Bangalaru

10 hour train ride in economy class (notice drunk guy passed out in isle)

I fell in love with this little boy on the train

Me with a sacred calf

Meeting Sri Sri Ravi Shanker

Ashram at night

Elephants at Ashram before satsang

Have you ever called the Hewlett Packard helpline for technical support and reached a guy named "John" who had a surprisingly strong accent? Welcome to Bangaluru! This city is famous for their call centers and whenever you call United Airlines or Dell computer, you are actually being rerouted to Bangaluru. This is a huge, thriving tech city in southern India and everyone here is a software engineer. As I write this, I'm on my second cappuccino in an air conditioned internet cafe with a strikingly fast internet connection. But I digress...
We last left off about to hop on a 10 hour train ride to enter the Ashram. Thankfully the train started in the city we left because had we not claimed a seat in the first 3 seconds of boarding, we would have been standing the next 10 hours. I wouldn't necessarily want to repeat the journey, but I will say it was fascinating to ride with the locals (we were the only westerners) for 10 hours and enjoy a typical Indian travel experience. It was hot, jammed packed and full of all sorts of smells, sights and sounds. At every train stop, people would run on board and sell trays of food and drink. Other people would squeeze their way through the train cars singing and playing instruments in the hopes of collecting a few rupees. The train ride was fine for the first 8 hours but the last two were a little uncomfortable when that drunk Indian passed out under our feet.
I'm learning that Lori and I have a little celebrity status here and everyone is somewhat curious of us. The children are so delightful and have no problem staring endlessly. This gives the parents an excuse to speak to us and it's so much fun to interact with total strangers. Most people speak a little English (thanks to the Brits) and you can always find a few words to communicate.
Once we arrived in Bangaluru, we took a taxi to the Ashram, about 30 miles north of the city. This is an Ashram headed by Sri Sri Ravi Shanker, who promotes breathing and meditation as a means to live a more peaceful existence. I took a Part I course in the U.S. and came specifically to this Ashram to do a Part II course. No one is allowed at the Ashram unless they have done a course. Lori had plans to dance salsa for 6 days in the city while I studied in the Ashram. Her plans didn't come to fruition (surprise, surprise) and as the time got closer for me to enter the Ashram, we decided to smuggle Lori into the Ashram as well. I know it sounds wrong to lie and sneak her in to a holy place, but desperate measures call for desperate actions.
So, we checked in and did a little fibbing and all was good. They put Lori and I in separate rooms and we were up at 5:30am the next morning for yoga. For those who don't know the Ashram experience, it's very strict and they only serve vegetarian food. You cannot drink tea or coffee or drink alcohol, and you must get up at the crack of dawn for yoga. For 3 days, you take a vow of silence and cannot speak a word.
There were far fewer westerns than I anticipated (only about 10 out of our class of 300.) The course was taught in Hindi and English. Sri Sri is also known as Guruji, and he is a huge celebrity in India. Thousands swarm around him when he makes an appearance. Guruji always entered the room with great pomp and is surrounded by swamis, flowers thrown his way, and occasional elephants who lead the way!
Our whole Ashram experience was great. I loved my 3 young Indian roommates. It was like a sorority and they wanted to dress me like and Indian every day and do my makeup and put a bindu (red dot) on my forehead.
However, our stay was not without controversy. One day we thought we found a great shortcut from the kitchen to our rooms, only to be screamed at in Hindi by a very unhappy security guard. And apparently passing notes back and forth about how crappy Ahsram food is and giggling loudly is NOT acceptable during your code of silence.
We left our lovely Ashram yesterday and said goodbye to all our friends and headed back to Bangaluru. We checked into a hotel and walked outside to find a place to eat, and observed a wedding reception taking place across the street. We went to take a better look and next thing we knew we were invited inside by the bride's (or perhaps it was the groom's) family to take a better look. Shortly thereafter we were pushed forward towards the stage where the bride and groom were having professional photos taken in front of everyone. Next thing we knew we were onstage with the bride and groom to several ooh's and aah's and having our photos taken with them. I hope they won't look back at those photos in 40 years and wonder who those giant white girls in shorts and flip flops were who crashed their wedding.
Tonight we leave lovely India and fly to Nepal. We hope to fit in a couple weeks of trekking before crossing the border back to northern India. We're having an amazing time and love hearing from all of you at home! I'll sign off now because I'm on my third cappuccino and having heart palpitations.
Love Kristin