playing catch-up

So stories have been going around the past several days as to why the landline phones (and consequently, dial-up internet as well) are non-functioning. The best story that I have heard thus far is that someone cut a 50-foot section of cable out of the telephone lines to melt the copper and sell it. Another popular one is monkeys must have broken the lines while jumping or swinging or whatever. The real story tends to be not so dramatic, though. In any case, we have been without telephone and internet for nearly a week now, and still counting. So this is all done from the internet cafe.


Saturday, a week ago, I was making some Wai-Wai (Ramon noodle equivalent) in the kitchen, when I heard a loud thud and then continuous thumping on the roof. I went outside and what did I spy but several monkeys playing. They stopped to stare at me - two on one of the water tanks, one in the tree directly above my head, and two others on the peak of the roof. They apparently know when Saturdays are because that is there play date, I guess.

The next picture I just thought was really neat. The sun was setting on the plains down below, through the smog of Dehradun. Beautiful.

Later on last week, the clouds left, the sun shone bright, and everything was gorgeous and crystal clear. I was told that this is the typical late winter in Mussoorie, not the crazy cold that I had experienced. We ate lunch outside in the sun and enjoyed playing on the swing set with the girls, Sophia and Hannah, after eating. I even went outside on Thursday and Friday without my coat or a sweater on! (I still had three layers of shirts though). It felt so good to sit in the sun and work in the afternoon. This is what the Himalayas look like on a clear day from the office/house. Then it was cloudy again and snowed again this last Monday. Strange mountain weather.

So that pretty much catches up on the past tense. The first team (of our three Ryan's in the office) is returning from a project trip tomorrow. They should be in Delhi today doing their post-trip meeting with the volunteers before they fly off tonight. The Pinkstaffs (whole family), Gretchen, David, and I are leaving tomorrow afternoon to head done to Madgaon, to arrive Sunday afternoon. We have the last half of Sunday and the first part of Monday to recoup from the 30ish hour train ride before we go to the site. Directly after that project trip, Gretchen, David, and I will head up the coast to Mumbai where we will meet our two volunteers coming from the States and head inland to Pune for another project trip. I will update periodically.
One amazing thing though, one of the volunteers for the Pune trip I know. I met him one I was first learning about eMi. Through a mutual friend, we got into contact and had lunch - two to three years ago, I think. Crazy! He was an intern in the Uganda office and works in San Antonio. And who says that God is not in the details?!