Its still hot, but there are noodles.

It is yet to rain. But, in the meantime, I've found another thing that makes me happy: Noodles in a bag.

Sometimes its easy to get tired of hostel fare, but everything from mcdonalds to subway delivers, so that is comforting during these hard times. Last night I discovered the joys of "Tibet Kitchen," after ordering a big bag of noodles for the equivalent of $1.10.

I even took pictures.

Today continues to be hot.

Today was hot again. Whilst my home institution has been locking students into their dorms so they don't die from hurricane Irene, I have been enviously withering. I exaggerate, obviously, but this heat does tend to suck energy from you, and naps, along with hurricanes, have become very appealing.

But there is a glimmer of hope. Whereas hope generally comes in the form of a ray of sunlight, my hope comes in the form of clouds. Dark, ominous, clouds. I pray aloud for thunderstorms.

In case anyone was wondering about the numbers, its cooled down since last month, but the last week has been in the high 90s, feeling like the 100s.

Nothing to do but listen to Foux du Fafa with my French friend. 

Today was hot, yesterday I played golf.

Today was hot. The universe seemed determined not to let me leave the hostel, so I didn't push it (for a while it even hid my room key from me so I couldn't go far). But I learned that just because its hot and I don't have plans doesn't mean it is going to be a miserable day. Unfortunately, as the most exciting things I did were meditate (which was fun but I'm not going to go into that right now) and read a great article about community wind power in Japan, which is a really cool concept because Japanese environmental policy really hinders wind power, so there are these community projects and they're designed to get a sense of ownership, like names inscribed on the turbine, getting cuts of the electrical bill too I think, and I really think we should start that in the US, but anyway...Unless you want to hear about that, I don't have a whole lot to say about today.

So I'll talk about yesterday.

Yesterday, I played golf. By played golf I mean hit balls for about the fourth time in my life. Most surprising to me, was that I actually did pretty well considering. (I even got a mini golf lesson from my friend's friend).

So here are some pictures, and if it works, a video of me being silly and hitting golf balls.

This is a deer eating out of a trash can. I didn't get my camera out in time to catch it eating leaves...

Look! Green!

Lets hope this video works....

I had this great blog post started in my head. It was beautiful, flowed seamlessly, and provoked thought. Unfortunately, only parts of it are left in my head.

India can be very intense. Intense noise, intense heat, intense traffic, intense people, intense just about everything. What I'm saying is, my so-called "honeymoon period" is over. The time that everything is bright and shiny and new and now lets go home. So this noise, traffic, austere dorm rooms, all of that that seemed in some strange way charming, has lost its shiny newness.

I have discovered I'm actually going to live here. This is a somewhat new idea to me. And when I think of it, its generally followed by some form of intensity, be it intense heat, or intense homesickness.

But thats not the end of the story. I have so many things to look forward to. I have yoga in the mornings, golfing on the horizon (yes, I'm planning on taking up a bit of golf whilst in India), traveling to various places with various friends and clubs, and some schoolwork that interests me. India has these things to offer plus:
Pirated movies
Cows in the street
Elephants in the street
Nice clothing
Yummy food
Lizards
Appreciation for heated and chilled things

Being lazy and just putting up pictures

Here are pictures: (Taken at GK 1, M block market)

History Assignment-For my IR major friends

As I am sitting semi-despairingly in Aarushi's room trying to prepare our history assignment, I can only ascribe the optimistic side of me to Professor Acuff.

Professor Acuff, for his exams, would give us 6-10 essay questions that corresponded to specific readings. One or two would appear as the long essay on the exam, some would be transformed into short answer questions, and one would be eliminated in class. This meant, that to prepare for these tests, we needed to go through and outline every essay, finding the arguments and the evidence.

This history assignment is rather the same. We are given two questions, are are permitted to come into class September 9th and write a 6-7 page essay on either. Aarushi and I have decided to go with:

Recent writings on the 18th century have considerably altered our understanding of the period. Elaborate.

My feelings are only half consoled by my practice with Professor Acuff. This exam requires not the reading through specifically written articles, but through books that I for one haven't read because I don't want to read four books per week for one subject. These books are dense, and even when you manage to find a good one, that goes through the twenty historians' arguments you need to discuss, there is still the unavoidable fact that the subject is inexplicably dull. I wondered if it was simply the reaction of an International Relations major, but even when dealing with two states somehow the interesting points are overwhelmed by way too much detail and I start to understand that true passionate historians must be rather crazy.

I like simple, neat arguments. I understand the necessity for depth and complexity certainly, but I like for it to be approached in an organized way. History to me seems like a mix of random facts all loosely held together and seemingly of equal importance and then somehow you end up with soup. How are you supposed to find out what causes the soup to be spicy? The peppers? the spices? and you only have your taste buds to determine. Thats how I feel about history. Basically, I'm nostalgic for actual outlines. 

Weekend with Aarushi!

This long weekend I have escaped the hostel to spend the weekend with my friend Aarushi!

That means (along with her wonderful company), that I got to enjoy my first hot shower in a month. I haven't been missing them too much in the 90 degree plus heat, but it was a treat I didn't realize I missed until standing greedily in the warm water.

Having a three day weekend also means ample time for watching movies (that you can get at good quality pirated for about 2.50), artsy stuff: painting and a photography workshop tomorrow, and sweet food. I even slept in until 8. A rare feat. 

Conflict Transformation Peace Building

One of my classes is a one-year diploma course in Conflict Transformation Peace Building. It is a course for students from my college, other colleges, and other professionals. It is the only class offered at Lady Shri Ram College where boys are allowed (gasp!), and by boys I mean four.

I know there is a good chance that I will like anything in which the political science professors organize constructivist introductions. I'm not joking, the first question was: What are your three primary identities? Mine were a spiritual seeker, global citizen, and environmentalist (explaining that I've always been termed an environmentalist but never claimed the title - as I'm now researching the politics of renewable energy, and hope to do work in international environmental protection, I suppose I have to start exploring that identity at some point. Until now it has been limited in scope to someone who likes the outdoors). I may have been the only woman who didn't claim a woman as an identity, honestly because until coming here I haven't thought much about feminism outside of relationships and enjoying Ani Difranco. I noticed none of the men listed "a man" as one of their identities.

The course throughout the year will cover several topics. First, an introduction to conflict analysis and conflict transformation (transformation-not resolution). Second, skill building: dialogue, mediation, facilitation, and negotiation. Third, violence, nonviolence, and conflict transformation. Finally, Human rights, gender, justice, and reconciliation. The first three will be done simultaneously in the first semester, the last gets a semester all to itself. Which is not to say the load will lighten up. We get to do an internship in the second semester, which will I think be very interesting, but also is supposed to be 30 hours per week for two months. Additionally, we have a research methods component and a research project in which more than gathering articles and writing is expected. Though I have months to decide, for today, I'm interested in the individual and community healing processes of conflict, perhaps involving Tibetans who fled from China. Expected for a thesis "of publishable quality" would be traveling to take interviews, etc.

All in all, it should be very interesting. The class meets Tuesdays and Fridays 4-6pm, and Saturdays 10-12. I suppose for most people this would be unreasonable, but as I like to be in bed by ten and sleeping in means waking up at 7, I really don't mind. I still plan on traveling, just making sure I get back for Tuesday's class. I don't plan on missing many of these, the informal seminar style and interesting topic will undoubtedly awake that nerdy side of me that takes true enjoyment out of these things. 

Because I haven't posted in a few days, and because I just feel like it, I decided to write a post that has little to do with India.

I'm writing about dreams. The extent that this has to do with India is limited to that when I get a bit down, I like to think about my dreams. But I do that in the US too.

I was getting to know my friend XiXi the first few days here, and she asked me, as a get to know you question, what would you do/how would you live your life were you to be able to construct it in your ideal, not limited by time, money, anything.

I think as a result of my high school experience, both the learning and leaving home at 14, I've come up with this dream that has stuck with me now for 3-4 years. If I were to idealize my future, it would be in a small house in a large field, where perhaps the only neighbor I could see would be family. I model it after New Hampshire, and the outdoor lifestyle there, though with an active organic farming community, cultural engagements, local friends, and peace of a simple rural life. One change, perhaps, would be the towards 3-4 rather than 5-6 months of winter. At the same time, I'm doing work in international environmental protection that actually makes a positive difference in some way. Don't ask me how, this is an ideal world. I generally say I commute into a city at least some days of the week else work from home. This dream is beautiful to me, and yet seemingly so much time must pass before I can realize it. But when the heat, humidity, dusty, drab, and dinginess of my dorm in India get to me, this green peaceful home is comforting. 

Running, or, Marching Up and Down the Square

Last year, I trained for an ran a marathon, installing that as an institution in my life. If I was out on a Saturday night, I'd generally get back to my room around ten, citing the need to wake up at seven to go for a run on New Hampshire's freezing snowmobile trails the next morning. Often, this excuse worked better than "I just like to go to bed early." 

 I like running in pretty places anytime, but I really enjoy a run once its passed the seven mile mark, which is when I get over whatever body chemistry makes you feel crappy and in pain. 

This year is not looking good for the prospect of running. First, Delhi isn't really a pedestrian friendly city, the constant traffic necessitates bravery and skill for the simplest of street crossings. This, compounded upon the fact that Delhi isn't really safe for a white woman to go running on her own, make running outside of the college near impossible. As a second consideration, the college itself has a "fitness camp" in the morning, where participants jog back and forth a hundred meter stretch of dirt about six times. There is just no way I can handle running for more than five minutes on hundred meter loops. Thirdly, there is also the present temperature to consider. 

These factors lead most people to take walks. The limited space in which to do so reminds me of a Jane Austin book in which ladies take turns around the garden or parlor for some refreshment. Simultaneously, it reminds me of the Monty Python skit about marching up and down the square. Any substantial walk requires several loops, wherever you go on campus. This evening, as I went to the rear lawn and walked up and down the length of it, back and forth at about three foot intervals, my feelings reminded me of Monty Python.

In the skit, the drill sergeant asks if there is anything anyone would rather be doing than marching up and down the square. One speaks up and says he has a book he'd like to finish, and the sergeant lets him go. One by one people come up with excuses, which leaves just the drill sergeant marching up and down the square. 

As I've said, I enjoy running, and intend to run another marathon upon my return to the US. But this prospect of not running for a year is kind of daunting. To be blunt, all women feel to some extent the pressures of having a model body. While I'm small, I'm never going to have that "perfect" kind of body. I've derived my self-confidence, as relates to body image, in part from my body's abilities. I've always been stronger than the boys in PE since gymnastics when I was young. Then came rock climbing, then came skiing, then came cycling, and finally running a marathon. My legs may not be so small in skinny jeans but they can take me twenty miles. So the prospect of returning home and being sore after a three mile run, when so recently I could do fifteen without a complaint, is one that is sticky in my mind, and an experience I expect to be humbling else ego-shattering. 

But there is something to be learned in all this. Until I can get back to the snowmobile trails of New Hampshire in zero degree weather in January, I'll have to content myself with walking up and down the square, yoga classes, and truly coming to acceptance with myself. 

Freedom and Movement

In my life now there is a strange dichotomy in the idea of movement and freedom.

I love riding in auto rickshaws. I don't know why, but I really enjoy it, and whenever I'm not in a rush, I'm always sad when the ride is over. I may feel differently in January, but at the moment I like the wind, to see things, and most of the time the drivers are amiable. I love that using autos you can go basically anywhere. If you have an idea of where you're going, or the driver does, you can be delivered right to the front door, so thats an advantage over even european public transportation. If you don't know where your going, and neither does the driver, and you can't understand each other, the driver will pull over to ask another driver or a vendor, who generally sorts things out. So using autos, I can basically get anywhere in Delhi I want for less than two dollars.

I also enjoy the campus. In the back of the school, its quiet and peaceful, and I like to go to sit and meditate and listen to music in the mornings and evenings. At night it gets cool, and its nice to sit and watch the moon rise as the sun sets. I feel very comfortable there alone. The college is walled in and chicken wired all around with guards at the gates, and the whole wall is probably a half mile loop. So its really strange for me to be told by my professor on a walk that I ought to move to a less shrubby place, because "there are more than mosquitos out." I don't quite understand this, am I not to trust the people the school has allowed to live within its walls? Like the cafeteria workers? Janitorial staff? whose families live in apartments just behind the residence hall and who sit in front of the residence to make sure strangers don't wander in? Are mad jungle cats going to emerge?
Finding my own space on campus is near impossible if I rule out sitting on the wide open lawns within fifteen foot walls. My room is the size of a single room for two people, and is uncomfortably hot without an air conditioner. The college completely closes down on weekends, which leaves no open rooms to study, the library being also closed. Today I sat at the picknick tables next to the closed cafe stand to do some homework, and felt as though the idea of sitting outside and doing homework was a strange thing in the minds of the people working nearby.

Indian independence day is tomorrow. Will I be going to a parade? Enjoying festivities? Tasting street food or visiting markets? No, I'll be laying low, because according to girls in the hostel, its too dangerous. I'll be doing homework. Or something to that effect. 

With little to write...

Today was spent mostly meditating, homeworking at a coffee shop, and hanging out with a friend. So for lack of something to write about, here are a few pictures:

Thats supposed to be a picture of a cat, he's in there. We have cats on campus.

This bird I'm calling a crow because though it looks a little different, it seems to serve about the same purpose, and makes a lot of noise. 

I just like this picture. 

My friend Aarushi and her dog :) 

Going to the movies in India and the idea of Sharing

Going to the movies is something commonly done, both in the US and India. Even the movies we watch are the same. On this day, my Indian friend and I went to see Harry Potter (me, for the second time, because it was just that good).

When going to the movies in India, one confronts many things that create the feeling of being in an incredibly strange place, though in reality they are small details that only contradict a lifetime of social conditioning.
1. The line to the box office: The idea of a line in India seems, from my own experience, to be respected until about the first five people, at which point you need to be somewhat aggressive to a degree that would be considered socially offensive and rude in the US. Also, you get a seat assignment, like a play, with your ticket.
2. Security: After the IEDs in Mumbai this July, Delhi has been on heightened alert. Everywhere you go, markets, metro, tourist places, there are things that look like metal detectors with people manning them. The confusing part is, you walk through, they go off, and no one seems at all concerned. At some places, such as this movie theatre, you also get a pat down and your bag searched (there is a special line for ladies).
3. Food you can get at the concession shop: Here I have to say, India is winning. Mostly because they have Haggian Das (how do you spell that?) ice cream pints.
4. Intermission: All movies have an intermission, when you can go and get food, or they come around and take your order.
5. Cell phones: I always liked the new "silence your cell phone" announcements in the US theaters, when there is some famous scene up and half of it you hear the lines and the other half of the lines are supposed to be someone's conversation in the audience. Never in the US have I ever heard a phone go off in a theater, let alone someone answer it. Maybe texting, but here, I've been to two movies, and during each there was someone who started having a conversation, not bothering to leave the theater or hush it up at all, and thats just a bit strange to me.

What I may have experienced as far as what I would consider to be rude, has to be compared to the culture of sharing. I was socially conditioned to respect the line, not disturb others in public places, etc. My sharing teaching ended after elementary school's "did you bring enough for everyone?" Here, I may be in a classroom with people I've never talked to, but if they have crackers, everyone, EVERYONE, gets crackers. You like a necklace? Here, wear it for a while. I bought a new skirt, come borrow it from me whenever you want.

Or most strikingly, I was explaining how I don't like breakfast in the mess (I'm near religiously opposed to white wonder bread, pale yolked eggs, and corn flakes with a heaping spoonful of crystalized sugar, generally looking on these foods as somewhat of a moral failing) so I bring my own cereal. A girl responded that she wants to do that, but doesn't bring her own because she doesn't want to share. It never occurred to me to offer cereal to people with plates of food at breakfast. And this was after I (American) was coming back from an ashram and she (Indian) was coming back from the mall. So thats a confusing cultural situation right there.

How to go shopping

While there are certainly more comprehensive essays on the subject, here is my example from today.

My friend and I needed white kurtas, dark blue jeans, and big green scarves that have a name I forgot, because we're singing for the Indian Independence Day celebration tomorrow.

We went out first to a market called GK1 - M Block (there are M and N block markets, N is smaller but quieter and cleaner). These markets aren't the typical Indian thing, they're more like an outdoor mall, though M block has small vendors in between shops with which you can haggle for clothes and jewelry. Here you'll find those haggling stalls between stores like Levis and Esprit, which are priced equivalent to American prices.

Yes, I did actually buy a pair of jeans from Levis, but I justified this on a few grounds: I need a pair of dark jeans for my performance tomorrow, you really have to try skinny jeans on, and I'm going to wear them for the next 5-7 years. At the same time, I bought a pair of sandals haggled from 400 to 280 rs (say 8 dollars). Okay my friend who speaks hindi helped.

Instead of getting our kurtas at a good quality indian store (fabindia), we went to Lajpat Nagar Market, which is exactly what you think of when it comes to Indian markets, filled with vendors in stalls, people walking up and down the roads selling things, as well as old people, cripples, children, and women with babies begging for money, and breaking your heart.

We went to a stall and asked for white kurtas, which were neither perfectly clean, nor our size or with the sleeves we needed. But we got them anyway. Why? because if you just walk a little bit down a sketchy alleyway, there is a man with a sewing machine who will tailor the cheap kurta perfectly to your size and specifications (well, if you can speak to him in hindi...so my friend handled that).

I'll put up pictures of all different markets and metro soon, I just haven't been around with my camera yet. They're very diverse: Select Citywalk Mall is actually three malls with three floors and at least two hotels that makes you think you've magically returned to the US, Sarojini is the typical bartering market, and great to find kurtas and anything else for 100 rs (2.50). Khan market is some of the priciest land in Delhi, with stores like the Body Shop, but still you have all the colorful features of indian public buildings, which is to say looking kinda problematic from the outside. 

Things that are American

Indian independence day is this Monday, the 15th, and the Western Music Society is performing in the Independence Day celebration this Friday. We're singing a cheesy song called "hymn to freedom," with lines like:

When every heart joins every heart and together yearns for liberty, thats when we'll be free....

One girl downstairs was complaining that this song is "so American," and strange to sing for the Indian independence day. It is true, the song is rather reminiscent of what you'd sing in elementary school, only with harmonies. But I guess it is the Western Music Society. 

Apparently, according to my French friend, both dental floss and college apparel fall under the category of things that are "so American." 

I look forward to adding things to this list. What inspired this post is that I was recently told that I'm a good American, and I'm trying to figure out what that means. Perhaps its because I'm patriotic about half of the time, or floss my teeth, but regardless, I guess I'm doing my share of public diplomacy for the three weeks I've been here. 

I just realized that I bet my Indian friends would love the Fifty Nifty United States song that everyone who went to public school learned in fifth grade... this will be funny. 

Photos from Freshers

I promised silly pictures from last night, so here you go:

Margaux (from France) won the best dressed award for her sari

Rose, Margaux, me and Michri

Michri, Margaux, Rose, me

and again

I wasn't here for this, but it looks like they had a bollywood rave...

Freshers

There is some sort of ritual event here called "Freshers," which welcomes the freshman class into the department. In addition to Freshers organized by department, tonight was the hostel (dorm)'s fresher. In addition to going through every freshman personally introducing themselves in the auditorium (a process which took a long time not only because of the number of people but because Indians seem to want to put their two cents in about everything instead of the usual awkward "my name is and I'm a freshman."), there were also dances and songs from all areas of India.

For some reason, a lot of my friends come from the North Eastern states of Assam or Meghalaya, so it was cool to hear their music (and watch them get super excited about it, my friends can be rather rambunctious).

It was also super cool to see everyone in their traditional clothes, though a lot of the sari wearers needed help finding someone who actually knew how to wear a sari. It was like when boys have to wear ties for formal occasions but don't actually know how to tie the knot, just leave it in from the last time they wore one. In traditional American style, I borrowed a black dress. I was going to go in jeans and say that was traditional American clothes, but this was more formal and maybe more accurate.

I'll post come classic girl facebook style pictures of my friends in their traditional outfits when my camera is returned to me, probably with a hundred more pictures on it. 

Day trip to Noida

Today I went on my first adventure alone after a morning of boredom and bothering people - Margaux finally told me I should just go on my own. Granted, the hour and a half trip was mostly spent in the "ladies only" car of the Delhi metro, but I'm still counting it as a little adventure.

Here are some pictures of the Yogoda Satsanga Society Ashram in Noida:

The ashram is only a year old from what I understand, and it looks like they have a lot of space for retreat people but I only saw one monk the whole time I was there, which surprised me, so the others must have been hiding I'd guess. 

Laundry

One of the first things I encountered that was different from my expectations here was laundry. Having lived away from home since I was fourteen, I've found that in order to live comfortably in a dorm you need to know only a few things: Where is your room, where is the key to your room, where is the bathroom, and where is the laundry room. These are the only things you need to find out the first day.

My expectations about laundry were confused by a conversation that is repeated below (abridged):

Where is the laundry room?
Downstairs, you just give it to the washer woman.
We don't do our own laundry?
Oh yea, we do our own laundry.
So where are the washing machines?

This is where we get to the clash between expectations and reality. There are no washing machines. Laundry is done either by giving it to the washer woman, who will wash any piece for 8 rupees (round up and say 20 cents), or you do it yourself, in the shower, in a bucket.
I'd hand washed clothes before when I went to Nicaragua, and there was a communal wash board and sink where dishes and clothes were cleaned, but there is no wash board here, just a bucket.

The other purpose the buckets serve is for bathing. Lady Shri Ram College for Women has been ranked the best liberal arts college in India for two years in a row now, and before that has been within the top three, playing back and forth with a few other schools each year. For such a brand name institution, one would think that the dorm, which is extremely competitive to get into, would have things like washing machines, or shower heads. I am actually extremely lucky in that the four foreign students in the dorm live together. Our two double rooms (well, single sized double rooms) connect, we share a balcony, and a bathroom with a western toilet and a telephone shower head. The other girls, who share the hall bathrooms, get the indian squat toilets and spickets in the shower stalls which they use to fill their buckets and pour over themselves with handled cups.

Indian speech and manerisms

One of the really confusing things upon my arrival was the asking of basic yes or no questions and getting answers I had to decipher.

Perhaps the most famous Indian manerism is the "Indian head roll," which is something like a diagonal head shake, or a bobble head movement. Hearing that this can be interpreted widely, encompassing yes, no, I don't know, and maybe, I felt a certain level of confusion when receiving it in response to questions like: Can I take this class?

My conclusions are that the Indian head roll is an affirmation, though it looks like one is shaking their head "no."

Another element of Indian speech is the ending of sentences with a "yes" or a "no." For example: You are a third year, yes? The store is this way, no? Only they say yes and no in Hindi. For no, this is pretty strait forward even to someone who doesn't speak Hindi: The store is this way, nay?

The yes, on the other hand, caused the same kind of confusion as did the Indian head roll: Can I take this class? haang. The problem was that haang (yes) sounds a lot like huh in english, which generally means I'll think about it.

I find now that my speech is changing to incorporate some of these speech patterns, but not yet fully. Instead, I find myself sort of halfway between Indian speech patterns and english. For example, where one might say: We're going to the market, haang? I find myself saying: We're going to the market, ya?

I obviously need to work on making the jump to actually speaking the hindi...

And now for something completely different...well, educational

Yes, I am transcribing my Indian Philosophy notes for you all. Why? because I think its so interesting that its hard to think of it as a class...for that reason as well as the near to zero outside reading...well, that I'm aware of in any case.

(Yes this was dictated, over the course of several days - the students have to take exams and basically know some of this stuff word for word...weird if you ask me but as its interesting I don't mind all that much, but will if it continues past today.)

General Characteristics of Indian Philosophy
Diversities and varieties among the nine schools of indian philosophy are such that there is hardly any point to which all of them agree. yet, we will attempt to find some points which are common concerns for most of the schools.

1. Practical motive present in all systems. One of the most important points of agreement is that in India all systems regard philosophy as a practical necessity and cultivate it in order to understand how life can be best led. The aim of philosophical wisdom is not merely the satisfaction of intellectual curiosity, but mainly an enlightened life.

2. Pessimism in Indian philosophy is initial, not final. Indian philosophy is pessimistic in the sense that it begins under a sense of discomfort at the existing order of things. But no Indian system stops with this picture. The essence of the Buddha's enlightenment ranging from the painful view of the world to the cessation of the pain, summs up the real view of every Indian school in this respect.

3. Belief in an internal moral order. Indian philosophy believes in an internal moral order, which pervades individuals, objects, nature, and the cosmos as a whole. It stands as the basis of cosmic harmony and acts as the substratum of moral principles.

4. The law of Karma. All schools of Indian philosophy accept the law of karma. according to this law, every action produces its fruit in due course of time, and the doer must suffer or enjoy from the same. This law helps explain differences among individuals. there are three kinds of karma accepted: Karma that has already produced its results, Karma that has not yet been fruitified, and Karma that has yet to be performed. Thus, the law of karma keeps provision both for free will and for destiny.

5. The universe as a moral stage. The body, the sense organs, an the motor organs that an individual gets and the circumstances that he finds himself in are the endowment of nature according to his karma. All get the "dress" and the "part" that befit them, and are to act well to deserve well in the future.

6. Indian thinkers opine that ignorance of reality is the cause of our bondage and suffering, and that liberation from those can't be attained without knowledge of reality. Bondage refers to the cycle of rebirth and the suffering that follows, whereas liberation is the end of this cycle and the consequent freedom from pain.

7. Due to its practical nature, indian philosophy believes in continued meditation on the truths learned in order to remove deep-rooted false beliefs. This led to the development of an elaborate technique fully explained in the yoga system. But yoga, in the sense of concentration and self-control, is not confined to that system only. It is found in Buddhism, Jainism, Sakya, Vedanta, and others.

I hope you enjoy my philosophy class. 

August 3

Beyond the familiar state of exhaustion, heat, and confusion, I can see the universe arranging itself for my comfort. Though the day started in the usual okay, not happy not sad, kind of way, I made friends in class by passing notes, overcame the lunch time exhaustion, negotiated some minor errands around campus, sang for two hours with the Western Music Society, and spent another hour and a half or so exploring the overgrown edges of the campus lawns.

How was I able to grow happier throughout the course of the day when yesterday I couldn't? For those of you who aren't familiar, welcome to this side of me: near constant meditation. In the morning, I meditated for ten minutes, and then slacked off while I was in class, and by lunch was exhausted, but since napping didn't work, and outside in the shade was a few degrees cooler than in my room, I went out again, meditated and felt better. It got to the point that I was reading a book and each paragraph took one meditative breath. By 7 I'd actually sat down to meditate four times, rather than the usual one, and kept my attention on meditative remembrances and breathing during the time in between. Now its nine o'clock, I am happy, and have energy to do things, which is a first since I've been here. 

Tomorrow morning, I'll wake up at 7:30 to do a short run and meet a marathoner who organizes several running clubs around Delhi. The sports coordinator here wants me to run a marathon for Lady Shri Ram College while I'm here. I'd love to, but not in this heat. But there is promise, as these running clubs would give me both the impetus and the safety in Delhi to go and run, which I find relaxing and rewarding. 

My friend and I are going on Sunday to Noida (an hour outside of Delhi) to visit an ashram of the Yogoda Satsanga Society (to those who know, the Indian name for the Self Realization Fellowship). Then we are going to the house of a relative of hers and are going to eat home cooked food and several large bowls of ice cream. 

All this is there, its the downtime that is hard, but if I fill it with meditation it ought to help me quickly. I really think I will love it here by October, because it will be a reasonable temperature, and the campus (while buildings are dingy on the inside) is so beautiful. By then too I'll know my way around and how to do things and have my routine. 

August 2

Today the usual white sky parted to reveal splotches of varying shades of light blue. Under any normal circumstance, I would have welcomed the blue sky, but this is India, and blue sky means sun, and when the weather is 99, feels like 112, the sun is not such a welcoming sight.

I spent another school day in a sort of permanent confusion. The bank opens at ten...but it isn't open...10:15, the bank computers aren't on...my meeting is during an extracurricular period, but I'm late to class? the extracurricular period was changed? when? so when are my other classes then?...Do you want to go to the library? It closes at five. No, the upstairs library is open until 8. Yes, but right now its only open until 5... For as much as we complain about the St. As administration I'm starting to get nostalgic.

There are a variety of fruit trees on campus with small fruit, so when the time comes I intend to pick pomegranates, lemons, and guavas and steal them away to my room. My friend (whose name I won't spell correctly) Moitreyee is going to take me to Noida this Sunday to visit an ashram of the Self Realization Fellowship, here Yogoda Satsanga Society, about an hour away. I am really looking forward to that.

Despite all my future plans and ideas, today some combination of extreme heat, confusion, and nostalgia has kept me a bit down. By about lunch time I'm ready for bed. I am thinking of going through the guidebook and making a list of all the places I want to visit throughout the year, hoping to kindle some excitement for the moment. Today was just a harder day for some reason. 

continued from yesterday...

Yesterday I was too tired to really write much, and I didn't do too much of great interest today, so I'll just pick up where I left off yesterday.

Caitlin and I visited Hauz Kaus, which apparently is some sort of ruined Mogul emperor building/castle/mosque thing. People were just chillin all over the place, there were no guard rails, no signs saying not to go somewhere for the sake of the historical value of the place. Rather, there were teenagers and young couples playing Pit Bull from their phones, which was odd when you'd go through skinny stone passageways and emerge to "grab somebody sexy tell them hey." Exploring a little more (in a fruitless search for a way down to the tank/pond place) we found what looked like a community of squatters in one side of the ruins.

After spending most of noon to four in the sun either at Hauz Kaus or Dilly Haut, we went back to Caitlin's room she rents, which looks remarkably similar to my room, but has ac, and then to her friend's apartment a few doors down, which looks absolutely nothing like my room or Caitlin's room, bare and blank, but was cold from the AC and all modern and comfortable. You could have been in NYC.

We ended up in a long conversation about how Delhi is the worst big city in India for women as far as safety goes, power disparity, etc. After about fifteen minutes of discussion on the dangers of being a woman in Delhi, Caitlin turned to me and said, "But you're going to have a great year here!"

Speaking of safety in Delhi, I soon after had to leave to check back into my dorm at 7:30, return a signed slip that had said where I was going and when, and then wait to go to bed until 9:30 when the warden comes around to see that we are all alive and accounted for.