Leaving India

I am soooo looking forward to the second leg of our journey. Sean and I are off to Nepal by ourselves. Leaving our Rotary group and our Indian friends will not be so easy. We have made wonderfu, lifelong friends here.

Our group - Elias, our group leader. The teddy bear with the heart in just the right spot. Chris, quiet, calm Chris who has avoided stepping on any person's toes. Dianne and Boone, alias Thurston and Lovey Howell from Gilligan's Island. At first I could not figure out why on earth they would come on such a trip... they really do not seem the type. I can honestly say, tho, that I have not only learned to like them, but have developed a deep fondness for Dianne. She is all right! Then there is Cassandra or Chahalka Cass. She has been likened to the Pied Piper of Hamelin. She always has a slew of kids in tow. Linda, our fellow Canadian, who I hardly got to know. She deserted us for the rat infested hospital to do massage therapy on the kids with polio for the next five weeks. Can't get much more 'giving' than that! And then there are Chrissie and Nancy. Mother daughter team. Soul mates for life. I will miss you two more than you can ever know.

As for our friends on this side of the world... there is Sanjiv our Rotary host here in India. Where can I start? Sanjiv is by far, one of the kindest, most gentlemanly souls I have ever met. He and his wife Jotsna, her sister Ollie and their daughter Pallavi have made our stay here one I shall not easily forget. They took us into their home, fed us and cared for the sick without ever so much as a cross word. Their kindness to all of us has been overwhelming. And then their is Diwan. I need a whole page to talk about Diwan. He walks softly but leaves a big print. When he brought Sean and I to the airport he met us with chocolate bars and a gift wrapped package for Jess and Zack. I wish I could bring him home with us. I am sure he was a prince in his last life.