day 2

namaste!

i successfully made it through my 1st day in india. slept almost all the way through the night! i did wake up early and read a bit, but went back to sleep until i was awoken by much coughing and hacking. i forgot that indians like to couch and hack and hack and hack in the mornings to clear their system. it is disgusting! and LOUD!

the other thing i forgot is how indians do not like to give change. they expect you to have the exact change. i do not know why this is. in america, the shop keepers feel it is their duty to keep change on hand. in india, they look at you like you are nuts if you do not have change. then they try to keep the change because they say they don't have any, but really they do! so i try to make sure i collect change and get it anywhere i can so when i do find one of the tricksters who wants to keep my chang ei can give in and give them small bills.

it's really fun meeting and talkin got other tourists. my chat over breakfast was about healthcare, taxes, and vaction time in australia, the UK, and the US. very interesting to hear how it all works in different places. when i told them i didn't have any health insurance they looked shocked and worried. (i actually did purchase trip health insurance, however, so stop worrying!)

i got some mehendi on my hands last night and it was super fun. looks really good this morning. this 18 yr old boy did it, but he looked like he was 12. very nice kids, it was fun hanging out with them talking a bit.

also exchanged a book for the new john irving book. last time i was here i read several john irving books, and he is a perfect writer for this kind of thing. not too heavy, a good story teller.

well, it is morning here, so i am off to the train station to buy a ticket to amritsar, the home of the golden temple. it is north, in the punjab, and i am excited to go see it. i also will see a border clsing ceremony, where they all dress up in full regalia and raise and lower the indian and pakistani flag. it is supposed to be a friendship ceremony between the 2 countries, and very cool and melodramatic. to i'll say hi to pakistan for everyone while i am there, too.

i will only be in amritsar for a day or two, so i can come back to delhi to welcome kora manheimer. she arrives on january 2nd!

til later,
jo