minkan

I seem to be settling in more and more for every day that goes by. The last few days i've been filled with this feeling of just....happiness i guess. Or some kind of large gratitude atleast. Just being here..i mean it's amazing..isn't it? It's just weired. Somedays my alarm will go off and it'll take me some time to locate first the alarm, then myself and then when i finally start making some kind of sense of it all i'm like.. "wow i'm actually here"
So they last few days walking to practice in the morning (and ofcourse the walking back from it aswell) i've just been thinking how lovely it is to be here and how i want to just simply enjoy every minute of it. Just doing the simplest things like walking down the street. It's great fun..cause it's INDIA!

So the other day i had a funny experience fixing my shoe. My shoe had broken and i just asked this man if he could maybe put some glue on it. It ended up taking him maybe forty mintes..practically taking my entire shoe apart..even the one that wasn't broken..glueing it and then sewing around the whole things (both shoes) at first i was in bit of a rush cause i was supposed to be going with Gillian to meditation. Then i kind of decided.."ah what the heck, i've got two months" so i sat down in that little cupboard thing that is his workplace and just watched him turn my shoes in to a new pair. It's a nice change of life to not constantly be in a hurry. Even though the slow pace sometimes gets to you, i think it's actually quite important to just..slow down.

After my shoes had gotten the indian "extreme makeover" i came here to Anu's and used the internet (and ofcourse to have a giant smoothie with peanuts and chocolate in), i even got to talk to my sister, her husband and their two little kids. With webcam and sound and everything. Ah it was great. First just seeing them and then actually getting to have a conversation with them. It made me very happy. Somehow just seeing them and talking to them actually made me less homesick. Usually i see my sister several times a week and we will talk together every night on the phone for like easy an hour just about ordinary stuff. And i hadn't spoken to her for almost a month!! Which has been awful thinking about it now. So it just fellt so nice to have a chat with her. Made me think of how much they all mean to me. But instead of making me sad and more homesick it just made me feel so fortunate so be on this amazing journey and at the same time have such an amazing family at home.
Sydney (my 10month old niece) had learned how to wave and she was waving to me over the web. Oh it was the sweetest thing ever and it made my eyes water and to see Hailie (two and a half years) and hear her say "look it's michie, you're in Inana(india)" oh it just was lovely =) So thanks dear family for that .

Today i had a really good practice (isn't that nice when that happens) I seem to be able to bind in mareechasana d now on both sides actually (with the foot in lotus...no cheating here no) It feels good..well good might be exaggerating actually on my left side it does still hurt a little in my knee. But still it makes me feel that something is actually happening. Sometimes you'll go so long with feeling nothings happening with the body and then you suddenly realise you're able to do something that you couldn't for a week or a month ago. It's nice.
Also Sharath gave me a new pose today, kurmasana. Haha i couldn't really get it to work. He had to help me quite alot. Still i found it fun to get a new pose. I was kind of laughing at myself for doing the pose so ugly and he just smiled and said "we just take it slowly" or as Patthabi would have said "practice practice and all is coming"
isn't that a lovely saying..i mean really it works on everything.

So after practice, and after a nice breakfast at Alia's where this weeks craving seems to be their homemade peanutbutter. I went to a cooking class here at Anu's. It was actually Anu (Ganesh's wife) who held the course. I really enjoyed it. We got to learn how to make a mungbean daal and paneer (for the palak paneer) It was fun and interesting and ended with us getting to eat the amazing indian food. I hope i'll be able to cook some of the food here when i get home. It really is a sensation for the whole mouth. I'm not sure we can get all the spices though. But probably most of them.

well i guess i should get going. I need to get back to my place for a while. I'm going out for dinner tonight. It's Gillian and Sarahs last night here so we are going out a bunch of us to have dinner. I'm sure that'll be fun.

Hope you all are well

mich.

Hey,

Today is tuesday and it's a moonday today, yesterday was a holiday(shiva something) which means that two days in a row of yoga have "fallen away"
I'm kind of feeling that i am settling in more and more for everyday here. And it feels good, I like it. The first few days i was just like "everywhere" I fellt like totally overwhelmed and confused at the same time. Mostly i was overwhelmed with all the free time I fellt that i suddenly had. It's strange cause at home i very rarely have free time to just do whatever i feel like and then Bang i'm here and it's...i don't know how to explain it really. But it's nice. I'm thinking two months here will do me well.

So I haven't actually been doing so much lately, but somehow the days have been seeming to pass by, I've been having like 2hour breakfasts at Alia's which is a very nice way to start the day. Sitting under tha palm tree's out of the sun just socialising with random people. You really do meet a lot of interesting people around. It's quite nice to meet other people who also have devoted a special time for just yoga. It's nice to have that certain thing in common, yet being so different in other ways.

So i went to the market, which i may have mentioned (sorry i have actually no idea what i've written here or in e-mails) and i don't tend to go back and read what i've written either cause when the internet is working i want to get the most out of it =) I just wrote quite a long e-mail to my father which dissappeared without me having time to save it =/ just a bit annoying but that's life.. =)
So market one day, and then i went to the pool one day as well which was very nice to just be able to cool off in the water, as i might have mentioned its' getting hotter for everyday, we're heading towards summer here, which is clear. About 37C today and yesterday, which makes it not so nice to be in direct sunlight. But the warmth is nice for the practice, somehow my body doesn't get the same stiffness here that i do back home, and i think it has a lot do to with the weather. The body seems to be warmed up most of the time.

So i went to meditation yesterday evening. There is meditation at this certain place every monday, tuesday and wednesday evening. Some people i've gotten to know have been going and they recommended it so yesterday i went as well. It was interesting but i found it a bit difficult. My mind has a way of fluttering away to other places as soon as it gets a chance, so i think i'll have to work on making my mind stay in the same place as my body =) But i will go tonight again. The meditation teacher was very good though. He seemed like a very nice person.

So i haven't actually done so much today, since there was no practice i slept until eight which was nice, then had my two hour breakfast and drank more coffee then i have like the entire last week so i feel a it buzzy at the moment, but it's nice. I think i'll take a walk and photograph a bit. I'm meeting Gillian for a late lunch/early dinner before meditation. That'll be nice.

Well i just wanted you all to know that i'm okay..very much okay actually. I'm enjoying india very much so far. Enjoying all the differencies =)
have a nice day.
//mich.

Yesterday i am happy to say that i cooked food for the first time in maybe four weeks, and also the first time using my new plates and dishes that Murthy finally got me (after a week) hmm..i quite like that thought. Fixing food in my apartment, my apartment in india. Oh please do note that when i say i fixed food i mean i boiled water on the burner made myself a cup noodle & a cup of tea =) i'm just delighted actually to be able to fix myself tea in my place. So actually what i'm trying to say is i'm just glad for getting pots and plates. Funny things was that murthy was supposed to fix them for me for actually several days ago and everyday he had been telling me that he would bring them over, and then everyday he just wouldn't. So i'd ask him again and he'd smile and wag his head from side to side and say "no problem i bring tomorrow"
So yesterday i decided i'd go to Loyal World and buy myself a little pan just to be able to boil water for my tea. And while i'm doing my shopping who don't i meat? if not murthy - buying things for me. Ironic =)

Today is saturday which means no practice today, which actually was quite nice, i had a nice sleep in and then went down to Alia's for breakfast. -i did not have eggs actually. But i did have my usual large chai and delicious fruitsalad.
After breakfast i went to the market with two ladies i met at Alia's actually the one woman i met like yesterday i think. So we took a riksha down to the market and just had a look around. The thing i like best about being here, in india is that there really is always something happening. There is just so much to just look at constantly, LIke down at the market i swear you could probably stand in the same spot most of the day and just look at the people and everything going on around you. It's fascinating really.
So we walked around town for a few hours and ended up coming back having lunch here at Anu's. Where i'm now sitting using the internet which is working today! How bout that? =)

Being here makes me also appreciate the silence that we had in Goa, purple valley. Because here..it is never really quiet. There is a constant stream of traffic, and anyone ever been to india knows that the traffic is anything but quiet. But i'm getting used to it. The noises. The traffic noises will go on until long after you've gone to bed and start before you wake up, there are actually a few hours in the middle of the night when it is rather quiet but usually i'll wake up then thinking something is wrong like "hey why is it so quiet?" also there is not just the sound from rikshas, mopeds, buses and cars there are ofcourse the animals =) The dogs start barking at night. There was this one dog the other night that was constantly barking from like 3:30-4:30 in the morning, just barking barking constantly.
And then another noise..and this might sound silly, but cats! Infact kittens. The neighbours around me seem to be like breeding cats n their roof or something it sounds like cause there is the constant sound of kittens mjauing in the night. Haha it's so strange.

Well this is all for now, i'm totally tired after being out in the sun and at the market its amazing how the hot weather will make you so very tired. It's getting hotter for everyday going by it seems like. I can't imagine how it'll be in april =)

take care.

//mich.

I will admit that I actually do try to make an effort in using the computer. But nine times out of ten.. or actually somedays ten out of ten, there is a sign saying power failure. So I've been here in mysore for almost a week actually. And i've managed to use the internet twice, and then i'm sorry to say i've been prioritising to write to my family instead. But..here i am.
As i mentioned I am obviously in mysore now which most of you probably already know. I am currently sitting at the nearest internet place from where i live..Anu's Internet Cafe`. And NO that was not a typo.. it really is called Anu's. Yeah maybe it's just me but i swear everyday walking by that sign, it makes me giggle..just abit if even just on the inside.

I left goa last friday and my flight was like really delayed, was supposed to originally leave Goa airport at 13:35, but it got delayed till 15:35 which we found out before we left the airport..still once there it was even more delayed..finally I left Goa at 19:45. Besides Goa airport- not much to do. My parents flight to Delhi was also delayed so luckily i had them to chat with. It felt so strange to say goodbye to them, to be at the airport together but heading seperate ways.
I finally arrived at the green hotel in mysore after the flight and the four hour car ride from bangalore at one o'clock in the morning. And after being on the go for most of the day, starting with early morning yoga and lots of just sitting around waiting to leave..and crying buckets it felt so good to finally be her in mysore and most of all to finally get to sleep.

I registered at the shala on sunday and got to start practicing on monday. Oh the feeling. I'm not really sure how to explain everything, the first riskdha ride to the shala. Seeing all these things i'd only seen in pictures. We drove past amruths cafe` and it fellt so surreal to finally be here. It was like looking at my fathers photographs and then bang..i'm here.
Okay so first practice i came way to early, my starting time was 8:45 I got there all nervous and anxious to start at 8:00 So sharath let me start earlier(after asking me why i was SO early) I had a good practice though even though i was just mainly so so soo very amazed and happy to be there and to be seeing sharath and saraswati in real life. Everytime they talk to me or even look at me i swear i have to pinch myself. It's just so cool and huge being here it really is.
So, as i mentioned earlier i had contacted this guy in mysore. Murthy. He is in charge of accomodation here, actually he runs a bussines(with his wife i think) which kind of does most things. (note to self: take photo of murthy's sign saying all the things he does.)
So he showed me an apartment. Which looked nice(think indian standard nice) and well that's where i now live. I stayed four nigts at the green hotel which was really nice and i moved into my apartment on contour road tuesday. I have my own shower and toilet connected to my bedroom, then i share a "kitchen" with someone else..allthough actually no i don't cause so far it's only me in that apartment but eventually i guess i will be sharing it with someone.
I like my place i really do, I had like really low expectations which makes me think it's very good. and very much worth the price.
So so far my days have been, getting up walking to the shala, about ten minute walk which is a very nice way to start the day. Practicing, then drinking a coconut outside the shala. Then going home having a cold shower =) cause when the electricity doesn't work...neither does the hot water =) ahh..india. Loving it though. eventhough i from time to time tend to get just a bit frustrated.
After showering i've been going to Alia's for breakfast which is like a yogi hangout where you sit drinking chai and eating breakfast. It's strange being able to have time to eat breakfast for two or three hours. They serve "western" breakfast..like eggs etc. And lovely fruitsallads. After going total vegan in Goa I couldn't wait to eat eggs. Seriously i've had fried eggs for breakfast three days in a row. And just thinking about them now makes me think i'll probably be having it tomorrow as well.
Who.. power failure again.. surprise surprise. Anu's just came in and said that the internet will be working for maybe a little bit longer just so i guess i should just upload this now. and then continue another day.

Well I'm alive that's actually all i wanted to say..still you all got like a total essay instead.
Thinking of you all and missing many of you, certain people lots and lots.

bye

mich.

Last day in Goa, or actually maybe yesterday was the last day. Today I'm leaving Goa. I'm heading towards Bangalore, and then from there to Mysore. And my parents are flying to Delhi. It feels strange. And while I feel a bit sad to leave this beautiful place and say good bye to all the nice people I've met here. And say goodbye to my parents, still i feel very excited about the next part of my trip. Like really excited =)
Well i can't write so much more cause I have like a million things to get ready, like packing and stuff and also I think I need another cup of coffee, I'm feeling this might be a two cup of coffee morning =)

Oh the excitment!

oh and ofcourse there was practice this morning too, which put my mind of things for a while =)

bye!

//mich.

Wednesday today. And training today was good. very good actually if I may say so myself. It feels like I in just these two weeks have gotten stronger in my arms and in my legs. And maaaybee my hips are opening a bit.

Today we went away to the wednesday Anjuna market. What can i say? Oh my what a market! It's right by the ocean, and it is just sooo huge. There where things all over the place. Nice things actually - well i really liked the things. A lot of the things i can imagine are very pretty here, but maybe not so nice at home in sweden. The people working at the different market stalls were trying to get us in. We came directly in the morning when it started at nine, just did our yoga, had breakfast, then went to Anjuna.
They were all saying the same thing "Good price, morning price..everything only 100RS" "you buy something from me it means goodluck for me today" Hah.. it's just so much to look at. The people the colors. I could have stayed there all day.
We did stay much longer than we thought we would, we really had a good time.
Came back to purple valley in time for lunch then we layed by the pool and in the afternoon we took a walk over to cafe blanche. Which is about a fifteen minute walk from here. A very cozy cafe where they bake amazing little cookies. Yum! Makes my mouth water just by thinking of it now =) We drank strong coffee and ate cookies. I treated mom and dad to "fika" that's the least i could do, they have been so amazing to me doing nice things the whole trip. I'm going to really miss them when they go home.

Well it's shortly after six here now which means soon dinnertime. Oh the food. Surely i will get fat in india, thank god i'm working out six days a week =) The food is awesome.

Well I gotta go.
bye,
//mich.

I have mosquito bites everywhere. And then i really mean EVERYWHERE. Especially on my legs and on my arms. They don't seem to mind the mosquito repellent stuff i put on, who knows maybe they love it, maybe it attracts them. Hum.
This morning i wasn't feeling so good when i woke up, I didn't sleep very good last night, may have been because of the moonday. I kept waking up, like from a nightmare or something. Which is strange cause usually i sleep entire nights without waking up. Either way i woke up feeling a bit sick in my stomach, or mostly feeling as if i was going to be sick maybe. But i dressed and went away to the shala for yoga anyways, i just took it a bit easier and more carefully. It ended up going quite okay really. The feeling went away more and more during the day and i ended up feeling better and better. I'm so glad i went even though i wasn't feeling too great.

Today we've mostly been lazing around. Laying by the pool reading or having a swim. So nice really to try and relax. Try to not think of things.
We drank fresh juices and stretched a lot today. It's been a very nice day. Afternoon class today was fun. I was almost not going to go cause i felt unfocused, dad wasn't either going to go first but then we decided that we probably should go. I'm very happy we did go cause we had asana adjustments which was very interesting. We got to adjust eachother in different poses. It was very interesting and fun! =) I liked it, i really did.

Oh and the frog. Well somehow he managed to get inside my room. Well maybe it wasn't the same one that has been sitting on my step every night but this morning when i got up and turned on the light in the bathroom a little fat frog jumped across the floor over to the shower and hid behind a bucket. While i was at yoga he must have gotten out how- i do not know!

Oh and also i have contacted someone in mysore who seems to be in charge of accommodation there. I e-mailed this guy and he said he'd show me the different options available when i get there. Also i through him ordered some kind of pickup from Bangalore airport. It feels good.  =)

Well now: shower, to try and get this mosquito stuff of me..it's like all sticky. Then: my book =)

Hope you all are well.

//mich.

No practice today. Resting day. It felt both weird and nice to have a sleep in today. Sleep in means getting up at 7 though. But compared to 5 it feels like a REAL sleep in.
Actually the body quite quickly gets in to a routine, friday when we had lead class it didn't start until 6 which meant i could sleep half an hour longer. Still I woke up at 5 and thought i'd overslept.
I felt a bit tired this morning, we had movie night last night. They put up a big screen and have a projector. We saw the movie revolutionary road. I liked it. It was nice and cosy to sit outside in the warm dark watching a movie while drinking tea.

Yesterday mom, dad and I took a taxi to Ashwem beach. It was a bumpy 20 minute ride there. But the beach was Ashwem(awesome!!) haha, we milked that joke a bit too long =)
No but really the beach was beautiful. Goa is famous for the lovely beaches here. I took a long walk along the beach with my dad. It was very nice.

Today we also went away to a beach, this one was a bit further away, about 40-45minutes maybe. The beach was called mandrem, also a very nice beach. We went in to the water and i had a great time running around jumping in the waves. Yeah i'm not joking, take me to a nice beach and i will behave like a kid chasing waves and jumping. I love standing on a beach and feeling the water coming up over my legs then going out again and you can feel how the sand goes with the water and starts to dissappear under your feet. Wonderful!

Driving back from Mandrem today I got a real kick out of all the houses. They paint a lot of houses here in all kinds of amazing colors. I saw bright yellow ones, lime green ones, hot pink with white trim, purple with green trim etc etc. It really is fun to look at. Every taxi ride is a journey unlike anything you've been through before. Hah serious, there are cows EVERYWHERE and passing other cars...on bridges! Yet it all works which fascinates me the most.

Now i'm home, or back at purple valley atleast. Just had dinner, great as always. Indian vegetarian cuisine.
Now i'm drinking a cup of chamomile tea. I think i'll go read or socialize or something now.

take care.

//mich.

Hey,
I had so many nice comments when i logged in this morning. How fun! Reading all your comments makes me miss you all! so here: I'm sending you all hugs and kisses and warm wishes today! =)
Today was the sixth day of practice. It was a lead class today, usually i do mysore style which i actually prefere because then you do everything in your own pace which i find easier and also it's way easier to focus on your breathing. But it was quite fun with lead class, Petri is a very good teacher. I had a rather good practice. After practice shower and breakfast. Breakfast tastes soo extra good after practicing. Tea, coffee and fresh fruit. Absolutely lovely. After breakfast i've been sitting in the sun on my mat beside my dad stretching and writing postcards and drawing up a calender in my book to mark how many days i practice while i'm gone, it'll be interesting to keep track.

Yesterdays evening course was very good, we had hip opening techniques. My hips really do need to open up more, allthough i do feel that they have allready the last week opened up a bit more with all the training and the warm weather. It is amazing the effects warmer weather has on the body. So we did all these hip openers which really were good. I can feel it in my whole body. Happy pain. I've never practiced six days in a row before, i think four is the most i've done in a row. But it feels good. really good. I feel really good.

A funny thing, two nights in a row when i've come back from dinner to go to my room there has been a little frog sitting right infront of my door. He doesnt even seem to mind that i have to shove him away to get inside. I dont know why he chooses to sit right there, maybe he just likes it. He looks so sweet sitting there though. But i hope he doesnt come into my room, i had a lizard in my room the other night and i woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and on my way out i felt how i kicked something so i looked down and saw something little and black run across the room. My whole body froze up, not fun getting startled like that at 2 in the morning. Then i realised it was only a lizard. Pheew I thought it was a mouse first =)

Well my time is up, i'm going back out in the sun to drink more water and stretch more.
Bye!
Oh and also i would like to say that i especially miss my dear sister, it feels so strange to not talk to you several times everyday! Love you sis <3

//mich.

Yay! i'm at manali guest house, took a taxi here. I wanted to get out and try to find an internet place with cardreaders. Fifth day of yoga today, went well but my body isn't used to this kind of intense practice and so many days in a row. But i'm liking it! After breakfast both mom and dad were going to have some treatments at the ayurvedic hut. So I thought i'd go out exploring a bit, but mainly i wanted to find a internet place with cardreaders and a bit more reliable internet than at purple valley. So i got a taxi and asked the driver to take me to manali guest house first thing when we get in the car the driver locked all the doors..strange.But here i am at Manali guest house, seems like some kind of backpacker place. The keyboard is awful, Shift and Enter you have to press down so hard my fingers allready hurt. But they have cardreaders =)
I'm not sure but the pics somehow look a bit blurry but i'll upload a few just so you can see.




The buffet table.


Above the coffee and tea table.


The lock on my door.


This is my room, room 31.


The terrace.


Lounging area.


Isn't it beautiful?


Astrovarti =)


Mapusa market.


Well there you go, a few photos atleast. And oh yeah..today is Mannes birthday, happy birthday Manne! And also for you a special picture:

I asked at the market "what are those things?" and the man said: "good for when diabetes!"
Okay.....=)

i'm off again for new adventures!
Woosh! all gone.
//mich.

I think I just got bit by a mosquito on my hand. damn it! The mosquitos like me, especially my hands..the dogs like me too, it seems. There is one dog here that always comes up and grabs a hold of my skirt and starts pulling. "Stop it!" haha. And then ofcourse there is the Purple Valley dog Astrovarti that likes to lay exactly where I am laying while reading. That's okay, she's sweet.

Hot today, just got back from the market, went for a trip to mapusa market again. Gee that market is huge.. you keep walking and walking and still you've seen nothing. Nice things though. Lots of nice fruit and vegetables, that is where the indian people supposedly shop their food. Then ofcourse there are the regular tourist things, shoes, insence etc. We actually bought both shoes and incense today. Mom wanted to buy a pair of flipflops, and i mostly for fun tried on a pair that were quite nice. He wanted 250Rs for the ones mom wanted, she said "no no, 250 for both of them" So we got 2 pair of shoes for 250 Rs= about 50 swedish kronor. Well that's a good deal. I'm wearing mine right now, as i'm writing. Not so comfortable in the begining, but they are sure are pretty =)( i can't really be shopping cause my backpack was full when i came;))

I went to the post office today, you have to glue on the stamps, you buy them then you go over to a special table with little jars of liquid glue that you paste on yourself.

Practice was good today, first i thought i'd just do a light version but i ended up doing my whole thing. Fourth day today. Oh yeah the new pose i got, i went to check it out on my papers, I brought a laminated copy of the primary series so that i could learn the names during my trip. And i found that it wasn't on my paper ? Hmm strange i thought so i checked it out at the shala yesterday evening, they have a big framed picture of Sharath doing the whole primary and intermediate series, and i found out that my new pose is from the intermediate series! Who would have guessed.
Cool.

Well lunch today was as always great. The food here! Oh my! I can't even begin to explain the different tastes. It's truly lovely.
Well i guess i'm off again, might go get a shower before dinner.

bye!!
//mich.

Third day of training today. A lot of people say that the third day is the hardest, cause your body is usually quite sore, but practice today was good, even better than yesterday, i did some stuff today that i haven't been doing since before christmas. I haven't been doing bujapeedasana for a while, and wasn't actually going to do it today either, but petri came over and told me to do it..so i did! After that he told me to do bakasana which for me is a new pose, it was fun to get a new pose, sometimes it takes so long to get one but it's fun when the teacher thinks you're ready. So i guess i'm ready!

So yes practice this morning was good and left me with more energy than yesterday, after yesterdays practice i was sooo tired. Today i wasn't. Not that life is tough here though. After practice i go back to my room and have a shower, hot water today! - after half the shower =)  the bathroom in my room is very strange, there is a sink that's very tall with a faucet and the handles for warm and cold, they've written on the wall "hot water" and "cold water" then they've crossed it out and written a big "H" and a big "C" but the "H" is where it's crossed over "cold water" and the "C" is where it says "hot water"  by the shower it is opposite, the hot water is on the other side, and the cold water is on the other side (the opposite from the sink). It says both hot and cold. Which actually they've done quite well since i guess sometimes through that one comes hot and sometimes cold. Confusing? not at all!

After showering i go and drink my morning tea, with mom and dad who usually are done around the same time as me. There is a beautiful sitting area, with roof made of like..straw? i don't know what to call it, it's shaded but some sun peeks in. Very nice and comfortable, there are tables with chairs around there is also the buffet table where our meals are served and also a nice sitting area with beds/sofas with colorful cushions in different shapes and sizes, where one can lay and read and socialize. -Nice!

After breakfast this morning i've been laying down by the pool reading. I love to have time to read, i never have that at home, reading for me means being on vaccation..or being away and having time to read. I've already started and finished one book since i came to india and now i'm on book two. Also i want to read them and ditch them cause my books are heavy in my bag and i don't really want to be lugging around books all over india.

I couldn't lie too long in the sun though, it's nice in the morning but now it's getting very very hot. So i left the pool and had a fresh juice with mom and dad, as i said...life sure is tough sometimes! ;)


Oh in the evenings we have classes too, or not yoga but like yoga philosophy or pranayama and different tips and stuff to learn. Theory and techique. Yesterday was very interesting and also after dinner we were going to watch a movie. Petri asked what we wanted to see.. primary series or hardcore yoga? haha we watched a movie of people doing the fourth series, with Patthabi teaching, he was so strict! And the things they did was..well i don't know if the body is supposed to do things like that!? It was quite fun..i didn't stay for the whole movie though cause it was like two hours. Petri was telling how much more strict the training was before, the teachers sometimes had a stick and would go and hit the students if they did wrong!! hah can you imagine? Hardcore oldschool yoga..with a stick!!

I'll be off now!
Take care.
//mich.

Good morning,
or here Good day! Nearly lunchtime actually and i've been up since five. Did my morning practice, i felt very stiff this morning so i didn't do the whole practice, but most of it. Other than that i've been lazing around, drinking tea and coffee, laying in the sun, laying in the shade, reading.
I tried to log on earlier but it died like every fourth second, or every two minutes atleast =) quite frustrating but i couldn't really be bothered. Seems to be working quite okay right now though. It's kind of like the hot water i guess, half the time it will work and half of the time it probably won't. =)

Many of you asked for pictures, which i wish i could show you, but neither of the computers here have card readers so either i'll try to buy one...or i won't. I'm happy that there is internet access here atleast..oh and that it is free =) So that's why i can't be bothered when it doesn't work, cause we aren't paying for it. it's nice to just lay back and not worry about things!

Maybe i'll be going in to town and finding an internet place one day and can upload pics then, otherwise maybe i'll be able to to that in mysore.
But it is truly beautiful here, really. I really am enjoying myself. With the yoga, the FOOD, the people, the EVERYTHING!!!

Fun to know you are still reading.
bye for now!!
//mich.

Better write quickly, cause when i sat down here earlier, there was a power outage. Surprise surprise. Apparently that happens like every five minutes or so. =)

Well i'm in Goa now, at purple valley, it is sooo beautiful here. And soo much watrmer than in Agra. Much more vegetation here too so it looks actually nicer, and then it is more touristy so they clean it up a bit better i think. Hot hot hot today! It will probably take a few days to get used to the heat, but it is lovely.

Yesterday at the airport we got frisked, as usual and the lady doing it pointed at my necklace (and looked a bit cross) "open it!" she said, and i did and when she saw the pictures of Hailie and Sydney she melted and said "aaaw how cute!" and i said something like "yes, my sisters kids, they are adorable" then she stamped my ticket and let me go.

Oh and on the airplane first thing a woman came around with a tray with drinks on and asked "sweet lime?" haha yes! remember in darjeeling? I sure got a kick out of that, the sweet lime tasted sweet but i couldn't stop laughing while i was drinking it! sweet lime! that's hilarious, isn't it? Maybe it's just me.

Purple Valley is as i mentioned, beautiful. It is a secluded yoga retreat, we live here, eat here, yoga here. With people with the same interests. There is a pool. And a lovely shala. Oh the shala is beautiful, i love it. Training started today, we had a welcome meeting last night and they informed us about everything, you could either start to train at 5:30, 7:00 or 8:00. They asked who wanted to start when. We are quite many, 37 of us i think, a lot of beginners it seems like. "Who wants to start at 5:30?" not many hands up, just about five or six, i was one of them. hell yeah i want to get up at 5 and start training, i couldn't wait. Allthough actually starting early is for the really 'good' people, which i wouldn't say i was one of, but still it was fun to start early, plus the fewer- the more help! It was amazing to start so early though. It was cooler outside and dark, the shala is close to my room, there is a stone path on the way there that was lit up by little lights, very mystic and magical, pitch dark and all those little lights.
Then in the shala it was candle light. Very pretty.

I hadn't done my practice in a while, like over a week i think, but it went quite well for being the first time in a while. Got lots of help i thought, from petri. It was fun. After practice i drank tea with mom and dad and then we had a wonderful breakfast, lots of different kinds of exotic fruits. Delicious!
It's lovely to be here, and that the only thing on my schedule is to do yoga in the morning and then lounge around and read and drink tea. Me and dad took a taxi to Mapusa market to buy towels, you get very sweaty training here so you need towels. The market was fantastic, so much happening. We got towels and we even bought some pomegranates, they were the prettiest pomegranates i've ever seen and probably the tastiest. yum.
Lunch in about an hour, i'm getting a bit hungry. All meals are vegetarian here, served buffet style. Dinner last night was typical indian food which means delicious!

Well i better post this before it dissapears =)

Again, Lisa and Manne thanks for your comments, fun to see someones reading.
miss you.

//mich.