hey everyone. here is my first hello from india and i have moved out of delhi and into jaipur where i will be living for the next few months. so far things have been unbelievable and a little bit jolting. the city is huge and beautiful in its own right, with a non stop stream of traffic and people. No matter where i go there are people watching and the Indians have no qualms with literally turning their heads to see us when we walk around. there arent a lot of tourists in the area so we really stand out. the city is a mixture of slums, homes, and palaces, and they are practically piled on top of each other. we are staying ni a guest house with an open terrace in the center and i have the luxury of taking a shower with a bucket every morning. the sounds are more strange than i could ever give them credit. There are cows, dogs, pigs, people, cars, and water buffalo all in the same place and they all seem to respect each others right to be there. the monkeys make a lot of noise while we try to sleep and apparently they killed the mayor of delhi so i think they may have rage issues as well. As a group we are all doing really well. there are 16 of us, mostly girls. what i love is that being here only abuot 3 days, i have already overcome so many of my reservations, and love just walking to explore the city. It is hard to find a balance because as a woman i am not supposed to look at the men because it will let them think i am available or want them to pursue me. Even when i look down it doesnt stop most of them, and for most of the time we get followed down the road by a mixture of strange men, rickshaw drivers, and beggars. There is a whole system here that no one has yet to figure out, and while so many people are really creepy and sort of molest us as we walk down the street, many are really interested in us and stop us to talk just because we are american. People speak a rough mizxture of english and hindi sometimes, and it has lead to many erally interesting and strange conversations. People always seem to want to lead us somewhere, or use us to get them visas, but i have learned that if you keep a good sense of humor about it, then they tend to just joke around. We are up in the north where we are close to the desert so it is dusty, and flanked by mountains, but there are also palm trees and blooming flowers everywhere. when we visited the school we would be giong to for the next two months, they gave us garlands of roses which smelled fantastic. the school's marble floors are now scattered with petals. The food is to die for, and we get chai from the street vendors for 5 rupees, which is around 12 cents. everythhing is so cheap and we are all desperately learning how to barder with the sales people who assume we know nothing and charge us about 10x as much as it should cost. So far things have been amazing and i am looking forward to settling into a homestay so that perhaps i wont be woken by geese every morning. I love and miss everyone and will try and keep in touch as much as i can.