sitting in the paris airport. It is cold and dark outside... waiting for the cafe to open so I can get a baguette and coffee before my flight in about three hours. the flight was ok. They didn't have my veg meal so they gave me a cheese plate with blue, Parmesan, Bree cheses, a few baguettes, and an amazing fruit plate from first class. Kinda hope they don't have my veg meal on the next flight.

Bags are almost packed. I have sleeping bag, pajamas, etc. I am just afraid I am going to be someplace over the Atlantic and think, oh s#!^, I forgot______________.

I am getting nervous. I love to travel, but I wish I wasn't going alone. I have before, but it has been years. I am sure everything will be ok, but I wish Husband was coming with me.

Religion

As most of you know, as well as my trip to do good in India, I also follow an Indian religion. I was raised this way. The religion is Gaudia Vaisnavism... I usually just say Hindu, but that is WAY too broad of a term. The main teaching is Bhakti Yoga... the yoga of devotion. The ideal is to love God. Fully and without restraint- with the whole heart, soul - the way a crush takes over your every thought, that is how I am striving to feel about the divine. Every rule and regulation is to make us less attached to the material and turn our thoughts and feelings towards something higher and less temporary. We worship the divine couple: Radha and Krishna. The female and male aspect of God.

A big part of our worship is the singing of hymns using, as many scriptures including the bible recomends, drums and cymbles. Many of the songs are in Bengali or sanskrit, which I don't speak (sanskrit isn't a spoken language anymore) much of, but there are available translations.

The main scriptures are The Bhagavad Gita, and Srimad Chaitanya Charitamrita. But there are thousands of books.
Very Very short overview.

Where in the world....

I was asked a question at work last night regarding the location of the Cities I will be in. I am flying into New Delhi, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is in the north central region. I am staying there for a night and then will fly to Kolkata the 31st. Kolkata is in West Bengal, on the east side of the country,near the Bay of Bengal.

The recent attacks on India were in Mumbai which was Bombay. It is on the south/central west side of the country on the Arabian sea in a state called Maharashtra. This is the center of the Indian movie industry, the Indian Hollywood-- Bollywood. I WILL NOT be going there on this trip.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Dehli

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai

Here is a clip from my favorite bollywood movie, Jodhaa Akbar, about Emperor Akbar and his Rajput (Rajasthan is an Indian state. Rajaput means the sons of Kings) wife. He was a Muslim ruler, but was open to other religions and even allowed his wife to stay Hindu. This movie is loosely based on History.

for those of you who are unsure where India is....
It is a secular democracy sandwiched in between Communist China to the north east and the Islamic countries to the north west. It is in a political hot bed, which is why it has so many refugees and one of the reasons for the poverty stricken slums in the big cities. Kolkata, in West Bengal, has uncounted refugees from Bangladesh, which was East Bengal before partition.

Even the leader of the Tibetan Buddhists, the Dali Lama, is taking asylum in India now, along with many of his followers and countrymen.

It seems I will be spending most of my time in Kolkata, which was Calcutta. Here is a map and a picture of the city. If you all were expecting an old world view, or dirt and poverty, I am sorry, but Indian cities, although they do have those elements as all cities in the world do, are modern , have public transportation, malls, taxis, and people in suits and jeans. You have movie theaters, ice cream shops, bars, clubs....
anyways, that is a little background of the country and city I am visiting.

Preperation

So, I am in the preparation phase of my trip. I am making my lists and checking them twice :-). I got my passport and visa back with all appropriate documentation from SCSMath for working.... I am getting excited and nervous all at once.
toothbrush ---- check (all important for teaching hygiene is to not have really dirty teeth yourself)
like that.

well, I have my pharm final tonight, so I really ought to get off the computer and start learning.