WHY THE HELL IS SHE GOING TO INDIA???

If you have not already heard I am going to India! I departed from LAX on Sunday February 23rd (with a backpack and a dream! Ha! couldn't help that one) on the biggest plane I have ever flown or seen in my life - the AIRBUS 380 courtesy of Air Emirates.

My travels begin in Delhi then scatter throughout the subcontinent. I will 'get my Yoga on' at an International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh; live 2 weeks of austerity at an Ashram along the Ganges; train and bus it throughout select cities of Rajasthan; teach dance and English to children at a school in Darjeeling; and God willing reminisce upon it all on a beach -or better yet- an island off the coast of India. Anyone free mid May is welcome to join me!!!

This blog will serve as a place where friends and family can make sense of my decision to travel so far away ALONE....as I was not very open or forthcoming about my plans up until now. Part of the reason I withheld my plans was so I did not have to EXPLAIN or make my travel MAKE SENSE to anyone except myself. I could already hear the responses. Although, at this point of the journey, I can tell you the ACTUAL responses! They went a lil something like this:

My personal favorite was from my beloved MOTHER:

And then there was the ever popular:

Well, unlike Julia Roberts' character, I am not going through a divorce or any other assumed mid-life crisis (I am also not mid-life yet!) but, I did resonate with Elizabeth Gilberts' memoir and if referencing EAT PRAY LOVE transforms stares of bewilderment to a mild, general understanding then thank God for that damn movie!

I am choosing to call this space In Search for the POLKA DOTTED UNICORN - although I should be clear that I am not searching for any thing, feeling or person nor do I feel lost. The POLKA DOTTED UNICORN was a name given to me by a dear friend as we discussed the differences in our natures. My friends' pragmatic and grounded nature found something admirable about my nature which he said was something like......he paused searching for the right description.... a POLKA DOTTED UNICORN! The PDU is a free spirit that frolicks the forest with an innocence that keeps it protected from fear and a freedom of expression unusual among regular, non-polka dotted unicorns. For some reason I was endeared by this description. I knew the innocence, joy, abandon and freedom of spirit of the PDU were all qualities I wanted to continue nurturing within myself.

This journey to India is an attempt at exactly that. It is a SOUL TRIP. A trip created, produced, funded and performed by me although inspired by many. Two inspirations in particular are my dear friends Austin Travis and Willis Johnston whose dedication to travel and adventure have motivated me when doubt screamed louder than trust. This trip is a means of checking in and seeing who I have become since the first time I ventured out and studied abroad in college. It is a means of keeping a sense of abandon about my life enough to know that I can give up the luxuries and privileges of my life in L.A. in exchange for new experiences and perspectives. Of course, I know that only a privileged life can take off 3 months to "find herself" and I have grappled with this fact. I do not however, take this privilege lightly and I express gratitude for it daily. I also do not write any of this as a prescription or a sermon for another. This is only what I have found to bring peace to me and I want to share my findings.

Lastly, I am aware that this whole search for the UNICORN thing could blow up in my face and have me running back home to my caul-de-saced LA neighborhood upon week 3! If it happens, I promise their will be an entry.

I will update as often as internet connection allows. I apologize in advance for grammar and spelling mistakes as I will be posting straight from my phone. Please comment as often as you like and call me out on anything...just like I like my friends to do!

Saw this as I was waiting for my flight to Delhi from Dubai. Felt like they were advertising right to me!

Dubai Airport