the week in review

It has been an interesting week in India. On Monday Cindy and I took the kids from the orphanage to the park again. This time, we took all of them, not just the ones that live there, but also those who are in foster care. We had ten children with us. I find it rather impressive we were able to keep track of all of them. And! There were no serious injuries.. just one scrape, I believe. That was also a relief. I enjoyed watching the kids play and pushing some of them on the swing. They really wanted me to play on the teeter-totter again, so I obliged for a little while, until the screams of one of the girls became too much for me to handle with being less than a foot from her. But it was quite enjoyable. Tuesday and Wednesday passed without incident, although during each 30-40 minute walk from Light House to the orphanage my list of things that I miss from home seems to increase. The most prominent of late is fresh air. I am eagerly awaiting the day that I can fully breathe in, while outside, and not smell burning garbage, urine, animal feces, or any other foul scent that I refuse to adjust to. Others include the absence of demanding beggars that refuse to take no for an answer. Those children can be incredibly persistent. Although they are cute, they will not get what little money I have. I would much rather give them food, but that's not what most of them want. Also, the honking of horns. I'm trying not to let it drive me crazy. It's so rude.. and the noise pollution that results really makes me glad that this neighborhood prohibits the use of horns and we are far enough off the main road that we can't hear it. I did read in the paper yesterday that December 1 is no-honking day. I'm pretty excited about that. I'll make it a point to pay attention on Monday to the noise levels while I'm on the road.

So... in addition to all of this trivial news, Mumbai was hit yesterday with Islamic terrorist activity. I don't know how anyone would have missed that news. I have heard it's all CNN and other major news broadcasters are covering. Cindy and I watched one of the online CNN broadcasts yesterday morning which had Hindi subtitles and as with many major news networks, the other news captions at the bottom of the screen were running. I was surprised to be reading, while hearing about the fire at the Taj Mahal Hotel and the gunmen who had taken Westerners hostage, about how a famous cricket player was upset about some game with Australia. I thought to myself, isn't that interesting. We have a *huge* news story going on where many people are being killed, and hundreds have been injured, and the small news ticker is making mention of a sports figure who's upset about a game. My brain was having a hard time making sense of that and when I mentioned it to Cindy later she said that would be pretty embarrassing. However, it may be a big deal to some people, even in light of the events of yesterday. How unfortunate and sad that is. In addition to that news, a former PM died yesterday, though I'm not sure if that was in connection with the hotel hostage situation, but as a result, schools and government offices have been closed for the day so that the people have time to mourn. I have no place to go today, which I kind of like despite the reason for the day off.

It is currently Thanksgiving in the land that I love, and tonight (though it's now Friday here) we are having about 50 people over for turkey dinner.. and whatever Indian dish the caterer is preparing as an alternative for those who are vegetarians or not fond of turkey. I'm really looking forward to the company! It is a lot of people, but I've met most of them. The majority of the people coming are the families of the ladies that Cindy has Bible study with. So, I have met the moms. I have also met the families of those that go to the church we attend, which actually is quite a few. There are around 5 high schoolers that I've met from this group that are coming and I'm really looking forward to spending time with them. Two have recently taken the SATs and are applying to schools in the US, Canada and Europe.. Oh the days of planning for college. Those were great :) ..and perhaps soon to be in my future again with how I have been enjoying helping out in Miss Aruna's math classes.