Road To Mysore

This week has been a very draining week. Wake up at 4:30 every morning, practice by 6, breakfast at 9 and rush to Enzo's at 11AM and head back to Gokulam by 4:30PM. By the time I get home I'm just exhausted. My Thai massage class is really exhausting. I have a new found respect for Thai massage. It's much harder than I expected. It's literally a workout all by itself. The whole body mechanics and transitions is so foriegn to me. My class starts at 11AM, then I break for lunch at 1PM and get back to class from 2 to 4PM. Since it's a one on one class, I do all the work and I don't get any work on me. At the end of each class, I just literally collapse on the mat and rest for a few minutes. I've learned a lot the past few days but what I learned the most is that I have more to learn. I've worked on the floor before when I did my Shiatsu class last year but Thai massage is so much more physical. I'm trying to enjoy the class but it's really hard to because the ashtanga practice really takes a lot from you. Enzo warned me about getting drained and all that but I did not have much of a choice. I would have wanted to waited a week later but his leaving for Thailand for 6 weeks this Monday.

Today we finished the last part of the whole routine. Tomorrow, I'll review the last part and then work on the routine from begining to end. I know I won't remember the whole routine but I think I have about 60% of it. The good thing about doing the class now is that I have 6 weeks to practice on my own before Enzo gets back. I think I'm going to take a advance class with him when he gets back. Tomorrow is also the last day of my class so I'm looking forward to slowing down next week and have a more social life.

Last night I had dinner with the LA crew, Simon Automatic and Ric(from Australia) at the 3 Sisters. I went straight from my Thai massage class because I was already in Laksmipuram. It was Kerri's last night in Mysore. She heads back to LA tonight and will arrive by Friday. It was a nice quiet dinner. Maura(from San Diego), Enzo and Hojung dropped by to say goodbye too. Kerri is the first person in our circle to leave. I'm sad to see her go but I know I'll see her in LA. Kerri said she had a great time here and that Mysore has met all her expectations and more but it was time for her to get back to her two children. She did say that she was going to come back next year too. I think most of us here feel the same way.

In my first few weeks here in Mysore, Vincent dubbed me the "welcome committee". I have been too exthusiatic in making new friends and meeting everybody. Last night, that all changed. It just recently occurred to me that amongst the people I hang out with, I will be the last one to leave. I now understand why some people here are not too friendly. Saying goodbye could be a very difficult thing to do. Next week, Shannon leaves and maybe even George. Ric leaves in two weeks too. I don't know how many goodbye dinners I can take before I breakdown. I told Shannon that when I leave, nobody is going to say goodbye to me. That's a very depressing thought. She said that they will throw a welcome party for me when I arrive in LA. That's really nice but I think leaving Mysore at the end of January alone is still depressing. I know I'm thinking way ahead of myself here but in 5 days we're going to have another goodbye dinner for Shannon. Maybe being too friendly here is not a very good idea. I don't want to be dramatic but it's something I've been thinking about.