Sadhana Forest

These past two weeks have flown right on by me. I've met some incredible people, eaten some amazingly delicious food, and worked and sweated oh my! All this week I've been rising at 4:45am to begin yoga for an hour before first work shift begins at 6:30, then choose from either reforestation, eco dome building, gardening, cleaning, brekkie cooking, compost scoopin, poop stirrin, hand washing laundry, or any other random task around the community that needs to be done. Then breakfast which is a delicious fruit salad which alternates between acidic fruits and sweet every other day and some porridge with jaggery. Then second work takes place from 930 to 1130 and a variety of the same jobs or different can be done during that time. We each have jobs to do each week, everything from filling up the water around for hand/bum washing to feeding the dogs, safe key holder, main hut cleaner, wake up person( someone who sings or plays music, or hugs people to wake them up in the morning). Last week I was second work coordinator, this week I'm the dog/cat feeder. The easiest job is safe key holder, you just have to open the safe once a week,Juli did that one last week. And you can swim in the mud pools to cool off and do a mud mask, hop on the back of someone's motorbike to jet into Auroville for some helado and other delicious goods, or just lay in a hammock in read all afternoon.
Honestly, I'm having the best time and I don't know where the time has gone. I haven't really read any books or writen much or even drawn much. But I've been talking and talking and playing and joking around with all the awesome people I've met at Sadhana forest. Sheila, a beautiful Scottish soul whose singing almost brings me to tears and who even taught us traditional scottish dance last night. Tony, my Salt Lake City hommie who can tell some dead baby jokes like you wouldn't believe. Nicholas, the Belgian multitasker who everyday reveals a new skill, dancing, guitar, harmonica, french, spanish, thai massage, photography, and the list goes on...and who has very bad motorbike luck, two flat tires and one break down in like a week. Becca, a Yale painting student who came to Sadhana on her spring break and who every single day surprises me with something new and amazing and intruiguing and beautiful about herself. Jenny, the cutest English traveller who is sweet and shy and who has dreadlocks down to her butt. Seb, also english and man does he love his tea, and his manual labor, and his Indian head bob, which he does magnificently. Maddie, Australian and an artist she is organized and so funny and sings a beautiful Juno duet. And Yoav her boyfriend who sometimes looks like Jesus with his long beard and loincloth style sheet skirt, and who quotes forest gump and lebowski endlessly. Mohana and Malcolm, this cute Australian couple who meditate before and after meals and who sugary sweet and kind. Constance and Silva, French couple who are also very sweet and funny as well and so cute together it makes me a little jealous sometimes. Conan, Dutch chef du jour who makes the most bomb ass food ever such as this Indonesian dish with peanut sauce that i can't even begin to tell you about it was soo GOOD! Janine, who's cute German accent enlivens first work duties every morning which is not easy to do at 630 am. Inbal and Almog, who just left today sadly, both Israeli and a bit shy at first but so much fun to be around and Inbal is one badass yoga teacher. Of course Nadav, a tall hillarious Israeli guy who meditates and is aweosme to cook with. Julia, who is American and moving to Seattle soon so I gave her a full list of vegan restaurants to eat at when she goes there. Arno, from France who plays a good hand drum, and guitar and who is drawing up a storm every chance he gets. Small world as it is, Josh and Tobin are two guys from Seattle, and both went/go to UW and Josh was in my class, lived in Mercer during the same time and I even remember meeting him at a party at Matt's house sophmore year of college. So there you go. Running into someone from the same college dorm in a commune in India. Just another day. Josh has got the New York Jewish guy thing down to a T. Except he's from Seattle. But whatever, he's great comic relief for sure! Carrie and Greg, American. soo just loved hanging around them and swapping travel tips and stories and using heavy sarcasm. Of course Aviram and Yorit, the founders of Sadhana forest who generously open their community to all of us, and their children eight year old Osher, who is wise beyond her years and very kind; and baby Shalev who started WALKING since I've been here. And who is quite possibly the happiest baby I have ever seen in my ENTIRE life. If I ever have kids I want them to be as happy as this baby. Stacy said the other day that it reminds her of high school cause you can't really go anywhere cool and you just hang out all the time. Which is quite true. And more true cause I'm too chicken shit to ride a motorbike so I'm at the mercy of anyone with a car(aka moped) who can give me a ride and then i just go wherever they're going. There are tons of amazingly huge snakes, I saw one but it was little, so we're always on the lookout. And rats. And geckos and incredibly large buzzing beetles and bees and ants on steroids. I also watched baby Shalev eat a ball of salt today. She didn't spit it out. But I watched the whole process of disgust unfold on this one year olds face and it was hillarious. I feel comfortable and at home and it is great to be surrounded by friend. The vegan food is doing the body good, and the ice cream on the side is a slight slip up but whatevah, this place Richy Rich in Auroville is simply amazing. Many people left today and many people came recently, a few sweet Swedish girls, and some others I've yet to really meet but look forward to all of it. And If I've forgotton anyone thats because I'm soo playing the hot game in this internet cafe and have to get out of here.
Also. I shit my pants.
That's right everyone. I didn't know if this was blog appropriate, but after the Argentinean balls incident, I figured I had to devulge. Plus it is funny now. Not too soon, the INCIDENT occured last week. After about two days of being in India, I got such bad diharea that I couldn't make it to the bathroom last week. TWICE. On my third day of shitting my brains out and a little puking AND after the pants-pooping incident of 09'( aka pulling a Charlotte) I decided to cave and took a Cipro and I was better in less than 24 hours. Amen for some meds man. And anyone who has traveled through say, India or Bolivia or anywhere else and can join this particular club... I salute you, and I join you at last.

On that note. I'm outa here. Also I've decided to stay in India longer, see if I can't up my chances of another not quite making it incident. Just kidding. I just feel like Sadhana is a great place, it feels like a home, and I want to continue to explore what I can learn about myself there and I want to continue to voluneteer in this community. So another month or so in India so I can travel around a bit after about another month at Sadhana I think. Well, that's all folks.
Shitty Pants Andrews--Out!