at the end (or beginning) of the world

today I turn 23 years old and we rung it in with some weak (but cold) Indian beer, delicious food, and french fries (b/c what's a late night meal without french fries?!) in a restaurant on the tip of the Indian subcontinent, in a town called Kanyakumari. Kanyakumari is the place where the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and the Arabian Sea meet... It's a powerful place, important pilgrimage site, and filled with so many beautiful colors, fishing boats, and waves that crash into each other from all directions. This morning we awoke to a loud knocking at our door, but we were upset for only a moment. Whoever knocked on our door (by mistake, or maybe not) wanted us to catch the sunrise, which was pretty breathtaking. We walked up to the roof of our 5 story hotel along with a few Indian families and couples, and we all stood up there, snapping photos, and watching the clouds change color as the sun rose up above the water. At the same time, the full moon was eclipsing a deep yellow/orange as it set into the buildings behind us. Jake called the moon a peach, and I can't think of a better description. The whole scene had a typical Indian soundtrack with Hindi music and prayers blasting on loudspeakers throughout the town. What's amazing about Indian towns and cities is that different places will be playing the same song or annoucement so that it blasts the same thing, at the same time throughout the area. If you're driving, walking, or sitting somewhere up high, there is one unified sound coming at you, rather than competing beats, rhythms, and languages. For a country filled with so much diversity and difference, I've found this singularity really amazing.

In a few minutes we'll leave this cafe and take a walk to the tip of the world.. I'll press my toes over the edge, and see what I feel. So far, twenty-three hasn't been too bad.