Coconut Trees

The nice thing about mornings in Udupi is that you can look out the windows of the flat and see coconut trees surrounded by mist for as far as the eye can see.  It's like looking at a beautiful postcard, or an exotic travel book.  It really is like being in a dream sometimes.

The not so nice thing about mornings in Udupi is that the picturesque moment I described above doesn't last long.  Before the sun is fully up you can hear the horns and motors of the rikshas, buses and cars in the town.  And before breakfast is ready it's already HOT outside.  There are lots of windows in the flat, and high speed ceiling fans, but no air conditioning.  At this point I have to accept and admit that I'm a spoiled American.  When it's 85 degrees and you're standing in the kitchen cooking over an open flame, it's hard to manage without the AC.  Last night, for the first time in my life that I can remember, while I was helping to make chappatis (Indian tortillas), I realized that my legs were sweating.  That's the first time cooking ever caused my legs to sweat.  And speaking of cooking, I have to cut this entry short because it's time to make lunch.  Wish me luck.