welcome to india, ladies.

just for the record, the journey to india is not short. but, after three consecutive days of air travel, we are here in madurai, our first destination.

for three days of travel, the trip actually wasn't so bad. salt lake to atlanta, atlanta to new york, and new york across the big pond. we landed in mumbai (the city formerly known as bombay) last night around 10p.m. mumbai is a small hamlet of 16 million people, at least half of whom were at the airport. it was hot and crowded and wonderful... some of the same words (and i emphasize some) that could be used to describe our harrowing cab ride to the hotel, about half an hour from downtown. it was pretty clear that our cab driver had little to no idea where we were going, and a complete absence of any kind of road marker, including lane demarcations and stop lights, couldn't have helped. cars drive within inches of eachother here, no matter what direction they are going, and honking seems to be its own form of communication. it was dark by the time we arrived, but we could make out lots of stray dogs, and people tending fires in piles of rubble outside small huts with tarps for windows and doors. our hotel was a palace practically, with a large gate guarded by the "frontline facility" security force. we slept like babes and took off early this morning for the domestic airport.

security lines in india seem to be divided with men in one and women in the other, clearly demarcated with signs that say, "unaccompanied children and ladies this way." i got my first proper pat-down in a long time. lovely. there are no lines to speak of, but lots of gathering, pushing and cutting. and colors. the women are all in gorgeous saris and other traditional clothes, with elaborate jewelry and beautiful henna tattoos on their hands. we flew air india through chennai and to madurai (they fed us on both flights, even though the second was only 55 minutes. i thought i was going to explode). we were met in madurai with flower garlands by a very effusive local rotarian. he hustled us into an air conditioned van for the ride to downtown madurai. the south of india is warm and green, with miles of rice paddies and coconut groves. there are mopeds and bicycles and cows everywhere. the driving caught up with two trucks we saw smashed into eachother head-on. the drivers appeared to have walked away as there was no one at the scene when we drove past.

our new friend told us that the booming economy is only one side of the story in india. he said indian people are simple and warm. "look around for yourself and you will see what for you india is. nothing great, nothing less," he said. i think that will be my motto for the next month. we were met at the hotel by the local rotary district governor who garlanded us again and then settled us into our rooms, where were slept like babes again. the governor also told our team leader, scott, that he is going to have the man who met us at the airport stay in scott's hotel room with him starting tomorrow night, "to be sure all your needs are met." none of us are quite sure what that means.

we'll be here through the sixth. tomorrow we'll sight-see and i'll visit a newspaper, the hindu, which has the largest circulation in all of india. on the fifth and sixth we'll present at the district conference, and then depart for the next adventure.

also, for the record, i have my first indian mosquito bite, but no signs of malaria. yet.