A New Life Plan

It’s noon on Sunday in Soltla, and now that the power has cut out there is no longer the sound of the fan to accompany the Sikh prayers on the loud speaker, blasting across the village that I now call home.

Last Sunday I was on the beach at Point Dumne, cold even with a fleece and sweater. And, in just the span of a week, I am a world away, drenched in sweat and the smell of dust and sweet air.

I hopped on a plane on Wednesday afternoon, flew across the Pacific and changed days and waved at Japan as the UCLA graduate next to me tried to explain Korean food to me. I then was checked for swine flu, wandered around the Seoul airport and then curled up as my plane flew across Asia, landing in Delhi’s midnight 86 degree air. The rest of the hair-raising journey is too much to describe here, so I will leave it as a story to tell in emails or phone conversations or dinner discussions when we all meet again.

In just two nights here I have been reminded of what I love: color, slow paced walking, having and taking the time to sit, to talk, to drink tea and eat chapati and then linger, passing hours in each other’s company in front of a fan.

I have decided to embrace a free-spirited approach to the next few years of my life. My three days here are already overflowing with stories, memories made, and swaying emotions that have left me stretched beyond thin.

And in an effort to just take it as it comes I am living in the moment. Perhaps I will stay 10 months. Perhaps I will head back in 6. But either way, there’s something to be said for this wide-eyed and eager freedom.