I need coffee!

I've come to the realization that coffee and chocolate are the things I miss the most! No one really drinks coffee here, its strictly tea...And most people don't eat chocolate either. Dessert is usually something like rice pudding or some sort of dish with honey or fruit. The food is all great, but I definitely have a major jones for some hot coffee and a nice bowl of chocolate ice cream...or maybe COFFEE ice cream??? Oh man...
Last night and today were really great. Everyone was starting to really feel the lack of home-cooked, comfort kinds of food, so we all went into town to buy stuff for our own cooked dinner. We had homemade pasta sauce with lots of veggies, spaghetti, and garlic bread that we made over a tandoori oven (very interesting experience). We also planned cherry cobbler for dessert because they left all these amazing-looking cherries in our flat, and we were too nervous to eat them raw. However, the lack of an oven made that task slightly challenging - but stove-top cobbler was just as good! It was a really delicious and fun meal, and we listened to some good old American music....I guess it was just a nice way to indulge for once in some of the things we were missing.
Today we had our free day, so I got to sleep in (which means like 8:00 instead of 7:30)! Then we all drove up to this pretty little temple high up in the mountains, and spent some time walking around and just enjoying the nature. Then we all trekked down into a little valley beside this tiny winding stream for a really nice picnic. Apparently, the "tradition" for CCS volunteers is to play cricket after and then get thrown into the stream? I luckily managed to avoid both, however I did get a big soggy hug from one of the guys on staff after it was all over. Right as the cricket game was starting to get really intense, the sky opened up to release torrential downpours. So, we all gathered up our stuff quickly and made a getaway for the cars. By the time we got there, we were all soaked, but it was actually kind of nice in comparison to the midday heat and sun.
I guess tonight pizza is on the menu, which ought to be interesting, and we had some good laughs speculating as to how exactly pizza might be cooked here in Dharamsala - especially with no oven! Anyways, I am just living, loving, and feeling all things India and these past few days have really opened my eyes in a lot of different ways. I feel kind of like a new person already, and its been only a week! I have no expectations for what is to come in the next two weeks, but I have a feeling it will be ridiculous!
I just finished the book I brought with me, and I found this old copy of The Awakening by Kate Chopin under my bed, so I started to read it. I found this really great quote in it that sort of made me feel good about sticking it out here in this vibrant and hostile place:
"But the beginning of things, of a world especially, is necessarily vague, tangled, chaotic and exceedingly disturbing. How few of us ever emerge from such beginning! How many souls perish in it's tumult!"
I guess I feel pretty good about making it this far, and having the guts to take a leap without really knowing whether I would fall or fly off to greater heights. Doing this sort of thing has been such a different opportunity.