Coming to India, was like getting my first tattoo...

I built myself up for it to hurt really bad, but it didn't actually sting as much as I thought it would. There have been moments that made me wince a bit, but with our new friends holding our hands, the pain doesn't seem so bad after all.

will and i arrived in mumbai's airport a few days ago, to a young guy named rajkumar holding a sign with our names on it. i let out a huge sigh of relief, as we were escorted to our private taxi. rajkumar means king & prince, which is pretty cool. he was very soft spoken, and will and i thought he said his name was rajaman, but thankfully didn't call him that too often. debbie, our host, corrected us later.
our taxi ride was wild. there are a few unsaid rules here:
-at night, high beams on all of the time.
-lanes and shoulders are used in a very loose way, as well as the speed limit.
-the trucks are like elephants. big, slow, and one needs to beep and flash your high beams a lot to move them out of the way.

we did see slums, just the edge of them but it was amazing to see these shacks several stories high. i'm still trying to undertand the economic system here, but i think the slums are not for the homeless and jobless. taxi drivers, college students and other very hard workers live here. the slums are better than living on the street, and the shacks are real homes. people even pay rent to live in them. after the slums comes large, old and decrepit high rises. at first i thought they were old abandoned factories. all of the windows were dark, but then i saw one light and as i looked closer all of the windows had clothes and plants hanging from them. lights are kept off to preserve energy, as there are many outages throughout the day.
there is also new construction going on...lots of it. they say the middle class is rising quickly, and more and more people are movin on up.
at night, we did see people on the street, and packs and packs of dogs that all looked like the same mix of mut.
after a 50 mile ride, which cost us 2500 rupees ($50 and worth every penny;-), we arrived in pune at 5am, hit the hay and slept until 3pm.

the next day we met debbie and rupa. they have been very hospitable, and have quickly become good friends. we also met an 18 year old girl named bethany, who is working here from England. i couldn't believe she came here on her own! but she did, and she's staying with a korean family close by.

our first night we had our first auto rickshaw ride, greated by a cow of course, and hung out with our friend's aunt winnie. she's AWESOME, and i got to ask her a lot of questions about being a white woman in india, how to handle beggars, and where to look out for scams. we had a great time, and it was nice to see someone familiar on the first night.

on sunday we gathered with new friends, and later went to a local resteraunt and had some delicious indian food. debbie and rupa seemed impressed that we could manage the food. i then went and bought my first kurta (long tunic) to wear for the next few days. pune is pretty modern, so i probably could get away with wearing my own clothes, but western women are percieved as loose, and i didn't want to encourage to many more glares.

yesterday we took our first train ride out to the country, to an orphanage and womens center. often young girls are left here, as boys are more desired. widows are left here as well, when they are shunned by their husbands families, along with those with dissabilities. anyone who is considered "not normal" is sent here. we in the states are a bit more inclusive, and i especially know from working at penn. school for the deaf, that those who are deaf have very normal and productive lives. i can't imagine my students seeing this orphanage/school. these kids make candles and other small crafts all day, everyday. if they had any struggle in academics, they are seperated from the other students, learn one skill, and do that all of the time. i was asked to come up with some new project ideas, and with limited materials, this can be a challenge. i think these students aren't pushed harder, because there simply isn't as much training for those who work in these kinds of schools. i do feel though, that these children were cared and loved for, and considering the alternative of begging, slavery, or even death, this place was a haven for women and those considered different or "lost" by their society. after the orphanage, will, debbie, rupa andi headed back to town on a VERY crowded train, grabbed a bite to eat in pune, and then it was off to bed.