It's been two weeks since I arrived and it feels like I never left. Hmmm, don't know if that's good or bad. I'll have to think on that. I'm very lucky to work with such a great group of people. You really have to maintain your sense of humor here. There's one other U.S., one Greek and four Aussies. You meet lots of Aussies in this business because they did such a fantastic job with the Sydney Olympics and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games that everyone tries to hit that standard.
About the most exciting thing I've done since I got here was go to church. I attended the small Delhi branch near my apartment. It was their Primary program! How sweet this small little group of children (not more than a dozen) were as they sang familiar Primary songs and gave their talks. It was a blessing for me to experience that and know how lucky I am that the gospel of Jesus Christ is taught the same throughout the world in my church.
We were supposed to go to a party tonight with local entertainment, but the traffic was so horrible that by the time we made it home, due in part to a light rain that was unexpected, that we said forget it - we're too tired now. Bummer, since I was looking forward to seeing some local culture.
This weekend they are having the semi-annual Holiday Mela (think big shopping bazaar) at the American Embassy School put on by the American Worker's Abroad (AWA). Who know's what I'll come home with? If you want to put in an order, send me a quick e-mail and I'll keep a lookout for whatever!
The office moved location since my last trip, so we take a very different route to work. I hardly ever see any cows or other livestock, but one day I saw an elephant being ridden by his owner. Can you imagine driving in any city in the U.S. and seeing an elephant walking along the road? That's what it's like. One day we took a different way home and saw over a dozen cows; no pigs, sheep or goats yet this trip.
They are "beautifying" the city in preparation for the games, so they are doing all kinds of work on the roadside, putting in new curbing, sidewalks, etc. If you can imagine, the workers live right there with their families while they are doing this work. So for those of you in Oceanside, image people living on the sidewalks of College or Oceanside Boulevards? Sleeping, cooking and even washing up right there on the side of the road. You just can't grasp it unless you see it with your own eyes. I'll try to capture some pictures for posting.
