​Well I promised to write my first blog post ages ago.  Here i am on day four having some spare time to myself at last! 
I first wanted to write about my high anxiety coming into this trip. India to me has always been sort of the epitome of travel. .. a master’s degree if you will. If you can successfully navigate india you can get around pretty much anywhere. .. save for places like Syria or Liberia. 

On my round the world trip in 2010, I was headed to india but decided not to go because I’d  spoken to a few people who said they were happy they went but even more happy to leave.  Why would I want to go to a place like that? ! And yet I still wanted to go. I can’t really even explain why exactly.  I’m not into yoga or retreats or finding myself on a spiritual journey. I have a pretty good idea who I am and am not seeking enlightenment.  I believe enlightenment comes from experiencing different cultures and learning from them.  Travel is my guru.

An opportunity arose that I couldn’t turn down… my friend Carrie decided to go for a four and a half month tour to india, Nepal and Sri Lanka. I decided to join her for two weeks in the south. Then my friend Jes said “I wanna come too!” so we booked a two week tour in rajasthan together, starting right after my time with Carrie comes to an end.

 For seventeen years my back has been a traitor. The pain and episodes come and go… sometimes with a vengeance I would not wish on my worst enemy. For months now I have been worried about my back and this trip. I decided to carpet bomb my back with treatment and see if anything stuck. I saw four specialists.Tried many different things. And it worked. I’ll figure out which treatment was the magic bullet later. Perhaps sitting at desk all day is worse than I ever thought.  Because I’ve felt better in the past few days. .. plane ride and all… than I’ve felt for months. Thank the Back Krishna if there is one.  I will make an offering tonight.

Then the cash crisis. Nov. 8 the government decided to take 500 and 1000 rupee notes out of circulation. Which caused an unbelievable cash crunch in a country that has a cash based economy.  And over a billion people. It’s still difficult for tourists to find cash but the poor of India and the farmers who pay their laborers on cash… they are suffering.

Many things to worry about. I am a worrier. Need to stop. I am here now. It is fine.