3 cow sightings

I've seen three cows in the street thus far.


They all looked different. The first one was my tannish with horns and sauntered across a busy road, as if he owned the place. He was my favorite, and this sighting was immediately preceded by seeing a KFC motorcycle delivery man (yes, they have delivery here). The second cow I saw on Tuesday from the bus on the way to where my friend Sunitha teaches at Sophia Polytechnic School. The third was on the way back the same day, on an extremely narrow street (Please reference blurry photo taken from the car).

I was very excited to see cows in the streets, not in pastures. I predict this novelty may soon wear off.

Speaking of streets, off of the main streets everyone walking/riding bikes shares them with cars, and street signs are not everywhere here. I have yet to venture out much on my own, and am curious to see how that pans out. While my sense of direction is generally OK, I do like to rely on street signs, but I think landmarks will work well. For example, after I ran on the beach this morning I looked for The Mango Stand with Lots of Dudes (or maybe it was a coconut stand) and The Big Brown Gate. Bingo,--as soon as I saw these things, I knew to turn off the beach.

The beach is awesome. Besides one ball from a cricket game coming strangely close to me this morning, there have been no major altercations (the lad chasing the cricket ball was yelling and running at me from behind, and thus I started fake-yelling, which made him laugh and run away).

I mentioned driving here the other day. Again, I could never do it, and not just because I am not a fan of driving, and not because they drive on the other side of the road, but because it is wild and crazy and swerving every which way. I admire those who maneuver the roads successfully. Everyone uses their horns regularly; and while I am a fan of the occasional honk-honk more than most back home, it's taking a little getting used to here.

On Monday Sunitha and Ashwyn took me on a bit of a driving tour of Bombay landmarks (technically their house is in Juhu, a suburb, but it all runs together very differently than 'burbs back home. It's non-stop people, buildings, etc., so the big-city feel does not fade). We stopped at the Taj Mahal Hotel on the tour. Here is an example of one of the many extremely dorky photos that will likely continue to appear during the duration of my stay.

Motorcycles are very popular here. Drivers have to wear helmets but passengers are not required to. Note how the woman with the sari sits sideways on it. Impressive. If I ever get a ride on one, I am taking the helmet!