In the center of Auroville is a gigantic structure - the Matrimandir. It's a golden sphere, and inside are several meditation chambers and a room that holds a crystal. When you come upon it the first time it's a thing you have never seen before, and it does kind of remind me of some space-age structure. Andrea (from Italy) and me take the walk together, none of us has seen it before. He is a gardener, and the banyan trees are bellissimo. We take some pictures there before we get to the Matrimandir.

From Quiet I move to another guesthouse inside Auroville itself. I meet several new friends here, and everybody have meals together, which I always think is nice. I have a small room with a bed, a writing desk and chair and a shelf and somewhere to put my clothes. This is the most perfect room until now - really nothing more than you need, and just clean and comfy. Especially when it's dry outside so your clothes and mattress aren't so wet. The shared toilet though, seems to have taken on a personality of it's own in my mind. The trees in this place have very long branches that they like to stretch out in front of you, tickling you with their wet leaves. I duck and weave my way to the bathroom. It's not new exactly, it's damp and basic in every way. It's very clean so that's no problem. When I sit down, immediately on the right is a big, old and dark fish tank with big grey and black fish swimming around in it. To the left is the remainder of a flowerbed or something, basically wet sand with dead stems and rotten leaves, with the accompanying insects and such. The ceiling is open to the sky in places, so when it rains it's rather refreshing. So scary was this place that I wouldn't go to the bathroom at night in the beginning. I decided it was character building, and after more than two weeks here, I felt a bit like Indiana Jones.

Next door is a yoga center, and this is were I first see peacocks. Later I realize they are all over the place. With a bicycle I just go around a couple of bends and I'm in a really nice cafe, La Terrace, or a bit further I get to the Visitor's Center where they serve good food and there are some shops and information about the place. Every evening there is something going on in this place, and we manage to get to the theatre on the last night they were showing a play. Kim and Pam pick me up at Sharnga (my guesthouse) with their taxi. I get in the car and see that there is someone else with them. I figure it is someone from where they're staying, and since I'm in the front seat, I turn around to introduce myself. No need. It's a friend from home!

Pam and I go to the Deepam celebration in one of the children's schools in Auroville. My Waldorf-teacher-heart is beating as I watch the care and beauty they have all put into the decoration of the place. We have festivals that incorporates light (Lucia for example, which the Spaniards knew about from IKEA!) but here they also have the drawings they make on the ground (kollam), and flowers off course. Our eyes were big with wonder at all of this, and of the children dressed in their finery. They performed for us, playing the citar and singing. It was so beautiful and special.

One Sunday Theo (France), Kim (Scotland) and me decide to go to Mamallapuram. It's a little town with some beautifully carved temples and stuff, and it's on the beach which is also a plus. We rent a taxi and off we go. The first thing we do as we leave the parking lot is to buy a coconut each. The woman takes the top off with her big knife and puts a straw in it. Yummy! And when we're finished she opens it and we eat the soft coconut flesh inside. Delectable! It's busy with people wanting to sell stuff, and stalls filled with gifts and food. We find our way to the beach. We're in luck, because on this particular Sunday there is a big festival or celebration of Shakti. So the place is swarming with men and woman clad in red. They are all in the water on the beach, smiling and laughing and we feel really happy to be so close to all of it, it's such an unusual setting. And the ocean is so refreshing! We ask if we can take pictures, and they smilingly oblige, and some of them even want to take pictures of us (with their mobile phones).

It is full moon time in December and I am in Auroville in the state of Tamil Nadu in the south east part of India. Auroville is a town in the former French part of India, where people from all over the world have created a community where they work on realizing their dream of making the ideal society.

Auroville's pride is the the Matrimandir, the gigantic golden sphere in the middle of the area. It is made with material and labour from Auroville and inside it there are several small rooms where people can meditate. It's quite a sight and it reminds me a bit of space-age architecture (whatever that might be).

On this particular night, people that wants to go for a walk in the forest in the full moon night meet outside the Matrimandir, under the banyan trees. There is a mix of aurovillians and guests. We spend the first hour in silence. There are two shining spheres; the Matrimandir and the moon. I sit on the grass in the warm breeze and wonder about this place.

We go for an hour's walk through the forest and there is hardly a sound to be heard. From time to time we stop to look around and just take it all in - we know there are animals here, that likes to come out at night that we'd rather not meet. We feel safe in such a large group though, and we try to be really quiet when someone steps on a cow paddy or breaks a twig. Auroville is a gigantic area, and there are different communities within this larger community, in addition to guesthouses and private houses. In the dark we can see light shining from windows in the forest and we think about what it must be like to live here. We stop again. I turn my face to the sky. A perfect pearl . Suddenly I'm aware of the smell of lemons. I look around and see that we've come to an orchard with lemon trees, apple trees, orange trees and a variety of flowers.

When we return to the Matrimandir the air is cooler but still mild and comforting. We sit down underneath the massive peace of art. So this is advent this year I think to myself.