Commence India Countdown: 3 months and approx. 5 days...

Well you may have noticed that I am about as consistent with blogging as Lindsay Lohan is with rehab (if this reference isn't understandable to you I'm just trying to say I'm really inconsistent). It's been about 5 months since my last post and my return to India is fast approaching. I can hardly wait to squeeze all my little Indian babies and see their cute smiling faces again! They are the best children in the world, hands down....seriously, they are way better than your kids. Because my return is coming up so quickly I, again, find myself in the process of visa applications, immunizations, finding parasite medications and all the other lovely aspects involved with traveling to a country like India. After last summer's adventure I find myself a much more knowledgeable traveler, which makes preparations that much easier. Here are a few of the things that I am making sure to bring/do this time around to avoid some of the...inconveniences...I experienced after my last trip:

1. Cutting all my hair off: I didn't realize before my last trip what a big problem lice is in India, particularly for the kids at Rising Star's campus. I am NOT taking any chances this time around--boy hair is definitely forthcoming.
2. Chocos/Tevas: My shoes of choice during my last India trip were my Rainbow flip flops...they barely survived three weeks. Because of this I am breaking down and getting chocos. Don't fret, I will not be wearing them with socks and I won't even wear them in the States, they are just another necessity while living in India.
3. Parasite Medication/Preventatives: So the month of November I was really busy and stressed and I started feeling sick. I went to the family accupuncturist over Thanksgiving and lo and behold I had a very large tapeworm--my second parasite from my trip to India. Perry (my tapeworm) was a great companion, actually, and helped me to lose weight and cut back on the holiday treats...I just don't ever want to have a friend like him again.
4. Miniature Flashlight: Power in India is spotty at best and the walk between the children's hostel and the volunteer hostel at night when the power is out is not one of my favorite things. Rising Star's campus is 2 hours outside of Chennai in a very rural area. When there is no power and the path isn't lit there are all kinds of critters you could run into. To remedy this situation I will be constantly packing my miniature flashlight to help me out whenever the power isn't working...it will get a lot of use.

When listing and thinking about all the crazy things I went through and "acquired" from my last India trip, I can't help but wonder, Why am I leaving my friends and family and going back to India again?? Well, that question is actually very easy to answer,

Moment like that are all the reason I need :)

Vanakkam