This went on for some time, was a little unnerving at first, but then at the end, it became one giant kumbaya fest with much laughter and giddiness among all. Which lasted until about lunch, lol. Then it was back to somber faces, irritation and complaints about who is behaving badly... Which is why it's just me & my laptop at the moment, lol!
No seriously, this is one of the most amazing & powerful experiences I've ever had & won't fully "sink in" until I'm back and can regroup. All is well in India! :-)
Oh, this is so cool for you!
ReplyDeleteYOU are behaving, right? Much can be read into the last couple sentences in that second paragraph, doncha know....
Yeah, who is behaving poorly?
ReplyDeleteWell, if I can escape the clutches & post again, I will elaborate on the "cross cultural awareness" theme for all my soc 101 students, as it seems to be ye ol' "us" and "them" routine, in which "they" are violating our "right" way of doing things. For example, one ashramite was publicly reprimanded for climbing on top of Krishna & riding him like bull. Meanwhile, I sat with the Krisha rider at lunch and she was adamant that she would "ride like bull" if she wanted to. Meanwhile, was complaining about "them" not waiting properly, rushing lines and generally behaving rudely. In fact, she recounted several times when she loudly proclaimed that others were "being RUDE!" Which is truly endearing all around, whether an "us" or "them" :-)) And yes Mark, I'm ALWAYS behaving, and well, you know my smart-a takes from wayyy back, yes? How little has changed ;-)
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