Dinner tonight was amazing. I know I keep talking about the food, but it is unbelievable! Let me back up for a second...
Went to yoga at 6:30 and was, once again, the only student. It's actually kind of fun being the only one. My instructor, Navil, lives about 25 km away and drives back and forth every day, regardless of the weather, on a motorcycle. Due to the condition of the roads here, it takes him about 1 hour one way. YUCK! He's a super sweet guy who is currently feeling a little under the weather with a cold. I enjoy talking with him and getting his perspective on things. He's readily shared a lot of his daily burdens (like living with the stigma of having a mother who is Christian and a father who is Hindu, not being allowed into one of the homes of a friend due to caste, poor living conditions, etc) which really makes me feel for him and respect him at the same time because he seems joyful. Honest joy comes through even in the midst of struggles, he maintains his joy. He also told me tonight that I should become a yoga instructor. :) Who knows...
DINNER! About 8:00 I went over to the restaurant and saw Molly (my waitress). One of the most incredible parts of this ayurveda package is that the restaurant is making food solely for me, based on my vata-pitta dosha. Most others visiting here have the buffet, but mine is brought out beautifully prepared and presented. Tonight I started with basil water and minestrone soup. Quite tastey. Moving on from there I had a nicely cut salad of cucumbers and carrots. (Add a glass of pineapple juice just for fun!) The main course was chapathi (yum!), vegetables cooked in some sort of yellow-ish delicious gravy, a combination of beans and banana flowers with grated coconut, and some steamed rice. Dessert was a plate of fruit including the juiciest mangos in the world (juicy juicy mangoes!), kiwi fruit, pineapple, apples, grapes, oh--and some caramel flan and a small piece of chocolate cake.
But even better than the food is the waitstaff. Molly is incredibly sweet and absolutely beautiful. Binitha is going to wrap me in a sari tomorrow after dinner and make me a true Keralite! Saravana is a guy that just makes you smile with one look. Jai speaks 5 languages and dreams of moving to France to start his own hotel. They are all absolutely incredible and their lives are hard, yet they smile every single day. I admire their resilience and joi de vivre. They are wonderful friends to have for this week, and people I know I will remember always.