tryna eat some beef

I know that my blog posts have been sparser than expected, and I am realizing now that the truly strange and different things about India have become somewhat normal to me. That being said, I figure I'll try and talk about those things in this post.

I've already talked about how nuts driving is, but it gets even crazier. It is not uncommon to see whole families riding on a single motorcycle, no exaggerations. Imagine the father driving with a small child on his lap, behind him a mother sitting side saddle holding a baby and possibly a small animal, and then packages strapped on in various places. It's insane to think that that is a normal and legit mode of travel while people back home are ridiculous for driving with a baby in their lap.

It is also common at red lights for impoverished children to come out to the streets and try and sell you things. You keep saying no, but they stay, plead, touch you, cry, and whatever else they can think of until you relent or the light turns green.

Temples are also a place where people try milk the tourists as best they can through pity. We went to the biggest Mosque in Delhi the other day (shown below), and walking up the steps to get there was pretty incredible in the worst way. Lining the steps on both sides were people with every malady or deformity or condition you could think of. Its truly heartbreaking sometimes, but there’s not much you can do at times like those.

In Hauz Khas there is no better illustration of the socioeconomic gap than the gym complex I've been going to as often as I can. Honestly, I can say that it is one of the nicest and cleanest places I've been in delhi. It is set up like anh country club in America. For those who saw pictures of the gym in Costa Rica, its the complete opposite. I see it filled with the richest of the rich, and then on my walk home, I pass those in utter poverty with their makeshift (but permanent) tents on the side of the roads and highways.

As far as work goes, things are normal. One of my favorite kids is named Deepak. He's in the older group, but he’s one of the youngest, about seven years old. He often gets left out of things because the older kids already speak some english and know the ABCs. They also like to pick on him because they are older, bigger, and because no one stops them. Because of all this, he’s usually pretty glum, and I try and make it my mission to get him to smile as much as I can. A few days ago, the older kids were on a field trip but Deepak was still at Mobile Creches for some unknown reason. Becky was working with him all day on the ABCs, and when he finally was able to recite and write them all down, he went nuts. It was the happiest I've ever seen him, and for the next seven times in row he recited them to me, that little kid was nothing but joy. As lame as that might sound, that, for me, is the best part of this whole experience. We're not saving the world, but if we can make a kid smile, it almost feels like it.

And in other HUGE news, I have found Uncle Larry’s long lost Indian twin brother. He works right here at the CCS house and his name is Geresh. The photo below is of me and some of the CCS staff, see if you can spot him.

The rest of the photos are, in order: Hauz Khas apartment complex (the whole thing looks like that), playing drums in Pushkar, monkey in Pushkar, girls and I at largest Mosque in Delhi, girls and I on River Ganges in Rishikesh, and little Deepak smiling on Republic day celebrations last friday.