Shopping

After my morning yoga class yesterday, I rented a bicycle and rode into town. I figured that a bike would be safer, more environmentally friendly and better exercise than a scooter, so this was to be a trial run. Sadly, it wasn't exactly a resounding success. When standing beside the bike, the seat came to a few inches below mid-thigh. Once on it, I found that virtually every part of it was bent in an uncomfortable direction so not only were my knees up around my ears, I had to fight to stay on the seat and keep my feet on the pedals, all of which were twisted in a way that seemed designed to throw me off. The brakes were virtually non-existent and there were no gears. I still made it town in about 20 minutes but not without walking up a few hills. I ended up with chafing on the inside of my thigh from the crooked seat, and by the time I arrived I was literally drenched in sweat. I guess I’ll have to bite the bullet and learn to ride a scooter.

The shopping trip, on the other hand, was indeed a resounding success. I have found myself woefully unprepared for the weather and my activities here. I don’t know what I was thinking bringing yoga pants with me, but I can’t even look at them in this heat, much less put them on. (The good news is that I should be able to cosy up in them on cold winter nights in Nepal.) I also didn’t realise that standing or sitting still in various poses could produce this much sweat – I took 5 showers yesterday and went through 3 changes of clothes. While in town I bought 4 pairs of shorts, 2 t-shirts and a couple of skirts for wearing in between classes. I was thrilled to find clothes to fit me, and the skirts are long enough that I’ll be able to wear them in Nepal. I expect my biggest expense from now on will be laundry, which is thankfully pretty cheap. However, once the rains come, it will probably take days to dry – not sure what will happen then.

I managed to make it through my classes without falling asleep last night, but it was real struggle not to nod off during the lecture. It ended up starting a bit late and ran until 8:00, after which they were showing a movie. I opted out of the movie – just couldn’t stay awake any longer – and went to grab a bite to eat. I’m still not sure when meals are supposed to fit into the daily schedule. The kitchen opens at 8:00 AM and the first class is at 8:30, so there really isn’t time for anything other than juice or a fruit shake in the morning. The afternoon class starts at 4:00 and runs until 6:00, followed by a lecture that is supposed to finish at 7:30. This is followed by an evening activity (like the movie last night). So other than lunch, there really isn’t much time to eat. Fortunately, in this heat, your appetite diminishes a lot, but it’s still a long haul from lunch to lunch with only a banana shake in the middle.

I was happy to make it to 9:00 last night before going to bed, but the roosters had me up at 5:00 again this morning. I’m guessing that this will become my routine. I really wish that I could sleep past 5:00, and stay up a bit later at night, but I haven’t found the “off” button for the roosters. Perhaps my next shopping list will include a shotgun and roasting pot.