Day One

The traffic here is hilarious. All I could do was giggle to myself as my auto-rickshaw (which is basically a motor-bike with a box around it) pummels through a crowded intersection, my driver honking his way through the congestion. The divider lines on the streets mean nothing to anyone. But it feels like a very safe, copacetic system, nevertheless. My driver from the hotel asked me something and I stupidly nodded yes, not knowing what he had said, and he took me to a shop owned by his family. I quickly realized that the only way I was going to get where I wanted to go was to repeat myself about a hundred times until he gave up and we continued on our way. "No, next time, thank you! No, can we go to Church st. now? I would like to go to Church st. thank you! No, thank you, next time!..." etc.

I awoke this morning around ten, remembering only that my dreams were colorful, smelly, and very intense. Did some yoga and meditating and looking out the window...gathering the courage to go outside. As I was gazing out over the vastly strange landscape, a "bee" (or something like it) the size of a mouse batted its body into the window I was looking through. I could hear its wings beating through the super thick window pane.

I could barely sleep on the planes here, and instead read my journal from front to back, having epiphanous moments of bliss, sadness, and realization. I let myself laugh and cry at the things I had written as people slept all around me. It wasn't until the plane touched down in Bangalore that I finally felt nervous. But only for a second.

My plan for now is to:
a. Not be shy.
b. Drink a Lassie
c. Find some Indian clothing, perhaps (the fashionista in me lives on!)

I will probably stay in Bangalore one or two more nights before moving on to Mysore, or somewhere nearby. A man at the hotel restaurant told me that there is a "very large forest with elephants and lions" near Mysore, which I will strongly consider visiting...although for the life of me I could not understand him when he repeated the name of the forest to me ten times over.

I already miss everyone, but I don't think I have ever been more excited to be on my own in my whole life.