preston's cousins

a couple of nights ago i decide to meander around my neighborhood to try and get my bearings. just dusk, the houses are ever-so-slightly shrouded in a thin haze. as i walk down the block and feel the beginning of raindrops, i notice a movement out of the corner of my eye.

my hearing may be waning, but my eyes are eagle-sharp. i take a couple of steps and realize what it is. a frog! a beautiful frog: olive color, mottled with asparagus spots, this frog is healthy. after watching it hop away i proceed on my self-guided tour, my interest piqued, my eyesight honed.

i don't have to wait long. after three steps the street is teeming with activity. frogs, of every size, ranging all the way from my pinky nail (as most of you know, i bite my nails with ferocity. i'm talking teensy tiny frogs here,) to fuji apples. hopping all over the place. i wonder if someone has just forgotten to tell me about the festivities. i can't remember the last time i've seen this many happy frogs in one place.

so, as i am often wont to do in situations like this, i inch along, hobbling over with my eyes peeled, eager for a closer look. so impressive - the sheen of their supple skin. their perfectly adapted legs - ready to conquer land and water alike. their endearingly bulgy eyes (reminding me of both ruby and my dad, two characters whom i love more than just about anyone.) i crouch even further to the street, ready to inspect one frog with all the intensity i can muster.

my examination is interrupted even before it can begin when the nearby-restaurant owner - on whom i have a mild crush - appears out of nowhere beside me and asks what i'm doing "flat on the road."

the frogs, i tell him, i love looking at these frogs. i can't believe how many there are! he sends me a confused look so i point to the one i have just bent down to appreciate.

but. it's not actually a frog. no, what i took to be a frog is simply a rock. grayish green with a slightly dappled appearance, this rock is certainly pretty but it definitely doesn't hop and is definitely not a frog. i stand up straight, brushing off my knees, feeling a blush spread across my face. i point to the other frogs that are actually frogs to prove my point.

and, luckily for me, there are plenty still around.

neighbors

the neighbor across the street from my office, gita, is extraordinarily warm and sweet. come sit, she beckons every time i pass, every time swaying with the patio swing on which she is constantly perched.

she has a dog. adam, a small white terrier, is well cared for and much loved - the kind of dog that requires a double take here in india. where the norm is scarily protruding ribs and doleful eyes.

dogs, especially those who are treated well, bring a certain democracy to the table, deftly disregarding country barriers and cultural differences. i am well aware of this fact. i complimented gita on her dog in hindi - your dog is beautiful, i told her, nodding to the stout, furry shape in the doorway.

oooooo, she crooned, eager to converse. you are beautiful. your eyes, so pretty, your skin.
i protested, returning my attention to adam; he's so good, so pretty (i know maybe five adjectives, my hindi is embarrassingly limited.) gita looked lovingly toward her pup and sent him a handful of air kisses before turning back to me. yes, she said. he is very beautiful, just like you. both are beautiful, you two like brother and sister.

which is somewhat of an odd compliment. this is actually not the first time that i've been called a dog to my face. but this time i walked away giggling and happy. happy to be considered relatives with the white terrier across the street. and happy to have his owner as a friend.

home sweet home...

i am, for all intents and purposes, home. i have arrived in baroda, gujarat, safely although by way of a rather lengthy, circuitous route. five weeks of orientation and hindi study followed by two days of travel. a nauseating taxi ride down the himalayas to a seven-hour train from dehradun. a six-hour layover in delhi - enough time to gobble up a fattoush salad and stock up on some good snacks in preparation for the final leg; a thirteen-hour train ride from delhi to baroda. given that some fellows in the south have upwards of 50 hours on the train to reach their placements, i consider my trip an easy one.

i have set up temporary shop in the group's conference room, a large room with a small cot and a huge air conditioner. i have met the group's staff - all women except one sweet man, veersing, who met me at the train station. i stumbled off the train with my luggage in tow and found myself face-to-face with a man repeating my name aloud. his english is non-existent but his calm demeanor and the sweetness in his eyes (as well as the sweetness with which he fixes the dogs' meals, read below,) convey plenty.

a few other tidbits worth mentioning. for those worried about my physical wellbeing vis-a-vis good food (and by that i dare to imply a world beyond the stale arena of starches,) fear not. sugar & spice, a much beloved deli/grocer that is located in the lovely khan market in delhi, is also here in baroda. it is here, right here, JUST across the street from my work.

for dinner last night, much to my delight, i went to a south indian restaurant with indira and maya, the two wonderful women who founded the organization where i'm working. turns out the restaurant they chose was already at the top of my list of food spots to hit up; it is the guiness book of world records holder for the LONGEST DOSA ever made. over four feet long! needless to say, i ordered a dosa. it was scrumptious.

moving from physical to emotional health, promising news in this department as well. there are many animal lovers among the staff, indira being one of them. because of this, there are two dogs that regularly relax at the office (and receive two meals of bread, dal, and milk a day, lovingly prepared by veersing.) cheetah likes to sit on chairs and makes herself quite comfortable either on the woven chairs downstairs or on the bench on the 2nd floor patio outside. boloh (who has already figured me out and enjoys my treats and affections,) spent most of the afternoon yesterday spread out on the cool marble floor upstairs, a few feet away from my office door. i could see his paws twitching and hear his dreamland growls as i reviewed some work documents. there are few better ways to make me feel at home. it was a good first day.

today i've been trying, without much luck, to figure out how to wirelessly connect my macbook to the internet. if anyone has any ideas, please holler. otherwise i'll be back with more updates - and pictures - as soon as i sort this out.