Journeys of a Pregnant Virgin

PART ONE

I have been to India, and back. I had hoped to write here from time to time and allow my friends to share a bit of the journey, but that simply did not work out. Internet access proved to be sporadic and generally expensive. When it was not expensive it was outdoors in dark corners full of mosquitoes. About halfway through my five weeks I realized I would not be writing blogs in India, but I did handwrite one which I want to post here after the fact. And since I've never posted from my mercurial desktop computer before, I will write several short blogs rather than a single long one. I don't want to risk losing material.

December 23rd was the date of my return and I am only now beginning to feel like myself again. Travel back was gruelling with two ten hour flights (starting at 3 am in Delhi) separated by a ten hour layover at Heathrow Airport. With the thirteen and a half hour time difference, that means about 55 hours without sleep, except for a couple of hours during the first flight. No doubt that contributed to the heavy cold that is just beginning to abate now. But I think I only understood yesterday how liminal I have been feeling since my return, as if part of me has been hovering over the Arabian Sea and only gradually drifting homeward. During our New Year's Eve walk on the beach we encountered an Indian lady in traditional dress and I felt like throwing my arms around her as if I'd been homesick for the look of Hindu women. Maybe I have been! Several nights before my return I dreamed that I saw a young Indian man in Canada and enthusiastically told him that I had just returned from India and that I loved the country.

(I think I will pause here and post, just to be sure this is working!)