It feels strange to go back to sleep this morning while everyone gets up and goes to practice, but I'm off for a few days. I know this will be a good opportunity to settle into my new room, rest, and catch up on a few things I need to do. I get up and start to unpack, hanging up my crumpled clothes and organizing my stuff. This is starting to feel more like home already! Maybe later I will get a little electric kettle (and another new mug!) so I can make tea in my room.
I head out on a nice, long walk to Barista, a Starbucks-type place where I've heard they have wireless internet. I figure I can avoid the huge after-practice breakfast scene that will be going on at Santosha and respond to some emails. Of course, I keep running into friends on the way and stopping to chat, so the 15-20 minute walk takes well over an hour. It seems funny to me now that when I got here I was afraid I'd be lonely! When I get there, I find out they don't have wireless at this location, only at the Barista in Mysore. Oh well. I'm pretty hot from the walk and order an iced mocha (yes, I know, dessert coffee for breakfast? Bad lady! I have started drinking coffee here, once in a while... hopefully it will not turn into a habit that follows me home). A girl walks in and asks if I am here for some kind of club, which I'm not, but we sit down and chat while she waits for her friends and I wait for my coffee. When the kind barista guy brings it I sort of shake it, rattling the ice, and then set it on the table. He comes back and tells me I can take the lid off and stir it. "Okay, thank you," I say, and then I guess since I'm not doing that, he proceeds to take the lid off my drink, take my straw in his hand, and stir it. "That's great, thanks," I say, trying to get him to stop, but he continues to stir it for a long time. A long, looooong time. The girl and I exchange surprised looks... Ha! It's pretty funny but I'm not sure what to do, because I don't want to drink out of that straw now, and then it suddenly occurs to me that I probably shouldn't have ordered something with ice, anyway. I haven't seen anything with ice in it since I've been here, not even at the pool at the fancy hotel. Hmmm... What to do? Every moment, even at the "Indian Starbucks," is some kind of interesting experience here!
After Barista, I walk down the street to Loyal World, a grocery and shop where I think I might be able to get a little kettle and a few things for my room. The guard stops me and wants me to leave my backpack, which has my laptop in it. No way, Jose! I've found that if I just say no they'll usually let me take my bag into places, but today this guy isn't giving in. I'm not giving in either, so I'll have to do my shopping later. I head back to the patio at Barista, sit outside for a few minutes, and catch up on my blog entries.
Well, that's another morning in Mysore. 2.5 hours later, pretty much all I've done is walk up the street, buy a coffee that I can't drink, buy another coffee that I do drink, walk to a store that I don't shop in, and now it's time to head home since I've made plans to meet a friend for lunch. What a luxury to have this kind of time to wander! It's a beautiful day and I'm happy to be here and to have the opportunity to spend my days this way for a while. It may not always be easy, but it sure is an amazing experience!
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Shelley, When I read your comments about days like this, and the experience trying to make yourself a cup of tea, it makes me marvel that anything much gets done in India, and yet it is one of the fasting growing economies in the world. But you have the right attitude, and the time, not to let it bother you too much when you spend a whole morning getting little accomplished. Marilyn
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