We got here on Sunday afternoon. All of a sudden it was HOT. About 30 c and we all started to sweat. We were all given our rooms and quickly settled in.
I will put some picture up in a few days. I am planning doing a photo diary for a day and putting them up on the web. For now here is a description of the room.
Our room
The building is made of concrete and is open to the outside. There are breezeways through the middle of the building to let the breeze blow through and carry away the heat. There is no insulation and there is no heating system. My room is on the second floor and I can look up and see the bottom of the terracota roofing tiles. There is a very small skylight above the bed about the size of one of the roofing tiles.
There are two single beds in each room. These beds are small. I worry about turning over in the night a rolling on to the floor. Each bed is surrounded by mosquito netting. It’s liking sleeping in one of those really old four poster beds with curtians.
We have two windows in our room that are open all of the time. There are bars on the windows to keep and animals and people out I assume. I expect that they are not there to keep me in. I have desire to crawl out onto the roof.
We have have night table beside our bed with a lamp on it. Other than that there is no other furniture in the room. No chairs, no table, no dresser. Nothing with drawers in it. There is a pole in each room with coat hangers that we can put some of our clothes on. Other than that you use your suitcase to hold your clothes. You are not expected to spend any time in your room except when you are sleeping. The rest of the time you are either eating (excellent food), doing yoga (excellent practice), touring or lounging on the terrace.
There is one bathroom per room and there is a small sink outside of the bathroom. There is a normal toilet in the bathroom, and not an Indian squat toilet. The shower is in the bathroom as well. The shower and toilet are all one room. There is not a separate enclosure for the shower. There is also a small boiler to heat the water for the shower. You turn the boiler on about 5 minutes before you want a shower and then there is lots of hot water ready for you.
My roommate is one of the assistant instructors Jason. He and Shenna are helping Nancy with the adjustments during the morning mysore practice.
A typical day
Our day starts with us getting up about 7 am. We start the day with a mysore style practice starting at 8 am until about 10:00 am.
Breakfast is served at about 10:00. It is buffet style. Porridge, lots of fresh fruit to pick from, yogurt, granola, toast and jam. And of course coffee and tea.
After breakfast its time for a shower and then you can return to the terrace to join in the conversations. Recline on one of the many beds to either read or doze. You can also go to the pool to soak up some sun or have a swim.
At about 1:00 pm it is time for lunch. Everyday there is a different variety of food to pick from the buffet. Most of it I do not recognize and none of it has bothered me so far.
Then in the afternoon there is more relaxation or perhaps a taxi trip to take in the beach or one of the other attractions that are near by.
There is a conference with Nancy on most evening from 5 – 6 pm. We get to talk about the Ashtanga practice and her insights into that practice. She also talks about when she and David first started the practice.
After the conference it is time for supper. Again it is served buffet style. Every night there is a different selection of food. None of it is weird, just stuff I have not eaten before along with some familiar stuff.
After supper, its time for more conversation, reading, lounging about, swimming or sunning.
By about 9 pm its time for bed, we have an early start in the morning.
That’s all for now.
