Bhubaneswar

Greetings from Bhubaneswar! This stop in India is our half-way point of the trip and I think we are all feeling tired from the busy schedule. I decided I should forego the shopping excursion this evening and instead relax so I am not grumpy for school visits and the flight to Chennai tomorrow. (Hmmm, perhaps I should make sure I haven't lost my replacement air tickets...)

There are too many things to talk about related to the educational system in India. It will take me some time to process everything and put it in some sort of coherent form. In fact, I will have to do that for my project that is required for the trip. Fortunately, they are giving us time after we return home to work on our project before the due date. So, ask me in November what I learned from this trip and I should be able to explain everything very well. ;)

Instead of talking about education, I will tell you that I am afraid to cross streets here. It didn't take too long in India to realize that it was important to look the opposite way before crossing the street since they drive on the left. However, I am still not used to looking for cars coming in both direction in any lanes - regardless of the official direction of the lane. I have come to accept that I am not comfortable crossing the streets on my own. In Calcutta, I went ahead and went with one of the persistant peddlers when he prevented me from getting hit by a motorbike. I figured that if he prevented me from being run over, I should at least see his shop. So I followed him around the corner...down the alley...up the stairs...Did I mention it was getting dark? Although I wouldn't do that in the US, many of us have followed the salesmen and found some great purchases. The funny thing was that when I arrived at his shop, a couple other people from my group were there...and apparently others from our group had also followed him the previous day because he was able to recap all the places we had been to so far and all the places we were headed. (Yes, I bought some things but it will be a surprise...just be nice to me when you see me and maybe I will show you.) =) Anyway, I don't like crossing streets here. (Strange paragraph...Feel free to edit it in your own free time.)

Now to look for my airline tickets...