motorcycle

to elaborate on my last entry - i spent forever trying to get a motorcycle here in mussoorie, but it's difficult to find one. there's no dealers so you have to buy from a private person. all the ones i looked at were really expensive for a really crappy bike. then inam, the tailor, offerred to let me use one of his bikes, for free, until i left. inam knows everyone and has been nothing but an all-around good guy to me since i arrived. for some reason i like to refer to him as the kingpin of the mussoorie tailoring underworld. anyway, it took a while to get it because inam first wanted me to have this other bike, which was getting repaired, but it never did get repaired for some reason. so i have this old red and black yamaha. it's been a learning curve the past couple days figuring it out. yesterday i just went around and around the chukker (hindi for "circle"), a pretty scenic drive from chardukkan, where i do my hindi lessons (and where i am now), and my house...just a big loop. today i was brave enough to go down to mullingar, which pitted me against some seriously steep roads...much harder going up than down. actually today i messed up a bit...i had stalled going uphill, i started it back up, put it in first, and must have hit the accelerator too hard, because the bike went right out from under me, and suddenly i was standing up, spooked and desperately trying to control a now vertically oriented motorcycle by the handlebars. i haven't hit the main bazaar yet...that will be the real test. i feel pretty good about riding now. it's just nice to cruise around these winding roads, totally free, the wind in your face, looking out over the valley, the mountains, sometimes even getting a view of the biggies, the snow capped monoliths like nanda devi, out in the distance...

'd love to pick another one up in a different part of india, maybe goa...not sure where i'll settle next but i think settling down for a while is the key to successful and fulfilling travel.

let's see - anything else? the weather is getting really sporadic. it's warm enough now, but last night it actually snowed. we put a ridiculous amount of wood in the bacari (stove), and it was so warm inside we actually slept without blankets on for a while.

i'm happy i get to see my friend rachna in a week and go to her brother's wedding, but i'm sad i have to leave. i would like more time here. i wish i knew more hindi than i'll know when i leave...part of the problem is how little i meet with rani, my teacher, another part is how seldomly i study when i'm not with her. mey karab vidiharti hun. sigh...

namaste,
andrew