The neighbors are fighting again. There has been a lack of activity the past week and the silence didn't last very long. They only fight on the weekends so maybe it's when they spend too much time together they fight. The husband is actually yelling back today and I'm putting my money on him. Maybe he is tired of being bossed around and is finally standing up for himself. The wife sounds scary and mean. I would be not want to be on her bad side. Definitely won't be knocking on their door to borrow some sugar.
Practice today was another LED class. I'm sure it would have been just dandy, but I chose to sleep in. My little excursion yesterday was exhausting and after not sleeping all week, my body needed the rest. Christian and I went on a day trip to this place called Melkote. We had a hand written map from the guy that runs the breakfast place and what was an hour scooter ride, turned into 2.5 hours. We missed a turn and did this huge loop and ended up right where we started. Along the way we asked several people for directions and most of them were giving us the correct directions except Christian thought we were going to another city. So with every direction he would get, he would go the opposite way. We didn't figure this out until an hour and a half into the ride. I obviously wasn't paying much attention. The ride home wasn't bad. It took us exactly an hour and by the time we got back, we were both beat. I thoroughly enjoy being on the scooter. I know it's dangerous that we ride without helmets, but I think that is part of the allure. Earlier this week I finally bought a pair of sunglasses and that has made the ride more pleasurable.
Melkote is a cute little town. We went to the top of the temple and again, it was another one of those situations that shoes weren't allowed. Didn't freak out too much and this time we stuck our shoes in the bag we had with us. We had to hike up the stairs carefully avoiding monkey poop and who knows what else. On our way to the top there were people sitting on the steps begging for money. The elderly people were on the bottom and the children closer to the top. At first I was trying to ignore them and that didn't work very well. The children were so cute and they kept asking for our names in English. Seeing children begging is something I will never get accustomed to, but this time I was armed with rupees and had enough for each of them.
We get to the top of the temple and by then I was sucking wind. I'm so out of shape and my fat was starting to hurt. The architecture and stone carvings had so much detail and was amazing. We sat up on top for a while to enjoy the view and eat our picnic which consisted of cookies and Gatorade (nothing but the best for us). Christian was eating cookies and I was preoccupied with taking pictures of monkeys. He calls my name and I hear the sense of urgency in his voice. I turn around and there is this adult monkey sitting a foot from him wanting some cookies. The monkey was hissing and was getting upset. I immediately stood up and walked away. Christian is still sitting in the same spot and the monkey eventually goes away. I walk back to our spot and as I sit down the monkeys surround us. I get up again and this baby eating a banana came and sat next to Christian. The baby finishes it's banana, walks over to Christian and puts it's palm on his leg. It was so cute. If that would have happened to me, I would have been screaming. I take that back. I'm not a screaming kind of person. I would have most likely flinched scaring the monkey and moving as fast as I could to get away.
This summer I had my first shark encounter. My friends and I were surfing Sunset Beach and my friend Donna and I spot this grey fish with a white underbelly. I look at her and before my other friend could confirm if it was a shark, I was gone. I paddled so fast to shore and wasn't waiting to find out if it was indeed a shark. We all finally make it to shore and we see this seal pup darting out of the water. The poor thing looked so scared and I assumed it's fear was from being hunted in the water. Donna goes running towards the pup with her arms stretched out like a mother would to protect a child. The pup sees her, freaks out and goes back into the water. The pup was more scared of her than the shark.
Seeing animals in the ocean is a great motivator. There have been countless times when seals would follow me while paddling. I'd see them and would start paddling faster forgetting all the pain in my body. Like I've said before, I like all animals, just from a distance. I think this all started when my sister got bit by a dog. I was around 4 at the time and I remember my mom telling me that my sister got bit. She was over at a friend's house and her friend was teasing and antagonizing the dog. My mom was telling me the story to instill fear and as a lesson to be learned. Just like if I were bad, the weird people in the street would take me or if I stuck my hand or head out of the car window it would get cut off. My favorite one is if I make a strange or ugly looking face, a certain wind would blow and my face would permanently stay that way. It's funny how adults would say anything to make a child listen and how we grow up believing the things that we do. My nephew was in a nose picking phase and it grossed me out. I told him that if he stuck his finger up his nose, the monster would bite it off. So for a while he would make me look up his nostrils to check if the monster was still there. I would always tell him, it was sleeping, but the moment he sticks his finger up his nose, it would awaken and be hungry for his finger.
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