Loving and Hating India

Basic Ashram Schedule 0520 hrs WAKE UP BELL 0600 hrs SATSANG (Meditation/Chanting) 0730 hrs TEA TIME 0800 hrs ASANA CLASS (Yoga) 1000 hrs BRUNCH 1100 hrs KARMA YOGA (Doing a chore) 1230 hrs COACHING CLASS (optional) 1330 hrs TEA TIME 1400 hrs LECTURE 1600 hrs ASANA CLASS 1800 hrs DINNER 2000 hrs SATSANG 2200 hrs LIGHTS OUT The entire schedule is mandatory. I knew heading into the ashram my days would be busy and there was a unique strictness that I would need to abide by. I was fine with the yoga, meditation, and karma yoga. In a weird twist of fate my karma yoga was hauling wood, which I'm sure upon hearing that my bonus dad will break into smile and and exclaim "good, I've got plenty of karma yoga for her here." I thought no problem I can do this for 2 weeks, I lasted 3 days. Was it the lack of hot water, the un-hygienic bathrooms or did my rebellious streak make a reappearance? I'm guessing it was a combo of all three and I naively thought once I escaped the ashram I would be rewarded with copious amounts of hot water and toilets with toilet paper or at the very least hoses. Yes I can be high maintenance at times. We advise the ashram we will be leaving the following morning and are handed 2 exit passes which we were told not to lose or we will not be allowed to leave. After the wake up bell with our precious exit passes in hand we catch a bus to the train station and so begins our journey through India. After being warned that it can be difficult to obtain same day train tickets we were delighted to have 2 tickets to Mandurai. Unbeknown to us these tickets to freedom were the worst possible tickets a foreigner could have. There are 7 different train classes in India 1AC/2AC being the best where you're in groups of 4 and the seats convert to bunks and the worst being unreserved 2nd class with less seats than people. One guess which class we were in? The train journey in unreserved 2nd class is one I won't forget and will be quite happy to never experience again, while there are parts of it I enjoyed there are parts I loathed. Making small talk with the men across from us, seeing the locals reaction to a picture I showed them of snow, and interacting with the children were moments that in the end made the train ride worth it. The gut wrenching moments were when the women and children would smile up at me from the cramped floor. I wanted to offer up my seats to them but didn't want to be even closer to the men that were staring at me or worse have another body part squeezed (earlier I had my ass pinched by an older man). The sad reality is that in the time it would take the closest woman to get to my seat a man would have likely stolen the seat. When I mentioned I was headed to India fellow travellers would often advise me that in their experiences men often treated women like second class citizens. There would be times when I will get ignored and need my friend to communicate for me, other times I will be stared so intently with a look that you know is not pure or they will accidentally on purpose grope you. There not all bad though I was told, often you will be greeted warmly, smiled at politely and treated with respect. I can attest to having experienced all three interactions, and while the first two are annoying and unnerving respectively, it's a whole different ball game over here and it's best to ignore the bad, focus on the good, and accept the cultural difference of the country you are travelling in. For every disheartening moment there is another moment not to far that fills your heart with joy. At the time of writing this I've been in India a week I had a difficult time adjusting to the culture, and the low level of hygiene was making my homesickness even more prevalent. I could have said fuck this and book my ticket home, and trust me I was been on the verge of doing exactly that but for now I am holding off. I will continue riding the roller coaster of emotions going back and forth between loving India and hating it.