Ups and Downs

It's a new chapter, it seems. I am alone at the Shala, and I have the Guruji all to myself for philosophy and pranayama training. The other students left one by one...each with tears in their eyes. It's not often you find a guru. And a true guru, he is. Each day I feel the power of his magic more and more, especially now that he is teaching me practically the entirety of yogic history...complete with amazing little stories and examples to go along with his teachings. It is hard to imagine leaving him, already, even though I have only been with him for a couple of weeks.

I have been studying for hours each day in my new room, which I love. I have decided to focus my study on three things: Yoga and philosophy (primarily), Kannada (the official language of Mysore), and music. It is nice to have the time to focus, read, think, nap, etc. And I have a bicycle now! It is a piece of junk, for sure...but MINE for the next three months! I love, love, love, having a bike again.

Yesterday I had a coffee date with Pradeep, the nice boy I met on the train to Mysore. He took me to the Desara Exhibition, which is a huge carnival complete with really scary rides. He was so much fun to hang out with all evening! Teaching me words in Kannada, telling me about school in Mysore and what it's like to be a youth in India, and making me go on the SCARIEST rides I have ever been on. The kind that swing you around and around and upside down and then stop at the top so you are hanging upside down mid-air and screaming bloody murder. All I could think before getting on these rides was..."This is India...the ATMs barely work...what makes me think this is a good idea?" But I am still alive, thank God, and I kept my popcorn down, and it was admittedly super fun.

After much consistent effort over the last couple weeks having to deal with computers crashing and power outages every five minutes, I have finally posted a couple photos on my facebook page. Check them out.