Hello friends and family and blog-followers near ‘n far! Tonight is Sunday, October 11, 2009 and we are marking eleven days since our departure from home and Ulster County. We’ve been staying in Bangalore for five complete days and we’ve experienced comfortable sleeping arrangements, delicious Indian food, and good times spent with old friends, new friends, and new HOPE FOR CHANGE prospective partners. Time and space only allows me to say that these guys are tirelessly working to provide job training and micro-income sourcing for families hit hard by natural disasters and ethnic conflicts.

I thought some pictures would tell some of my experiences here such as…1) using candles during one of our evening power outages (which is why this blog is coming tonight and not sooner); 2) some of our friends hanging out on the roof terrace here at the hostel; 3) our favorite “street-cow” grazing in the empty lot below our balcony bathroom; 4) an early Saturday morning driver and cart.

Personal hygiene (PH) and toilet access are always a HUGE consideration during this type of travel and I feel compelled to inform you that for the second straight year I have mastered the MUG ‘N BUCKET mode of PH. Hot water is produced by submerging a twelve-inch electric heating rod into a bucket of freshly drawn water from the faucet ( I may get some questions about this…it is okay). Next, combine the hot water with another half-bucket of cold water and VOILA! you have proper temperature for neither chilling you or burning you. The mug is used to simulate a shower effect and you are now ready to become a new person and a clean one a that!

More discussion meetings regarding H4C goals and partnerships are planned for tomorrow and a trip to the money exchange as well and buying a SIM card for the Motorola mobile phone. Get ready James, I hope to call you this week! Tuesday we may visit Commercial Street for some errands and a little shopping. Tuesday night we will pack, begin saying our “goodbyes” to the many wonderful people we’ve met here in Bangalore. Our flight to Delhi departs from Bangaluro (accurate name to be used since last year) ten minutes before noon.

Thanks for all of your encouraging comments through Twitter, Facebook, and on this blog site. I am making the most of every twist ‘n turn.  Here are two more photos… Sarah A. Smith