Well that crisis is over. My luggage arrived (one week after I did) and I am pretty sure everything is intact. I have been ten times happier since.

Let me explain a little about how our orientation has been going this week. We are preparing to start teaching at the schools and clinics on Monday so each day our group meets with our CPs (CP being short for counterparts...they are our translators but Sanjay doesn't want us to call them translators because they are doing so much more than that, they show us around the city and help teach the curriculum,take us shopping and touring places on the weekends, basically our new best friends). There are about 10 CPs, two per teaching group and they are college students from all over the city of Chennai who are fluent in both English and Tamil. We have to practice teaching with them so they can learn how to translate for us when we are with students. We are also learning how to get around the city and taking a few lessons in Tamil and learning a little background on the history of HIV in India. We also got a short lesson in how the Indian government is helping those infected and other marginalized groups. (NEWS FLASH: you are better off being infected with AIDS in India rather than in the US because Indian government will pay for majority of medicines and health care no matter what the social class or status...not so in the US).

Here is your Tamil lesson for the day (and this is about as much as I can remember without my notebook in front of me)

Hello - Van-i-com
Where is it? - Inge e ir-i-ku?
Thanks - Nan-dri
Rice with spicy tomato sauce and cheese - Paneer Butter Marsala (my favorite dish, I order it everywhere)

It does not appear that I can upload pictures yet, still working that out.

-S