I little while ago, I left the Institute after Prashant’s class from 7 to 9, then practice time which is from 9 to 11:45. It is thinning out because people are leaving. Nice to have more space, but our little August community is dissolving. Outside the Institute there is a coconut cart and the man knows when students will be coming out and waits. He has a large machete and an old flat cart on wheels with coconuts in their shell pilled on top. For  20 rupees ( 55 rupee is a $1) you get a coconut that he lops off the top, give you a straw to drink the coconut water. I ask for a coconut with mali(sp?) which means young coconut with a soft center. When I finish the water, I hand him the coconut which he cuts in half and somehow keeps all his hand parts as he holds it. He lops off a piece of the outer coconut to scoop the custardy inside away from the inner shell and hands it back. It is so delicious. It is soft and like a custard. Not all coconuts have this so sometimes you have to settle for the water and head on your way if there is not soft inside formed. I will miss a daily fresh coconut after class. I had one last Masala Dosa, which is a large crepe with a potato curry served with it. What makes it so good is the coconut chutney and a delicious red sambar, that is like a salsa, sort of. When I eat this the Indians are smirking and elbowing their friend to watch a tourist eat it. I use like 20 of their little napkins and they use fingers and no napkins and are neat and spotless! I eat fruit here because it is so delicious and fresh. I have noticed I buy it looking ripe and it can sit for days and just keep getting riper and sweeter. I have never seen anything mold. Just matures naturally. Is this because it is picked when more ripe and then the maturing is more natural? My favorite of this trip are the sita pals or custard apples. They look a little like green brain mass. They turn a blacker where they are black and the sections start to separate and ooze if squeezed. Inside is a white custard with large black seeds you spit out as you let the custard roll around in you mouth, separating seeds from the inside fruit. This is their season. The local say the papayas are not as good as usual, but my last 3 have been very good after sitting for 4 or 5 days. I peel them, cube and squeeze lime juice all over. They are called lemons, but we would call them limes. My suite mate just corrected  me and said, they are definitely lemons. Lemons, Limons!! Mango season is over when the rains starts, according to Geeta Iyengar years ago when I was a new student hear. Not sure the real reason, but there are a few around, just more expensive–20 cents instead of 10. I have enjoyed cooking for myself, though time consuming, but the veggies are so delicious it is hard to pass up. The potatoes are very juicy and moist when I peel and cut. That is not my experience at home. I’ve been eating cauliflower and broccoli, flat green beans and something I do at home, but seems tastier here, are carrots with ginger and golden raisins. This handles my sweet tooth! My big treat is to buy a bag of cashews and toast them and have them with tea after my meal, usually the evening one. This habit starts like once a week at first, then to almost everyday now. My cooking schedule most days is I cook after morning classes and save a little for evening when I get back from remedial classes and observing what ever classes are being taught after remedial. Some people put on weight and others loose. I don’t eat out much so I’m on the loosing side. And there is what I cook and no more! So the food is one of many things I will miss! And just as my sleeping is more regular, energy back and on the schedule here, it is time to go! That’s ok, just part of being in India. I will go through this all again when I get home—a bit of a fog for a week or so, so patience necessary, please!