just for the record, i have updated this thing maybe a million times, and the entries just kept getting zapped when i hit 'end' and eventually i just got so demoralized about the whole thing that i gave up.

i had to break out the box of Canadian chocolates that i've been saving for a special occasion because i've just had a couple fantastic days. Of course, the chocolates were hopelessly melted, but who cares?! Indian chocolate is actually a combination of chalk and wax, so we just devoured that goopy puddle of milk chocolate goodness. And i mean devoured... like using my tongue to dig traces out of crevices in the plastic.

The occasion? It was my one year anniversary of India, which is pretty incredible. It doesn't feel like that long, and yet it feels like it has been forever, if that makes any sense at all.

And the next thing: i still can't believe this, and i want to remember how it felt for the rest of my life. Okay - i stayed here to develop a project and get it funded. And on Monday, i got a message saying that my project got funding. A lot of funding. Fifty million rupees to develop a series of interventions targeting maternal and newborn health.

That would be 2.5 million dollars.

TWO POINT FIVE MILLION DOLLARS!!!

the sad thing is that i really can't stay here forever, and i won't get to see it to fruition, because i swear that i will be home by christmas. February at the latest. So while I have this sort of pleasant 'my work here is done' kind of feeling, I also feel so strongly about the work we're doing and it's awful to know i won't be here to see it through. But it's a four year project, and i love it here, but i miss clean air and toilets and water and and and and and...

Plans are in the works for the next few months (himalayas and rainforest!). In the meantime, rain has been gushing from the skies for 9 days straight. To get to work, i jump along strategically placed rocks and pieces of wood - like Frogger!! - and try not to think about the filthy water swirling around my feet.

i love it. not the filthy water, but the rain. it's gorgeous to be dripping with water instead of sweat for a change. Oh, it's nice to update. I'll come back again soon. but if this gets zapped, i'm going to cry.

10:33 p.m. - 2004-08-04