Freeeee-dom!!

So you know how at home, you practically have to make up a disease in order to get an excused sick absence? Well, my program in India seems to believe the exact opposite. Any time you have any small trouble, "you should go home and rest." I have a day off today because of this delightful rule.

First, a comment on Indian doctors. The process, invariably, is as follows: Sit in a matchbox-sized waiting room for fifteen minutes, enter doctor's office, be instantly asked a handful of questions, be told what is wrong with you and what could be wrong with you in the future (how do they know these things??), receive prescriptions for a minimum of 3 drugs--the max I've heard of so far has been 6--, exit the office within five minutes of entering, pay between 100-200 rupees (Am. $2-4 dollars), and lastly, visit the neighborhood "chemist," i.e. pharmacist, to pick up your 100-rupee-total prescriptions. Oh, and the drugs make you feel better by the very next day. Boom done.

Those shenanigans were yesterday. Been there done that, yea? And that brings us to today, in which I found myself, feeling right as rain, with an entire blue-skied day stretching ahead of me, impossibly and absolutely free from any obligation or expectation. I allowed myself to collapse within the thrilling vagueness of the verb "rest." I started the day with a dearly needed skype conversation, followed by a run and a long, cold, refreshing shower. I read more from Atlas Shrugged (which is turning out to be more of a bear that a blessing.. any other book suggestions?), drank some of the apple juice in our fridge, had several good conversations with friends/family back home, flipped nostalgically through dusty playlists from old friends, and watched a pirated version of Despicable Me (hilarious... more the quality of the film than the actual content, but still great... and don't judge me, homes, there was a minimal selection in my flat). Then, I gleefully fled from quarantine to meet with friends for conversation, half a tomato-basil panini, and a few stolen bites of chocolate icecream. Oh. My. Gosh.

Today was particularly extraordinary because back in real life, especially back in Davidson, I largely define my actions within a context of what I feel I should be doing. But today... Well, today was unconditionally, explicitly, invariably and unashamedly, all about me. Taking a day off from everything is an art that I have needed practice in for a long time. Hoorah!

On a different note, because it is important for you fine folk to understand/appreciate just what sort of crucial info our program director carefully selects to high-importance email us about, here's a direct copy & paste of the entire email:

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Hello ALL
Coming 10th Oct.2010 at 10 Am, 10 Minutes & 10 Seconds
the TIME & DATE is
10.10.10.10.10.10
It will come once in 1000 yrs. Isn't it exciting?

Also, enjoy the studious Lord Ganesh in different posing and moods.

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Ha ha thanks? We're currently celebrating a festival in honor of the god Ganesh, but the randomness of this email nevertheless made me smile. I mean really... Isn't it exciting? :)

more soon,

from india,

jeannie