Getting to India from San Francisco:
I'm in a time warp! After a long flight, thank the gods we made it out of Bejing airport which was a bit overwhelming. The airport is miles long and was mostly empty til we got to our departure gate. Then the flood waters of people nervously awaiting our plane broke lose. When one lady told me that they only had 1 plane to Dehi every 3 days I realized why there was a sense of panic about getting on the plane.
Jump forward 12 hours and now we're in Delhi...it's almost 4 Tues. morning (totally bypassed Monday). It's been dark @ Delhi airport and I can't see much but traffic, but someone gave me birthday cake cause I wished her happy birthday....The cake was white with keewee custard. Yummmm...so now I have a new recipe for keewees.
Finally arrived at Royal Star hotel. My body's confused, but I think I'm tired as my eyes are red and feeling 20 pounds each...so maybe I'll go to bed now.
First day notes:
Can't sleep. First morning of my spiritual journey: Birds chirping, crickets complaining, dogs barking, children crying. Looked out @ the morning light to see a nearby faulty brick compound four feet high with burlap and plastic roofing. The roof is covered with people's laundry, sticks for burning and assorted odds & ends. Without making contact, ladies in colorful sari's begin to move through their separate doorways to the outside common courtyard. As women break sticks to make their individual fires on the earthen floor, children begin to emerge to greet the new day. Bellies swollen with emerging life are rubbed as other women grab their well used empty plastic water bottles to take down the street.
My first morning in India and my mantra for this day: I am grateful.
Where's Shiva? I thought I'd see him by now, but he's hiding somewhere among the billion plus people who all seem to be on the road driving at the same time. But I did see a couple water buffalo in a stream filled with New Delhi garbage... Talk about feeling helpless to help.
