How's the Weather?

How's about we take a look at the weather expected in the cities I'll be travelling to, for Sunday June 1, 2014.

This is Hyderabad:

This is Chennai:

This is Pondicherry:

Chithrapu's Latest

Today Chithrapu told me that, while in Chennai, I need to order Madras Coffee, because the exhibition involved in making and pouring the coffee, is as important as drinking it.

(But I have to confirm in advance they made it with bottled water!)

Conspicuous Consumption: Hadji's Jacket

I want a jacket like Hadji's.

Yes, yes, I know that the original Jonny Quest show was probably not the most politically correct fare on TV, but I can't change the past and won't apologize for living within the confines of my times. But I digress....

Notice the straight collar, lots of buttons from throat to waist, and then the sweet flare from the waist. Wouldn't that jacket look really cool with jeans and boots?

How do I get one of those jackets??

Conspicuous Consumption: Gold

While gold isn't really on my shopping list, the high-carat Indian gold certainly is alluring.

	I call him "Mr. G"

The Real India

When I travel I invariably say "I want to see the real [fill in the country name here]".

I have only the best intentions when saying things like that. I mean, essentially, that I want to experience life in that country like a native would. I want to stay in the thick of things, eat in authentic restaurants with the locals, use the available public transportation, walk, explore the side streets, talk to people. I want to immerse!

Versus, being housed in a chain hotel near the airport, shuttled around in the largest vehicle that can safely maneuver the streets with 50 blue-haired Americans, participate in carefully scripted souvenir buying, eat at restaurants that can efficiently deal with 50 blue-haired Americans (while maybe not serving the most authentic local food). I might as well stay at home and spend the day at Concord Mills, as explore the world this way.

And I find myself overwhelmed because India has so many different realities to see. High tech modern country with an exploding economy; the largest democracy in the world with a new PM from a modest beginning; a country with a vast gulf between the haves and the have-nots living elbow-to-elbow with one another; an ancient society where a rigidly held system of social stratification is starting to deteriorate with increased wealth and movement of young people to cities; a traditionally religious population revering millions of instances of the One True God; it goes on and on.

I expect that my immersion will be in the new High Tech India, and that my excursions into traditional areas may be only as gritty as my guides can acknowledge.

And as a girl from One-Stop-Light-Ville South Carolina, I totally understand.

I won! I Won! I WON!!!!!

Wow! Somehow I won the Punjabi Lottery without even buying a ticket!!!!! I just got an email.....


(I'm guessing there must be some cookie crumbs leaving info about me all over the internet. Time to run NAV.)

Conspicuous Consumption Part 2

While I love a great accessory, I personally do not enjoy wearing bangles.

They get in my way while trying to use the keyboard and mouse -- making it very difficult to be productive in my work. Not a good fashion accessory for a geek. However, I do appreciate their beauty and am really excited to scour the bazaar in search of gifts for friends.

 Inspiration:

Destination: Pondicherry

From Chennai I'm heading south to Pondicherry, which is just a two hour cab ride away.

You have heard of Pondy from the movie / book Life of Pi. A coastal city held at various times by Portugal, Holland, most recently for almost 300 years by the French. As such, a large section of the city is known as The French Quarter and is filled with French architecture. Here you can find restaurants serving French wines and natives speaking French. There is a early morning walking tour I want to take advantage, and an Ashram to visit.

From there I'll shift to a nearby beach resort for some summertime R&R.

Combating the Heat: Lifestyle

The study of Ayurveda provides tips for keeping your cool in the sweltering heat.

Include: 

• Establish a regular routine, including going to bed before 10pm (excess heat kicks into high gear from 10pm-2am), eating meals at regular times, and daily oil massage with sunflower or coconut oil can help balance the body. 
• Take a dip in cool water. If a natural spring, lake or ocean is not accessible, have a cool soak in a pool or your own bathtub. 
• Wear thin, light, cooling colored clothing, such as blue, purple or white. 
• Exercise in the cool morning, or evening hours. 
• Take strolls in the evening - During the nights spend time on the terrace  
• Use perfumes with sandalwood fragrance regularly. 
• Include leisure time doing things you enjoy. Take an afternoon nap. 
• Stay indoors as much as possible 
• Sleep on your right side, this facilitates cooling left nostril breathing 
• In Ayurveda, Shitli Pranayama is said to be cooling 
• Take breaks, meditate, chant, or sing to quell the reactive emotions of high stress situations or stressful job environments. 

Remove: 

• Avoid heated confrontations, deadline pressures, and long commutes 
• Limit sunbathing 
• Avoid exposure to chemicals or fumes.

Combating the Heat: Diet

The study of Ayurveda provides tips for keeping your cool in the sweltering heat.

Include:

• Choose foods that are cooling and cleansing to the body
• Choose sweet, juicy fruits like melons, pears, cherries, mangoes, grapes, pineapple, cucumber (ok, this one is a veg), plums, pomegranate, blueberries, and peaches. 
• Include vegetables that are bitter and astringent such as collards, kale, fennel, asparagus, spinach, broccoli, and dandelion greens 
• Add digestive spices to your food such as cumin, coriander, fennel and turmeric. 
• Use cooling herbs and essential oils, such as mint, anise, cardamom, cilantro, Rose and Sandalwood 
• Drink fresh fruit juices and nectars, and tender coconut water 
• Drink plenty of cool, fresh water. 

Remove: 

• Limit hot, spicy, fermented, salty, oily, fried foods. 
• Reduce or eliminate alcohol and caffeine. 
• Limit chilled or iced beverages, as they disrupt digestion 
• Avoid food with heating properties such as tomatoes, hot peppers, radishes, onions, and garlic

Here Comes the Sun!

Since I am traveling to India during the brutal and unforgiving Summer season, I need to prepare myself for the weather.

As hope springs eternal, I am packing my very lightweight Gore-tex raincoat, in case the Monsoon 1) comes early; 2) comes to Hyderabad at all.

As "A Peach" (as my little friend Rose would call me), otherwise known as the whitest non-Albino girl ever born in the history of the world, I need to shield my Pepto Bismol-colored skin and lightly furred scalp from the burning sun as best as I can -- lest I subject myself to intense pain and risk of melanoma, and subject my hosts to giant unsightly blisters oozing onto their high thread count linens.

I love wearing hats as a way to add that je ne sai quoi, and was excited to discover 50 UPF hats (which means that 97.5+% of UV rays are blocked), and ended up with this sweet crushable, packable number.

I've also taken up about 10% of my allowed luggage weight with 50 SPF sunscreen of all thicknesses, densities, and scents.

I think I'm ready on this front.

Monsoon Days

In preparing for this trip, I've been wondering about the weather. It's pretty common knowledge that India is hot, Hot, HOT. And I think everyone knows in a general sense about the heavy rain during monsoons. However before deciding on this trip, I didn't know anything about the seasons.

Here's what I've learned so far - India has three seasons: Winter, Summer, Monsoon.

Apparently the term Winter is relative in this case -- I think for Southern India it means daytime temperatures less than 80F. (No need to waste our time debating the real definition of Winter.)

Summer is a time when temperatures become increasingly hot -- heat building and building, in some locations to coma-inducing 120F -- and oppressively humid in most locations. The sun is strong and burning. Dust blows.

Research indicates monsoon begins in June, breaking the stranglehold of heat with its cooling rains. Not so, according to sandals-on-the-ground accounts. In actuality, monsoon is a season that is not predictable and often late in coming, dragging its feet, the guest of honor late to the banquet while everyone in the land from prince to pauper is dying to drink. The heaviness of the air is augmented by the heavy hearts who are waiting, waiting, waiting for the cooling rains to begin.

Additionally monsoon comes to different regions at different times, and to other regions not at all. The west coast and very deep south have heavy monsoons with copious flooding beginning sometime in June. Hyderabad doesn't get a lot of monsoon. Chennai / Pondy have monsoon, but it starts later.

I believe my trip will be wedged very securely in the malaise of Summer. Waiting.... waiting.... waiting....

Geography 101

It's time for a geography lesson. Below is a map of India, which is the 7th largest country by area in the world.

I'll be going to Hyderabad and Chennai / Pondicherry. I made a conscious decision to immerse myself where I am, learn and experience the cities I'm in. Rather than jetting all over the country, seeing lots and understanding nothing.

And therefore I will not be going to Delhi or seeing the Taj Mahal, which is in Agra. I'll save that experience for a "Northern India" trip!

More Spa Options

Don't these treatments sound interesting?

• Kadhikizhi - Whole body is massaged with plump, linen bundles that are stuffed with a special herbal powder and seeds and fomented with an herbal starch steam. Improves the mobility of joints and strengthens muscles and nerves. 
• Navarakizhi - The body is massaged with small linen bundles filled with cooked Navara rice which is cooked in cow's milk and a specific herbal mixture. These bags ( not too hot, not too cold, just right) are dipped in this mixture and applied over the whole body of the patient. After wiping the body with a dry towel, medicated oil is applied. This treatment provides luster to the skin and nourishment to the body through the skin. 
• Thalapothichil - After a traditional head massage an herbal paste (made up of amla, buttermilk and other ingredients cooked and made into a paste) is applied to the head. After that it is covered with a banana leaf and then with a special cloth. This treatment relieves stress and gives the hair a nice glow. 
• Udwarthanam - Classic deep ayurvedic massage using herbal powders, which stimulates and breaks down subcutaneous fat tissue, fat storage. A mixture of herbal powder is massaged directly onto the body in the opposite direction of the blood flow. This acts as a natural exfoliant and is very effective for reducing body fat. This massage tones the skin and muscles, while improving blood circulation.

How can I possibly choose?

Conspicuous Consumption Part 1

I've always dreamed of having an Indian-style bedroom.

While my earliest visions may have their roots in the 1960's, when kurta-wearing hippies lounging on Ikat floor pillows were enveloped by scents of hashish and sounds of Jefferson Airplane, the times they have a-changed and my tastes are a tad more cosmopolitan now.

Though this delivery into adulthood has not succeeded in totally suppressing my dreams of an Indian-style bedroom -- it's simply refined the vision into one with just a few bright coordinating-color-contrasting-pattern splashes layered with solids I find here at home. Maybe a fun, unexpected paint color to fly off the walls. A visual cacophony.

Which is one reason I am so excited to visit a real Indian bazaar. India is renown for fabrics -- cotton in particular -- and I've been looking online for inspiration, to get my creative juices flowing. I want to ensure that when I am there in the bazaar with my rupees in hand and a friend to do the haggling, I can spot what I want and make a fast decision.

Inspiration:

Dollars to Rupees

Speaking of USD, I've made myself a little Dollars to Rupees conversion* chart to carry around in my purse. I wanted to have full understanding and knowledge of exactly what I'm paying for things -- even though I will be paying in Rupees and the conversion will have already occurred.

I also scoured the Web-isphere for tipping practices in India, and compiled a little table which is to be on the backside on my Dollars to Rupees conversion chart.

I laminated this little chart and placed it prominently in my travel purse.

(*Please note, the conversion rates are approximate, and based on the rate of the day I created the chart.)

A Day at The Spa

While Ayurveda is a traditional medicine system that encompasses all facets of human life, it's the relaxation part I'm most interested in experiencing.

How does this sound for a day at the spa:

• Padaprakshalanam (Traditional Foot Massage) is given concentrating on the vital points on the feet to activate the subtle energy channels. This gives a very soothing effect. 

• This is then followed by Siro-Abhyangam, traditional head massage with herbal oils -- which promotes harmony and balance in the body by freeing constrictions within the facial muscles and connective tissue. Pressure along specific pressure points on the face and scalp helps to release all the stress-induced toxins from your face and restore it to its natural balance. The therapist uses his or her fingers to stimulate these pressure points by using special massage techniques. In addition to detoxifying your face, the medicated oils helps your facial muscles relax from their contracted state. It removes any stress induced blockages that are present in the muscles and in doing so, also ensures that you feel relaxed and rejuvenated. All the nervous system starts activating to improve the blood flow to all the parts of the body. 

• As the feet and head are completely relaxed it’s the time of the body to get relaxed which is accomplished by our Abhyangam - medicated herbal oils are massaged into the body by two therapists in a synchronized manner for 45 minutes. The number of strokes and pressure vary with the condition of the individual, which opens up all the lymphatic channels and allows the flow of the blood to all the vital regions. 

• The body is then given a through scrub called Twak Shodhanam, consisting of special herbal powders mixed with grated coconut -- exfoliating the dead skin and moisturizing the new layer. Then the skin is covered with a cooling pack called Kaya Lepam. 

• Mukha-abhyangam (Face massage) and Nethradhara (eye treatment) are done as the body pack is left for drying. 

• Finish up with a Steam bath.

All for less than USD100... not including tip.

We're all the Same

Last night I watched An Idiot Abroad (thanks for the tip, Sharon), which is a documentary / travelogue series featuring a British bloke who'd really rather stay at home and watch the telly with his wife. He went to India twice -- once to see the Taj Mahal, spend time at the Kumbh Mela festival (proported to be the largest spiritual gathering in the world), and bathe in the Ganges with a living saint. In another episode he went to Mumbai and Bollywood, performed in a circus in Kolkata, and visited the Spider Girls where he convinced his dwarf travelling companion to sit on stage with them to help raise extra money the girls. (Find this series on Netflix. Bizarre and alarming nudity at the Kumbh Mela festival.)

The purpose of the show is to throw this guy who would rather be at home eating chips into situations that are out of his comfort zone, and watch him squirm. Very funny watching Karl freak out about the traffic and the toilets! And also a testament to the fact that people are the same everywhere, and regardless of our individual situations we can all connect on a personal level.

This is what I expect I'll find on my trip as well.   :tup

I do!

Good luck to my friend Balaji, who is flying this afternoon to his wedding in Chennai. I'm only sorry my trip schedule didn't allow me to be there to experience the wedding ceremony!

Oh Crap!

I thought I would be saving my WTF?! moments for after I actually arrived in India, until Lax said to me cryptically, 'Mellissa really hates the toilets in India'.

As would anyone, I asked, 'Why?'

'You'll see,' she said, with her evil smirk.

Naturally I ran back to my desk and burned up the keyboard asking my friend Google. His various responses led to my first WTF?! moment.

I love the guy who says -- if you're new to these type bathrooms, you might want to remove your pants until you get the hang of it.....

WTF?!

Off to the East Coast

One of the offices I'll be visiting and working from is in Chennai. My team is there, and I'll be spending five days. I'm looking forward seeing friends who used to work in our office in Charlotte, and to putting faces with the names I see on email chains each day.

Chennai, formerly known as Madras (yes, like the plaid), was the only Indian city to be listed in the NY Times 52 Places to Go in 2014 list (#26 - check out the beautiful temple photo). It is on the coast, off the Bay of Bengal, and home to two famous beaches.

There are temples dating from the 7th century, art deco buildings, and highly secured shiny new high tech buildings. Also -- I've been told by a semi reliable source -- that there is a temple near Chennai (only five hours by cab!!) that does not cast a shadow.

Home to a large expatriate population brought by technology, Chennai has huge malls, theme parks, terrific restaurants serving food from all over the world (Chithrapu has given me a list of his favs), sporting events, nature parks and cultural offerings. (Add Mickey Mouse and we could change the name to Orlandobad!)

And of course, we can't forget Kollywood.

I'm told a wonderful thing to do is have fish and Kingfisher Beer at a beachfront restaurant.

Sightseeing in Hybad

I decided early on that I didn't want my strongest memory of India to be the inside of a homogeneous could-be-anywhere airport. I don't want to take the American-style two-days-one-night-in-each-city whirlwind tour, where I come back to the US convinced I've seen and done everything noteworthy when in reality I've only seen carefully choreographed tourist mating dances.

I want depth of experience, immersion. I want to get to know the cities I'll be in. I want to see them as their residents see them. I want to feel like I'm at home (without handstands). I want it to be my 'hood.

Lax has promised to take me sightseeing when she takes Mellissa and Rose out and about in Hyderabad. There are a number of bazaars, one seemingly dedicated to bangle bracelets. There are temples and a fort with a beautiful light show. There is a fancy-schmancy palace hotel where rooms start at $800 per night. There is a lake in the center of town, and alongside is a walkway where residents stroll and dine in the evening.

She has also said we would go out into the countryside to her 'home village', where there is a 600 year old palace.

So that takes care of Hyderabad. On to Chennai.

Things to See and Do

I reached a point when I had most of my preparations tied up -- passport / visa, flight, vaccinations -- and it was time to decide what I wanted to see and do while in India. And once again I froze, like a dog standing confused on a frozen lake.

As alluded to earlier, I am a control freak. I don't like to leave anything to chance (read that, complete and ultimate disaster) if I can plan / schedule / map / chart / reserve my way around it. This has worked well for me in US cities like NYC and SFO, and in Europe. I may not speak German yet I know that a German train will follow the timetable to the millisecond, which is a story for another time.

I didn't think I could successfully pull off this project management style of travel for my India adventure -- mainly because I will be with others whose schedules I do not control (note to self for future: only travel with those whose schedules you can control), I don't think razor precise timetables can be met when faced with traffic like this, and I know from growing up in the Old South that heat and humidity are persuasive enticements to languid reflection and afternoon naps.

Additionally I really didn't know anything about the places I would be traveling to. I've always romanticized India -- oh, India [sigh] -- but in retrospect it's been a nebulous blob of colors and spices and elephants and saris and yoga. The only thing I know with any specificity is the Taj Mahal, which is no where near where I'm gonna be. Add this to the overwhelming list of suggestions I received almost daily at the office -- everyone so in love with their own cities, their own states -- the food is so good, this is the best temple… How could I possibly plan this trip?? Too many choices!

To jump start myself out of this latest bout of analysis paralysis, I started by making a generic list of things I'd like to do. Once the pump was primed, I could barely control the geyser. Go to a bazaar, buy cotton fabrics, go to a beach, see an ashram, see an elephant, take cooking classes, have ayurvedic spa treatments, go to a village in the countryside, have more ayurvedic spa treatments, see some original art and crafts, and on and on...

Chithrapu's Choices

And here are some other foods I should try, not necessarily specialities of Hyderabad, but just some items my pal Chithrapu thinks I’ll like:

• Misal Pav – This appears to be another lentil stew, served with bread and some fresh onions on the side. Take a look at Amu’s recipe. This seems a very complex dish to make. And wow! His wife’s photos are wonderful! 
• Vada pav – I’m thinking this is gonna be a knish on a bun, hold the mustard, add some curry! 
• Vaala Meen – I’m scared… Fish stew? 
• Poricha meen – Fried fish? Looks like a night at the fish camp!
• Kothu parotta - Shredded chicken and / or scrambled eggs and shredded parotta (flaky bread) stir fried with onions, tomatoes, chilies, and spices. Chithrapu says “It’s an awesome dish. You will die for it.” Yum yum!! 
• Sambar Vadai – A doughnut shaped fried bread, served in a savory dal and pumpkin ragu. Take a look at the work involved in making this dish! 
• Puttu Kadalai – I think this is a breakfast dish of steamed coconut flakes served with a chickpea and coconut curry. Hmmm… looks a little more involved than my yogurt and berries!

Prepared Foods

Prepared foods I've been instructed to try in Hyderabad:

• Dum biryani – Hyderabad is famous for Dum biryani, sometimes called Hyderabadi Biryani. This is typically made with lamb / mutton, although there are chicken variations. When plated, this dish resembles Americani Chicken Fried Rice, without the stirring or the frying. Review of recipes shows ingredients being precooked, then layered in a dish and baked in the oven. Watch Padma whipping up some biryani. AR says “It may be spicy for you.” Maybe they have a children’s version. 
• Mirchi Bajji –There is also a Hyderabadi style of deep fried stuffed jalapenos. The difference is in Hybad they are stuffed with a paste of sesame seeds, coconut, and coriander, unliked the potato based stuffing of other regions. I somehow doubt my description will match this gourmet’s declaration of “surprisingly mild”, yet, I’ve been wrong before. I’ll keep you posted. (She does say that sometimes she dredges and fries a second time – which is a chicken trick that is very close to my Southern heart.) 
• Pani poori – Like Mirchi Bajji above, this seems to be a ‘street food’, with the stuffings being dictated by region. In reviewing the photos and recipes, I think Ashwini makes these for holiday parties at the office. It is a hollow, globe-like pastry, the size of an egg, deep-fried to crispy perfection, cooled and stored airtight. When ready for serving, you poke a hole through the top of the globe and drop in the stuffings – things like onions, potatoes, chutneys, vinegars. Eat quickly in one bite! Yum! 
• Pav Bajji– I’m thinking this is the Americano option that AR slipped in to this list, just pour moi! This looks like sloppy joe, avec hamburger buns, sans hamburger meat. It does look and sound yummy, however I’m not sure how one eats this on the street. Are there disposable dishes? Will I scoop with the bun (using my right hand only!)? Stay tuned for the answers! 
• Samosa ragada – This seems to be a chickpea stew, served with samosas (the ultimate White People Food) on the side. It almost looks like a Mexican dish. 
• Fresh jalebi – This is one of my favorite Indian sweets, tastes kinda like baklava, but apparently it doesn’t travel well. So the Jalebi I’ve gotten in Charlotte have been substandard at best. Getting it freshly made is supposed to be wonderful! 
• Paper Dosa – This was not on ARs list, I added this myself. A paper dosa is a thin, crispy pastry that is often spread out and served huge. It can be served stuffed or not. Lax and her kids, Mellissa and Rose, have a tradition they use to help them get over jet lag. From the airport they head to Lax’s mom’s apartment in the city. Typically they reach there in the early morning hours, and they stroll over to a restaurant that serves paper dosas to have breakfast. They unwind from the long flight, and then they begin the day, using the dosa to jumpstart them on Hybad-time.

Gettin' Fruity Wid It!

Beginning with my first Indian friend, I have only known one who did not wax poetic on the heavenly virtues of mangoes. It seems the typical GMO-varietal mango found in American supermarkets have had all the flavor bred out of them (styrofoam tomato, anyone?). Looking forward to tasting my first flavorful mango! My fingers are sticky just thinking about it!

I was pleasantly surprised to get such an extensive list (below) from a work friend (thanks AR!) of more fruits I absolutely have to eat while on my journey (follow the links to learn more):

• Mangoes –In Hyderabad, they are called Banganapalle or Rasaalu 
• Manilkara zapota -- Called Sapota in Hyderabad. They look like kiwi and should be peeled before eating
• Tender Coconut water can be found everywhere in Hyderabad. Need to select good one with sweet water. Good for hydration if reliable water not available 
• Watermelon
• Syzygium cumini -- Called nalla neredupandu in Hyderabad. Known for removing toxins from the digestive system – suggested each person eat one per year. Will make your tongue purple. 
• Jujube (not to be confused with jujube or ju-ju-be  :-)  ) -- Also called Regipandu, the small ones are tasty. 
• Guava – try unripe 
• Passion fruit – AR is not very passionate about passion fruit, and warns it has a strong smell.
• Gooseberries – sour 
• Lychee – often find the juice available 
• Star fruit 
• Custard apples -- Apparently these are difficult to eat - based on the pictures, in the same way as an antichoke is difficult to eat -- and I should make sure they are ripe! 

Many thanks also to Catherine Reddy, without whose wonderful blog The Earth of India I wouldn't have been able to imagine (and share with you!) many of these fruits.

It's all about me!

Before I give a blow-by-blow about my fetal position paralysis, it must be stated clearly that all of these doubts and concerns are about ME… fed by my own insecurities and background…. My imaginings… my fears.

My brain brought these thoughts to life, and then it seized on any tiny phrase, any data, any lack of data to grow these little seedlings into the mighty redwoods they became before they crushed me to the ground and rendered me unable to make any progress.

My trip planning ground to a halt, basically, because I can be a bit of a paranoid, insecure, fearful nutjob.

Dream 7

The faces around me grew more strained, and I could feel my own eyes becoming as big as saucers, my brows pushed up to my hairline. Some of my co-rowers were hyperventilating, and even the once beautiful colors of the distant shore were diminished in vibrancy, sucked out by the sound and my inability to care.

The awful strain of the never-ending diarrhea spewing from between the sharp little teeth of Incessa was wearing all of us down to the last nerve. Except for the blonde woman in front row starboard. She continued to row with a smile, looking off toward the shore or watching a soaring gull, showing interest that none other of us could raise.

I pointed her out to Katie, who seemed surprised as well…. As surprised as she could be while having her life force drained from her through her ears. The sound continued in its horror, like the FBI broadcasting the screams of rabbits being slaughtered to the Branch Davidians.

When Rolando next came around with his mosquito-glazed water Katie and I hurriedly questioned him about the woman in front row starboard. "How does she do it? Why isn't she going crazy like the rest of us?"

Rolando looked at me with surprise in his exhausted blue eyes. "You can't see the trickles of blood from here? On the second day of your journey she found a pin in her pocket. She poked holes in both her eardrums. She no longer hears the sound." He nodded in a conflicted way, perhaps because his terrible punishment would be postponed through the actions of Starboard Front.

He turned to trudge back to his drum.

… so after I take my walk in the morning then I go into the gym and I lift weights I do two full circuits of each of the machines with three groups of eight reps each well actually I alternate one day I will work above the waist and the next I will work below the waist this is the optimal way to work out your body and always in reps of eight the people who know do it in reps of eight the right kind of people shall we say those people who work in reps of ten or twelve or oh my word fifteen they just aren't doing it right and I know because the right sort of person has told me and I know that this person only knows the right sort of information shall we say in fact one of my husband's friends recently gave me some wonderful new sunscreen well actually she gave me the little sample container of the wonderful new sunscreen well new to me but she knew about it before because she has money to buy this very expensive and proper sunscreen…

Paralysis

In the midst of making my preparations for this trip -- and without regard for my overwhelming excitement and joy at this adventure -- I became totally paralyzed with the thought of this journey.

I understand the thoughts of self-doubt that swirl around most people's brains on a daily basis -- I experience this at least as much as the next guy. I swat them away and move on. Sometimes a doubtful thought comes along that screams louder than others, throws banana peels in my path. In this case I stop, give this thought the attention it wants, clear up the doubt, and move on.

This time several monster-sized doubts jumped out at me at once. They tackled me to the ground and slimed all around me. The sheer weight of multiple wriggling and growing doubts weighed me down, until I curled into the fetal position to plan my counter-attack. I lay there for weeks.

The doubts were roughly grouped into these categories:

• Dependence on others 
• The total foreignness of the Indian culture to my own 
• I will stand out 
• Guests smell like fish 
• What's going on in the office

Back from the Edge

I'm back, Faithful Reader, after a period of paralysis. Deer in the headlights paralysis…. 'Possum looking at you from the heating vent paralysis… Mr Frump in the iron lung paralysis. Paralysis on so many levels and from so many corners…

But let's get caught up from where I left you, before we examine my fears and specters.

• I went to the doctor, where together we reviewed the CDC website and decided what vaccines and medicines I would need. The vaccines required multiple visits to the lab, and caused very sore shoulder movement. But I'm now fully prepared! I can drink water from a village elephant's trunk if that is required!
• I received my Passport / Visa exactly eleven days after I sent it off -- sooner than the 14 I'd been promised and much sooner than the 21 I'd expected. I can now legally enter and leave the country without fear. Using an expeditor is definitely the way to go!
• My trip insurance purchase was a breeze. After I'd done all the online research and comparison, I bought online. The website was quick and easy. I was emailed a PDF of my policy and my insurance card. I'm all set with trip cancellation and medical evacuation. 
• I've started putting together 'My Book'. Everywhere I travel I compile a binder with my itinerary; photo copies of my reservations, passport, visa, etc.; emergency numbers; US Consulate info; shopping lists and sizes; color swatches; research into the airports where I have layovers and public transportation to / from said airport; tips from friends, etc.