oh yeeeah, she's a cutie!

the air quality here is far less than desirable and i gave in to vanity and chose the face mask approach vs the toxin/carcinogen/heavy fumes way of life.  i've been told that people develop a little cough after a while living here and my lungs are already compromised.  ...just not something i want, so if i'm out for any length of time, i strap it on...the mask, that is...or hold it to my face when i'm walking.  otherwise, you feel like you've been sitting too close to a bonfire where they've been burning plastic and styrofoam all night.  it's not so bad, really, especially sitting in the back of a taxi.  who cares?!  my only complaint with the face mask is that i can't wear my stylish sunglasses to counteract some of the un-coolness of the blue beast...it fogs up my glasses!!  : ) oh well, a little bit of suffering never hurt anyone...it makes me feel more buddhist...  as for the taxi rides themselves, i tried to download a video, but don't know how so the pic will have to suffice for now (help annie!).  but, just imagine 5 times as many trucks, cars, motorcycles, bikes, rikshaws, tuk-tuks (3-wheeled buses), buses, mini vans, pedestrians, cows, dogs and even the occasional chicken on the road, all vying for the same small piece of a lane.  there are very few lane markers here and if there are, no one pays attention to them anyways.  on a couple roads that i've seen, which would be comparable to a 6 lane road in the states, the government put up some sort of a median.  i've seen flower pots on iron posts and cement blocks to name a few and the reason is because people would literally drive all over the road.  they're supposed to stay on the left side, but where there are no medians in place, i've found myself all the way over on the right outside lane passing people.  crazy!!!! supposedly, after these were installed, there were many fatalities and where there are no medians?  ...anything goes.  all i can say is that i'm glad i'm not driving cause i don't think i could handle it!  the other day i was in a taxi coming back from school in rush hour.  all of a sudden my driver leaned over the passenger seat and started yelling out the window at a motorcyclist who yelled back.  i didn't see or hear anything that precipitated this occurrence, but they clearly were not happy with each other.  we pulled over, a cop got involved and there i sat for, oh, maybe 15 minutes while crowds of people gathered around the taxi and were all giving what sounded like their 2 rupees worth of opinion/advice. it was a little surreal...what in the world am i doooing here?!  but, once the incident was resolved, the cabbie got back in and finished his route with me as pleasantly as he had begun.  apparently they don't hold grudges here...  : )  let me hear from you!  xo, j