My Schedule

So, this is loooong overdue, since I left the cultural centre almost a week and a half ago.... but, while I was there, I got a few questions along the lines of "why are you so busy?" and "I don't understand what you're doing. What is your schedule like?" It varied day-to-day and week-to-week, as students came and went, but here is a sample of what my schedule resembled most of the time I was studying at Vijnana Kala Vedi:

between 5:30 and 7:15 Wakeup, journal, yoga on my own, read or get dressed in a hurry
7:30-8:30 Yoga (group class)
8:30 Breakfast
9:30-11:30 Kathakali individual lesson (kathakali is a traditional keralan art form, sort of a dance drama that combines footwork, hand mudras, facial expression, and body and eye exercises). Class was very physical-- always great right after breakfast.
11:30 Quick shower (like I said, kathakali was pretty sweaty)
12:00-1:00 Tabla individual lesson (a style of drumming from northern India. very complex with the coolest sound. I'm not very good, but I love it, both for the sound of the drums and for the meditative quality of playing.)
1:00 Lunch. Afterwards I'd hang out with people until my next class or check email or stalk the elephant...
2:30-3:30 Cooking individual lesson. Class with Nisha is probably the best part of the day. I only hope I can replicate the food when I get home.
After cooking, I had some free time. I did different things every day: relax, walk by the river, walk to Kozhencherry (about 3km) for ice cream, hang out with people, stare at a computer. The dining hall also served tea (& snacks) from 4 to 5:30pm.
7:30-8:30 Dinner.
After dinner, I would practice for my classes (especially tabla) and hang out with my housemates (I've already written about the advent candles and the Christmas drama we watched). We also went to bed pretty early most nights.

There was also an hour long group class in Kalari (the Indian martial arts form). I only made it to that once! I would have liked to keep going, but with yoga and kathakali and lots of walking I was getting enough physical activity and my schedule was plenty full!

On the weekends, we had all sorts of adventures: an overnight trip to Palakkad to see my Kathakali teacher perform, long hikes through nearby towns and villages, a wedding, beauty night (with fruit facials!), sari night (it took a few tries to learn how to put it on... let alone do anything while wearing it), sari shopping expeditions, all-night Kathakali performances, Star Trek on the big screen, an overnight trip to Periyar Nature Preserve, laundry, internet, and, occasionally, relaxing.