is bruised - lost twice in one day, having to ask for lots of help and patience from others - not my cup of tea. I really hate feeling helpless. But... everyone stumbles before they learn to walk. When I was a teenager, and just learning how to live life, I missed out on trying things because I was afraid to screw up. Now, at least I'm trying it -- even if I'm messing it up. I figure that if the worst I do is waste some time, and a few rupees of mileage, no big harm done. It's the cost of learning, and a fair price if I can learn to be independent here. How cool would it be to be able to navigate my way around a city in India??
Either I have gained great wisdom, or I don't know what the hell I'm talking about... I'm not at all sure which.
Today was my first day trying to do things on my own. I said I felt comfortable trying, and so the baby bird was kicked, politely, out of the nest. It has not yet gone so well... the good news is, I found my way back to the computer, and I'm not poorer, bruised, battered or otherwise harmed. So... let's call it "adventure". The only thing damaged is my ego - I'm used to being independent and to doing things on my own - even in foreign places.
Today I had too many missions. I have, at least, learned that more than 2 missions is dangerously too many missions for a day. Today I had these missions:
- Finalize booking for Trivandrum trip.
- Make sure that Aparna and Anil know my schedule
- Get the sari blouses and dresses to the tailor
- Meet Preeti's boss - who thinks I'm fascinating
- Go to Arno's dance performance from school tonight
- Prepare for Mysore
- Take a Kannada class
Each time I managed to reconnect. And I am proud that I got through the tailor's and home without incident. I feel 95% confident that I will get what I want from the tailor, although I won't get new sarees and blouse peices in time for Trivandrum. I will, however, have some in time for Hampi. Oh well. Anil won't know that I've basically been wearing and washing the same 3-4 outfits. :)
The show tonight was great. Very long and started really late -- I think it was late, even for Indians. But the kids danced great, and I even saw an Indian redaction of "street dance... very popular in the US", which is really hip hop. I always find it weird to see American kids doing hip hop, because the roots of the dance and the songs are so ghetto -- seeing suburban kids doing it is always funny, to me. It's not much weirder, actually, seeing Indian kids do it. And I was pretty impressed with the physicality that some of them had.
I saw folk dance in the show, which had me asking Amma about it. She's smart, she saw where I was going with it. She tells me that the folk dance I just saw was basic movements stylized like a folk dance, but not all that authentic - it's the same 3-5 moves that all Indian kids know, set to something folkish with a few moves thrown in... not quite the authentic thing I was looking for. Too bad. :(
All told, I'm happy I survived the day. My ego is bruised - lost twice in one day, having to ask for lots of help and patience from others - not my cup of tea. I really hate feeling helpless. But... everyone stumbles before they learn to walk. When I was a teenager, and just learning how to live life, I missed out on trying things because I was afraid to screw up. Now, at least I'm trying it -- even if I'm messing it up. I figure that if the worst I do is waste some time, and a few rupees of mileage, no big harm done. It's the cost of learning, and a fair price if I can learn to be independent here. How cool would it be to be able to navigate my way around a city in India??