chant hare krishna and be happy!
finally back into the land of weird technology that i don't understand.
i'm in south india right now (trivandrum, kerala)- packing up the parcel of the past month or so (running errands, errands running me), about to fly to sri lanka to renew my indian visa. i've really gotta stop traipsing around these war-torn and violent lands... my return date to canada right now is set for july 31st. i can feel it wobbling....
i just spent two weeks working on an organic Hare Krishna farm in the middle of a forest in Karnataka. and no, my poor wording should not mislead you into thinking that they grow organic Hare Krishnas. although, i guess they sort of do, because there are quite a few children growing up there. that includes three beautiful blonde Italian children who were strange and shocking to see here in India.
what an amazing place. we spent most of our time picking weeds, and yet being there was one of the best things i've experienced while travelling. work was nice. time between shifts was nice. reading, cooking lessons with krishna mai (a no nonesense indian lady), hiking, amazing food cooked with love (and without salmonella!), listening to other WWOOFers play guitar, seeing the same faces every day, getting to know people, living in a community.
although Bhaktivedanta (it's official name) was tranquil, i couldn't get my own thoughts and feelings under control . i think that the calm in the surroundings finally let me see how burnt out i'm getting. the horns and noise and pollution in most of india usually stun me into a state of stupour, my ears ringing too much to hear my own thoughts. it was shocking how violently things started pouring into my conscious mind. i didn't realise how worried i have been about things. purposeless, homesickness, wondering when i should come home and where home should be... wondering why i'm here still, what i'm hoping for, wondering if my hopes are realistic. i love india. even though it makes me sick and tired. i'm not ready to leave, but sometimes i just want somewhere quiet to be alone. that is an amazingly hard thing to find here.
reading everyone's writings, thinkings, stories today has overwhelmed me a bit. you guys all write so well, seriously. it's like i can hear you talking. i miss you guys. i miss being a part of people's lives.
happy birthday, of course, to harmony! what are your plans? i haven't been getting your emails...? also, eb and i need your mum's address to send her postcards.
does anyone know ian's address?
hare krishna hare krishna
krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama
rama rama hare hare
today i took a rickshaw and the driver didn't attempt to rip me off. he offered to take me for a price that was lower than what i had hoped to bargain down to. he even took me to the entrance of the building instead of dumping me at the gate. it made me indescribably happy.
i'm in south india right now (trivandrum, kerala)- packing up the parcel of the past month or so (running errands, errands running me), about to fly to sri lanka to renew my indian visa. i've really gotta stop traipsing around these war-torn and violent lands... my return date to canada right now is set for july 31st. i can feel it wobbling....
i just spent two weeks working on an organic Hare Krishna farm in the middle of a forest in Karnataka. and no, my poor wording should not mislead you into thinking that they grow organic Hare Krishnas. although, i guess they sort of do, because there are quite a few children growing up there. that includes three beautiful blonde Italian children who were strange and shocking to see here in India.
what an amazing place. we spent most of our time picking weeds, and yet being there was one of the best things i've experienced while travelling. work was nice. time between shifts was nice. reading, cooking lessons with krishna mai (a no nonesense indian lady), hiking, amazing food cooked with love (and without salmonella!), listening to other WWOOFers play guitar, seeing the same faces every day, getting to know people, living in a community.
although Bhaktivedanta (it's official name) was tranquil, i couldn't get my own thoughts and feelings under control . i think that the calm in the surroundings finally let me see how burnt out i'm getting. the horns and noise and pollution in most of india usually stun me into a state of stupour, my ears ringing too much to hear my own thoughts. it was shocking how violently things started pouring into my conscious mind. i didn't realise how worried i have been about things. purposeless, homesickness, wondering when i should come home and where home should be... wondering why i'm here still, what i'm hoping for, wondering if my hopes are realistic. i love india. even though it makes me sick and tired. i'm not ready to leave, but sometimes i just want somewhere quiet to be alone. that is an amazingly hard thing to find here.
reading everyone's writings, thinkings, stories today has overwhelmed me a bit. you guys all write so well, seriously. it's like i can hear you talking. i miss you guys. i miss being a part of people's lives.
happy birthday, of course, to harmony! what are your plans? i haven't been getting your emails...? also, eb and i need your mum's address to send her postcards.
does anyone know ian's address?
hare krishna hare krishna
krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama
rama rama hare hare
today i took a rickshaw and the driver didn't attempt to rip me off. he offered to take me for a price that was lower than what i had hoped to bargain down to. he even took me to the entrance of the building instead of dumping me at the gate. it made me indescribably happy.
posted by natalie at 5:53 AM
2 Comments:
Natalie, lovley Natalie. I'm sitting here, in front of my parent's computer (yep, that means CANADA) trying to
a. remember where the letters are on an English keyboard after having used a French one for 7 months
b. stay awake so that I get over the jet lag as fast as possible and
c. thinking about everyone that I haven't seen for a long time because I've been away. Like you. Who I won't be seeing when I get back to Victoria because you're still away. I miss you. And I can't wait for you to be back. But take as much time as you need away too. that's most important.
PS have you heard from Kerria? Last email she sent she was really sick... and I haven't heard anything else since.
haribol natalie,
love this post. chant and be happy! also check my KC site!
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