10 Farewell High-Fives

Good bye India. Today I start my journey home and have a flight to catch (with a 10 day stop over in Germany, of course - yipee!). However, I wanted to make a final (FINAL) post to re-cap Lyndia's India and high-five all I have loved, loathed and learned. I keep having ideas for lists pop into my head so... here is a list of the 10 Lists (so 11 lists in total?)

1. India-isms I'll Miss

2. India-isms I won't

3. Energetic Events of Powerful Personal Significance

4. Straight-Up Unexpected Sights

5. Most Memorable Quotes (from Others)

6. Stupidest Questions (byMe)

7. Food!

8. Photos I Took

9. Photos I Juuuust Missed:

10. Unbelievably Grateful for...

1. India-isms I'll Miss

a) walking-trains of sari-clad women    b) year-round growing season that provides vibrant greens & flowers

c) chai on every corner!                       d) 25 cents for a day's worth of produce

e) sunrise chants, songs and calls-to-prayer.

2. India-isms I won't

a) endless advertising overload      b) shouting as normal-volume

c) walking on-guard of potential poop underfoot      d) bucket-bathing

e) children with permanent dirt stained skin and teary eyes pulling at my pant leg and pleading for rupees.

3. Energetic Events of Powerful Personal Significance

a) moments on the serene beaches of the Ganga    b) feet soaking meditation in the pool of the Golden Temple

c) breathing in the prana of the Rishikesh hills         d) playing Holi in front of the Rosebowl

e) early morning Chakra-chanting                       ... f) Vishnodevi hike & all of Mcleod Ganj!

4. Straight-Up Unexpected

a) Hawks soaring over Delhi rooftops at breakfast    b) Hare Krishna Temple dance party

c) (as mentioned) seeing the Dalai Lama    d) (caution TMI (too much information) here) learning the fine art, uh science of bidet-style toilet-ing...
e) finding seats on the Hemkunt Express to Jammu (story coming soon)

5. Most Memorable Quotes (from Others)

a) "Ma'am? For how long should we hold this asana to attain Enlightenment?" - Doon yoga student.    

b) "Now I want to show you something Not in Lonely Planet, okay?" - awesome guide in Amritsar (story coming soon)

c) "For 13,000 Canadian dollars, can you take me to Canada with you?" - husband of a woman in the Ladies Waiting Room at a train station.

d) "Eat whatever you want. Do whatever you want. You are still young. You are fine." -Dr. Aurora as a summary of my first-ever Ayurvedic assessment

e) "If you aren't laughing four or five times a day you're not living, only breathing" - Yogi Vishvketu

6. Stupidest Questions (by Me)

a) "What do you call those little, tiny, baby mangoes?" A: Yes! Mangoes.

b) "Then how do you say "excuse me" with respect to someone younger than you?" A: Excuse me.

c) "Why is it called Chakarta Gate?" A: Because it's on Chakarta Road.

d) "Oh! What's happening at that village with all the fair rides and people? Is it a festival? Does it happen often?" A: It's a village fair. Usually once a year. (Me: Ah, just like at home...)

e) On seeing a black bear on a hill as pointed out by the driver. "Whoa! That's cool! Is it very common to see those here?" A: Umm, yes. That is the zoo.

7. Food!

a) parantha b) shahi paneer  c) malai kofta  d) Mystery grain porridge e) Chai! & Mithai! (trans. tea & sweets...but I already knew that)

8. Photos I Took (5 or more... of MANY more)

(see next post)

9. Photos I Juuuust Missed

(see next next post)

10. Unbelievably Grateful for...

a)...the ability to feel calm and one-ness in the chaos of an uncontrolled line of Ladies buying train tickets (story coming soon)

b) ...the month of hospitality at #83 Veejay Park in Dehradun!!

c) ...my Yoga Family who accommodated and understood my silence and self-relationship development

d) ...the nick-of-time guidance and spontaneous friendships!

e) ...a myriad of instances of clarity, confidence and connectedness in my own life

& f) ...poems, energy, flowing water, sunrise-skies, songs and colours, direction, dreams, advice and inspiration that I'll carry the rest of my life.

I <3 You India. I <3 You.

High Five #8

For the pictures I thought I'd post separately... and more than five:

Photos I Took:  

(in no particular order... or slightly chronological)

Bath of the Nataraj

Street Smart and Sunglasses

Principal Sari

Chai for Four

Goat Friends

Cycle Rickshaw Silhouette

Gold fish. Golden Temple

Rose Coloured Sunset

Attending the Lama Dance

Taj Frame

Goddess 2

photos property of LyndiaP April 2011

Lift-off Lessons

Write about cows, peanut butter-banana sandwiches and leaving space for spontaneity.

Those are the last three requests I've had before I embark on my India Adventure (t-minus 12 hours to departure... then about 36 hours of traveling via Edmonton - Chicago - Munich - London/Heathrow - Delhi. In that order.)

Besides the "safe" and "fun" stuff which is standard and generally quite important! I have to admit it still seems surreal, but coming closer to comprehension with the final "farewell dinner", goodbye phone calls, confirming departure times and the moment of sliding the keys to one's beloved, and now former, apartment under the door locked for the last time (in a makeshift envelope of semi-scrap paper...)

Yep. I guess, I'm going. And maybe, just maybe my lack of panic means... I'm ready to do this!

big Deal?

So, I've got less than 2 days of work left. No big deal.

And...I'm still feeling like I'm totally unprepared for this trip. Okay, no big deal.

Oh and Hey! I'm just saying good bye to everyone I know... it's no big deal.

I am floating through la-la land & don't even believe I'm leaving in 102 hours... ah, no big de... no, wait! I think this kind of IS a big deal! Why am I so nonchalant about all of this? How can I also feel totally panicked at the same time?

How much more dis-analogous can it be?

Rewind: I went to the art gallery this evening, cooked some pasta, had a great chat with my grandma and read more yoga-related books... low and behold 3 out of 4 held the answers (sorry pasta-cooking, no revelations today).

1) I love taking my time looking at art; skipping the ones I'm no into and going back to the ones I loved without reservation. It was glorious and I only felt a burst of panic twice in 105 minutes of cultural recreation.

2) My grandma announced she was still "trying to wrap her head around all this" for my trip...and I confessed (and realized) I was too! But then I realized, that's okay. I love talking to her!

3) Good old yoga-books. Seriously, if I didn't take away some gem of wisdom I'd be amazed. This time? The "contentment shift."
Deeply accepting and feeling gratitude for every part of your day, situation and life. Everything. Good, bad or neutral. Because "with contentment comes a lessening of fear." BAM. Now that's a life lesson.

I am grateful for my sources of wisdom.

And I am content with my pasta with Alfredo sauce, black beans and bamboo shoots.

yeah, it's kind-of a big deal.

Moved

Lyndia & Dad*: 1
Edmonton Apartment: nothing.

*with some significant help from a 5X8 moving trailer and no help from the various used funtiture shops that refuse to take hide-a-beds, things with upolstry or things with cushions.


Now only five and a half hours left of my Greyhound bus reading tag team of "Live your Yoga" and Rohinton Minstry's "A Fine Balance." And please note, anyone who sees me this week will certainly notice apparel repeats. Living out of a suitcase starts now. It's just that my suitcase looks like an empty apartment...

quitting the Alberta habit

I am now convinced that this province is an addiction - it takes up more than my average, daily waking hours; I spend at least 50% of my income on/in it; I think about it when I am not there; and I am talking about it to other people all the time. It's no DSM-vi definition but I'm sure it's close enough to addiction.

It has not proven easy to break this habit. First, there is a great deal of emotional strain. People everywhere reminding me how little time I have left. Sometimes I wonder if I am on my deathbed because it's said with such despair. Other times it must be my long-awaited day of reckoning or surprise end to a life prison sentence; the words just bubble out like Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk-of-happiness. I refuse to read anything into these diametrically opposed options, of course.

But it's not just that. There are other little items, mere material possessions that I didn't even think I cared about that start up some kind of projection/defense mechanism response.

Yes, I'm selling (nearly) everything.
Yes, I'm okay with that.
Yes, it'll make life easier in the long run.

But seriously, everytime someone makes an offer on my sofa am I going to tear up? No. Hopefully not after today. Eager buyers knocking down my door in the post-dinner rush. Bring it oooonn! (but do take your boots off first). It's a kitchen-supplies flea market in here. I better not start sobbing over my beautiful like-new green strainer or semi-complete set of flat ware.

I mean it's not like it's my bike or anything!

Again, the pre-trip preparations continue (anti-malarias obtained, travel insurance procured & even completed my pre-trial-run pack!) an epic battle rages... to reconcile my addiction (with life-long relapses) to Alberta. Well, not the two-foot-snowfall-car-stuck-in-parking-lot-shoveling-out-with-an-ice-scraper-no-one-helping-push-snot-freezing-ice-slipping drudgery. That's about as pleasant as... well... as it sounds.

But despite all that, I still expect withdrawals.

(only 14 days left)

Preparation Mode/Intro

As of today the India-specific blog begins! Lyndia's India is in no way my attempt to own the country... I am definitely not as possessive as that apostrophe suggests. However, I do intend to explore as much as possible but in a meaningful and holistic fashion that will not result in a completed checklist of sights, places and photos (although I know there will be some of that). I have almost three months to get a feel for the country and will likely stay in the Northern half, only so that I can make a valid argument for a second trip in the future! The neglect of over 50% of the sub-continent is also due to the fact I will be studying yoga for the first month and then helping out in an unpaid fashion for at least three weeks at a boys' school. (I don't discuss too much yet... that would ruin the blogy-suspense.)

The trip itself doesn't start until January 24th but I'm sure there are bound to be some blog-worthy moments in the almost-month of ongoing preparations.

Fear not, I will not bore you with the endless phone calls, confirmation numbers and the procurement of supplies (the latter which is my mission today). Should you be enticed by learning which anti-malaria option I decided on, or what water purification system I ended up with, or how many pairs of yoga pants (two) I'm packing I might be convinced to ramble wax poetic on these topics but won't make the whole of January so dull...

The thing I really wanted to mention today is about my plan for this blog from January to April 2011.

What I will do:
- keep you updated on my travels
- share the things I learn
- try to upload photos
- write in whatever format I feel like (i.e. prose, poem, journal, short story, stream of consciousness)
- entertain tangents of all kinds (that's a promise).
- be as accurate as possible with spelling, grammar and punctuation but I have no idea what the computer/ spell-check situation will be, so please cut me some slack :)
- write posts in advance and schedule them to be posted on a future day for your enjoyment
- reply to comments when I can (no promises, but I DO love your comments!!)
- be happy if you share this with other less blog-inclined people who will probably want to get the Lyndia in India updates (thank you!)


What I won't do:
- post everyday
- complain a lot (unless it's funny, life-altering or critical to some other aspect of my 'story')
- make stereotypes
- make promises about how often I'll post
- guarantee there won't be embellishments or some semi-fictional aspects as my creative license permits



Now off to obtain my passport with a shiny new India Visa, some water purification ingredients and anti-malarial pills. Yay! (but not for malaria, I can't cheer for an infectious disease)