im sitting here writing this from a hilltop internet cafe in daramsala, north india. the entire town was shut off from the internet the last couple of days - the line got cut somewhere. now it's back, but it's slow. its nice, in a way - being out in asia takes you back to 1998, when slow internet was an accepted fact of life.
sri lanka was a mindblow. my friends aloka and kasun took great care of my, as did the many people i met throughout my stay. much respect, im am deeply greatful. kasun's mom was so kind to make me sri lankan food every morning sans the spice, which made me able to enjoy the vast array of local fruit and vegetables. they took me to see many places, as some of you have already seen from the pictures on facebook, and thought it would be a little over the top to suggest ive seen all of sri lanka in just a month, i did see a big part of their beautiful land, so im way stoked.
i got into delhi about 5 days ago, and basicly just hit the ground running. i was longing for some fresh, hillcountry air - and i obviously wasnt getting any of that out in north india's most polluted city. so i got myself a bus ticket and went straight to daramsala that same night. its really nice up here, the weather's kinda like springtime, though the nights can get pretty cold. taking to aloka's example, ive made an effort to be more social and outgoing. i talk to a lot of people, picking their brains, learning things, making new friends. i now see why so many people stress the importance of networking, you really get stuff done this way. makes you feel less isolated to - when youre sharing there sense of 'me' and 'mine' is not as prominent, which is nice.
im still kind of feeling things out, making up my plan as i go along. i took up a room at a monestary about a mile out of town. the vibe is a lot more relaxed, plus it gets more sunshine and is way econo too! don't expect nothing 'holy' though, its quite a normal things for monestaries out here to rent out rooms to guests, and passing monks listening to 50 cent on their iphone is not all that of an unusual sight. sorry if that spoiled anyone's fantasy of the 'mystical tibetan buddhist exile town', but it is reality. and it's all good :)
ill write more when i can. the power just went out and the 'puters are running on a generator, so i dont know how much time i have left. ill try and put up some pictures next time.
much kindness,
max
