A Day in Bodh Gaya

4:10 a.m. Blearily claw out of mosquito net. Shake crickets from pants.
4:15 a.m. Yoga on the roof by the light of stars and the waxing moon.
5:00 a.m. Fluff cushions.
5:30 a.m. Walking meditation, i.e. look like the living dead on the veranda while Indian people stare.
6:00 a.m. Sitting meditation, i.e. practice perfect awareness of all my various itches.
6:30 a.m. Silent breakfast. Coffee. Sensual delight called "delicious."
7:30 a.m. Think about starting reading for anthropology.
8:30 a.m. Start reading for anthropology.
10:00 a.m. Teatime, the most glorious of hours. Chai, cookies, peanut butter, bannanas... Extensive conversation about far-flung topics.
10:30 a.m. Anthroplogy.
12:00 p.m. Nap. Lay spread-eagle on my bead, listening to the clack of my fan, praying that the power doesn't go out.
1:00 p.m. Lunch, i.e. more sensual delight that includes, but is not limited to, YOGURT.
2:00 p.m. Think about starting to think about my senior comps project.
2:15 p.m. Wander into town to buy pens (so much writing by hand has caused all pens to actually run out of ink). Dodge cows, rickshaws, people, garbage, and baby goats.
3:00 p.m. Pay a visit to the Mahabodhi temple and the Bodhi tree. Merge with chanting pilgrims. Burn bare feet on hot marble walkways. Taste peace beneath wide, wise boughs.
4:00 p.m. Teatime (oh glory). More peanut butter. More cookies. More chai.
4:30 p.m. Fluff cushions.
5:00 p.m. Walking meditation, i.e. focusing very hard on my feet and the little sweat droplets trickling down my back.
5:30 p.m. Sitting meditation, i.e. hoping that I consumed enough caffeine during tea to keep me from keeling over right there in the meditation hall.
6:00 p.m. Dharma talk from our teacher U Hla Min (who looks like a very wise tree frog, especially when he is sitting cross-legged).
6:30 p.m. Dinner, which usually consists of soup, and, with luck, more peanut butter.
7:30 p.m. Conjure motivation for shower. Hope the swarms of mosquitoes have avoided the shower stalls.
8:00 p.m. Sit in the library with various ordained monastics, smelling the bookish smell and attempting to read for class.
9:00 p.m. Brush teeth. Live on the edge--use tapwater.
9:15 p.m. Fall into bed, and scawl scattered thoughts in journal.
9:30 p.m. Pull mosquito net into creepy-looking sleeping beauty tent. Sleep.