Finally here!

so after 20 hours of being in the air and at least 15 hours of waiting in airports, i am finally here. and i am exhausted. i've probably slept a total of 6 hours in the past 3 days. we arrived in Bangalore this morning and i have spent the entire day trying not to fall asleep. :) we are staying with a marianist community here and they are kind enough to let us use their internet. so i wanted to send out a quick email to let you know that i got here safe.
India is better and worse than i imagined. i was relieved not to be mobbed when leaving the airport and was not scared at all while driving through the city to get to our house. it was quite fun...all our luggage strapped to the top and us, careening through the streets. but i've discovered that to be a pedestrian here is to risk your life. and the roaches here are bigger than my big toe (and those of you who have seen my big toe is will realize that that's a freakin' huge roach.) :) there is so much color here from the saris to the fruit for sale to the flowers everywhere.on a darker note, it is much harder to walk past the rows of beggars that i thought it would be. taking care of the environment seems to be last on the list of priorities and there is trash everywhere. the stench can be unbearable at times. walking around Bangalore, you feel as if you have smoked a pack of cigarettes. the air is thick with pollution and i can only imagine the respiratory illnesses that the people who live here every day must get. the heat is a sudden challenge as we froze the whole way here on the airplanes. but jet lag has set in and i am about to fall asleep. ZZZzzzz