So much stuff to cover.
Sunday::

There was a fire a little ways off from our building in the early afternoon. It has become so dry and hot during the day that not much else can be expected. All of us were in our Bangalore best and ran over to the sculpture studio to haul buckets. It was out in no time and the next day some of the group and the men who work here went to cut bushes. Hopefully it won't happen again, it's a little scary because it was right by where we live and our building is so far away from the rest of the ashram.
So, we got into B-lore an hour or two late and while everyone else bowled, Bo, Cindy and I walked around. I got a short kurta (fiiinally) and some grape juice made with Aquafina water. Oh yea and postcards not meant for anyone specifically. I got two from Hampi actually, but we're going there next week and I don't feel comfortable sending that one out if I haven't been there yet.
Every one met up a half hour later and went to some bar that is a good example of the bars I would not want to be seen in. A woman came up to us and asked where we were from and surprise! She is from Paterson and graduated from Ramapo in 1980. This would be really awesome if she wasn't absolutely insane. In between every word she said, Terry Howards, would lick her lips real slow. I think it was supposed to be seductive, but my first opinion was that she is insane or on drugs. It's interchangeable. She had on a little jacket that was opened almost all the way. I couldn't stop staring at her bright yellow bra that was showing unashamedly and her big hat that looked as if it belonged in the Easter Parade. (this is an old movie reference. forgive me.)It was Katy, Lauren, Taylor and myself at the table she came up to first and everyone else was just one table away. In a low voice she said that we all had really great auras and then just started talking trash about Malika! Saying that she wouldn't save us if we were drowning. Haha, okay okay... I told her that Malika is one of the most positive people on this trip and she's always there for everyone. Then Terry asked me what sign I am and nodded knowingly when I told her I'm a Leo born on the cusp of Virgo. (i'll get to the palm reading session later)
So, what'd she do next... she went out and bought Malika a cake for her birthday and then came back to our table and talked shit about her again... saying there's always animosity between a light skinned black woman and a dark one. Oamjie tried to give her some of the cake but she said she didn't eat cake. He practically forced it on her and then, in the most failed attempt at sexy I've ever seen, she licked the cake from his fork and thank god he had enough whiskey in him not to notice. I almost vomitted.
And she read me and Taylor's fortunes. She said that "You don't know how beautiful you are, do you?" And that some male spirit/force made me cut my hair so that I would know I am beautiful and my energy would be taken away.. or something. All I got out of it is that there is a spiritual energy in my life that wants to steal my good energy. And that I am capable of doing great great things. Oh and supposedly the only time I've ever been in love was when I was eight, but my parents hated the kid.

This is a lie seeing how when I was eight I had a "boyfriend" whose name was Justin Van DeVoort (i loved him so much i dont' know how to spell his name) and I think the nicest thing he said to me was that I have nice knees. Years later I was working at CVS with a girl named Bethany who was dating him.. him being 18 and she was 16. She told me that he was telling her about all of his ex girlfriends one day (??) and he actually mentioned me!!! I was eight!! and that is a sure sign of a malformed mental state.

Ok ok.. so I let that one slide. She was really fascinated with my hair. Good. It's good hair. I think the fact that I had a bottle of Kingfisher in me helped me not to laugh and listen intently when she was talking about the time she met the devil in the form of an attractive Chinese woman.

Oh yes yes and the whole time Terry was reading my palm a guy had settled himself next to me in the booth and was saying stuff that I wasn't listening to (I think I silenced him by putting up my hand a couple of times). He was from Boston and said we were all "Really cool" and yea, dude, that's great.. because he was pretty old. You don't have silver in your stubbly beard and bags under your eyes if you're anywhere near the age range I deem okay to converse with. At least in a bar, in Bangalore, while some crazy woman is talking to me, and i'm a little drunk.

For dinner.. for Malika's birthday dinner.. John took us to a huge mall with a food court. Yes, class like crazy, this guy. It was loud. They were playing Feliz Navidad and I felt nauseous. Imagine Christmas Eve type shopping .. on a Sunday. And imagine you thank god every day that, for the most part, you're not around the modern world and all of its glitz and shitz... and then you're in a mall that is a take off of what I guess the international idea is a mall Should Be. And they're playing Christmas music, everyone is wearing jeans and tank tops, and there's a Subway restaurant staring you in the face. And you're in India. Right.
Oamjie was chewing his usual leaf/paste/nut mix thing which he always has to spit out and he told Taylor "I want to spit here". Taylor said, "No, Oamjie!!! You can't do that" And then the wonderful Oamjie said "I already did."

We reached the halfway mark on Tuesday. Exactly six weeks to go. I feel the difference in myself since I came here and I wonder what the next six weeks will bring. We're going on two trips in March and when we come back from those it's time to really buckle down and do the papers. This means it's going to go by fast. The last six weeks did, but at the same time... I also feel as if I've been here for months and months.
I'm happy to go home because .. well, it's home and I have friends there.. .all of the reasons I should be happy to go... but I hate that I can't have both worlds. That I have to leave this one for an unknown amount of time. It is completely in my capabilities to come back here. And I will, but the leaving will have to happen first.

The next two days are going to be good because there are 32 American students here from all over the U.S. on an International Studies Honors program. Everyone seems pretty nice and there's a bonfire tonight. It's good just because I can talk with people who have now experienced India for 4 weeks and get their spin on it. Everyone in our group has discussed everything to death and have seen the same things.

There is one guy who looks EXACTLY like my father did in college. It's uncanny, it's startling, it's the third person I've ever seen who I had this problem with. Well, the first was in a photo album at home ... apparently my dad met his doppleganger in college, and then there was the guy who came to the library all the time and sat on the fourth floor. When I saw him I lost my breath and was convinced that my father had droppped 40 pounds, lost some wrinkles and was at Ramapo to spy on me, and then this guy. So Terry Howards and a manifestation of Evan Brown. What next?

Bush is in India right now. There were/are a lot of protests, but we are not allowed to go. Reasoning is that if the sentiment of the crowd went the wrong way we wouldn't be the "cool Americans who are here to support the anti-Bush/war/everything movement" We would be "those damn Americans". And we could get arrested which would be an international problem, a Ramapo problem, a problem problem. It's frustrating, though... being so tied to something you hate so much.