back

we arrived back in mumbai early this morning. i feel like ive been away for months, not days. the timing of so many events in the past two weeks has been eerily uncanny.
the city, at least in the north, is quiet and much calmer than i remember. it was raining when we landed. there is a tension in the air, but things are moving. armed police are present, all around the airport and train stations, which is a relief.
it feels good to be back for now. im not sure i can begin to read the papers yet, and its nice to be without the television news that replaced sleep for the last three nights.
all this upset has just secured a sense of gratitude for safety, in friends and family and communication. this place has been a good home for the last 8 months, and its heartbreaking to realize its vulnerability, and the degree of violence it was subjected to. im not sure what it will be like to stay here for the next few months, but i want to give it a chance.
someday, maybe, there will be an understandable explaination. but in the meantime i want to trust that things will start to rebound, in strength and spirit.
thanks to everyone who is out there, helping all of us feel less alone.

safe

the timing of the fall fulbright conference means many of us are safe in ahmedabad tonight.
i hope the violence in mumbai will be over when i wake up.
please please stop.

halfway

today is the just-past-halfway mark for distance (24k), and relative training time for the race. thanks to better weather and some increased motivation marine drive is turning out to be a pretty good place to run these days.
crowds of adolescent males aside.
one day, ill go back to a place where a female can go for a run, mostly without harrassment.
but for now, im trying not to let that part of the adventure bother me, and to always have some extra air in my lungs to yell. at least it makes me have to break into a faster pace every so often.

'a national catharsis'

as reported by the new york times, and followed by one homesick girl in mumbai.



a little disbelief, a little suspicion, a little relief. lots of hope.
due to the time difference, it felt a little like christmas.