Ask, and ye shall be given
Woah. That was the most powerful reality shaping magic I may ever have seen.
Yesterday, as you might have guessed from the sheer volume of posting I did, I was pretty homesick. But the Top 10 list seems to have worked wonders. I've always felt that if you focus on the positive, life is just better. I also believe that what you say (or type... as the case may be) influences reality. If not directly, in a butterfly flapping its wings sort of way - the good things you say will affect someone, who touches someone else, and so on, until more good stuff is in the universe.
But this is ridiculous.
Today I had a day of almost all Good Things. Mostly from the Top 10 List of India.
I started with trip to the spa. It was closed on my first attempt at 9:30 - not open until 10:00. So I went for a quick stroll in the area, and got to see Bangalore waking up, as merchants opened their stores and more people started to appear. It's hard to capture in a photo. I suppose any city wakes up each morning, but it's more interesting when it's not your own city.
I worked on some sewing and went out again an hour later with more success. I got a head massage, body massage and threading. The steam bath wasn't working properly, so they gave me a discount and threw in the threading for free. The whole thing (about 3 hours) was under $20! And it included a great hair wash. Especially here, they do a much better job washing my hair than I do myself with the bucket bathing system available in Indian homes. An Indian massage is much like a US one. I thought the pressure was on the light side, but not hugely so - and I am used to being massaged with somewhat hard pressure - or at least that's what they tell me...
This was definitely a "relaxation" massage, not a theraputic massage. Which was my plan. I wanted pampering and cosseting after the round of homesick, and I definitely got it.
Then home for lunch, some rest and a Kannada lesson. Kannada is very, very hard for me. But this class was encouraging. Amma is pushing hard - and she has every reason to. I'm not at all good at speaking, and it's frustrating to us both. I, at least, knew how incredibly bad I'd be at this... so I'm at least in part thrilled that I can put a sentence together on paper, even if when I speak it, I sound kind of like Frankenstein's monster ('Me... go... to ... store..."). And I can read and sound out words halfway decently. That's pretty exciting for me and I am encouraged that the lessons have definitely been rewarding.
Then we got ready to go shopping! The general plan was Amma needed some vegetables, and we'd take a quick run by 4th Block to finish up some of my present shopping list. In discussion, we decided instead to run by Anegundi Silks, which is on the way to 4th Block, and has some great versions of items on my list. It got a little crazy. I got some great deals, but I also got a bit more than I planned. I'm more than a bit nervous about luggage constraints and I plan to pack most of my things tomorrow, so I can figure out if another run to the post office is required. Fussing aside, it was a very Pretty Princess Moment to be coming out of this fabulous clothing store (remind me to write something about sari selling!), with two big bags, smelling of happy salon cleanness, wearing one of my other new saris (for the first time!), and climbing in an auto to go home.
We spent more time than planned, and quickly debarked and did some local vegetable shopping before getting home. Leaving the auto, all around me was night time shopping chaos and confusion. As per usual, I was always in the wrong place at the wrong time, getting jostled and trying to manage purse, packages and passerby. Amma left me at a corner for a second to do a quick errand, and I was feeling terribly lost and alone and trying not panic. Then, all of a sudden it clicked in. I recognized where I was!! I was a block from the apartment!!! Indra Gandhi Circle! I recognized the shops from my morning walk. All of a sudden, I was confident and collected. I knew where I was, I was OK. It is all OK!! It was magic. I felt at home in this strange place.
We finished gettng vegetables, got our haul back home and I ran out for some things Amma forgot. Again, I was thrilled. I got the stuff, no problem and at the prices I expected them to be! Hooray!
I got back and the current was gone. That was OK, though, we spent a friendly hour in battery powered torchlight. Arno doing his homeworked and Preeti, Amma and I joking around. The joking was balm for my soul. I can joke with these people. I know them well enough to kid around. They are not the strangers they were a month ago.
Even the food has been better today. There has been rice or rice output at every meal, but lunch was a flavorful fried rice with nuts that I really liked. We had a coffee break snack of noodles in sweet milk, and a savory boiled grain that is midway between a snack mix and crunchy cooked peas. Note the distinct lack of rice. And dinner of rice, stew, ghee, and more of the snacky grain. I decided that dinner would be a novel Curd Rice Free meal, and I had extra dinner rice, and then finished it off American style - with a wonderful sweet fresh orange that was part of my victorious errand run.
That's something I will miss - fresh fruits - there are fruits here that don't exist in the US, and the fruits that you do recognize are fresher, sweeter and sometimes smaller. And cheaper. And EVERYWHERE. I love that it as easy to buy a bag of fruit as it is to buy a candy bar. And a BAG of fruit costs the same as a candy bar. Wow will I miss that. I eat fruit daily People give it to each other when they visit. You can buy it at tourist places from sellers with carts that will literally come to the window of you car. Boy do I love fruit here!!
We finished the day with sari showing off, and a friendly dinner. Preeti told me I should perform for them tomorrow, and I am more than willing. So tomorrow we are eating out and I will do an improv belly dance performance, probably with poi (which I packed).
This will not be 3 days of hell, this will be 2 more days of quiet closure on a great trip. I can feel myself mentally sliding back to the US. I'm not in stressed American mode yet, but I'm looking forward to home. I realize today that I need a purpose, and that purpose is in the US. My purpose in life is being who I am in the US and doing all that stuff I do. It's been good to have a break, but it's time to get back in action.
Yesterday, as you might have guessed from the sheer volume of posting I did, I was pretty homesick. But the Top 10 list seems to have worked wonders. I've always felt that if you focus on the positive, life is just better. I also believe that what you say (or type... as the case may be) influences reality. If not directly, in a butterfly flapping its wings sort of way - the good things you say will affect someone, who touches someone else, and so on, until more good stuff is in the universe.
But this is ridiculous.
Today I had a day of almost all Good Things. Mostly from the Top 10 List of India.
I started with trip to the spa. It was closed on my first attempt at 9:30 - not open until 10:00. So I went for a quick stroll in the area, and got to see Bangalore waking up, as merchants opened their stores and more people started to appear. It's hard to capture in a photo. I suppose any city wakes up each morning, but it's more interesting when it's not your own city.
I worked on some sewing and went out again an hour later with more success. I got a head massage, body massage and threading. The steam bath wasn't working properly, so they gave me a discount and threw in the threading for free. The whole thing (about 3 hours) was under $20! And it included a great hair wash. Especially here, they do a much better job washing my hair than I do myself with the bucket bathing system available in Indian homes. An Indian massage is much like a US one. I thought the pressure was on the light side, but not hugely so - and I am used to being massaged with somewhat hard pressure - or at least that's what they tell me...
This was definitely a "relaxation" massage, not a theraputic massage. Which was my plan. I wanted pampering and cosseting after the round of homesick, and I definitely got it.
Then home for lunch, some rest and a Kannada lesson. Kannada is very, very hard for me. But this class was encouraging. Amma is pushing hard - and she has every reason to. I'm not at all good at speaking, and it's frustrating to us both. I, at least, knew how incredibly bad I'd be at this... so I'm at least in part thrilled that I can put a sentence together on paper, even if when I speak it, I sound kind of like Frankenstein's monster ('Me... go... to ... store..."). And I can read and sound out words halfway decently. That's pretty exciting for me and I am encouraged that the lessons have definitely been rewarding.
Then we got ready to go shopping! The general plan was Amma needed some vegetables, and we'd take a quick run by 4th Block to finish up some of my present shopping list. In discussion, we decided instead to run by Anegundi Silks, which is on the way to 4th Block, and has some great versions of items on my list. It got a little crazy. I got some great deals, but I also got a bit more than I planned. I'm more than a bit nervous about luggage constraints and I plan to pack most of my things tomorrow, so I can figure out if another run to the post office is required. Fussing aside, it was a very Pretty Princess Moment to be coming out of this fabulous clothing store (remind me to write something about sari selling!), with two big bags, smelling of happy salon cleanness, wearing one of my other new saris (for the first time!), and climbing in an auto to go home.
We spent more time than planned, and quickly debarked and did some local vegetable shopping before getting home. Leaving the auto, all around me was night time shopping chaos and confusion. As per usual, I was always in the wrong place at the wrong time, getting jostled and trying to manage purse, packages and passerby. Amma left me at a corner for a second to do a quick errand, and I was feeling terribly lost and alone and trying not panic. Then, all of a sudden it clicked in. I recognized where I was!! I was a block from the apartment!!! Indra Gandhi Circle! I recognized the shops from my morning walk. All of a sudden, I was confident and collected. I knew where I was, I was OK. It is all OK!! It was magic. I felt at home in this strange place.
We finished gettng vegetables, got our haul back home and I ran out for some things Amma forgot. Again, I was thrilled. I got the stuff, no problem and at the prices I expected them to be! Hooray!
I got back and the current was gone. That was OK, though, we spent a friendly hour in battery powered torchlight. Arno doing his homeworked and Preeti, Amma and I joking around. The joking was balm for my soul. I can joke with these people. I know them well enough to kid around. They are not the strangers they were a month ago.
Even the food has been better today. There has been rice or rice output at every meal, but lunch was a flavorful fried rice with nuts that I really liked. We had a coffee break snack of noodles in sweet milk, and a savory boiled grain that is midway between a snack mix and crunchy cooked peas. Note the distinct lack of rice. And dinner of rice, stew, ghee, and more of the snacky grain. I decided that dinner would be a novel Curd Rice Free meal, and I had extra dinner rice, and then finished it off American style - with a wonderful sweet fresh orange that was part of my victorious errand run.
That's something I will miss - fresh fruits - there are fruits here that don't exist in the US, and the fruits that you do recognize are fresher, sweeter and sometimes smaller. And cheaper. And EVERYWHERE. I love that it as easy to buy a bag of fruit as it is to buy a candy bar. And a BAG of fruit costs the same as a candy bar. Wow will I miss that. I eat fruit daily People give it to each other when they visit. You can buy it at tourist places from sellers with carts that will literally come to the window of you car. Boy do I love fruit here!!
We finished the day with sari showing off, and a friendly dinner. Preeti told me I should perform for them tomorrow, and I am more than willing. So tomorrow we are eating out and I will do an improv belly dance performance, probably with poi (which I packed).
This will not be 3 days of hell, this will be 2 more days of quiet closure on a great trip. I can feel myself mentally sliding back to the US. I'm not in stressed American mode yet, but I'm looking forward to home. I realize today that I need a purpose, and that purpose is in the US. My purpose in life is being who I am in the US and doing all that stuff I do. It's been good to have a break, but it's time to get back in action.