I’m alive!

And by the way happy new year…

I know, I know, I’ve been quiet here.  You’d think that living in India would inspire me to write more, but it really hasn’t.  I brought a journal with me too and I haven’t written in there at all.  Perhaps there’s too much to do that I don’t have time to update or perhaps there’s not enough so I end up not writing much but anyway, here I am…

And it is freezing! I am wearing two pairs of pants, and four layers of clothes on top.  It is 4 degrees which is not so bad but considering that everything is concrete and there is no insulation, it is absolutely freezing and miserable at times.

How can people here do this? I told a couple of people I work with that if anything ever happens to the earth, India, more specifically the people living in Varanasi, will survive. People here are just so accustomed to fighting and surviving. It’s just second nature.

Apart from the cold (which is major for me because I love heat), things have been alright. I’ve had the chance to celebrate all major holidays, went on vacation 2x (first time to Pushkar, Rajasthan and second time to Dharamsala and Amritsar), met some new people, ate a lot of food, went on 4 boat rides and counting, took Kathak (traditional Indian dance) lessons, worked A LOT, celebrated birthdays India style, befriended stray dogs, and had many cups of chai. All in all, it has been theek (good).