INDIA

Okay, so, where do I start? First of all, I'm glad to be back where my own bed is, and where I can drive without fear of collision.

Oh, "How was the trip?" you ask? Hot, tiring, crazy, interesting, different, eye opening....life changing. I wrote a journal and I was just going to copy what I wrote for y'all, however, if I did that, I might as well submit it to an editor 'cause it would be a book.

It's going to take me a couple of days, but I decided I would size down my India trip systematically, of course, you know, when you do this sort of thing, it's only a tool present the big idea. I hope it's a blessing.


KOCHIN, Kerala (Land of the Coconuts)


Kochin is where John's parents live. This is the first phase of this systematic approach to our vacation. Here's a excerpt from my journal.
... Dear Diary (just kidding)...



"Today I wish I was a tourist. Tourists have the uncanning ability to escape. Americans, too, ashamedly have the rare ability to see through rose colored glasses in the instant something gets too confrontational... When I say I wish I was a tourist, I mean I wish I had a thick pair of rose colored glasses today, really thick ones, with near and far sided sections. I made the mistake of coming to India with my husband, however. May I quote him? 'I'm not going to protect you from this.' "

This is a picture of a labor camp. John didn't mean he was going to push me out in front of large buses or make me drink the water. He meant that he wasn't going to protect me from the poverty, this is the first thing that impacts a visitor in India.

" ...we were walking down a more than busy street with sewage drains on one side and oncoming traffic on the other. Sidewalks? Not a chance. I was overwhelmed to the point of tears, but I didn't really cry..

Poverty has a different face here."

Especially considering the fact that most of the hobos in the states have a pair of Nikes on and a meal down the street at the local shelter. In India, the labor class can't afford a bottle of water.

Hey, don't lose heart! I didn't, and I was there. You might think it's all downhill from here. "So does she have anything nice to say about India?" Well, stay tuned.