Dunday, Duesday, Densday....Daturdaaaaay...

So Im finally in India; Colaba, Mumbai to be exact. Its crazy and exciting and like nothing Ive ever seen before, or smelled for that matter. The flights were a good prep time for me because they were long and boring and gave me plenty of time to mentally prepare; that, and I saw Freedom Writers on the plane...finally! When in Frankfurt I met, and got drunk with, these really nice kids from Delhi. One of them goes to the University of North Dakota at Fargo, so I had a good laugh about that and he had a good laugh about my ignorance about India...especially when I showed him all of the needless crap I brought. Another 8 hours later I was in Mumbai, and like walking face first into a brick wall, I met India heat first. But its not just heat as in hot; its heat as in thick with smells and flavors. Luckily my hotel sent a cabbie for me and so for the next hour I was practically bumber car-ing it through the city. Finally I got to a bed, at three am, and, of course, I couldnt sleep. I stayed up watching awesome Indian news and dance videos while I wrote and read and planned the next couple of moves. All of this is boring, Im sure, but its exciting when youre all alone with yourself; because each moment, even the most mundane, is filled with revelatory thought...ok, maybe not revelatory, but thought all the same. So now Im in the heart of the city, and truly, there aint no love; especially not for the poor or sick or animal. Its brutal out there and how they stand it all under that enormous sun boggles the mind. I saw this beautiful monument, The Gateway to India, where the British colonists first landed. But still, its surrounded by filth and the water is toxic. Not surprisingly I also found the Louis store...and no I didnt go in. Ill probably stay here another day or so; but really there is little here to actually do, its too hectic and city-like and kind of maddening. So, Ill move on soon to Pune where there is an ashram I really want to spend time in. From there Ill move south to Goa and enjoy the beaches for like a week, which is the amount of time I have been told to spend there. After that who knows? Its weird because when I think about the fact that I have three months I can find myself feeling kinda lonely and scared and so forth, but then I think that about how much there is to see and experience and I feel much better, if not a little rushed to get it all in.