Hello World

I just returned from Pune, where I celebrated the rest of Ganputi Festival with lots of dancing, music, and spicy food. I went with my new favorite exchange student friend, Adam, who is eerily similar to me. Despite Rotary's best efforts, we managed to have an excellent time, ditching our 8-hour lame tour bus for a more exciting directionless tour on foot. I remember eating fresh pomegranate in the street as we walked towards Pahwati Temple, the ruby colored juice making my hands sticky and me dropping fragments of pomegranate after picking out the fruit. At one point we walked into a park and the first Indian cross dresser I've seen grabbed both my arms and was too close even by Indian standards. I tried to shout him back but finally had to shove the dude powerfully. He frowned, off to harass someone else.
When Adam and I got back with his host family, they wanted to go out to McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and the new Western style mall. It's sad to think that India's favorite American cultural exports are fast food and shopping--the things I like least about the US. Instead, we ate at terrific Indian restaurants. I recommend everyone tries chilli milli, veg. chigani, and petla. All Punjabi food is a safe bet.
Tomorrow I'll be going in the Agra (Taj Mahal) area to visit Manputi, or Lord Krishna's birthplace. After the 12 hour train ride it's a 21km barefoot hike to an ancient temple. If I'm (more) lucky I'll find the time to get to the Taj Mahal and do some touristy things in Agra.
I've promised my host sisters to teach them how to play Monopoly, so I've got to run. I'll try and be more frequent with my blog entries from now on. I'll be back to Jalgaon on the 12th. Photos of Ganputi, Pune, and Malego will come shortly.