just a quick note to report that we've made it to Mumbai, India, and we're staying with my friend Manju's uncle's pastor's family just outside the city in Kalyan. heather is trying to recover from a stomach bug (picked up in Madagascar, we think), and i'm getting over another small sinus cold... while both of us are managing to adjust to the extreme humidity (relative to southern Africa but not to where we're headed further south in India).
we're also eating glorious food prepared by the pastor's wife, Gracey, and trying to catch up a bit on emails at a nearby cybercafe before we head back "home," past a drum ensemble celebrating the end of a recent idol-worshipping Hindu holiday: Ganesh Cathurthi (the elephant-headed god of prosperity and wisdom is immersed in the sea in a ritual "originally promoted by freedom-fighters to circumvent British anti-assembly legislation" (Rough Guide 2005).
tonight we're going to a "prayer meeting" (type of house-worship) and then to a dinner (around 10 pm!) with Manju's precious family... by Monday, we'll head down the west coast (maybe by way of a coastal route) to Cochin/Kochi.
one interesting note is how inquisitive Indians are (even our hosts' neighbor commented on that)... only 2.5 days into our stay in India, and everyone is already asking us how we like it, how it's different, if we're accustomed to eating with our hand (right only), etc...
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