::Sarah's Birthday::

            When this month started, I was thinking, “tempers and impatience rise with the heat,” because it was true for at least me… and now I am feeling like after the rise we’re all falling asleep in heat exhaustion.

            … I was getting mad at my camera because it is taking so long for me to be able to upload pictures, and I glanced at the stats…

            Maybe it’s a little slow because of the 1500 pictures and 64 videos on it… Maybe….  Could be part of the problem…

            I’ve finally got my plans settled for my last days in India and my trip to Turkey.  (Wahoo!  Here I come Nilufer!!)  I at last opted out of the 34 hour trains because… honestly I think my time and misery and safety and loneliness are probably worth saving for $100 more…  Then again, maybe not.  India’s already burnt a hole through my pockets.  Too late now to go back.

            We’re going on a boat trip somewhere on the twentieth.  No one’s really sure what that’s all about so I guess we’ll find out soon. :) 

            We had a lot of fun this weekend for Sarah’s birthday.  We went out dancing on Friday night… though nobody danced except us Americans.  We showed ‘em how to boogie!  But they were too shy to try it with us.  

            On Saturday we went to Gitam University and Kalasagiri again.  Only this time we rode the train around and went up on the ski lift thing.  It was pretty funny when we started going down it—because it was pretty slow going up—but when we started heading down the hill it picked up a lot of speed, and we all kinda squealed about it.

            After that we went to the mall and got pizza from Domino’s.  It rained on the way—which we haven’t really seen rain since we’ve been here so we were excited about the drizzle.  Sarah said, it was definitely her best birthday yet, and Stefanie says if anyone asks her what her favorite birthday was, she’ll say, “Sarah’s.”

            It was pretty great too because it was “Kali-themed” as Sarah puts it.  I got her a comic of the Goddess Kali and made her a painting with her name on it in Telugu.  Then when we went to Kailasgiri she found a fan with Kali on it and bought it. 

Did that myself, you know.

The beach during a Shiva festival.  Part of the festival includes bathing (in your clothes).

One of our translators, Sudha the Queen, in one of her stunning saris.

We both got our hair french-braided back so we thought we ought to take a picture.

Gitam University... we're such university junkies...

Siddhi the terrible in some nice clothes.

Stefanie's birthday card (her birthday was a couple weeks ago at the beginning of March.  That's her name in Telugu).

I'm sorry but this just made me so happy...

I just love these monks.

Sarah was invited to speak at a Women's Studies Conference.  She is a Women's Study minor at BYU.

Andhra University where Sarah spoke (ok, it wasn't outside... but this was just a prettier picture)

Fruit stands like this with grapes are everywhere. :)

Art from Gitam students... they actually do that here!?  (It's not a major at Gitam.  People think I'm super weird for studying art...).

Ghandi

Mmm.  Pasta and naan!

This "little" guy is famous... At least, I think with the BYU students.  So we had to get a pic.

A lady frying corn along the beach.  She cooks it on coals which she is fanning.  It's really good!

Big Baby #2 on the other side of the beach.

Sarah's bday card.  Man, it was fun to do this.  I never painted a bloodthirsty, tongue-hanging out, gray-skinned goddess before...

Guess where we are?? ... Gitam...

Kailasgiri