I'm Alive!!!!!

For those of you who didn't know that I was once again on the move (the majority) I left Kerala a little over a week ago, and arrived in Auroville around 40 hours later. Hence the title. And hence the harrowing tale that follows.

I had originally planned to go to Cochin, a big city close to my art school, and stay there for a night, then go to Chennai, stay there for a night, then go to Pondicherry, stay there for a night then go to Auroville. However, I rediscovered something vital on the trip over there:

I LOATHE Traveling.

Then what are you doing in India? you say? What are you doing spending an entire year traveling?

The answer: I'm not actually traveling most of the time. If you haven't already seen, I've actually spent the majority of my time staying still. I stayed still in Delhi, I stayed still in Kerala, and now I'm going to stay still in Auroville.

Because traveling is hell (Delhi is hell, too. There are just so many hells, it's insaner than a pretzel (and pretzels are pretty darn insane)). To illustrate, here's how my trip went:

Got off at the wrong stop right away (of course) had to walk to the right stop, then got on the train, but couldn't get to the second class carriages in time, so had to stay standing the whole time in the sleeper class while kashmiri soldiers cornered me and hit on me and mocked my "Oooooh, OK" (*grumbles*).

After two hours of this I arrived in Cochin/Ernakulam, took one sniff, nearly died, decided I didn't really like Ernakulam anyway, and hopped on the next train to Chennai.

However, since I'd booked it only an hour in advance, I had to go in the II Class.

The train ride was 12 hours long.

It was 12 hours of hell.

For one, II class is not the same as second class in Western countries. Here the classes go: First class AC, Second class AC, Third class AC, the same without AC, then Sleeper Class, then II Class. II Class is as far down as you can go. Which is OK if you're going during the day and if you're in a Ladies only compartment. It's about a twentieth of the price of First Class AC, and usually it's bearable. However, if it goes during the night and you're squished between 10 smelly, ugly men, it's a whole other story.

The seats are basically wooden benches, the men have no idea what the words "personal bubble" mean, every five minutes a man comes around yelling "Chay-uh! Chay-uh! Chay-uh!" (Chai), they don't turn the lights off the entire time and there's NO PLACE TO SLEEP!!!!

My train ride was from 5PM to 5Am.

Eventually the men pointed out that I could sleep on the luggage wrack, which I did. If you could call it sleep. It really was just a luggage wrack, so it was filled with all of these projecting metal pole things and I had to keep my ginormous luggage under my head as The Most Uncomfortable Pillow in the World. It actually bruised my spine! I can't get a look at it because I don't have a mirror, but my Korean dorm-mates in Auroville had one look at my neck, pointed, and looked at me worriedly.

And it's not over yet! After only getting 4 hours of sleep, I wake up to find a man touching me!

You know, I think that me sleeping is a dangerous thing, because when he woke me up, all I did was give him The Look (meaning the I'm Sleeping, Leave Me Alone Look) and tried to go back to sleep. It's just like when that drunk guy was peeking through my window at my art school and I just turned around and went back to sleep (don't worry, Mum. Everything was O. K. ) I think me sleeping is a dangerous thing because people can do anything to me, and I don't really get worried, because I'm so sleepy.

Well anyhoo, the worst thing that came out of that episode was that I couldn't get back to sleep and it was 3AM. I'd only gotten 4 hours of sleep, and the night before, I'd only gotten 5. And I'd walked a lot the other day (I also walked the hour-bloody-long walk from the bus station to the train station in Kottayam) so I was SO TIRED.

After those twelve hours (which were actually 14 because it's India, and everything is always late) I got off the train in Chennai, took one whiff, nearly died, saw a rat, nearly screamed, decided I really didn't like Chennai anyway, and hopped on the next bus to Pondicherry.

The bus ride was 3 hours long and all the while I had to keep my ginormous pack on my lap because there wasn't enough space for it anywhere else. My butt had shooting pains up it the entire way. That and I hadn't gone to the washroom for the past 24 hours because the pathetic excuses for public squatholes here smell like death.

I got to Pondicherry, took one sniff, decided I didn't really like it anyway, and hopped on the next bus to Auroville.

On the way there I had to stand the whole way, and there was this little girl that kept on kicking her foot between my legs and every time I kept on thinking it was somebody's hand and I was all whipping around to stop the man, but it was only a little girl and. . . god, I was so tired.

Finally I got to Auroville.

I took one whiff and. . .

Nearly died from pleasure.

It smells SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOD!!! It's like what I always imagined the Garden of Eden would have smelled like. It smells like a mixture between Gramma's during the summer, a garden of flowers, and a spice shop. Basically, heaven.

The place is more than half covered by flowering trees and bushes, and is simply fanpendous. I've already started my job at the kitchen, where they feed me really healthy lunch for free (or for my 5 hours of work, whatever) . I'm mostly in charge of making juices and salads, because I'm still pretty afraid of boiling liquids and I like to handle meat as little as possible.

I'm staying at a youth hostel where I only have to pay Rs. 80 a day ($2) and that includes free washing machines (a luxury that I never truly appreciated till now) and free breakfast and dinner. I'm in a dorm room with two Korean girls whose eyes positively fell out when I told them I was 17. Everybody here gets around by motorbike and I've been offered to rent one (free as well) and ride around. I think I'll take them up on the offer eventually, if only to try it out, but I prefer getting around by bike. Much healthier and better for the environment. Also, there's no such thing as helmets here and muzzah, for once you've had success in that I'm paranoid enough to think they're all bonkers for doing so.

I'm having the best of times here.

Remember that I expect a respectably-lengthed handwritten letter for Xmas (I'll give you my address next time)

Don't worry,

Lurve y'all bunches,

Bisous,

Namaste,

Lentil,

The Girl Who's Happy To See That The Name Lentil Is Catching On and Nobody Here Knows That It's Not My Actual Name *cackles*