22-23 Sept 2006 - Letters from Madurai

23 Sept 2006

"Yah, there's not much doing in Madurai, either, though i imagine it would feel like a big city compared to *****. There's no nightlife here, per se, though there is a great temple and a number of restaurants, which, in addition to just wandering the streets, has been my main form of entertainment. Also, i've been working a ton -- I showed up a week before the deadline on a huge project -- so i've been at the office into the evenings and haven't had much time or energy to go out. My apt is slowly coming together - i finally got a fridge, and the gas/stove was supposedly delivered today. The place is a total mess, though, and largely unfurnished. I'm hoping that a cleaning woman will come on monday.

I am also fortunate that, although i've been working way too much, the work is of high quality, and they know how to make use of me here.

What else is doing with me? I'm trying to find somewhere to do yoga that will fit into my schedule. I have a bike, which i've been using to get around and get a bit of exercise, though the roads still kind of scare me. I've had two tamil lessons, which have made my head spin. Tamil is difficult, though pretty essential here, so hopefully i can learn to speak and read enough to get around and understand what people are talking about. Last night i left the office at 9pm and went to town for north indian food-- i'm not so into s. india, but fortunately there's enough north indian here. After dinner i wandered down the street to a big mosque. It was super trippy-- all these people sleeping in the courtyard, and a bunch of masoleums for dead saint-types, and i was approached by some different people, shown around, interrogated (always tell them, in a circumspect manner, that you don't like G.W. Bush -- they inevitably get around to asking, also in a circumspect manner). I met the Baabaji, and some other guys who offered to give me a Koran in English. Somehow, the experience felt very intense--i was in a place that i wasn't sure i was supposed to be, and i wasn't sure how people would react to my presence. Once it was friendly, i wasn't sure whether it would still be suspicious, or just curious, or else begging for money. They spoke very little english--they would talk among themselvels in Tamil and at last one person would come out with a half-question in english. Major sensory overload.

So that's pretty much what's been going on. I've seen a few other western/white folks running around town, though i haven't really spoken to them yet. The time to make more friends is probably approaching."

22 Sept 2006

"I've had lots of office-related house guests lately. They come to the apt for a couple of hours, smoke a lot of cigarettes, make some noise, and leave their cig butts and empty water bottles strewn all over the place. I don't think people here ever learn to clean up after themselves, since that's what their mothers and wives are for. The other day a group of them ate all my crackers, chocolate and fruit, leaving wrappers and crumbs on the counter and the floor. And, my roach problem is a bit more severe--the other night when i was packing, i spent twenty minutes trying to catch one that was running aroung the crevices of my suitcase. eew. on the positive side, i finally have a working refrigerator. And i've pretty much stopped stressing over the apt thing. There are lots of annoyances, but
whatever.

this morning i went to meet a yoga teacher at 7am. She had a poster on the wall of her meditation room with prayers such as: 'you ask for strength and you receive challenges to overcome' etc. it was kind of nice."