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