I made it! After the longest day of my lifetime and a harrowing drive from Bombay to Surat (Indian driving consists mainly of swerving around madly in the streets - which have no lanes marked - honking at everything that moves), I have been installed in my room in an incredibly posh apartment. Life is good......my family's great, they're a jolly bunch. Pooja (the sister I'm rooming with) is really sweet and everyone's friendly in general. I have seen so much new, unfamiliar, amazing stuff today that I'm kind of at a loss to describe it all. I saw my first holy cow! Also a camel. The highways are lined with cheery signs such as "Speeding thrills but kills". I start gujarati lessons tomorrow! It's incredibly hot and sticky here. There is so much poverty. People like to stare at me. The food is amazing, and I'm being fed a seemingly endless amount. I'm totally messed up as far as time. The toilets........well lets just say that apparently toilet paper is a new phenomenon still regarded with suspicion by the general population. Well I'm a little dazed right now, so I'll write more later. I love you all!
Oh yeah...I changed my settings so that (I think) anybody can comment, not just other bloggers. Somebody give it a try and let me know if it works.