India: Day 3

In the morning we met with the tech support guy who was here to help with the workshop and we made a plan for the first week. The kids just sat in the back and watched a movie while we talked. That afternoon a few ladies asked if I wanted to go to Hosur (pronounced “Hosoul”). Housr is a small city – about 45 minute drive away. But it’s much bigger than anything nearby, and closer than Bangalore so I think the staff on the center go about once a week for shopping. I was excited to see a new place plus I wanted to get some clothing. There are basically two outfits that people wear in India – a Sari and a Shalwar Kameez and even though I was wearing long skirts I was told that they really appreciate if westerners wear culturally appropriate clothing. The bridge they normally take to get to the city is being reconstructed so we go a round-about way. It was an interesting drive through more villages and dirt roads. At one point Sora has to use the bathroom so one of the teenage girls with us just took her to the side of the road to go. Hosur was pretty crazy. Lots of people and motorbikes. I was amazed that people weren't getting run over at every moment. We had fun shopping for clothes and I three complete outfits for about $35. We stopped at a few more places – a small convenience store for supplies and water; a pharmacy because my lips were painfully chapped since I’m not used to the dry weather. We also stopped for some hot tea that we drank in the car. I was amazed that whenever anyone ate or drank something they just threw the trash out the window. Sora ended up peeing in her pants which was fun to deal with (not). I had no underwear or pants for her so she just sat in her shirt. The traffic to get out of the city was incredible. It took 30 minutes to go a kilometer. Sora fell asleep which was good – and it was enjoyable for me to just sit and listen to everyone talk – sometimes in English, sometimes in another language. Because of the traffic we got back really late. I had asked them to call and let Damien know and I’m glad we did because he was really worried. A 3 hour trip turned into a 5 hour one. It was great fun and I’m so glad I went. I wish I had taken more pictures. But the weather was horrible and I was going to get run over by a car or motorbike if I looked down for a second so this was all I got.