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hello all and dearest!
apologies first of all for being rubbish and not posting for aages, but i've been up to much excitement and far away from the internet for a while. it's been mostly the sort of excitement that you'd rather avoid, sadly, and i'm feeling ever so guilty that i nearly killed ells and sarah who decided to brave crazy mental rickshaw drivers, incompetent auto drivers, unrestrained violence and molestation, mosquitos, force-feeding and a staggering array of stomach and gut infections to come visit... thank you so much though!
we did remarkably well despite the obstacles at all and every stage (and i mean every stage, who knew calling a taxi, eating dinner or trying to pay a bill could be quite so eventful) and got 1) to see lucknow sights and sounds - including a lady who is now in love with me and sending regular goodnight texts and the newly christened Lucknow Bowel, 2) to play Holi with lots of colours and just enough molestation to make it a truly indian event, 3) to explore old delhi and lots of monuments - including nearly being shot for not standing up during the national anthem and having to flee from attentive street dogs and street urchin, and 4) even a five star hotel (courtesy of my absolutely amazing parents who saved our lives in a myriad of ways) - including using every facility available esp the hotel doctor and a lot of shouting and crying in hotel lobbies..... phew. fingers crossed for the recovery.
anyway, i'm off to investigate toilets (woop! sanitation m&e here i come) for the next few weeks in tamil nadu in south indian, but given that half the state is underwater i'm not sure how those toilets are coming along. i'll keep you posted. it's either than or exploring MSMs in delhi slums with my nemesis. (MSM meaning men-having-sex-with-men, there being no homosexuality in india of course, as the govt so often proclaims. one of those great blatently untrue and often offensive claims which also includes the claim that the govt water supply service is managing very well, despite whole districts on the outskirts of delhi having absolutely no water for over 4 days - sorry the rant returns!).
but on the plus side i'm looking forward to monitoring toilets and motivating villagers for sanitation, not least since it's the first project at the NGO that i'm completely running and coordinating on my own, woop woop.
and even better, i'll be back to bless all your lives very very soon (a month tomorrow, woop!) i know it's been hard without me!
so much loving to all, and happy easter / holi / nauroz to y'all. mwah jxxx
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