hm... I don't think this test is meant to be done from an internet cafe in India. I am trying to get through just the first little test to see if the system will work, which I need to do before I can take the test. Unfortunately, I have been trying to watch the same 5 minute video for almost half an hour now... so far, outlook does not look good.
oh my god. it is 20 minutes later, and i am still watching, or attempting to watch, the same video! crap. I don't think I'll ever be able to start the real test...
okay, now it has been almost an hour and a half, almost an hour into the time allotted for my test. i guess i cannot write this test from india. crappy casper.
you know casper can be rearranged to spell "scrape".
i am also not going to mcmaster next year. no hamilton for me i guess. en shallah.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
sibling rivalry and my pride
so today i was on gmail chat with nate, my older brother. he told me he's been reading my blogs and i suddenly felt a little worried, or embarrassed, if you will. so i asked him if my blogs were drivel and he said no, as he is pretty much obliged to say. i didn't know why i felt so insecure all of a sudden about my blog... but i think i have found out, and i'll tell you!
sibling rivalry.
plain and simple.
i was looking at simon's facebook profile (my younger brother) and i saw that he was updating his blog. then i read his blog, and it's so funny and smart! i thought, shiiiiiiiit, i can't right like that! no wonder i'm so worried my blog is a complete bore! i'm comparing myself to simo. then i read one of nate's comments and realized that he's also pure genius... and we all know what a great writer claire is! nevertheless, i shouldn't be limited by siblings' cleverness. now that i've identified it as something so utterly juvenile as sibling rivalry, i can let it go. in fact, i can do more than that: i can be proud. proud that my siblings are so freaking brilliant. i wonder if it has anything to do with how great my parents are...?
haha.... and now i'm just being conceited.
regardless, if you are not already reading simon's blog, you should be. it really is a joy. he's truly hilarious.
the address is myspace.com/russellsimon
anyway, just spreading the word...
sibling rivalry.
plain and simple.
i was looking at simon's facebook profile (my younger brother) and i saw that he was updating his blog. then i read his blog, and it's so funny and smart! i thought, shiiiiiiiit, i can't right like that! no wonder i'm so worried my blog is a complete bore! i'm comparing myself to simo. then i read one of nate's comments and realized that he's also pure genius... and we all know what a great writer claire is! nevertheless, i shouldn't be limited by siblings' cleverness. now that i've identified it as something so utterly juvenile as sibling rivalry, i can let it go. in fact, i can do more than that: i can be proud. proud that my siblings are so freaking brilliant. i wonder if it has anything to do with how great my parents are...?
haha.... and now i'm just being conceited.
regardless, if you are not already reading simon's blog, you should be. it really is a joy. he's truly hilarious.
the address is myspace.com/russellsimon
anyway, just spreading the word...
very nice, very nice
it has been a busy week at the ashram. we have started teaching micro lessons every day. soon we will have to teach full length classes. it's quite nerve racking, but i enjoy it. i wasn't sure that i would actually be interested in teaching yoga prior to this, but now that i've had a little experience i think that i actually would. i wonder if i'll be able to find a studio or community centre or somewhere to teach...
last week, after i wrote my blog post, i went into the old part of the city with 2 of my roommates, Nicole and Steph. we had an amazing time. we visited a beautiful temple and saw the Godavari river.
today is our weekly day off. i woke up at 5, as per usual, but managed to lie in bed until almost 6. i met up with another woman, becky, at 7 and we walked to trimbak. trimbak is a small town. we had to walk about an hour through the fields and sometimes what seemed to be peoples' yards. it was a beautiful walk in the early misty morning, albeit, super muddy. it has been raining a lot here. too bad i don't even have a raincoat. not very good planning on my part!
when we got into trimbak, we went into a temple. we posed for lots of family photos. i felt almost rude that here we were, at this amazing temple, and just being 2 white chicks we were almost getting more attention than the site. our presence was eclipsing the glory of the temple... how weird.
we ran into another guy from the ashram, peter. peter is a christian priest from belgium. he is a very spiritual guy. it was really pleasant to run into him, since i really didn't know him very well before. the 3 of us hopped a rickshaw and went into the town town, since we were still a bit on the outskirts. in the town there is a very famous temple where many indians come from all over to visit, as a pilgrimage i guess. it says that it is for hindus only, but we bought some flowers to offer to lord shiva and entered regardless. it was an amazing experience. not because the temple itself was so special, but because just waiting in the huge lineups with all the indians was an incredible experience. there was a school group there from gujarat, all girls, and they were so funny. becky and i sang sanskrit chants with them and exchanged names while we waited in the line for over an hour. we weren't allowed to bring cameras into the temple, so we left our cameras (daringly) with the guy who sold us the flowers. after the temple, we did get our cameras back and we took a bunch of photos with all the girls we'd met in line.
peter was staying in trimbak, but becky and i wanted to use the internet (which isn't available in trimbak) so we caught a public bus into nasik. we met some college kids who helped us find our way once in town. it was pretty nice. everyone is very nice. very nice.
goodness, i'm tired now. i really want to add photos, but i don't really understand the system here...
in other news, my training has been really interesting. this week we did some cleansing techniques. we did neti and kunjal kriya. most of you are probably familiar with neti, where you clean your sinus' with warm salt water. kunjal kriya is a stomach cleansing technique where you drink a bunch of warm salt water and then vomit it up again. i drank about 6 glasses of the saline solution and then was sick. it was surprisingly difficult to actually get it all up. even though you feel nauseous, it seems that feeling quickly passes into just feeling full. it is said that it often brings up a lot of emotions in people, and i was fully expecting it to. unfortunately, i think i may be a bit of an android; it brought up absolutely no emotions in me at all. i felt completely neutral after; neutral and composed. almost everyone else was a bit of an emotional wreck after... i wonder what's wrong with me. that said, you are supposed to have a shavasana after for at least 10 minutes, which i did without skimping on like i think some people did. after that i also took a therapeutic shit and then did some pranayama (breathing practices) in the outdoor meditation gazebo. i did lots of calming, meditative pranayama. it was soothing and centering. i felt very good after.
i've also been doing quite a bit of soul searching. i won't go too into detail, but it seems all my dreams are surrounding this. in all my dreams i am walking through huge apartment buildings or hotels. i am always looking for a safe place, or my room, or somebody... i'm always searching for a place to reside. for my soul, for myself, for both.
i've also been dreaming about dogs a lot. but i think that's just because i miss taco and feta and because there are dogs which bark in the night here. if any of you see taco & feta please give them a good pet from me, and a cuddle, and a walk! if you can.
love love love.
ri
last week, after i wrote my blog post, i went into the old part of the city with 2 of my roommates, Nicole and Steph. we had an amazing time. we visited a beautiful temple and saw the Godavari river.
today is our weekly day off. i woke up at 5, as per usual, but managed to lie in bed until almost 6. i met up with another woman, becky, at 7 and we walked to trimbak. trimbak is a small town. we had to walk about an hour through the fields and sometimes what seemed to be peoples' yards. it was a beautiful walk in the early misty morning, albeit, super muddy. it has been raining a lot here. too bad i don't even have a raincoat. not very good planning on my part!
when we got into trimbak, we went into a temple. we posed for lots of family photos. i felt almost rude that here we were, at this amazing temple, and just being 2 white chicks we were almost getting more attention than the site. our presence was eclipsing the glory of the temple... how weird.
we ran into another guy from the ashram, peter. peter is a christian priest from belgium. he is a very spiritual guy. it was really pleasant to run into him, since i really didn't know him very well before. the 3 of us hopped a rickshaw and went into the town town, since we were still a bit on the outskirts. in the town there is a very famous temple where many indians come from all over to visit, as a pilgrimage i guess. it says that it is for hindus only, but we bought some flowers to offer to lord shiva and entered regardless. it was an amazing experience. not because the temple itself was so special, but because just waiting in the huge lineups with all the indians was an incredible experience. there was a school group there from gujarat, all girls, and they were so funny. becky and i sang sanskrit chants with them and exchanged names while we waited in the line for over an hour. we weren't allowed to bring cameras into the temple, so we left our cameras (daringly) with the guy who sold us the flowers. after the temple, we did get our cameras back and we took a bunch of photos with all the girls we'd met in line.
peter was staying in trimbak, but becky and i wanted to use the internet (which isn't available in trimbak) so we caught a public bus into nasik. we met some college kids who helped us find our way once in town. it was pretty nice. everyone is very nice. very nice.
goodness, i'm tired now. i really want to add photos, but i don't really understand the system here...
in other news, my training has been really interesting. this week we did some cleansing techniques. we did neti and kunjal kriya. most of you are probably familiar with neti, where you clean your sinus' with warm salt water. kunjal kriya is a stomach cleansing technique where you drink a bunch of warm salt water and then vomit it up again. i drank about 6 glasses of the saline solution and then was sick. it was surprisingly difficult to actually get it all up. even though you feel nauseous, it seems that feeling quickly passes into just feeling full. it is said that it often brings up a lot of emotions in people, and i was fully expecting it to. unfortunately, i think i may be a bit of an android; it brought up absolutely no emotions in me at all. i felt completely neutral after; neutral and composed. almost everyone else was a bit of an emotional wreck after... i wonder what's wrong with me. that said, you are supposed to have a shavasana after for at least 10 minutes, which i did without skimping on like i think some people did. after that i also took a therapeutic shit and then did some pranayama (breathing practices) in the outdoor meditation gazebo. i did lots of calming, meditative pranayama. it was soothing and centering. i felt very good after.
i've also been doing quite a bit of soul searching. i won't go too into detail, but it seems all my dreams are surrounding this. in all my dreams i am walking through huge apartment buildings or hotels. i am always looking for a safe place, or my room, or somebody... i'm always searching for a place to reside. for my soul, for myself, for both.
i've also been dreaming about dogs a lot. but i think that's just because i miss taco and feta and because there are dogs which bark in the night here. if any of you see taco & feta please give them a good pet from me, and a cuddle, and a walk! if you can.
love love love.
ri
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Hari Om! Bombay to Ashram extravoganza!
I've been in the ashram for more than a week now. Today is our day off and most of us have ventured into the city, Nashik, to use the internet and pick up any missing essentials. I think I probably would not have come, and gone for a walk over a mountain (or hill) to the nearest town, Trimbak, instead. Alas, I could not do that. I had to sign up for my CASper exam. :( I am now booked to write it a week Wednesday. I hope it goes well!!!
About the ashram, it is great. It's fairly intense, in a peaceful, meditative way. We get up at 5 am every day and lights are officially out at 10:30, although ours are always out by about 9:30 or 10 at the latest. We do yoga asana practice for 4 hours a day: from 6-8 am and then from 4-6 pm. My body is sore from all the yoga! In between we have 3 hours of lectures and then time for self-study including assignments. It is school 6 days a week.
Yesterday we had an exam in yoga asanas (postures). It was pretty good, but weird. It is strange to have the examiners approach you and tell you to do a specific asana. The examiners count for you to come into the posture, time you for a certain amount of time that you must stay in (from 15 seconds up to 2 minutes), and count for you to come out. Yesterday was also a silent day. It was so hard to not talk after the exam. We all just wanted to compare our experiences, but there we were, in our own silent bubbles... haha everyone is super chatty today!
Today we were allowed to sleep in, but I woke up at 5 anyway. I lay in bed until about 5:30, but then I got up and went to the hall to do some yoga asana practice. It seems I am accustomed to this schedule now. I am also really enjoying the wholesome, vegetarian cuisine of the ashram. I am happy to report that quitting smoking has essentially been a total non-issue. Quitting caffeine was a bit of a headache, but not too bad either.
Getting to the ashram last week was a bit of an ordeal though! After my flight from Abu Dhabi I was absolutely exhausted. I met an Indian man, Yog, who had lived in Markham, Ontario for 5 years. Him and his wife, Soniya, live in Surat but his son, Parth, lives in Bombay. He offered for me to come and rest at his son's flat while I waited for my train. I was a bit nervous at first, but I asked if his wife was picking him up from the airport and he said yes. I got a good vibe from him, so I accepted.
Stepping into the arrivals at Mumbai was so intense, at 5am it was hot and sticky and dark! There were so many people there, I was so glad I had Yog to escort me (although I was still praying that they weren't actually some psychos and that I wasn't going to die!). We drove to his son's apartment where they gave me some tea and offered to make me a bed on the floor. I gratefully accepted and Soniya made me a bed on her son's floor where Parth and Yog were both already asleep in the bed. That was a bit odd for me, but I crawled under the blanket and rested my eyes. It was absolutely freezing in there! I felt like I was sleeping in a refrigerator the air con was turned up so high.
Soniya woke me up around 9 and gave me some coffee and toast. Then she showed me where the bank was so I could get some cash and she left me. I went and got some cash. Finding a taxi was quite horrible. I was still really tired and they were all trying to scam me. Luckily, this older gentleman helped me get one of the taxi drivers to take me on the meter. Bless that man! It took about an hour to get there, and I was a bit worried about the taxi driver, but I got there.
When I got to the train station all these men were talking to me. Trying to "help" me. It was a nuisance, but nothing more. They all thought I was trying to go to Goa, good thing I wasn't, because apparently I missed the train! Hahah... I got my train no problem. The train attendant came and sat in my booth with me. I think he was looking out for me. I think he bought me a chai, but I'm not sure. I got a chai for free at any rate! When I went to the washroom, I discovered why my back had been bothering me- I had my period. It really sucked because I couldn't for the life of me find any sanitary napkins or tampons or anything in my bag!! I just had to use the little tissue I had... gross.
Later I met a young man on the train. He was super nice and he invited me to his sister's wedding. Of course, I could not go, even if it was 10 days, as I would be in the ashram. He also said I could visit him and his wife in Bombay any time. Wow.
In Nashik I got a little rickshaw and then paid about 30 rupees too much (that's about 75c) for the ride to the ashram office. Oh well. The man and the girl working at the office were very kind. The girl took me to buy pads, and the man took me on his scooter to get photocopies of my passport and to get a sim card for my phone. It was pretty unreal riding on the back of a scooter in the India traffic. It was fun!
I had arrived at the office at 4 but I had to wait until 8:30 for the next ride to the ashram. It was a super long day, but I wasn't too fussed. At least I was safe and they fed me at the office and let me lay down on their little couch.
Once at the ashram I ended up getting my own room for the night (I don't feel like going into the details. Suffice to say, my roommates are very sound sleepers and could not be roused to open the door). I was (again!!!) so grateful for my own room. It meant I could shower and wash my gross, stinky clothes without any embarrassment.
Well, I should really leave it at that for now. I have to go eat lunch at the office before heading into the old part of Nashik to explore. I am excited, but a tad nervous to deal with all the chaos. Thankfully, this time I will not be alone!
Love to you all!
Hari Om
About the ashram, it is great. It's fairly intense, in a peaceful, meditative way. We get up at 5 am every day and lights are officially out at 10:30, although ours are always out by about 9:30 or 10 at the latest. We do yoga asana practice for 4 hours a day: from 6-8 am and then from 4-6 pm. My body is sore from all the yoga! In between we have 3 hours of lectures and then time for self-study including assignments. It is school 6 days a week.
Yesterday we had an exam in yoga asanas (postures). It was pretty good, but weird. It is strange to have the examiners approach you and tell you to do a specific asana. The examiners count for you to come into the posture, time you for a certain amount of time that you must stay in (from 15 seconds up to 2 minutes), and count for you to come out. Yesterday was also a silent day. It was so hard to not talk after the exam. We all just wanted to compare our experiences, but there we were, in our own silent bubbles... haha everyone is super chatty today!
Today we were allowed to sleep in, but I woke up at 5 anyway. I lay in bed until about 5:30, but then I got up and went to the hall to do some yoga asana practice. It seems I am accustomed to this schedule now. I am also really enjoying the wholesome, vegetarian cuisine of the ashram. I am happy to report that quitting smoking has essentially been a total non-issue. Quitting caffeine was a bit of a headache, but not too bad either.
Getting to the ashram last week was a bit of an ordeal though! After my flight from Abu Dhabi I was absolutely exhausted. I met an Indian man, Yog, who had lived in Markham, Ontario for 5 years. Him and his wife, Soniya, live in Surat but his son, Parth, lives in Bombay. He offered for me to come and rest at his son's flat while I waited for my train. I was a bit nervous at first, but I asked if his wife was picking him up from the airport and he said yes. I got a good vibe from him, so I accepted.
Stepping into the arrivals at Mumbai was so intense, at 5am it was hot and sticky and dark! There were so many people there, I was so glad I had Yog to escort me (although I was still praying that they weren't actually some psychos and that I wasn't going to die!). We drove to his son's apartment where they gave me some tea and offered to make me a bed on the floor. I gratefully accepted and Soniya made me a bed on her son's floor where Parth and Yog were both already asleep in the bed. That was a bit odd for me, but I crawled under the blanket and rested my eyes. It was absolutely freezing in there! I felt like I was sleeping in a refrigerator the air con was turned up so high.
Soniya woke me up around 9 and gave me some coffee and toast. Then she showed me where the bank was so I could get some cash and she left me. I went and got some cash. Finding a taxi was quite horrible. I was still really tired and they were all trying to scam me. Luckily, this older gentleman helped me get one of the taxi drivers to take me on the meter. Bless that man! It took about an hour to get there, and I was a bit worried about the taxi driver, but I got there.
When I got to the train station all these men were talking to me. Trying to "help" me. It was a nuisance, but nothing more. They all thought I was trying to go to Goa, good thing I wasn't, because apparently I missed the train! Hahah... I got my train no problem. The train attendant came and sat in my booth with me. I think he was looking out for me. I think he bought me a chai, but I'm not sure. I got a chai for free at any rate! When I went to the washroom, I discovered why my back had been bothering me- I had my period. It really sucked because I couldn't for the life of me find any sanitary napkins or tampons or anything in my bag!! I just had to use the little tissue I had... gross.
Later I met a young man on the train. He was super nice and he invited me to his sister's wedding. Of course, I could not go, even if it was 10 days, as I would be in the ashram. He also said I could visit him and his wife in Bombay any time. Wow.
In Nashik I got a little rickshaw and then paid about 30 rupees too much (that's about 75c) for the ride to the ashram office. Oh well. The man and the girl working at the office were very kind. The girl took me to buy pads, and the man took me on his scooter to get photocopies of my passport and to get a sim card for my phone. It was pretty unreal riding on the back of a scooter in the India traffic. It was fun!
I had arrived at the office at 4 but I had to wait until 8:30 for the next ride to the ashram. It was a super long day, but I wasn't too fussed. At least I was safe and they fed me at the office and let me lay down on their little couch.
Once at the ashram I ended up getting my own room for the night (I don't feel like going into the details. Suffice to say, my roommates are very sound sleepers and could not be roused to open the door). I was (again!!!) so grateful for my own room. It meant I could shower and wash my gross, stinky clothes without any embarrassment.
Well, I should really leave it at that for now. I have to go eat lunch at the office before heading into the old part of Nashik to explore. I am excited, but a tad nervous to deal with all the chaos. Thankfully, this time I will not be alone!
Love to you all!
Hari Om
Friday, October 8, 2010
waiting in abu dhabi
the abu dhabi airport is stifling. i feel like i am under an angel food cake pan. you know the one? with the hole in the centre, only if you're under it there is no hole. it's ornate, and quite beautiful with green and blue octagonal tile work, but there is something about the dome shape which makes you feel trapped. it makes the ceiling feel low, even though i'm sure it's actually quite high. i guess i kind of am trapped. for the next while anyway.
my next flight is only 3 hours and then i will be in india. i am nervous. i find the stares of the indian guys a little unnerving. it's somehow different from the arab stares... i'm not sure why. i guess i feel like arab men are easily shamed, but i have little to no experience with indian men. of course, i'm not saying they're all the same. i'm just refering to the leering ones, which are already a class of their own.
i met a saudi man in the smoking area. he is on his way home from toronto where he had been to take his son to university (u of t!). he gave me a dark chocolate cherry kashi bar- just like home! i will eat it when i'm starving in india, which will be in just a few hours i'm sure. for now i am still full from the meal fed to us on the flight from athens.
my flight can't come soon enough, and yet i dread it. i dread my arrival into india. rather, i am nervous. i feel anxious about getting to the train station where i will have to wait until noon for my train! i arrive in mumbai at 4:30 am. that's a lot of time to kill, while tired. sometimes i find myself in these types of situations and i think i must be crazy. crazy or stupid. i don't know which.
when i was looking at online forums about how to book a train in india last night, there were all these people asking questions about the protocal not just weeks in advance, but months and months in advance. then here's me, 2 days before i arrive trying to secure a spot. well, it worked, so i guess i'm lucky. in fact, i know i'm lucky.
last night i also thought i had a hostel reserved, but when i got to the hostel in istanbul they said they were full and my reservation had not gone through. i am amazed that i stayed perfectly calm, and i even felt cheerful, because i didn't really like the place. i found another place without too much ado and ended up having a mixed 13 bed dorm room all to myself. LUCKY! seriously. it was so nice too, because i had to get up really early this morning to catch my flight and this meant that i could repack my stuff at my leisure, using the other 12 beds for my stuff, if i wanted. also, in the night i was cold, so i took a blanket from another bed. a luxury i would not have had had the room been full!!
anyway, i guess i'll go check on the status of my flight. sorry i can't incorporate pictures. i took a picture of the airport, i hope it works out. it really is something else.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
the real hamam experience
Yesterday I went to a Turkish bath, or hamam, with Ümit's sister, Dönüş. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't like the hamam in Van!
It's really just a big public bath filled with (mostly) older, heavy half-naked women dousing themselves with water and scrubbing their skin; furiously, vigorously, almost violently until it burns pink. There are all these marble basins constantly filling (and overflowing!) with water, each one with a ewer so you can pour the water over yourself. The din is astounding as all the woman yell and squint at each other over the sound of the water and through the mist.
Dönüş and I paid the extra to have the scrub and massage from a professional (otherwise you can just do it yourself). A heavy woman of about 40, wearing white panties scrubbed me down. She looked serious and a little tired, but nice. Her hands were all pruned from working in the steam all day, the rest of her skin looked soft. I was wearing a bikini, but she ordered me to remove my top and then had me lie, face up, arms over my head on a marble slab in the middle of the room while she scrubbed me down. I felt like a snake shedding her skin- almost painfully. Because of my little bike incident last week my legs are covered in bruises. This did not stop her from scrubbing those down too. I thought I might cry from the pain, but I just bit my lip and bore it. Then she had me flip over so she could do my back and then sit up so she could scrub my arms. The arms felt really great!
After being scrubbed/pumiced, I was told (with actions) to go rinse off while she did the same to Dönüş. Then I went back for the massage where again, she accosted my shins. While she was massaging my neck, her boobs were hanging in my face- occasionally touching. Really... a truly odd experience for me. I felt very clean after, if not a little abused. I'm not sure I dig the whole Turkish bath, but I'm glad I tried it.
It's really just a big public bath filled with (mostly) older, heavy half-naked women dousing themselves with water and scrubbing their skin; furiously, vigorously, almost violently until it burns pink. There are all these marble basins constantly filling (and overflowing!) with water, each one with a ewer so you can pour the water over yourself. The din is astounding as all the woman yell and squint at each other over the sound of the water and through the mist.
Dönüş and I paid the extra to have the scrub and massage from a professional (otherwise you can just do it yourself). A heavy woman of about 40, wearing white panties scrubbed me down. She looked serious and a little tired, but nice. Her hands were all pruned from working in the steam all day, the rest of her skin looked soft. I was wearing a bikini, but she ordered me to remove my top and then had me lie, face up, arms over my head on a marble slab in the middle of the room while she scrubbed me down. I felt like a snake shedding her skin- almost painfully. Because of my little bike incident last week my legs are covered in bruises. This did not stop her from scrubbing those down too. I thought I might cry from the pain, but I just bit my lip and bore it. Then she had me flip over so she could do my back and then sit up so she could scrub my arms. The arms felt really great!
After being scrubbed/pumiced, I was told (with actions) to go rinse off while she did the same to Dönüş. Then I went back for the massage where again, she accosted my shins. While she was massaging my neck, her boobs were hanging in my face- occasionally touching. Really... a truly odd experience for me. I felt very clean after, if not a little abused. I'm not sure I dig the whole Turkish bath, but I'm glad I tried it.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Istanbul
I have to check out in a few minutes, but I thought I would just provide a quick update.
After my posting on Wednesday I went and rented a bike. I'm kind of a nervous nelly on the bike, and the guys renting me the bike could tell, so they gave me this small red cruiser and put the seat super low... yes, like a child. I felt a little silly on my kids bike, but it's not so different from my childlike ride in van I suppose (my little blue bike).
I rode for awhile along the coast and stopped at a beach for a swim and a think. I was actually feeling a little bit down, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I guess it was a mixture of lack of purpose and worry about the future. Finishing my application to U of C got me thinking about what my chances really are, and whether or not this is something I want to do...
Well, I decided that I was probably partly depressed because I was hungry, so I decided to ride back into town. On my way back in, I was peacefully cruising and looking behind at something when I somehow managed to veer into the adjacent wall. I went flying! I got up and all I had was a minuscule cut on my leg and my right knee was throbbing. Luckily, I was wearing longer pants so I didn't scrape it. Anyway, the chain had come off, so I turned the bike over to get it back on (it was quite stuck). I proceeded to get very dirty and covered in grease, only to discover the bike was not ride-able, since I'd managed to crumple the whole front end in. I guess that's what happens when you run into a wall... brilliant! I walked the bike back to the rental place (luck was on my side again, since I was only about a block and half away) and lied and told them a story involving pedestrians. Not just to save face: but hopefully to minimize cost as well. I think it worked... I got charged, but only 35 euro. They were very nice and concerned about me. They were impressed that I didn't break anything or even really hurt myself.
...
so lots has happened even since then, but I'm running out of time and I'm in Istanbul now. Stayed in this hostel last night, my first time in a hostel since I was 21 traveling with Simon. It's just as I remember! Cramped, a little dirty, but lots of company. So I'm going to leave it at that. I'm going exploring today with an Aussie I met, Johnny.
Gule gule.
After my posting on Wednesday I went and rented a bike. I'm kind of a nervous nelly on the bike, and the guys renting me the bike could tell, so they gave me this small red cruiser and put the seat super low... yes, like a child. I felt a little silly on my kids bike, but it's not so different from my childlike ride in van I suppose (my little blue bike).
I rode for awhile along the coast and stopped at a beach for a swim and a think. I was actually feeling a little bit down, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I guess it was a mixture of lack of purpose and worry about the future. Finishing my application to U of C got me thinking about what my chances really are, and whether or not this is something I want to do...
Well, I decided that I was probably partly depressed because I was hungry, so I decided to ride back into town. On my way back in, I was peacefully cruising and looking behind at something when I somehow managed to veer into the adjacent wall. I went flying! I got up and all I had was a minuscule cut on my leg and my right knee was throbbing. Luckily, I was wearing longer pants so I didn't scrape it. Anyway, the chain had come off, so I turned the bike over to get it back on (it was quite stuck). I proceeded to get very dirty and covered in grease, only to discover the bike was not ride-able, since I'd managed to crumple the whole front end in. I guess that's what happens when you run into a wall... brilliant! I walked the bike back to the rental place (luck was on my side again, since I was only about a block and half away) and lied and told them a story involving pedestrians. Not just to save face: but hopefully to minimize cost as well. I think it worked... I got charged, but only 35 euro. They were very nice and concerned about me. They were impressed that I didn't break anything or even really hurt myself.
...
so lots has happened even since then, but I'm running out of time and I'm in Istanbul now. Stayed in this hostel last night, my first time in a hostel since I was 21 traveling with Simon. It's just as I remember! Cramped, a little dirty, but lots of company. So I'm going to leave it at that. I'm going exploring today with an Aussie I met, Johnny.
Gule gule.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)