We have been having terrible problems with the computer, but things are now slowly coming around. Our computer is in bad shape, so we bought a new hard drive on which we can be on the internet, etc. Skype is coming soon! But my photos are all on the old computer so there's a lot of work to do.

ALL of the women, young and old, wear sarees here, so I have tidied up the few I had and have had blouses made for them. I also bought two cotton ones because I thought it would be easier to wear one that wasn't so slippery. I am having a terrible time trying to wear a saree properly. I can't put it on right. Tomorrow, I'm going to put one on again and go to Mariama's who will again restructure the saree for me. I don't feel comfortable wearing one outside the colony yet, but Gopal thinks I could practice at Krishna's in Delhi. (Note: The sarees always look good to me when I put them on, but all the women here either laugh or are so uncomfortable until someone fixes it! Sigh.)

On Sunday, the 7th, Gopal and I will take a taxi down the hill to Coimbatore where we will board a train to Jhansi, Utter Pradesh (about 40 hours) where we will get a ride (10 miles?) to Orchha, Madhya Pradesh. We will arrive on the 9th, the day before a training starts that I have signed up for: Managing Micro Enterprise: Interventions, Development and Programmes. Gopal decided not to attend the training but will stay with me. It should be very helpful as our non-profit Joint Assistance Centre changes and evolves. After the training, we will take a train Friday, the 12th, to Delhi. On Monday, the 15th, we'll be back at the Home Ministry enquiring about the replacement of my Person of Indian Origin (PIO) status. The PIO card includes my visa, so we need to get some concrete information (an incredibly difficult thing to achieve in India) from the government. Wish us luck!

In the meantime, we'll be seeing Krishna and Raju again which we really look forward to! R.K. has been hosting our friend Mani from California; we'll be able to see both of them there too. It will be good to see them again. If I get my PIO status reinstated, Gopal and I will be able to visit Nepal while we're nearby. I would really love to do that.