From Smelly Delhi to Rishikesh

After more than 36 hours of travel, I have arrived safely at the yoga school in Rishikesh. I already have mixed feelings about India but all in all, they are positive. I've only been here for one day but feels like a week already and I have so much to tell. I will try to summarize.

Plane Ride - Awesome. I'm a big fan of Finnair and would recommend anyone who takes them get the Asian Vegetarian Meal option. My food was way better than the regular stuff.

Airport in Delhi - Reminded me of the Ottawa airport but way hotter and smellier. Did not feel any culture shock and was not swarmed by taxi drivers (but I was ready!).

Taxi Driver - Super nice and found me right away. Drove like a maniac though, similar to San Jose in Costa Rica (they use the horn far more than the breaks and just take traffic signals, road dividers and sidewalks as suggestions). I had one panic moment though when we went to pick up two other yogis from a hostel in Delhi. They were still asleep apparently and the taxi driver went and got the hostel owner who suggested that I wake them up (what?). So I got in this tiny rickety elevator to go to the third floor with this strange guy (did I mention that there was no sign for this hostel anywhere?) and all of a sudden the advice from my "India survival guide for women" clicked in and I got out of the elevator and told him I didn't feel comfortable and that I would wait outside. Turns out I freaked out over nothing because 10 minutes later these super nice people appeared. I guess there was miscommunication and the cabbie and hostel owner thought they were my friends. We are definitely friends now after 7 hours of traveling in a small car together though!

Drive from Delhi to Rishikesh - Pretty much what I expected. Lots of people, cows, dogs, pollution, poverty and beautiful scenery. Once I got to Rishikesh, the cab dropped us off and then a motorcycle had to bring me to my room at the school. This was by far the scariest experience so far. I hiked my skirt up, hopped on the back of this motorcycle with my luggage and the driver sped like a speed demon through seas of people, animal feces, cows, cars, over a pedestrian bridge that was jam packed with Indians and tourists and cyclists. He just honked and powered through. I had to close my eyes for most of it, I really don't know how he was able to get through some of the crowds.

Yoga School- The other students are all really nice and I look forward to learning from them. There are people from Mexico, Germany, Turkey, Canada, USA, Australia and many other places that I have yet to discover. Once I got here, I had just enough time for a cold shower before heading over to orientation, which was really a big ceremony with chanting, food, jewelrey and rice on our foreheads. At one point we all took turns holding these plates of candles and sort of did a dancing ritual over an alter. I have to admit that I was really struggling to stay awake durring the entire ceremony and when they handed me a plate of fire, all I could think was Don't Drop This! Luckily, all went well and the building is still standing.

I just had dinner (roti with veggie stew and split pea soup) and am so ready to hit the sack. I just hope I can make it up for 6am neti-pot cleansing. Wish me luck! I have wi-fi in my room so I'll try to update every now and then when I have time. Oh and if you want to see, here is what my room looks like for the next 6 weeks:

~Namaste~

(p.s. Namaste literally means "hello" in Hindi... I found that neat)