day 3

Today is the first real day in India. I woke around 3 am and could not find rest again til around 530. My biological clock is so messed up. I got my first dose of home sickness… I found myself thinking aout friends of mine that graduated and I would not see again for a while. That brought trouble to my mind and I had to force myself to change my thoughts. I drifted in and out of prayer too. Many of my thoughts were interrupted by beads of sweat and itchy body parts. I could not find comfort on this thin mattress, even with the fan and air conditioner running.

Breakfast comprised of watery scrabbled eggs with fresh tomatoes and cilantro. There was also the chippatea bread. I was still full from last night.

We met with Fr. Paul after breakfast and discussed our plans. We will help him install these solar platforms in 2-3 different locations around india. All of them had ties to either the Jesuits of a convent. We are dealing more with the termal energy of solar instead of the Photovolatic (PV) as initial thought. We are trying to stay here all 10 weeks. Fr. Paul is helping us arrange for travel to different parts of India. There is hopes of traveling to meet the other ETHOS group in Ponticherry.

Later in the day we went into town to the ‘mall’ which was a combination of a Walmart and a general goods store. I am still trying t understand how much a rupee is worth. A comparison is a liter of mineral water cost about 17 rupees. Father bought some provisions and we went back to meet our driver who was waiting for us. I plan on videoing traffic some time, words really don’t do it justice.

I got hit by a car. Lightedly tapped by the bumper, sure, but I learned if he would have knocked me down anyone who say the incident might have trashed his car, including lighting it on fire, on the spot. They take traffic accidents very seriously. We made how in time for tea. Dinner was at 8. A curry with a chic pea type legume. I found sleep easy to find again, around 1030.