Jasmine Patel with a chameleon found outside Meher center. Ahmednagar, India.
Hello from Bombay, India. I arrived here last night after spending a day in Bangkok yesterday. There is a Dengue fever outbreak there right now, so didn’t want to risk staying there too long since I would have been venturing into the country and forests to hike — and what better place to run into those Dengue-fever-carrying mosquitoes.
My two aunts and my grandparents met me at the airport last night. It was so nice to walk out of the airport and see them right there waiting to greet me. I could just feel their love so strongly.
Later, almost the entire community was there to greet me! They had a big feast prepared, with drumming and singing… it was a real blast!! I’m still in a bit of a haze and daze today. After two months in China with MSG-laden food, this feast was so awesome!
So it’s really hot here right now…but everyone keeps assuring me that winter is coming. It’s still over 90 degrees and I think 80 degrees is probably considered Winter. Aghhhh!! In a few days I’ll be heading to Poona for a week, where it will be a little cooler.
This morning I went for a little walk and how I wished I had my camera. Right there in the middle of a busy street was a woman leading a cow past cars, taxis, trucks, bikes, motorcycles, pedestrians, etc. She was selling hay and grass for people to buy and feed the cow. I had just eaten a banana, so I fed the banana peel to the cow. I also bought some hay for it too. And of course the cow also got a big hug from me. This place is going to be an animal lover’s heaven! I’d been feeling a little animal-deprived, but I think all the animals I’ll encounter here will make up for it.