More news and highlights

Hello again from India! Oh, it's been so tough to keep you posted on everything that's going on. The days have been long and we've been very busy. Our hosts here really don't believe much in "down time." They just want us to experience everything we can in our stay in their country. They are so proud.

Today we were able to have the entire day to ourselves. However, catching up on much needed sleep and just doing nothing has been an amazing fresher for me! I am not one to go, go, go every minute of the day. It's just difficult to be "ON" at all hours of the day and night. I think it's easier in familar surroundings....

If you haven't visited Jane's blog, you should (http://janesindiatrip.blogspot.com/). She's really good at providing the details, that undoubtedly I will miss. Now, on to some other details.....

TRAFFIC - This seems to be a recurring theme with me. Anway, I just wanted to post a quick photo to show you what I mean. This is a two-lane road. Check out the number of cars; I'm still trying to figure out how this is even possible!

PEOPLE - My daugther asked me about the people in India. "Are they friendly?" "Are they nice?" "How do they treat you?" Well, our hosts are more than friendly and nice. They have been treating us like royalty. Everywhere we go, they take care of us. We visited MySore and they treated us the entire sight-seeing trip. As you might expect, there are beggars and people just trying to sell things at these kinds of tourist locations. Our hosts look out for us so that we're not "scammed" in any way. They protect us and make sure that we don't walk in front of moving vehicles (which of course, I did) and they just genuinely provide much needed companionship. They are able to explain the intracacies of the Indian culture. For example, at breakfast the other morning, our meal was served on a Banana Leaf. This, I'm told, is just a decorative element. But, it was something I had never seen. We saw lots of other tourists, most of them from India though. We captured some good photos of families. The kids were delighted to have their photos taken and just seemed enamered by Americans! We definitely stand out as being different. Many of the children would just point and laugh. But, if you smile at them and approach them, they are happy to be in your company. Just like at home, there are those that are friendly and those that look at you like you don't belong. For the most part though, the people are friendly, polite, and nice.

NEWS - Today I tried to watch some news to catch up with what's been going on here and in the U.S. I try to read the newspaper to interpret what I can. So, last week when I mentioned the slow internet connections and short power outages, now I know a little more about that. Apparently, some of the major businesses have not been paying their electric bills. This has led to a major shortage. In addition, major fog in the area has settled on transmission lines. And, in the world of sports, Cricket is huge here. These games will last for hours and hours (I think sometimes up to 8 hours). I watched briefly and it reminds me of a combination of bowling, baseball and soccer. I'm sure that's not right, but that's how I relate. I just can't imagine going to a game; I don't think I could watch that long. And, in the U.S., at least I know that the debate went on as planned and the stock market is still pretty much a mess. More importantly though, I read that Jessica Simpson is planning to have at least 6 kids with Tony Romo and that Madonna and Guy Richie are calling it quits. Interesting how this kind of news travels.....

Now, it's getting late and we have meetings planned for all day tomorrow. I better get some rest so I can be "ON" in the morning.