India week 2

Wow. so much to write about. i am at an internet cafe now and some of the keys dont work so please dont mind the spelling and grammar.

this weekend a group of 22 students went to Pondicherry, a former french colony. we drove 6 hours from bangalore and stayed in tiny huts on the beach. i stayed in a room with 3 other people and slept on a small mattress meant for 2 people. we arrived at pondi at 1am and got settled in and went right to bed. then on saturday we spent the entire day on the beach, getting sunburned, riding waves and laying around. after lunch i went with a small group of girls into town and visited museums and galleries. we went to one historic museum with artifacts and sculptures and one modern art gallery. at the gallery we saw a photo exhibit on the beijing olympics. the photographer was there so we met him. he invited us to tour the guest rooms and the view of the ocean. the view was breathtaking! it looked like greece or paris.

at night we all went to dinner and drinks- all 22 people! we had french food and enjoyed each others' company. at night we were invited to a party near our hotel by some indian locals. after the party i went down to the beach (i had to hop a fence) and laid out under the stars for a while. the weather was gorgeous at night...breezy but still warm.

the next day, unfortunately, there was news that bombs went off in delhi. our host parents and facutly were worried about us being far from home so we ended our trip early. we returned to bangalore by 9pm and had dinner with our host parents at the cafe.

meg and i went to bed so early because we were exhausted from our trip.

on monday we visited two agencies that work with children's rights. i went to the concerned for working children (CWC) an organization that empowers children to represent themlesves. they work with policy and advocate for fair representation of children's voices in government. they work with the UN and other intl NGOs that help protect against child abuse at home and work. they were an amazing place to visit.

today instead of our anthro class we went to the high courts (supreme court of kanartaka) to witness what hearings are like. the security was tight due to the recent terrorist attacks but we managed to get in. it was a beautiful courthouse with lush green gardens.

tonight i will go to the theatre to see a show "the magic drum". i must go because it starts soon.

sorry to be so abrupt but that's all i can say for now. i will try to upload pictures :)