Hello from Haridwar!

Sadly, the time came to leave magical Rishikesh this afternoon. As difficult as it was to go, my trip to Haridwar was a happy, peaceful one, as I knew I'd be returning to Rishikesh in May with my dad :)
Here's how I spent my last day...
Woke up around 8am, got dressed, brushed my teeth, put on a warm sweater for the still cool mornings, and headed down towards the river. Stopped at roadside chaiwallah for a glass of tea and brought it down the ghat steps to a spot by the water. I sat there watching the peaceful river flow, peeking over from time to time at the Indian man nearby performing his morning meditation, pranayam, chanting, prayers, and finally, with his arms reached out towards the sky, his laughter yoga. It was contagious and I couldn't help but giggle as I sipped my chai. I did a short meditation myself, then wrote a thank you card for Swati, splashed some Ganga water on my face, and headed back up the hill. Went to my room for a bit of packing, then over to Trika where I was meeting Irati (my teacher who cured herself naturally of cervix cancer) for a list of reading references on various healing therapies (for some work I hope to do when I get back home). I poked my head into the hall just as the morning class was ending, and she invited me in to participate in a short ceremony and meditation - it was the last class she was teaching there... at least for now. I sat with the group (people I had done my last week with as they did their first... they are now starting their last) and had a beautiful meditation on my time in Rishikesh and what brought me there. Then Irati gave me the fantastic list of books, journals and websites... I've got my work cut out for me! I said good bye to Irati and Sapna (who had come to meet her), gave them a thank you card as well as one for Ananta and Angela (who I'm sad not have had a chance to say goodbye to), and headed back to Sudesh for a little more packing. At 11:30, I went over to Swati's for the final goodbye and the exciting announcement. We chatted and she gave me a beautiful set of necklace and earrings in an ornate little container, then we had tea and snacks together, and then I gave her her thank you card with 10,000Rs ($200) for her mother's bathroom (I knew I must have misunderstood the cost... even for India, $50 seems unreal to build a bathroom... it's closer to $200... but with all your generous contributions, that amount has already been surpassed!). I could tell she was holding back emotions as her face lit up with happiness and gratitude, and she told me how incredibly thankful her mother would be. I also told her about the projector and camera I would be bringing in May (Meera, my coworker at Chambly, has generously offered to donate the camera - thank you Meera Jee!), as well as classroom supplies for English and math that my dad will bring (merci Papa!). Needless to say, she was overjoyed. I said goodbye to her mother-in-law, who told me I was like a daughter and reminded me to come for dinner in May with my dad, then goodbye (or see you in 2 months!) to Swati and Amit, as they drove off to town on scooter to check about her fever. Then it was back to Sudesh for final packing. Amazingly enough, I was able to fit my 16 (yes, 16) new books into what was already a fully charged bag when I came to India. Only my hiking boots didn't fit anymore, so I tied them to the outside of my bag. Quick room meditation before I left, then dropped my bags at reception while I made one last stop at internet. Got more messages in response to the Swati request, shedding some tears as I read through them. While I read, Anoop (Swati's brother-in-law who was also my yoga teacher for a few days after Trika) came in and told me he'd like to offer me a ride to the Rishikesh bus station so I wouldn't have to trudge my heavy bags across town and take a rickshaw with them. I told him it wasn't necessary, but he insisted and so I told him I'd be done at internet soon. He was across the street at Amit's stationary shop when I walked out, so we headed back to Sudesh, as I said goodbye to some shopkeepers along the way. I got my bags, said goodbye to the Sudesh guys, and hopped onto the back of Anoop's scooter. Great ride into town, said thank you and goodbye and see you soon. He gave me his business card and said to call if I ever needed anything, and that if something were to happen in Haridwar, they would come to me. Such incredible kindness. I hauled myself and my bags up the steps onto the rickety bus, and settled in for the half hour ride to Haridwar. I was the only westerner on the packed bus, and only one of about 5 women. About 10 minutes into the journey, my neighbor struck up a conversation with me. When he asked whether I spoke any Hindi, and I answered in Hindi, the three men in front of us slowly turned their heads, wide-eyed, and stared at me as I continued to converse using the few Hindi sentences I know. It doesn't take much to amaze Indians when it comes to speaking their language. They are so delightfully shocked as soon as you speak a few words :)  I took in the beautiful scenery as we approached Haridwar, continued to chat with my neighbor (who was visiting from Lucknow, a town up north), and got off the bus to be greeted, of course, by a few men wanting to give me a ride to my guesthouse. I haggled a little for the price (I only bargain for rides and when buying in bulk - like books! - but for the rest, I don't bother; everything is so wonderful and cheap already). We walked over to the selected man's vehicle, and I realized I would be taking my first bicycle rickshaw ride. I then felt bad about the haggling, and decided I would give him double what he initially asked when I got off. He did try bringing me to a hostel that was not the one I requested, but when I told him I already had a reservation, he moved on. As others called out while we rode along, he calmly told them I had a booking. I think I could probably have walked faster than he was peddling, but we finally arrived at Inder Kuteer Guesthouse, a couple kilometers away. I only had very large bills left, so I asked for change at reception. They didn't have any, which is a common hassle in India, but one of the workers walked down the street to get some for me. When he returned with the bills, I handed a 100 rupee note ($2) to the driver, but he wouldn't take it and grumbled something in Hindi. The first thought that crossed my mind was that he didn't want to accept the doubled fare, so I insisted with a smile holding the bill out towards him. He got increasingly annoyed and started raising his voice. Geez, I thought, I'm just trying to be nice. I caught that he was saying something about change, and I did have some smaller bills in my hands, so I thought, maybe he doesn't want to be stuck with a 100 bill and wanted it in smaller chunks. So I gave him 100 in 10s and 20s. He looked a little confused as I smiled at him, then he walked away still looking confused/grumpy. As I walked towards the hostel lobby, I was a little perplexed, though not bothered, by the absence of any sign of gratitude. Then I realized he probably thought I was expecting 50 back when I handed him the hundred (even though I tried expressing that I didn't), and was frustrated that I had gone through the trouble of getting change, but not giving him the exact amount. Ah well, what can you do... even with my little Hindi, some things still get lost in translation. Then came time to check-in, and the manager told me they only had deluxe rooms left, which were double the price we had agreed on when I called a week ago to reserve. I stood my ground, insisted that I hadn't called in advance for nothing, and of course, they did have cheaper rooms available. What he told me is that they keep those for Indian tourists, and keep the deluxe ones for westerners. I told him I wasn't a deluxe kind of a gal, and asked him to show me to a room that was the agreed upon price. Go Erika! My astrology workshops and two astrologers in Rishikesh (which I still need to blog about later) pointed to me needing more confidence, so here's to a good practice! Settled into my room, which, despite being the cheapest in Inder Kuteer (yet more than double what I was paying at Sudesh) is a great room. Even has a TV... maybe a little Bollywood movie tonight - I'd rather explore town for the first time in daylight tomorrow. Met a lovely, lovely woman on the common veranda, whose name is Eola. She's from Maine, in her 60s, and also traveling alone for a few months in India and loving it! Chatted with her for a bit, then headed out into the streets for some food. Had a delicious meal with the best naan bread I've had in India. I walked around town, exploring, for at least half and hour, and I think it's safe to say that, aside from Eola sitting on the Inder Kuteer balcony, I'm the only westerner in town! This means a lot of staring. But everyone is still wonderfully kind.
Well, that pretty much wraps it up. Still have a few Rishikesh experiences that need to be blogged about, but this post is already pretty long, so I'll save them for another day.
As I was writing this post, a woman came into the tiny back room which I'm in (only one computer in a bare cell-like box, with cracking paint on the walls) and lit some incense while praying before the image of an Indian god (forget this one's name... he has a short white beard and his face is a little monkey-like)... So I've been typing surrounded by the powerful fumes of the burning stick. Ahhh, India.