First Day in India or Brad and Joe get eaten by Mosquitos

Well the flights went fine. The stewardess (or stuartist as Leah likes to say) on our first flight somehow knew Brad and Joe were American but thought I was German. Thus she only spoke to me in German even though I never understood her and always responded in English. One time she woke me up and started talking at me, telling me to do something. I tried everything--moving my seat forward, lifting my tray table, etc. She only became more emphatic with her guttural grunts and throaty syllables and began making seat belt motions, which I didn't really understand since my seat belt was on. I finally figured out that she wanted to see that my belt was on since it was under a blanket, but she never figured out that I don't speak German. I think she was confused by my Nordic good looks--blond hair, blue eyes, impeccable fashion sense and all that.

But everything went smoothly. Joe is getting to experience what travelling with Brad is like. Which means that if we see an area that looks like it might be off limits, that's where Brad will go, with no sense of warning or preparing us :-). I think he belongs in India though because no one really seems to care where he goes here.

Vikram has been a very gracious host and is taking great care of us. In some ways everything seems so normal, in others so foreign. Here are a few pictures of the area where we are staying:

These trees with these orange-red flowers are spotted throughout the area and in full bloom. Vikram says they are called Flame of the Forest.


There are some beautiful houses around here. Each one is unique. I took pictures of these two when we went on a walk today.

We also went to this tower in a park nearby and took some pictures from the top.

(I totally didn't know what to do with my right arm in this picture. And I'd like to point out that Brad is wearing a fanny pack.)

One last story: I don't know if it's complete overkill, but after all our reading and doctor appointments and such, we are completely terrified of mosquito bites (theoretically they carry many dangerous diseases like Malaria and Dengue Fever, among others). So of course there are mosquitos all over the bathroom we use. Actually I think there are only two, but they work in tandem, one distracting while the other tries to get a quick bite. They have defied my every attempt to kill them. They are so FAST! So when they have hidden themselves after my initial attack, I have to try to pee. Now let me tell you something: you haven't lived until you have tried to pee while trying to fend off mosquito attacks from every direction. I mean, there I am, waving my arms all over to make them think twice about getting close to me (and you can't just wave in one area--mosquitos love both my ankles and my neck) and trying to pee a little between each ankle protecting swipe. It's both challenging and rewarding. But I haven't gotten one bite (even taking a shower in there) while Brad and Joe have both been bitten--on the ankles while in the bathroom. Maybe I should show (or just teach?) them my method . . .

So tomorrow we are heading out to see some of these non-profit sites where we want to help, so we'll acually get to see the city and such. Here's my last pic of the day: