First Day

Good lord, that was the longest damn day I've ever had..... and it was the closest I've ever been to Osama Bin Laden, flying over the Middle East and all. It took about 20 hours to get here, and I was awake for a total of about 40. However long, it was pretty easy, and it's amazing having actually made it here. I was picked up at the airport and driven to my hotel at 2:00am. This place is great, the room is clean and everybody is so nice. I don't know what it
is, but everybody aims to please. The heat isn't too bad, and this city is insane too! There are people, cars, mutts, goats, oxen, and motor rickshaws all over the place. David told me that nobody has to pass a test to get a license here, you just start driving, which becomes a big problem for anyone who goes to a different country and drives. Walking down the street to the electronics store to get an adapter was seriously one of the top 5 most sensational experiences of my life, in the sense that my eyes, ears, nose, etc. were absolutely overwhelmed with information. I was stunned. While to the rehearsal hall we saw a guy just sauntering down the middle of the highway, just walking between the 2nd and 3rd lanes. No one pays attention to the lines and I'm amazed I haven't seen an accident in the short time I've been here.

The first rehearsal on this show I attended was even more astounding than the city. There are 240 dancers in this show, from the age of 12 to 28 and they're all amazing. It's unbelievable how disciplined everyone of them is, and how much they care about what they do. They LOVE Shiamak, too. They hang on his every word, even if he's telling them that they just danced horribly. Once he met me, we spoke for a while and he arranged for one of the members of his company to escort me around the city to some appealing places when time allows. He couldn't have been nicer, and more modest about his work. Truly awesome.