What a journey!

Covered in dead skin, sunscreen residuals, and salt from multiple days of evaporated sweat, it seems like days since I have been in a bed or even a horizontal position. I haven't eaten anything that can't be grabbed from a bus window. I feel like I crossed an entire continent. Just a few days ago I was sitting on a remote tropical beach surrounded by lush palm forests and jungle, breathing the refreshing sea breezes - now I'm fresh off a 14 hour bus ride, sweltering in a semi-arid desert zone (like southern California in the summer) in a huge city (Ahmedabad, pop. 4.6 million) along with all of the concomitant hecticness, noise, and pollution. Its not the kind of place I would chose to spend a substantial amount of time, especially with all the other temptations India has to offer, but I have my research to do (if I can finally get access to my organizations). Plus, most places have their charm - just some you have to look a little harder than others to find, but look at LA, we all love it and lots of people can't seem to find it's charm when they first arrive!