Here at Whistling Woods, they're giving us a nice, comfy intro to Indian culture.

Yesterday we did yoga, for example. Real, Indian Yoga. Not "SMILE, YOU'RE BURNING FAT!!" Denise Austin yoga. I felt centered. Balanced. 20 pounds lighter. It was everything yoga should be, except this morning, I'm reminded of the existence of all of the muscles in my body, especially my love handles which say dammnnnn youuuu yogggaaaaaaa. But it's alright. I feel GREAT otherwise.

So hence the title, Indian Jam Sesh was this morning. There was a man with a bamboo flute. There was another man with 2 drums that were better than any set of bongos I have ever seen. The floutist used his whole body and energy, and the drummer used every single one of his fingers, his two palms, and some magic dust to make them go fast (baby powder).

Indian folk music is like this: It's of the realm of snowflakes, of fingerprints. No two songs are the same... each is 90% improvisation. The two musicians have never met before, but I have never seen such an understanding between 2 musicians ever. They just got each other, and when they looked at each other, the music went another way. There's something very unifying about it... and if there is any kind of music that would be able to speak to the universal spirit, this would be it. It connects... I felt like I was part of the COSMOS!!!

So I know I'm being to sound like an Indian Folk Music groupie. Like I could just get rid of all my possessions, follow them around in Buddha pants and live off chai tea and paneer. I probably won't, but I'll tell you... in this moment, everything just feels good. Like sandalwood-scented bliss.

(Next time you're stressed out, pop in a "sounds of the Indian folk heritage" album and sit still... You'll be alright. Swear).

Aside from that, here's some other stuff:

Yesterday, met a very very famous filmmaker named Nagesh, and we all had drinks. He told us some amazing experiences, and you know what... we would NEVER have this kind of opportunity in America to meet people of this much success and fame.

Bridget, living that scooter life on the back of Ailee's scooter.

This morning I rode to Whistling Woods on the back of a scooter :) Check that off life's to-do list. Ailee, the lady who is coordinating us, picks us up every morning, and we usually follow her in an autorickshaw. Well today, I hopped on the back of her scooter, and we got to take a detour through the slums.

The slums are like this: The roads are lined with garbage. Kids walk through the garbage to go to the bathroom, and they wash themselves after from a bucket of water. Goats, and pigs, and cows are all sifting through the garbage right along with the people, and I saw a little boy using a black plastic shopping bag attached to a string as a kite.

There was an area of the slums that was designated to the "Untouchables"... people who were not designated to a caste (hence - "Outcast"), and they are not allowed to speak with anyone of a higher caste, share water with them, or live in the same village as they do. To me, it sounded like apartheid.

I'm not going to gloss anything over for you. It is how it is. These are my descriptions. You can imagine my feelings, but I'll leave them out of here because I want you to imagine it for yourself, and try to understand.

Here's the thing you need to understand: Karma. Hindus believe that what you do in this life affects how your next life will be. So there is very little conflict. Very little crime. Everyone's behaving themselves so their next life can be better. The justice system is taken care of by their religion and their philosophy. These people are gentle. Life just works.

So even if you live in the slums, you live your best life. You try to be as good as possible for a better life next time, and perhaps you're paying for things you did badly in your past lives. There is a much larger understanding of a human's place in the world.

When you consider Indian-style yoga, music, traffic and human interactions everything can seem messed up, broken, and in complete chaos.

But I promise you, there is something here that is in perfect order.

I'm learning to figure out that the Indians just seem to "get it."