Pictures!!!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=sherikoller&target=ALBUM&id=5553704283620879953&authkey=Gv1sRgCObDlMq8yPCLywE&feat=email

Guardian Angels...

Ok, so I have officially been home now for a full 36 hours and I am barely starting to feel human again! I am still battling a terrible cold and stomach issues... but I am grateful to be here. Today is my birthday and on one hand... it's the worst birtday ever (jetlag, exhaustion, illness, no voice, having to work) but on the other hand it is the BEST birthday ever because I am HOME safe and sound! There was a very real possibility that I was going to have to spend my birthday sleeping on the floor of London Heathrow. So the mere fact that I am home is enough to make this the best birthday ever!!! Plus people at my work went out of their way to make me know how important my birthday was. My group supervisees brought me an apple pie and sang Happy Birthday. My fellow supervisors brought a delicious pear tart and I got to blow out a candle. And my individual supervisees sent me a card telling me that a donation had been made by all of them in my honor to Habitat For Humanity. WOW!!!! On the way home from work, I heard the song Dancing Queen and was immediately taken back to the bus ride to the Taj Mahal and how I'd gotten some of my fellow teammates to have a dance party in the bus aisle to ABBA... what a sweet memory!

Now that I've have a day to process the trauma of my trip home... and in order to work through some of my PTSD... I am going to share with you all the joys of coming home from India. On Friday night I learned that my flight from India would be delayed. I was stressed because it would mean I only have one hour to catch my flight in London. I also was feeling really ill as I had caught a terrible cold and throat infection/cough. Luckily a few of my teammembers stayed up with me to cheer me up and keep me company. I left for the airport just after midnight and spent the night trying not to fall asleep in the terminal. I ended up getting a row of seats all to myself and slept about 5 hours of the 8 hour flight... little did I know it would be the last peaceful sleep I would have for awhile!

I landed in London and before I could even get to the connecting flights terminal, they told us that all flights for the day had been cancelled and we would need to go through immigration. Uh, excuse me?! The line was REALLY long and took about 3 hours to get through. I met a woman from Chicago who was going to be staying in London for a few days after spending a month in India doing some research for her microfinance dissertation. The guy behind us showed us a paper he had gotten from British airways. It basically said "fend for yourselves." They said that all flights had been cancelled and that British airways would be unable to rebook our flight or get us a hotel. However, if we could find a hotel, they MIGHT reimburse us up to $300. When I walked up to the Immigration desk, the guy asked me how long I would be staying in London. I chuckled and said "uh, I think you had better ask British airways that question." I went to gather my luggage and was told that all luggage that was supposed to connect to another flight was being held and could not be released. So with no luggage I walked htrough customs. I went upstairs to ticketing and there was not a single British airways person to be found. I met a woman who was trying to get to Seattle and the earliest she could rebook was on December 24th. A little bit of panic began to set in and I asked if I could borrow her laptop (mine wouldn't recognize the internet in Heathrow and even if it did... it was $20 a day!!!). I checked my booking and it said that I had been rebooked on an American Airlines flight the next morning. I felt relieved and just needed to find a place to stay. I soon found out online that EVERY hotel near the airport was completely full or overbooked. With no options, I decided that maybe I should venture out to see some of London and try to find a hotel in a more touristy area of downtown. I bought an Underground/tube ticket and hopped on. I soon realized that this trip to London center might be more drama than it was worth. I talked with a guy next to me who had to abandon his car @ LHR (Heathrow) because the roads were all impassable and he had to take the tube to get home. The tube kept stopping and they were saying that there were problems on the track due to snow. I finally got off at Westminister. I walked outside and was immediately hit with the frigid temperature... I was wearing capri pants, a tank top and a sweater. I jumped back into the station and dug out my new scarf and a second pair of capri pants. The pants went on over the first pair. The first thing I saw was the London Eye which is a Ferris wheel right next to the Thames river. I turned to the right and immediately saw Big Ben! WOW! Super impressive. I walked a bit and realized how silly the idea of going into London was starting to be... it was really cold (probably in the teens) and was starting to get dark. I walked around looking for a hotel but couldnt find one. I bumped into Westminister Abbey and House of Parliament. They were both beautiful and covered in snow. I decided to go back to the tube. When I arrived, it was pure pandemonium. The train had stopped running. I decided to try to find the hotel where Nicole was staying as it was near Victoria Train station. I met a man on the road who worked at Westminister Abbey and he agreed to walk me the two miles to the Victoria station so I would not get lost. By this time my shoes and socks were wet and cold from walking in the slushy snow.
Just outside the station I found a McDonalds that had free wi-fi! Yea for McDonalds!!! I updated my blog and called my mom. I ended up going to the bathroom and trying to dry my shoes and socks with the hand dryer. At the train station I ended up buying some socks and a few munchies. At this point, I realized that I should probably just head back to LHR. I got on the train and headed to the airport. About an hour later, and many delays, the train operator came over the intercom and said "due to problems on the track up ahead because of the snow, we are going to have to suspend service here." Fan-freaking-tastic! They dumped us out in the middle of nowhere! Luckily there was about 20 of us trying to get to the airport. we were able to find a bus and hopped on. I didn't have any pounds (currency in London) and so I snuck on the bus! Once on the bus, an incredibly kind British woman named Melissa (who looked Indian!) asked if we were heading to the airport. She was returning from work as she had been called in eventhough it was her day off. She told us which bus routes to take and where to get off and actually offered to help us get there! She helped us navigate the three transfers needed and at the last one, she walked us to the stop and told us to wait for the 490. She crossed the street and caught a bus back to wherever she was headed. I was REALLY grateful for her help! It took me about 4 1/2 hours total to get back to the airport (which should have been a 45 minute tube ride). Once back at the airport, I realized that things were pretty rough there. They were handing out blankets but didn't have enough for everyone. Fighting quickly ensued. I managed to get a blanket (more like a throw actually) but not a mat to sleep on. I started takling with this guy who was trying to get to Philly. His name was Spencer. We decided to bunk together and pulled up some space behind a ticket counter. I think I got maybe 3 or 4 hours of light sleep. It was cold in the terminal and sleeping on the cold, hard marble floor was terrible! In the morning, I found a random sleep mat lying on the floor and grabbed it. I ended up carrying that mat and my refugee blanket with me everywhere that day... no way was I giving it up! At the point, people also started to realize that there was a shortage of food. Some of the restaurants had run out. BA handed out a few sandwiches but quickly ran out. I got up at 5:30 and took the express train to terminal 3 where I was supposed to catch the American Airlines flight. I got there and it was complete pandemonium! There was barely enough room to walk and people were all in a panic. After about an hour, there was an announcement that all flights for the day were cancelled. My last option had just run out... I tried to think of what to do next and figured I should head back to terminal 5 since they would soon be closing terminal 3. I went to take the express train and they had blockaded it and were saying that the train to terminal 5 was not operating. They told me to either catch a cab or pay the $8 for the tube. I chose the tube. While waiting for the tube, a kind man about 50 years old began to talk with me. He and his wife were on their way to New Zealand to visit their daughter who is my age. I must have been in quite the state because he asked if I had breakfast. I told him I had not and he offered to have me come to his hotel @ the airport and treat me to b-fast. I accepted. I realized at that point that I had not brushed my hair and it was completely matted... nice! No wonder the poor guy took pity on me! The hotel had stationed armed guards outside to keep out anyone who did not have a room key. B-fast was a buffet and I quickly realized how hungry I was. I think operating in survival mode had quenched my hunger. His wife came down to b-fast and she offered to let me take a shower in their room. I gladly and gratefully accepted. It was the best shower ever and I didn't care that the only option was hotel shampoo without conditioner! I put on the same clothes I had been wearing for the past two days. I called the hotel desk and they were able to send up a toothbrush and toothpaste. HOORAY! I've never been so grateful to brush my teeth! I decided to head back to the terminal to check in and John and Lilia offered to have me meet them back for dinner @ 7. It was really sweet! Back at the terminal I checked in with the baggage area... they told me it would be 2 to 3 weeks before I would be able to get my luggage. AWESOME! I went back upstairs where Spencer was waiting... no news. No flights leaving. He told me that some people had tried to call British Airways to rebook their flights and were told it was a 13 hour wait!!! At about 4pm that afternoon, despair and desperation started to set in. Up until that point, although exhausted, I had some hope that I would be able to get out of the airport. In those dark moments, I began to pray. I prayed to keep myself from crying and I prayed to try to resurrect some hope within me. 20 minutes later Giff (another guy who;d started to hang with us) came running over and said "they've agreed to let 4 planes fly tonight... we need to get on one of them." We grabbed our bags and ran over to try to get on a waitlist. Our options were Cape Town, Singapore, New York and Boston. I immediately went for Boston knowing that I had family there I could stay with if I couldn't get a flight to LAX. The woman put my name on the waitlist and said "you will be lucky to even get on this plane. If you do get on it, you will be responsible to find your own way to LAX, including buying a new plane ticket to get you there." At that point, I didn't care, I just wanted to be AWAY from London! Send me to Siberia, I don't care (ok, well maybe not Siberia... however, they would probably be better equipped to deal with snow!!!). I called my mom from someone's phone and told her that if she didn't hear frm me in the next 2 hours, it meant I got on the flight and that she should call my cousin in Boston and ask her to come get me. When they began to call names, I have never wished so hard for anything in my life!!!! When they called out "koller" I squeeled and ran up to the counter. She told me "congrats, you have 20 minutes to get on the plane... run!" So I ran!!!!!! I got on the plane and ended up that my seat was in Economy plus! A little extra legroom and slightly better recline... nice!! Spencer, Giff and Landon also made it on the plane. When they plane took off, the entire cabin began to clap and cheer. PEACE OUT LONDON!!!

The flight was 6 1/2 hours and I rested for a little bit. I was still too amp'd up to relax. I landed in Boston and realized that my cell phone did not work. Of course not, how could anything come easy?! I borrowed Giff's phone to call my mom to get Leanne's #. I ran up to ticketing (they were about to close... it was about 10pm) and they were able to get me a voucher for a flight the next day on American. I was nervous though because she told me that there was only one seat left but that they couldn't assign me a seat, only give me a voucher. I turned and saw Leanne heading my way. Never in my life have I ever been so glad to see someone I love!!!!! I was a complete zombie... probably smelled pretty ripe and was barely functioning. My cough and cold had gotten worse and I was barely still upright. We got to her house close to midnight and after the most wonderful shower, I headed to bed. I had trouble falling asleep though... you know when you are just SO exhausted that your body forgets how to shut down? I think the wear and tear and FEAR of the past few days was starting to catch up with me. I didn't realize exactly how tense I was during my 36 hours in London and the stress from leavng India late. I slept a few hours and the next morning enjoyed some prime cousin time. As we left to head back to the airport, it began to snow. Of course it did! I get to the airport, load up on the plane and the announce that they need to de-ice the wings... one hour delay while on the plane. After de-icing, the pilot comes over the intercom and says "uh, while we were getting de-iced, the runway iced over and is now closed. It's gunna be a long night folks." They had us all get off the plane. The guy next to me took pity on me (I must have been quite the sight by now) and offered to let me go to the admiral's club with him. I accepted. I just about cried when I saw mouthwash and lotion in the bathroom. It was alittle piece of heaven. I was able to check my email for the first time in a few days. We re-boarded the plane and they had to de-ice again. The pilot came over the intercom and announced that due to heavy rains in Los Angeles, that they were also going to need to add more fuel because we might have to circle LAX for awhile before being able to land. Awesome! By the time I landed in Los Angeles, I could barely form words! My friend Purvi came to get me since it would have been unsafe for my mom to drive up in the rain. With the 4 1/2 hour delay, I felt terrible that she had to come get me at 12:30am! Once at home, I didn't have a key to get in since my friend had been staying at my place and I had told her to take the key with her since my mom would be picking me up and had a key. With no mom and no key... I knew my only hope was a spare key I keep outside. I had to hop the concrete wall (almost killing myself in the process!) and praise Jesus the key was still there!!!! I think it was about 2am by the time I finally got to sleep.

So long story short, those were the longest 86 hours of my life! I think I slept about 14 of those hours and am still reeling from all the events of the past few days. I called out sick yesterday and didn't even leave the house. In hindsight, I am overcome by gratitude for all the people that helped me along the journey. Friends, family and strangers alike all jumped into action to help me along the way. And in the end... i made it home without breaking down once! :) A pretty amazing accomplishment if I do say so myself!

I will try to post pictures in the next few days so please check back. GLAD TO BE HOME!!!!! :)

Home safe

Hello all! I am officially home safe and sound. I am battling a terrible cold and am heading back to work tomorrow. I am completely exhausted but promise that I will write more tomorrow. Talk with you all then!

The kindness of strangers...

Made it to Boston but now stuck in the airport here as they have closed the runway due to snow. Hoping to get out of here soon... Day 4 of journey from India is starting to suck. On the flip side... the kindness of strangers has been my saving grace throughout this journey. I can't wait to get home and will update you all then!

On the upside... I get to check off another continent... on the down side... I'm stuck in London!

I HATE SNOW!!!!!!!!! I was upset when my flight from Delhi was 2 1/2 hours late, I was afraid I would miss my next flight because I only had a 3 hour layover. I arrived in London and they told us all flights were cancelled for the day. AWESOME! The airport was complete pandemonium!!! It took three hours to get through customs and once through customs British Airways said "too bad, so sad. Book your own hotels and re-book your own flights online. NICE!!! Lucky for me, they have rebooked me for tomorrow as long as it stops snowing! Another girl heading to Seattle couldn't get a flight until the 24th!!!! Unfortunately, the hotels are all booked up! I am currently sitting @ a McDonalds trying to find a hotel in London where I will be able to get back to the airport in the morning (the roads are all blocked w/ snow and the metro doesn't run early enough to get me back to the airport). I met someone in the airport who gave me the name of her hotel and I've been walking around in the frigid cold trying to find it... the undegrounds are also not working well as there are problems with the system due to snow. Worst case scenario, I will try to get back to the airport and sleep on the floor. Unfortunately the airlines wouldn't bring out our suitcases so I am walking around in capri pants and a thin jacket!!! On the up side, I got to see the Eye of London, Big Ben, Westminister Abbey and Parliament Square :) What an adventure! Wish me luck! :) Hopefully I will be home tomorrow!!! Love you all!!

Last few days in India :(

What a wild ride this has been!!!! I can't believe it is already my last day in India! It has gone by SO quickly! It has been amazing getting to know everyone here and I will miss SO many of my teammates. The country has been one contradiction after another. You see incredible beauty right next to incredible ugliness... feel incredible joy after feeling utter despair... see hope at the same moment you see apathy... what an amazing culture! I thought coming to India would be fairly easy because I am fairly familiar with the culture, the food and such. And those things have helped... but it has still been a challenge. For me, I think India has been about being my most genuine self while feeling physically ill. Illness has plagued me every moment since being here... I came with my asthma acting up, a few days later had food poisining, while recovering from that I think I had a touch of Delhi belly, and the day I get over Delhi belly I get a terrible sore throat, the sore throat turned into a cold which has caused me to lose my voice. Through it all, I have appreciated the ability to push through it and completely enjoy myself anyway. I have been grateful that my body, although sick, has been able to fight these things and has been kind to me (for example, I would be fine throughout the day but as soon as we were back at the hotel, GAME ON! LOL!).

It is now my last day and although I am ready to get home and start feeling better, I am not looking forward to leaving my teammates. I've grown REALLY attached to quite a few of them and can't imagine saying good-bye to them...

For those of you wondering... my mom worked her magic and was able to get me on my original flights! YEA!!! I will be leaving Delhi tonight (well, tomorrow really) @ 3:30am and arriving in L.A. in the afternoon on the 18th.

The last few days has really been about the people here... On Wednesday morning, the homeowner of the site came by and brought us this thick, tar-like tea. It was like nothing I've ever tasted! We sat around drinking it and talking... working with Dan, Amy, Jerry and Natasha has been amazing... they are such hard workers and AMAZING people. Not once have I been annoyed, frustrated or tested by any one of them. And when you are working in a 10ftX15ft square right next to a leaking sewer... it would be PRETTY easy to let tensions rise! :) On Wednesday evening Natasha, Jerry, dan, Matt, Liam, Chinmoi and I sat upstairs in the dining room and played UNO. I don't think I have laughed so hard in my entire life!!!!!

On Thursday morning I rode to the site with Ava. She is AMAZING! She is 19 and is from Bethesda (Maryland). She is taking a year off before going to college to become a journalist. She amazes me... she is so much more mature and insightful than I EVER was at her age!!! I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation as she talked about her hopes for her career and processing her thoughts about the trip thus far (its her first time out of the country). Later on in the day, the other team had witnessed a beating of some poor man in Bawana... they were all pretty shaken up about it and I think Ava took it the hardest. I just sat there and rubbed her back because I remember seeing similar stuff the first few times in a different country and how hard it shook me up.

After lunch some women from Chetnalaya came and did Mendhi on our hands. I had two different artists work on my hands so they look REALLY different. One is obviously better than the other... but I was THRILLED to have the experience! Sujata (our guide) came up behind me and put her head on my shoulder. She then proceeded to tell me that women get mendhi on their hands on before they are married. She mentioned that it is a time for all the women to gather, have fun and be together. She sat next to me and began to feed me sweets and even gave me a juice box while holding it up for me to drink out of! It was great way for me to see... no, more like FEEL, what that must be like to have sisters all around you taking care of you and such. At that moment, I was overcome with feelings of love and tenderness for all thsoe we have met here. I was also feeling sad that a few minues later we would have to say good-bye. Saying good-bye to the people of Chetnalaya was hard... Sujata, Lau Sing, and the women in the sewing room... such an amazing project! Talk about grassroots! because I'd had the henna done, I couldn't tie my own shoes so Jerry (amidst much teasing about being prince charming and me cinderella... does the shoe fit? : )) tied my shoes for me!!! :) Leaving Bawana was a mixed experience... I will not miss the smells, the dirtiness, the chaos and the filth. I will miss the hundreds of children that would run up and want to shake your hand or walk nearby. I will even miss our stinky sewer site!!! OH!!! SPeaking of Sewer sites... we had shirts make for us while here in India!!! Chinmoi hooked it up (because as they say... ANYTHING is possible in India!). They say "soo-er-star" on the front, H4H on the arm, and Bawana December 2010. They stink to high heaven but they are super cool! I can't wait to wash it so I can wear it!

Last night we went to the Regent, a hotel across the street for a late night night-cap. My cold was going full force but I had an AMAZING time anyway. Jerry, Amy, Matt, liam, Natasha, Chinmoi, clint, Dan, Ava and I all sat around drinking and playing UNO. It was by far one of the best nights here! We came back to the hotel at about 1:30am and all of us hung out in my room laughing hysterically. we were teasing Chinmoi, calling him Chin Muffin and he TO THIS DAY still calls Ava "EVA" on accident. i think everyone left @ about 2:30 in the morning. Natasha and I stayed up talking for quite a bit but she really wasn't feeling well :( It must be her turn for Delhi belly :( In the middle of the night I woke up because she had fallen off the bed! We were both cracking up!!!!!

Today is a pretty chill day, we have the farewell lunch with Habitat in about an hour and then some of us are going to try to go get massages. We have our team farewell dinner tonight and then I head to the airport right after :(

Done with being different...

Ok, so let me preface this post by saying that in no way am I ready to come home, in no way am I regretting any part of this trip and in no way am I feeling any sort of anger. What I am feeling is awkward! (I know that i still haven't updated you all about the Taj and the weekend and the work week but allow me a moment to vent if you will.) Being the only blond haired blue eyed gal on the trip (and let's be honest here... a pretty darn good looking one at that! :)) I have received a lot of attention from the guys and girls here. At tha Taj Mahal (a place where you would expect to see tourists), our guide had to keep yelling at people to stop them from taking pictures of US! We are at the FREAKING TAJ MAHAL and the best you can do is take pictures of the white people? Are you serious?! On Sunday it was particularly awkward... we went to the biggest mosque in Delhi... so there I am, wearing a rented house coat and a shawl covering my head, and men are coming up to me left and right! Some asked to take pictures and others would just walk up and stand a few feet away and take my picture without asking. Jerry, the great defender, ended up coming over and being my bodyguard. WE WERE AT A FREAKING PLACE OF WORSHIP and you are focused on taking MY picture! Last I checked, it does not say anything in the holy book about taking pictures of gorgeous blonde haired blue eyed people in the house of prayer! After that we wentto India gate... a huge sculpture. Next thing you know, people are surrounding us with their video cameras out and recording us. Jerry made a joke about being offended that people didn't want HIS picture. It was pretty obvious they only wanted to take pics of the ladies. Back in Bawana, we've resumed our celebrity status with everyone waving and yelling hello. the young men are getting a bit more bold about staring and even Lau Sing (the coordinator) has had to ask some of the young men to leave. Dan and Jerry have started making jokes about having to have to walk on either side of me as my bodyguards. They are both REALLY sweet and SUPER protective of Amy and I while we are on the site. Then today, when my patience was running a bit low, the engineer/mason on our site did something that completely embarrassed me, it wasn't anything major, just a bit annoying. I ended up telling Ray about it and he immediately went and had it out with the engineer. I was really impressed with the way Ray handled it and although it was SUPER awkward on the site for the next hour, it was all better by the end of the day. I was also really floored to see how Dan, NAtasha Jerry and Amy supported me... they are SUCH a great team!! Then, in the afternoon, some of the girls were trying to talk to me, they wanted me to write my name on their hands. It was really sweet until they started pinching my cheeks and pulling pretty hard. I don't think I've been pinched that hard since my great aunt Vespa (oh wait, I don't HAVE a great Aunt Vespa! :) ). I guess that my tolerance, coming of the heels of stuff from Ghana, makes me less patient about people staring at or noticing me. Imagine that... ME... not wanting the attention! :)

Ok, I am done venting :) Aside from all of that attention, I am having a great time! It is hard to believe that I will be leaving here in a meager 2 days! Well, that is if they manage to work out my flights! Yup, you read that right... still no confirmation about my flights!!!! Ok, so here's the scoop on the weekend! The Taj was AMAZING! We got there and had to go through security (full on pat down... separate guys and girls lines!) The drive there was MUCH longer than we expected... it was supposed to take 5-6 hours but took over 7 hours! Too many camels, elephants and traffic on the roadways!!!! I rode with amy there and it was really nice getting to know her better. We arrived @ the Taj @ 1:30 or 2pm. What a sight!!! For those of you who don't know, here is Taj 101... so, the emporer Shah Jahan had a favorite wife and he called her Mumtaz. She died while giving birth to their 14th child. She made him promise to build her a momument after death. And so he build the Taj in order to give her a unique resting place. The Taj is made of marble and is the only non-porous marble in the world. If you shine a flashlight on it, it is not really white but thousands of different colors. the writing on the Taj is all in Arabic but is specifically designed to be smaller at the bottom and larger at the top so that standing in front, it all appears the same size! The designs on the Taj are actually where the masons cut out the marble and then inlaid precious gems (instead of painting the design on). I don't exactly remember but there are a lot of things with the number 22 (22years to complete, 22,000 masons, 22 minarets, etc)... for those of you who know me... 22 has a big role in my life :).

After the Taj we ate outside at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Taj... what a view! By then, we were running really late and were not able to get into Agra Fort. we stood outside and took pics and the guide told us about how Shah Jahan was imprisoned in his own fort by his son for 8 years until his death because the son wanted to overthrow his father. After the fort, we got roped into the typical tourguide trap... they take you to some place for shopping and you don't really want to be there. In the beginning it was really cool... they showed us how the masons/artists did the marble carving for the Taj. But then they brought us "downstairs" to their showroom where they had pieces for a minimum of $300. We didn't get on the road back to Delhi until almost 7pm. Amy and I ended up talking most of the way... she's had a really interesting life and I find her very insightful. At about 10:30 we stopped at a coffee shop. I ordered some coffee and then went into the incredibly overpriced gift shop. there was a group of about 6 guys/shopkeepers standing around watching a bollywood movie on a small t.v. screen. I ended up standing near them and watching it with them. they were quite amused and brought me a chair. They movie was SERIOUSLY cheesy and had these three guys up on a ladder spanning between two buildings and wer about to jump when their girlfriends showed up and tried to stop them. Then some overweight "caretaker" guy shows up with a chainsaw and tries to cut down the ladder. RANDOM!!! I was in there so long that the waiter even brought my chai (tea) into the gift shop for me to drink with the guys. After the movie was over, they put on some Punjabi music videos. Hilarious! Ava came in after a bit and they changed it to a drama about a father and son. I was pretending to translate what they were saying and at some point I said "luke, I am your father." The guys in the room started to crack up! I love that these guys who don't know any English understand the Star Wars reference!!! :) We got home at about 2am and went to sleep soon after. At 7am I awoke with a rumble in my tummy! I ran for the bathroom and Natasha, having overheard me said "shoot, I used up the last of the toilet paper" so she got out of bed and headed to the front desk to get some for me! I told her that she was in the running for best roommate of the year! The toilet paper roles here are RIDICULOUSLY small! And we always end up running out, Natasha commented yesteday that they must think we are eating them the way we are going through them!

on Sunday we first went to the Ghandi memorial (basically just an eternal flame like the one for JFK). Next we went to the biggest Mosque in Delhi, India gate and finally on a rickshaw ride through the narrow streets of Old Delhi. Natasha and I were in the same rickshaw. I felt so bad for the poor guy peddling to bring our bums around! It was complete madness being on the crazy streets of Delhi with nothing to protect us from zooming motorbikes and buses!!!! It was AMAZING though! By far my favorite moment of the day!!! We also went to the Lotus Temple, a beautiful temple of the Baha'ia faith.

On Monday we headed back to Bawana to get some work done! The place had never smelled so terrible before!!! But the children were still just as adorable! The engineer was starting to be a bit more playful and he would tease us about the way that we (the girls) were catching the bricks being tossed. After we came back from break, the mason's wife (who I was pretty sure didn't like us very much, became really animated and wanted to take pictures of our team. She then turns on her cell phone and starts playing music. Next thing I know, she is shoving the cell phone down my shirt and INTO my bra!!!! Uh... wow, how much do I owe you for the free grope? :) LOL... it was all in good fun though, she really wanted us to have music. Amy has been bringing her IPOD to the site and puts it in her back pocket so we've titled it the "buttpod." Well now we have a "boobpod" to match! :) After lunch, we were finishing bringing the last of the bricks from the street to the site. Unfortunately, they laid the bricks over some slabs of granite ONTOP of the sewer. Since I was the shortest, and the one with the strongest stomach, I got the fun job of straddling the sewer... one foot on the street and the other precariously perched on an unsteady block of granite all while squatting!! With my nose about 6 inches from the open bubbling sewer (don't ask me why it was bubbling... I don't really want to know!), I spent about 30 mintues like that passingbricks across the sewer. At one point, the slab I was standing on gave way and splashed into the sewer. Luckily I have quick reflexes and only got a splash on my ankle. Poor Chinmoi accidently put his whole foot in the sewer last week... YUCK!!!!!

Poor Dan was sick Monday night, Clint was sick on Saturday and Amy, Liam and I have all been sick. Delhi belly is NO JOKE!!!

On Tuesday morning, we were tossing bricks and the mason's wife was being much chummier! I found a random hair clip/barrette ontop of the pile of bricks. Next thing I know, she is coming over and has put it in my frenchbraid right in the middle of my head! All I could think about as I smiled gratefully to her was "DISGUSTING! This was probably in the sewer.. and if it wasn't, do you KNOW how much head lice is here!! Every morning walking to the site we see people on their steps picking through a loved one's hair. YUCK!!!!" It was very sweet of her though!!!

Last night, we went to a Bollywood movie. It was hilarious!! To get there we took 2 person rickshaws. I was with Chinmoi. There as one VERY scary moment when the guy made a turn in front of an oncoming bus! Luckily we survived! :) First of all, we had to go through a VERY thorough security screening! They brought the women aside and gave a more thorough rubdown than I've ever had... TSA would be proud!!! Second time in two days that some woman has felt me up! :) lol!!! The movie was pretty funny eventhough it was entirely in Hindi. It was called no problem and is about a heist... lots of slapstick humor, dancing and a huge gorilla fart that blows everyone away at the end... WHAT THE HECK?! :)