5. Food

This was the second day of the clinic I told you about yesterday, and there were not many new things. We progressed to the next couple of rituals, and practised those. What I didn't mention yesterday is that morning during the clinic we have a yoga session with meditation. It is very interesting, and also a bit eye-opening. It is a good way to start the day, as it makes you relaxed and aware of your body and your surroundings. Today we had an especially good session, and we all started the day refreshed and relaxed.

I thought I would tell you a bit more about the everyday routines here, and that involves food (because that is the only time we assemble, so the times are fixed). So first, the daily routine for meals: breakfast at 7 AM, lunch at 1 PM, and dinner at 7 PM. So there is a long time between the meals (which means I get frustratingly hungry before it's time for the next meal). Breakfast is usually a cold meal, and consists of cornflakes with milk, sometimes porridge, sometimes scrambled eggs or something like that, and bread with a choice of jam or peanut butter (or both).

Lunch and dinner are usually mostly vegetarian, with lentil or soy stews, salad (which is spicy, because it is mustard salad or something), and sometimes my favourite so far: deep fried slices of pumpkin. It's sweet, but not too sweet, and oily, but not too fatty, and I just love it. The food here is always well spiced, and I like it very much. It is nice that the food actually tastes something, and most of the time, I really enjoy the new tastes and new types of food. It is also very nice that it is easy to be a vegetarian here, and I find I often choose the vegetarian alternative above the meat. Today, for dinner, we had this amazingly good banana jam, made by one of the students at the academy. I loved it, and would have eaten loads, had it not been for my need to have it on bread. We also had a spicy pumpkin soup, and the normal spicy salad. I am always looking forward to the meals here, because the food is always so good.

That was a glimpse into my life here. If I get too hungry between meals, I can go and pick fruit (like guavas, which are in season now), or, when I know my way around a little better, get some fruit or something else in the kitchen. But usually I just try not to think about it, drink some water, and just wait for the next meal. It's the same method I use for my insect bites, a mental exercise to shut certain things out, and not think about them. And it's working pretty well, at least with the itching.

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