If you are what you eat, I may just turn into a mango.

I've always liked mangos, but since arriving here, the eating of said fruit has become a daily ritual. I eat at least one, usually after hand selecting from the fruit and veg guy in our local E-Block market, and peeling it, of course. The mango is always deliciously warm, probably just picked that morning before being trucked, or bicycled in to sit in the sun a while longer. I suppose a fresh mango in Delhi could be compared to an apple in autumn in Vermont, or the blueberries in August from my mom's garden. But there is something so remarkable about the mango. Despite the drought and the heat, the mango still manages to be perfectly refreshing and juicy and sweet. And the mango, freshly picked from a farm nearby, is yet another reminder that I am somewhere different, exotic, new, and that in and of itself is refreshing and exciting.

I started a yoga course yesterday at a studio just a short walk from the flat. I read a glowing review about the teacher, Mini, in Love Delhi (a most excellent guidebook, should you visit here). As Mini has just had a baby, there is a sub for two months, and I am hoping that she will be as wonderful as all the students tell me Mini is. We shall see. I am just happy to be back at it, with the energy of a class. I enjoy my own practice, but there is something to be said for coming together in a room with other people. The combined energy can be grounding and electrifying all at once.

The electricity and water are being quite stubborn today, switching on and off throughout the morning. I was barely able to rinse the conditioner from my hair as the water slowed to a trickle. And the power is flickering, which is hardly a nuisance, as the fans and lights (not needed during the day, anyway) are on a generator. There was a wicked storm last night, lovely to watch, really - lightning, sideways rain, howling winds. The smells outside have changed drastically as a result. Everything is magnified. The aroma from the plumeria blossoms is intoxifying, but at the same time, the smell mangy dogs and cows and their feces along the road could nearly knock you down. Overall, it just smells wet - really, really wet. The heat has let up just slightly, and in it's place the humidity has increased quite significantly. The air is heavy, and it's hard to inhale a full breath. But I appreciate the heat, intense as it is. It's surprisingly refreshing and detoxifying - all the sweating, and water I drink to rehydrate and cold showers I look forward to.

I enrolled in a 3 week yoga course in Dehradun to start towards the end of November. It came highly recommended by a friend who lives in Manali, and has studied all over India. I am very excited to get up to the North, and will probably start with visiting my aunt in Kullu in October, making my way further north to see my friend in Manali, and trek a bit. After Dehradun, I plan to head South to Bangalore to see friends, spend the holiday somewhere, and then continue my studies at the Jois Ashtanga Institute in Mysore for a couple of months. Goa and Kerala, two beach regions in the South, are calling my name. Ah, to bask in the sun by the ocean!

I am not sure what my itinerary will develop into. It's dependent on a lot of things - money, opportunities, stamina. I am letting it all just unfold as it will.

Namaste, friends.