...99, 100 Days away from Home!

In the morning I did another meditation and then started my day with a shower and final packing.  Breakfast was quick and easy and after checkout we headed to the airport.  This was probably one of the only times I have never felt stressed out during every single flight.  Everything went as smoothly as it could and I never got in trouble was cut it close for any flights.  When I got to the Delhi airport I had pizza and a mango lassi and then got on my flight, my bags had been checked through to Dehra Dun so I had no reason to stress out anything.  I landed in Rishikesh and was picked up by someone who of course knows my dad.  For the first time I got to see beautiful forests and a river that flowed below the road the whole drive.  I saw monkeys making their way up the road and was told about the elephants that cross the roads at night.  I was already calm but everything about Rishikesh just calmed me even more. 

When I arrived at the ashram I signed in and was brought to my room, which is inside a red brick one-floor house amongst many others.  The rooms were very cold and for some reason I could not get the hot water tap to work.  Dinnertime was close so I left for the dining hall where you are supposed to eat in complete silence.  I bumped into a lady along the way who spoke nothing at all and just smiled at me.  when I got to the dining hall she showed me where to get my plat and cup and then the food.  I quietly asked I man where to eat and he shook his head at me and left… it was the strangest thing.  I sat down and ate dinner by myself until a man sat with me… we didn’t talk to each other once but I could hear others talking at other tables, which confused me.  Finally when I my plate a man started talking to me and I joked about that I couldn’t believe he was talking.  He explained that silence is good but so is talking and it is not prohibited, he was the first person I spoke to that night and the only.  I headed back to my room to see if I couldn’t figure out my shower one more time but with no prevail, I went to bed without a shower and not smelling in the best of ways.  In the morning there is a 4:15 bell ringing that I will not be attending, nor the 5:15 meditation.  I will sleep until breakfast at 8 and then start my day from there.