look at me go, 2 posts in one day!

so on a local bus a few weeks ago a nice indian man named pawan said i was welcome in his village anytime. most people would not have taken him up on this offer, but i love me some real india, so my buddy nat and i took a bus to this little place called malan a couple days ago....

we were the first westerners in their town and therefore the guests of honor. we slept in pawan and his wife's bed (in india, guests are considered gods in your home). the entire family lives in this house that's just amazing: 3 bedrooms and a kitchen made entirely of clay. the stove is a tiny firepit with a slit in the roof for the smoke to go out. we ate on the floor and peed in the communal, uh, hole in the ground outside - loving it! best dinner i've had in a looong time (and i've been eating pretty well!). the next morning, we were woken up with cups of chai, taken around the neighborhood where we proceeded to have 4 more cups of chai in different people's homes. people kept inviting us to stay in their house for 2 weeks or a month so that we could learn to speak hindi.

as i was leaving, they pretty much bribed me to come back: they're making me an indian outfit (the grandparents are both tailors). sweet sweet india. i'm so excited to come back in august.