Small joys

The long awaited trip to India is nearing it's end already, which is hard to believe. I found the train yesterday morning with no problems. I took an auto-rick to the station about an hour from my hotel. My butt was numb by the time we reached the station from bouncing on the barely-padded seat as thr driver flew over the bumps and gouges in the roads. I found my seat right away. A nice elderly couple and their maid/servant sat near me and insisted on feeding me. I was handed a strange sandwich with a bright green paste between 2 pieces of bread, which I was told was garlic, mint leaves, cardamom, etc. I choked it down and said thanks. The egg curry and rice they gave me for lunch was much better and very much appreciated! As I sat on the train flying north to Mumbai (Ambernath actually), my jeans sticking to me, my hair a frightful mess from the open windows, I tried to remember if I had ever in my life felt so hot. It was hotter than sitting in a sauna. My train car was located directly behind the pantry car where they were preparing all the food. I really didn't know if I'd make it. It seemed that everyone else was content to sleep most of the day away, but I could not, I felt like my insides were cooking! I found myself praying for more tunnels to go through because the air blasting in from the windows was a few degrees cooler then. The scenery was quite beautful though, lots of mountains, square rice paddies growing (well some were growing others were dried up), lots of shallow rocky creek beds, palm trees that (grew fewer and fewer as we neared Mumbai) and a really nice sunset. The best part of the sunset was that it brought cooler air! Another unique element of train travel is cadances that food vendors sing as they walk hurridly through all the cars on the train. The songs only stop when you are passing through a tunnel and it is too dark for them to see where they are going. "Chai, chai, chai", "coffee, coffeeeee, cold drinks", "ahhhh...cheese sandwish, cheese sandwishhhh", "masala dosa, dosaaaaa, dosa", "alooo parathaaaaa", "pani, pani, paniiiii (water)" etc. I like listening to them Anyway, I made it back to Ambernath safely. Simones mom, Lynn and brother, LuLu found me at the station...eventually! My train came an hour earlier than expected so I got to watch the life of the station while I waited. I came back and had a nice big dinner prepaired by Simons mom, washed the layer of black dirt from my face and slept. Today I may go shop some, may not. It doesn't really matter. I know that I havent seen all of India that I want to see and already desire to come again. Maybe its the place, the people, the culture, of all of it, I'm not sure, but being here is so very wonderfully different. Now in 2 days (the early morning of the 21st), I will be flying out for Bangkok. I really know hardly anything of the place yet, but am curious to get a taste of it!
It is not fair at all that I have all that I have, or that I have the opportunity to travel like I do. I am extremely blessed. Thanks also to all of you who have been writing me emails. Strangely, I feel like even though I am away, I am actually getting to know my friends better than when I was at home. Please write me with ideas of what to write about on here. Sometimes I just start to ramble and I dont know if its making any sense or not. Thats all for now,
love, peace, and curry grease
PS I just finished reading a novel (not something I usually do), so if my writing style is goofy today thats probably why :P (My brain keeps thinking in the style of writing that I just read...wierd huh?!)