Namaste, India!

Well, we are here! India is bright, loud and incredibly friendly and we are so happy to finally be in Delhi. I don't have much battery left and I only realized in England that the converters I bought say that they are not for use with electronics so I will post here to let everyone know we are alive and then hunt down a new converter. The trials of international travel! Anyways, on to the fun stuff...

England was wonderful. The weather was perfect and the company was even better. Little Oscar Bassett made quite the impression on us. He is one of the most content little boys I have ever seen and hardly ever made a peep - of except when he exploded all down the front of me at church just before his blessing. I think Emma got some sick enjoyment out of that! He is such a sweetheart and we loved meeting him. I will put some pictures and video up once I have more battery. Of course, seeing Gabby is always a treat. She manages to make me laugh all the time. One example of this was the other night when we were visiting at her house in the lovely little village of Upper Basildon when she asked me why I say "Butter" instead of "Buttah". I explained that this is the way we say it in America to which she (without a beat) replied "Well, you're in England now". No guile, no malice, just the facts. She cracks me up! The Jones gang is doing great. It was wonderful to spend some, if not enough, time in their home. Sunday morning was the culmination of years of David's effort when Jake came home having lost half of his body weight in hair. He must really want to go on a mission! Despite the fact that he hates it, his hair looks great and it was wonderful to see how gung-ho he is about his decision.

As for what we did, Thursday was spent in London where the weather was perfect. We drove in and took a long walk through Leicester Square, Soho, Covent Garden (I thought of Simon when I saw the flower stands), and down the Strand. It was lovely just to be there. Then we headed over to Victoria where it turns out that "Wicked" is still showing and we got some tickets for that nights show. Then we went to the National Gallery to see the "Manet to Picasso" show. It was wonderful and reminded me how much I love visiting galleries. Then we had dinner at the Texas Embassy Mexican Restaurant. It sounds funny, but it is the sight of our first date so we have made it a tradition to go back there every time. From there it was off to the show, which was fabulous. It was just a lovely day all around.
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The next day we went to see Emma and Ryan's new home. It is in a little village with hedge lined roads (and the occasional MG passing by) just outside of Reading. We went into town where we were introduced to Toby Carvery - a buffet style English Roast. Can we say yum? Roast beef, roasted potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, it was all there and it was all good. Then we walked along the Thames and coveted ridiculously beautiful homes for awhile.

On Saturday we went into Wokingham where we met up with Nathan's wonderful friend, Doug Boyle. It is always good to see him again and I am glad we found the time. Then we went to Beale Park where there are animals, a little train, a swimming pool, and lovely walks. I think Nathan's favorite part was where he and his brother dared themselves to slap a pig as hard as they could. It sounds much more violent than it was, but this is what happens when the Jones boys get together.

Sunday was the blessing in Reading Ward and Ryan did a wonderful job. Unfortunately, we had to leave immediately after the meeting so we didn't get to spend too much more time with them. It really was a great little visit though and we look forward to seeing more of the Joneses in August.

As for India, it is amazing! We walked off the airplane and the first thing I noticed was that the air smelled of incense. It is warm, but not unbearable. In fact, it feels very much like Mesa. The ride from the airport to the hotel was INSANE. It seems that cars, motor rickshaws, motorcycles, bicycles, and cows all share the road. And to paraphrase Doctor Brown from Back to the Future "Lanes? Where we're going we don't need lanes." There are lines drawn on the roads but from what I gather, the Indian government should really just save money on the paint because no one pays any attention to them! Also, the horn seems to be used as much as the gas pedal so it is quite the musical experience. One major stroke of luck though (and an incredibly happy one) is that in going to Nathan's office we discovered that the chapel is literally right next door to it! Out of this huge city with more than 20 million people and as many buildings, it is right there. We are very pleased about that. Nathan's office is very nice and the people were very welcoming. I think he will be very comfortable there. At the end of the day, one of his co-workers took us to look at a flat. It is in New Friends Colony and is on the third floor with a little terrace. The two flats below house the landlord and his son's family and they are wonderful. The flat will work out really well (the pictures they sent did not do it justice at all - whew!) and so we will be moving in this week.

My first impressions are that India reminds me very much of Argentina. There is poverty everywhere and security issues are apparent. However, as I have said, the people have been wonderful to us and so we look forward to our life here. Now, if I can just figure out the food...