Blogging frequently is going to be a lot harder than I thought. We still don't have Internet access in the hostel and most of the time the Internet in the library doesn't work so I never know when I'll get a chance to go online.

Second week went well. I'm happy to report that I have NOT gotten sick yet, even though I've been eating lots and lots of yummy curry dishes and roti and small donut looking things. I thought the differences would be overwhelming but I have not had any problems yet. The one thing I'm still having a hard time getting used to is the staring. I cant even step outside of the hostel without being looked at. I know I'm white but didn't your mother teach you not to stare?

Last night we had dinner at Professor Sandeep Shatris's home. If you watch CNN frequently or happen to read Indian newspapers (?) then you'll recognize the name. He is teaching the Contemporary India course. Dinner was unbelievable and a home cooked Indian meal will never compare to Indian food in NY. After dinner we had a chance to speak to his wife who was, in my opinion, more interesting than her husband. She told us about her PhD work and how she and some others organized a kind of menstruation education program for young women in India and how the program was officially adopted by Karnataka. This was about fifteen years ago when, she said, the majority of girls she spoke to had no sex education and had no idea what was going on in their bodies. Overall the evening of indian food, ice cream and talk of menstruatio was very pleasant :)

Going back a few days...

On Tuesday we went to a Krishna Consciousness Temple where we were treated like circus animals...seriously. As we checked our sandals in (cant wear shoes in the temples) families came over and pointed at us, some laughed, others just starred. Putting that aside, I found the temple to be the most modern temple I've seen yet and I found the hare krishna movement to be one of the most interesting topics I've come across in India.

When our professor introduced Krishna Consciousness she mentioned that many outsiders look at the group as a cult. So I was immediately turned off. When we walked further into the temple site, we were handed index cards with the hare krishna mantra and told to chant the whole thing before taking every step. There were only 40 or so steps but it took us about 15 minutes to get to the top. Most of the group was laughing at the very awkward situation and I didn't know why I was chanting. But once I got to the top, saw the unbelievable view (India has the best sunsets ever) and sat down to meditate I realized that I had not felt that relaxed in a long long time.

On Wednesday I tried to read everything I could find online about the Hare Krishna's and found out that they have an amazing food relief program, serving more than 200,000 meals a day in India. They have also had an influence on pop culture. Apparently Stevie Wonder has a song where the mantra is chanted in the background (how in the world did Stevie Wonder come into contact with the Hare Krishnas)? The Beatles mention Hare Krishna in I Am The Walrus. Ringo Starr and George Harrison mention Hare Krishna in several of their songs. So cults aren't all that bad I guess!

Check out http://www.iskcon.com/

This weekend I am going to Belore to see some temple ruins! I'd post some of the pictures I have taken but my laptop isn't working so I'll post them when I can. I hope someone is reading this. Please please let me know what you're up to, how your summer is going.