some practical stuff

I keep posting about exciting things that have happened, (which will continue because I am visiting a wildlife sanctuary tomorrow, and have a city tour of Mysore on Sunday) but I guess I should fill people in about the general day-to-day stuff.

Four days a week, I have classes, starting with yoga at 6am. We practice Ashtanga yoga, which was founded here in Mysore. It is a pretty intense session, but I really like starting my day this way. I usually take my bucket bath before breakfast at 7:30...yes, I take a bath with a bucket. But it is awesome for two reasons: 1. It feels great to just dump a bucket of warm water over my head. (Or cold water, if there is no hot water.) And 2. it has made me realize how much water I waste on a regular basis by just sitting in the shower, everyday, sometimes even twice a day. Here, I can fill up less than half a bucket (it may be a 8-10 gallon bucket...) and it is more than adequate to wash my hair, entire body, and even have a little left over to dump over my head for kicks and giggles. I think this may be one habit I take with me to the states...

Anyway, breakfast at 7:30, and my first class is at 10:10am. I have classes until 1:30 (although we have been pushing it to 2pm):Culture and Civilization of India, Science, Technology, and Sustainable Development, and Environment and Health, all of which are FASCINATING and thought-provoking. I feel like all of our professors are totally over-qualified to be teaching a few American undergrads, but I am still thankful to have them.
Lunch, theoretically, at 1:30, and I have a break until 5pm, when I have either cooking or Bharatnatyum, South Indian Classical dance, during which we learn a few steps, then sit down and talk about Indian culture, music, and life in general. Our teacher is completely mesmerizing; she has this quality about her that is so soothing, I could listen to her for hours. She is short and fat (her own description), but her voice has this soft, raspy tone to it, and her eyes are very expressive (naturally, since she is an Indian dancer). I just came from this class, so I am still a little hypnotized.
6 to 7pm, I have Kannada class, which is pretty simple so far. The first thing she told us is that if you put -u(pronounced ooooo) at the end of any noun, you will be generally understood...bottle-u, English-u, fan-u, book-u, pen-u, etc. They just stole a bunch of words from the English. Oh, and my name, Elli, means "where." So Somu, who takes care of us, walks down the hall looking all around yelling "elli Elli? elli Elli?" Somu, by the way, is pretty awesome. The first thing Dr. Rao told us when we got here is that if we needed anything, just ask Somu. He pops up whenever we need him, is everywhere we are before we even get there, and even cooks for us sometimes.

Dinner, theoretically, at 7pm. Last night and tonight are actually the first nights that we are having dinner on time, because we have had so many events to attend. I have to admit, I've enjoyed having nothing to do.

I've been falling asleep at 9 or 9:30, so, basically, I'm turning into my dad (haha).
The weekends are dedicated to field trips and other events. Today, we took a field trip to an engineering college that specializes in sustainable development. We saw some very cool student projects, including a kitchen waste biogas device, meaning kitchen waste is put into a large vessel, which becomes hot and reduces, like compost, but because it is so concentrated it produces biogas, which can be used in place of methane gas. We also visited a house that utilizes this technology, as well as others the college has produced. Everything, including the water heater, is solar powered. I took a lot of pictures, but if anyone is REALLY interested, visit www.niecrest.org. It is fascinating stuff. They work closely with the Swami Vivekananda Institute to introduce these sustainable technologies to tribal villages, making things a little easier as well as environmentally friendly. Their one stipulation is that they will not produce these things on a large scale. They alter designs to make sure the materials can be bought locally (meaning, they don't have to buy all materials from China, etc.) and they train individuals how to make them, with the hope that the knowledge will be passed on, as many other Indian traditions have been passed on. I'm not sure how successful this has been, but they have good ideas.
They had one particular device I am especially interested in, which is a stationary bike (in essence) that grinds grain when pedaled....MOM.
All in all, they keep us busy, and AHH! I'm late for dinner! I have to go...more later!