As has become the usual routine, we started our day with a lovely breakfast of something that seems like cous cous (but isn’t) and peanut butter, bread, and bananas. I love our morning meals! Lourd’s mother even made me some wonderful chai with lemon grass special just for me so my throat would be soothed. It was amazing! Having chai every day at every meal is definitely one of my favorite parts about being in India. So delicious!We made our way over to the studio, practiced hard, and then had lunch at a really wonderful little tea café. The tea selection was one of the biggest I’ve ever seen and I enjoyed an amazing litchi (that’s the way “lychee” was spelled in the menu) ice tea and ended my lunch with another wonderful masala tea with cardamom. I even picked up some nice flower teas and really gourmet Darjeeling teas to share when I get home. (Jonathan & Lindsey – I got some I think you’re really going to enjoy!) It was actually a nice change of pace to have non-spicy food at lunch. I still can’t believe those words are coming out of my mouth! I LOVE spicy food. Maybe it’s because I’m sick, home sick, or just getting worn out, but I really enjoyed my tomato and cream cheese sandwich with French fries. It was a nice change of pace!
Of course, after lunch we were back in the studio for more practice, but our time got cut a little short because the local dance team had a private group lesson with Anne & Anichi visiting from Germany. One really fun moment was when Anichi decided to play Giju’s song that we had been practicing to do the combination they had just taught. It’s a fun video!
After practice, we changed our clothes and cleaned up at the studio and headed over to a really nice restaurant 
called “The Ugly Duckling” where we enjoyed a really gourmet meal and then fabulous dancing right there in the restaurant. Dancing was so much fun and the music was fantastic. The only complaint I have is… I miss no smoking inside in California. I honestly how the local dancers here can be in such good shape and have such great stamina when they smoke or dance in these smoke filled environments. It’s crazy, hazy, and exhausting (ha ha ha)! The video below is little samples of several of our dancers dancing with the locals. It was awfully dark in there, but I hope you enjoy!
After the party ended around midnight, we made our way back to the house where we had to skip sleep to pack our bags and leave by 3:30AM to catch our 6:00AM flight to Mumbai.
On a more personal note, I’ve really enjoyed taking the role of team “mom” and “documentarian.” My mom would be so proud! Whenever someone needs medicine, itch cream, food, band aids, bags to carry their stuff in, or safety pins, I’ve become the “go-to-girl” and get rewarded with a warm, “Thanks, momma.” With the ickiness that has been spreading throughout the team, I’m really glad I brought the decongestant, Aleve, Tylenol, and, of course, Rolaids! Also, I’ve really enjoyed putting together this blog for all of us to remember our trip. It’s kind of become our little team documentary to remember the trip. I really hope you all are enjoying hearing about our rather monotonous days of practice with a few mini-adventures along the way. It really is fun to experience life here more like a local than a tourist, although I’d really like to come back and do all the touristy things too! At least now I’ll have some friends to come visit for that next trip!
On the last note, Lourd has been the most tremendous host anyone could ever hope for. He’s taken care of our lodging, keeps us entertained, genuinely makes sure we are completely taken care of, drives us around, and is joining us in Mumbai. I’m so glad he’ll be joining in at the video shoot. We are so lucky to have gotten to know him. My mom and dad would be so happy to know I’m safe in such great hands!APOLOGY: I’m sorry this last two entries don’t have pictures yet. We’ve got to get out to catch our flight to Mumbai and I just didn’t have time to post the videos and pictures. I’ll put stuff together on the plane and hopefully, we’ll find internet access easily in Mumbai and I can update the pages with pictures. I know they are much more exciting to look at than read my ramblings!
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