India in Numbers

13 – highest number of mosquitoes I squished on my body in one single yoga practice in Goa
20 – drops of sweat counted falling off my head during one inhalation and exhalation in a handstand
315 –old, broken, muddy, stone steps needed to be climbed daily from the place I practice yoga in Dharamshala to the main road (where food can be bought)
200,000 too many people in the Old Delhi Railway Station
3 ½ hours – average length of my yoga practice in Goa
0 – number of temples I visited while in Goa
46 degrees Celsius – high temperature one day I was in Amritsar
246 rupees (about 5 bucks) – price of a sleeper class 12-hour train journey at night (sheets not included, snoring Indians included)
850 rupees (about 18 bucks) – price of a 2nd AC class 12-hour train journey at night (sheets included)
20 rupees (40 cents) – price of the best breakfast I had in Punjab
3 - # of times I’ve seen Indians get motion sickness on modes of transport I’ve taken
16 – the number of us that were stuffed into a shared taxi from Ellora to Aurangabad! That’s right! The average is usually a dozen Indians, but we got 16 of us in there, and keep in mind my non-petite frame! Plus there was a totally obese Indian man in the front seat!
700 rupees (about 14 bucks) – price you have to pay to share a mattress with someone you’ve never seen before on a sleeper bus while being transported 100s of kilometers
2 - # of times guys guessed I was 22 years old
11- # of days I have left here
3 – number of times I was scolded by Sharath in one single practice - “No, no! Not like that!”
63 – number of times I had to cover my face and run (a la fleeing the paparazzi) from the Indian men taking pictures of me with their cell phones (I hate this!)
7 – number of babies that were handed over to me so that they could take my picture with the baby (I love this!)
9:10 Ratio of girl births to boy births in 2010, suggesting more female babies are being aborted than males
47 – number of times I circumambulated (fast!) the rolling mantra wheel next to the Dalai Lama’s Kalachakra Temple, at the nun’s invitation. (She was the only other person in the room doing it and I understand why seeing how dizzy I was when I left the room – what’s better? Keep the gaze on the spinning wheel or keep the gaze on the painted Avalokiteshvaras on the wall that’s spinning around you?).
2 – number of times Indians asked me if I spoke Spanish
2 – number of times Indians tried to hold a conversation in Catalan with me
1 – number of times I was told I resemble Hannah Montana (ok, a child said it, but come on!)
333 - # of times I’ve fantasized about taking a shower with my mouth open
1 – number of times a yoga teacher kissed me (don’t worry – it was Rolf and on the cheek – but I hadn’t felt so much love in a long while!)