a goose in my (delhi) belly

my 10 day experimentation with being a vegetarian ends this evening. i've lost about 15 pounds and i wear a constant grimace from headaches like a gun on my hip. not really. the food has been a pleasant surprise but i think i'm maxed out on curry.

to summarize recent events:

- our last day in jhawalar was definitely going to be the denoument of the trip, it turned out to be another wonderful and moving experience (i know - i need some more adjectives). as we walked to breakfast, people started running up to us on the streets. the interview from the previous day was on the front page along with our picture. it would have been a lot cooler if we weren't wearing the exact same clothes from the day before (remember, we were roughing it). haha. yeah, we were celebrities.

we took a rickshaw to the sun temple, built in the 11th century. twas magnificent - intricate carvings in the stone. a man who didn't speak english showed us around and led us to the rooftop. we took pictures and noticed the townspeople taking pictures of us with their mobile phones. the man pointed to a number of other temples (100+ in their town) and insisted we visit them. we knew this man was our friend when he refused a tip upon leaving the temple. off we went (challo!), an english speaking man joined us. they took us to some incredible temples, gurus came out to speak with us, show us around and put holy paint on our foreheads. they were delighted to have american visitors and even moreso when we knew their gods.

the men brought us to their houses and made us tea. we exchanged addresses and promised to keep in touch.

- last night, we took the overnight train back to delhi. we were in the sleeper section ($10 for the 485km ride, combined). it was very gritty. in our room, which measured 10' x 6' x 8'(high), there were 8 foldout beds. no matter, we passed out and woke up in delhi at 6am. we returned to the guest house we'd stayed at a few weeks ago. they greeted us with smiles, remembered our names and gave us the home team treatment.

- tonight, we're having dinner with a retired major general in the india army. i'm delivering a gift from my neighbor, pammie, who is an old friend of the general. we have reason to believe that his house/estate is next to the american embassy. he promised a goose for dinner. i think it will show us how the other half lives. i will buy a collared shirt.

- tomorrow is my last day :(