Happy Birthday Gandhiji!!!

Today is Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, and the entire country is shut down for celebration..!

After I made my last blahg entry, I returned to the girls' hostel on campus to discover that I had been thrown out by the warden for failing to follow the rules. It was really the last straw for me. I felt tired and helpless and stuck, and the tears finally began to flow.

It had been months since I'd last spoken to mom, but now it was time. I found a place to sit and started dialing - ignoring the fact that it was the middle of the night back in California - and, when she didn't answer, I left a sobbing, incoherent message. Just what every mother loves to get, right? But once it was finally time for all my pent up frustrations to come out, there was simply no stopping myself. I cried non-stop for nearly an hour and a half, until my eyes bulged like a bullfrog.

As soon as the guys discovered I was crying, they jumped into action and within a few hours more I had a new place to stay in a nice flat in a safe area near the central market. I also had a new plan; Ignoring the advice of the Foreigner's Registration office, I've decided to go back to Rishikesh for a week or so while my visa is being processed. I can see my yoga teacher again, get some nice books, and generally unwind a bit before I have to face Delhi again...

So, I am feeling much better these days. My train leaves tomorrow afternoon and in the meantime my stess factor has gone way down. And this morning, while the guys all sleep on the floor in the next room, I even have a moment to finally post some pictures from the last month (I'll try to add captions as soon as possible, but for now this is all I can manage)...pics go in reverse order, from Delhi to Varanasi to Chitwan (Nepal) and finally back to Bandipur (Nepal). Enjoy!!!

still hanging in,

big hugs,
LMA

Gazala is the sweetest Indian girl I've ever met...I stayed in her hostel for almost a week.

It's been ages since I had a good, old-fashioned shaving cream fight...or since I've laughed so hard!

An excellent stress buster, I recommend you bring a can to the office (Specifically, the DA's office).

I rarely take photos of dying or dead things, but this one I took because I blahgged about it in Varanasi.

I never get tired of cow-standing-in-garbage pictures, and this Varanasi bull was frighteningly HUGE.

Bath time in Chitwan!

This one needs no explanation for those who know about my lifelong preocupation..

Jalebis are super sticky Indian sweets that are served with...hornets! (no charge)

A rare smile from a Nepali vendor as I sat on the roof of the bus.

Maria plays lightheartedly with the chicken before she realizes that we're going to eat it...

Nepali-style cooking means squatting on the floor in the dark...here Eduardo is making chapatis!

...and Maria chops vegetables. These two weeks in Bandipur were truly memorable.

I am obsessed with cheap, fresh, beautiful vegetables.

A local gang of adorable Nepali village boys.

Nepal is so picturesque that it's impossible to go anywhere without feeling like you're in a painting. (This is in Bandipur)