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Feb 26, 2006

Today (Sunday) is Lynlee and Karen's last full day in Pune. This afternoon we had a great adventure with Nana as our guide. I had explained to him that I wanted some pictures to put with this journal on the web site and he has come up with a list of interesting places for us to go. As it is Sunday, many of the shops and most businesses are closed so he took us to a lovely park, Saras Baug. Outside the entrance is an entertainment area for kids with a dozen or so small amusement rides, a few well kept horses for hire to ride, and many small vendors. This is all in a short lane of about 100 yards long. Some of the amusement rides may be run by electricity, but the little Ferris wheel was powered by one or two guys walking from rung to rung in the center. When I get home and can download my pictures you can see what I am talking about.

Inside the park are great expanses of lawn, not the well manicure grass that we think of in the US, but green and softer than the normal dirt surface. There are some wide paths, some lined with tall palm trees and a lovely temple in the center. There were hundreds of families, couples and groups of school children all over the place, relaxing, playing and eating. There were some balloon sellers with what looked like a cross between balloons and rubber balls. It was a very colorful scene. Indian men tend to wear brown and tan toned clothes, but the women are very colorful in their saris and Punjabi outfits.

We took pictures and were at times besieged by requests from kids and some parents to have their pictures taken. Most wanted to see the digital images, but some were content just to have them taken. We had to pay 3 Rupees to enter a separate part of the park that was quieter and reminded me a little of a children's museum, except that this was a park. It featured several buildings explaining recent advances in alternative energy sources such as solar. There was a playground with typical swings, slides and jungle gym type equipment but also a miniature train to ride on that was solar powered.

Solar power is becoming an adjunct source of energy here, many homes and hotels (I don't know about businesses) use it for heating water. I believe there is also an effort to begin to use wind generators for electricity in some areas.

There is one business district that is open on Sunday known as the Lakshmi Rd area and we drove around it for a while enjoying the color and hustle and bustle of a very busy district. We finished our evening discovering another more Western style grocery store that is just around the corner from our apartments. Too bad we didn't know that is was there earlier. It used to be when you were here that it felt very isolated from the US and things familiar. Now it is possible to buy such things as Ragu and Pringles in these new grocery stores (although, as it happens I have not bought those particular items). Across the street is an extensive fruit and vegetable market that is very different from how we shop in the US, with the closest thing being the Farmers Market. These are all stacked and arranged colorfully on large carts or spread on the ground with the vendor sitting next to them.  

The ease of calling home and easy access to the internet makes things easier to be here and not feel isolated. It can still be a struggle to be here though. The air is very dirty, clothes and skin are always gray, it is noisy and lively, the roads are bumpy and often congested and the shops are very, very different. It is fun and fascinating when I am rested, but I get overwhelmed and worn out easily and find myself looking forward to my own bed and my familiar routines and surroundings.