We're in Chennai!

Hi! The travel adventures were wonderful to be sure (we viewed a short special called Meercats: family squabbles and love affairs). The highlight was, however our trip into Kuala Lumpur during our eight hour layover there. It was two two days ago (though time is really bendy right now....) but all three of us agree that it seems VERY long ago.....highlights: not dying, being in an Islamic state for the first time (for Kate and I), nice food, people asking to take our picture not because of our charming personalitites but because of the pigmentation lacking in our skin. (phrasing on that sentence can be credited to Kate).

The thought about India that kept returning to me yesterday was that it cannot possibly be put in a box. Deepa's family has been absolutely wonderful to us. Her Aunt Usha and cousin, Ram, met us at the airport and ushered us to greatly appreciated beds......Kate has never been that tired in her life and Deepa and I were also delirious.

Yesterday we woke up earlier than we expected. The tea (chai!!!) and breakfast food was REALLY excellent....I thought I was going to die from spice before we came but I'm actually doing just fine! Ram took as around town and later on Ram and Usha took us to Mahabalipuram (an ancient Hindu temple that has been recently excavated.) Usha answered any question we could possible have had before we asked it. We learned all about Hinduism, temple customs, and ancient daily life. (The pictures are from two of those sites....the rock is absurdly large and balanced on a rock slope - it has been for as long as people remember. It's called Krishna's Butter Ball which relates to a story about Krishna's childhood)

Today we went to a Tamil movie......WOW WOW WEE WOW! (that's something one of Deepa's cousins said to us in an email) It was absurdly loud, dramatic, colorful, musically charged, and FUN. Ram was yelling plot points to Kate and I throughout. Tonight we're off to shopping for Indian clothes for Kate and I mostly. Another highlght - Jasmine! Deepa's great aunt pinned some to each of our heads before we went to the movie. I've been talking about smells a lot - the smell of INDIA, for example - I' ma lot more into it than anyone else. It's earthy!

None of us are really able to think about anything but the present moment because everything around us is so dynamic and overwhleming - and I'm glad that's the case. Love to you all! I don't know when I'll write again, but I hope to hear from you in the future.

A special hello to Bonnie! (pet her for me)

Song stuck in my head......Oh Darling! by the Beatles