I think today might have been that great awakening I’ve been aching for since I arrived in India. First of all, this may sound silly, but the reality hit me today so hard I was brought to tears. I’m a twenty two year old girl from California, raised in Las Vegas, have only know American culture my whole life and one day I was transplanted to India with absolutely no consolation(besides taking care of my father, but what about work and school that stuff is important too…).

Sunday mornings in Pune are my favorite because the streets are actually quiet. There aren’t motorists or car constantly blaring their horns or people yelling until about 10am or so. My dads friend came to pick me up around 7am to take me for a surprise lol I was up had made tea for my dad and then I left. I hate riding on the back of motorcycles but this morning I hopped on with comfort. It was so nice to ride through the city, pavements still soaked from an all night rain and that cool morning air coated my skin like a mist. I was looking out to the overcast sky and realized, these are the moments that makes you feel invincible. Like a child I was holding on with dear life to the back handle and my other hand was my friends shoulder as we sped down narrow roads and swung around corners as if we were on a race track. With no helmets, just humid air we rode the streets as if they were specially crafted for this ride.

He ended up taking me to the horse race course. It is so big, and there’s a public walk track along inside. The track is approx 1.5 miles around. It is a part of the city I had never been to before and I enjoyed every minute of it, since my friend doesn’t speak very much English we only understand about half of what we say to each other but oddly enough we always have a good time making up broken sentences. Being at the race track still feeling bliss from the motorcycle ride and then getting caught in sunny rain led me to feel thankful. What was I so afraid of?

Later on today though I went on a nice trip with my uncle and more friends to a temple about 20 mins out. It was huge and beautifully constructed. I was given a tray that consisted of flowers, some candies, and coconut. I have a hard time keeping up with whats going on sometimes but it the tray signified an offering. I ate some ash and dirty river water was thrown on me for a blessing. Hinduism is cool but I don’t think it’s for me, I still respect and am learning very much about the religion. All the ritual business has me puzzled. And I think my strongest dislike is having to take off my shoes off before even reaching the gate. I think watching people shit, piss, and spit everywhere has me a little weary. Maybe I’m just prissy.