early morning classroom

so what does one in do in delhi when a combination of jetlag/disorientation keeps him from sleeping past 5:30am . . . simple, shower and go out for a dawn walk . . .

all the things i read and heard about how the first day or two in india is going to be an assault, a culture shock . . . all true in spirit, but nowhere near the colorful, pungent intensity of what it really is like.

walking the streets here, the narrow, winding, streets, full of life, people sleeping everywhere, cows and horses, filth . . . i, being a well-fed american, instinctively felt like the foreigner i am, actually more like an alien . . . being so different i was turning heads, was under constant "attack" by the beggars, touts and rickshaw wallas . . . my early morning walk was intense and while interesting, not very comfortable . . . at least at first . . .

but then something clicked in, a kind of light went on, and i understood, instinctively, that what i was feeling was all my own stuff, brought with me from my comfortable home in yalaha, from my comfortable american culture, and i began to let it fall away . . . i began smiling at the people i made eye contact with, began "respectfully" saying no to those who asked for money, and tried to get into the space of being just another soul walking the streets of this intense city . . . and i saw smiles and connective glances coming back at me (it is noticeable and remarkable how the people i've seen and met here communicate with their eyes) . . .

and then an insight came that i will try to carry with me wherever i go here over the next month, and it is a simple one, but a large one, and it is this . . . in india (more than other places perhaps), you've got to relax completely. . . and just go with the experience. You have to surrender.

so, from early morning discomfort a lesson has emerged: leave the familiar culture and its judgments behind, be respectful, speak softly and go with the flow (as louise -- who i miss alot and talk outloud to constantly -- and i like to remind each other "row row row your boat, gently down the stream") . . . i've only been in this country for 11 hours and the learning has begun. there is still alot to learn.

namaste. mark