For some reason this song was in my head when I woke up this morning.

Well, I'd like to visit the moon
On a rocket ship high in the air
Yes, I'd like to visit the moon
But I don't think I'd like to live there
Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above
I would miss all the places and people I love
So although I might like it for one afternoon
I don't want to live on the moon

I'd like to travel under the sea
I could meet all the fish everywhere
Yes, I'd travel under the sea
But I don't think I'd like to live there
I might stay for a day there if I had my wish
But there's not much to do when your friends are all fish
And an oyster and clam aren't real family
So I don't want to live in the sea

I'd like to visit the jungle, hear the lions roar
Go back in time and meet a dinosaur
There's so many strange places I'd like to be
But none of them permanently

So if I should visit the moon
Well, I'll dance on a moonbeam and then
I will make a wish on a star
And I'll wish I was home once again
Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above
I would miss all the places and people I love
So although I may go I'll be coming home soon
'Cause I don't want to live on the moon
No, I don't want to live on the moon

Nor would I like to live in India. At one point in my life I considered it for a few years, but now I think I will be glad to return home to what is familiar and comfortable to me. I will miss my in laws, especially my sister in law and her baby. The kindness that (some of them) show is heartwarming. I know my girls are benefiting greatly from being with more than just mom and dad. But I would not want to live here.

The humidity and heat are getting to me. It wouldn't be so bad if we had central a/c, but here the electricity is a lot of money and besides it fails so often that you'd have to have a gas generator as backup. So for me, I leave our bedroom and the heat hits me as I walk down the stairs to the kitchen and I sweat and sweat through the meal, then back up stairs to the a/c my face a greasy mess and the rest of me not so fresh either. I am used to heat, but a dry heat. I am fine with Phoenix weather because you don't sweat. Here I can blow dry my hair after a shower and it's damp again within minutes.

The air is so dusty and polluted. Thanks to three types of asthma/allergy meds I am doing okay, but I know that long term it's not healthy to live here. Driving from one place to another exposes me to bluish smoke that hangs in the air at street level. You can taste it, it gets on your skin, body, and it's awful. They have these huge billboards erected everywhere. On some streets you can't even see the buildings at all because they are behind billboards that completely shade them. They cut off any air circulation that might be there to carry the blue smog away and make it easier for people to breathe. The streets are so crowded and people don't move aside very quickly for an ambulance. Amma told me you might as well just say your prayers and turn over to die rather than wait for an ambulance to take you to the hospital. Of course we have medical issues in our family and those things could not be addressed here as easily. Even for people like my in laws, who live in beautiful houses and can afford household help during the day to clean and wash dishes-- you still have to put up with so much. Things are not available here and if you can get one, it may not work well. My sister in law has a tiny washing machine because a bigger one would pop the fuse on the house. She hangs the laundry to dry on the terrace. Last night V and I found ourselves running upstairs at 4 in the morning to rescue our laundry from a short downpour. When it's monsoon season Kamini dries the clothes indoors and it takes a day or two for each load.

But as far as visiting goes, I could do this trip every couple of years easily. I'm having a good time for the most part and I feel very lucky that I have been able to come here four times so far in my lifetime.

Just a reminder-- the photos password is simply "photos"