Sunday, 20 January - 4:00 PM

Just got in from a fairly busy day. I had breakfast with my host family (corn flakes & banana, but they pour warm milk over it -- and it rocks!!) We met up at Bernie's hosts' around 9:00 AM. From there we went to see a martial arts demonstration which was pretty cool.


Little kids with weapons... never a good idea.



Afterwards, we went to a museum to see an outdoor arts festival. One of the artists drew everything upside-down. He did a drawing of Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhosle, founder of the Maharashtran empire and gave it to me. Pretty cool souvenir! We also walked around in the museum itself.






The dude draws upside-down.

I'm back at my host's again, but only for a little bit. I'm scheduled to go hear a musical program at the home of Rajiv's host. Rajiv and Elizabeth are going to see some cultural dance program, and Bernie is going off on some jungle safari. Misty has come down with some bad bronchitis and is staying in to get some rest.

The host family I'm staying with is very quiet. They have two small kids and they don't seem to talk at all. I think maybe they're shy because at breakfast Vikram said, "Maybe we should have guests more often -- I'm enjoying these quiet meals!" Vikram's brother and his wife live in the house next door with their two daughters, and they are in the process of building a third house on the property for Vikram's mom and dad.

Sunday, 20 January - 7:00 AM

Morning here in Kolhapur. I slept pretty good for a couple hours but there was this horribly annoying mosquito that kept buzzing around my head. I had no idea that mosquitos made noise. But this morning I look like I have the chicken pox -- bites all over my head and face.

I've started reading a book that I picked up at the ashram called, "The Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna."

Last night's presentation was at an outdoor restaurant. It went pretty well except that the power kept going out. That's actually a big problem here in India - there is a limited amount of power and electricity so in some towns, the power goes out for a few hours every day. Chalk it up to another one of those little things that we in the U.S. take for granted.

I met Elizabeth's host, Shoba, who founded her own womens-only Rotary club. Women are allowed to be in Rotary here, and there are some who choose to do so. But the majority of the wives belong to the "Inner Wheel" which is kind of like a ladies' auxiliary club. I'm not sure if there are Inner Wheels in the U.S.


Women's Rotary Club of Kolhapur.

Shoba started the womens-only club to meet the needs of professional Indian women who have to balance their careers and household responsibilities. It's actually a great idea and the club members are all really great. I had the chance to sit and chat with a bunch of them last night and I think we are planning to spend the afternoon with them today.

I have a confession to make. I did a pretty crappy thing yesterday in the car on the way from Belgaum to Kolhapur. Rajiv called Wolf and, in his best Indian accent, told him I was leaving him for an Indian man. Even as it was going on, I knew it was mean. And now my heart hurts because I know that I hurt him. And I'm halfway across the world and cannot apologize properly. I hope he can feel my remorse. I hope he knows how much I love him and how it hurts me to know that I've hurt him.