Oh my gosh, this place is really something!

Ive been running on no sleep since i left australia so i beg your pardon for all mistakes!

THe long and short of it is that i made it to the farm safely! which is a huge YAY.

As soon as I landed, fought my way to get my luggage (which, may i just say, weighs only 11kg!!!)i needed to get to an ATM. Just like I (and my father) expected, the first ones i found where out of order and i was begining to panic becuse i knew the taxi place only took cash, but in the end i did manage to find one tucked away in a section of the airport that didnt seem to serve any functioning purpose at all.

After i finaly worked out which taxi service would take me interstate (thanks to the help of a lovely indian lady which was most deffinitly a blessing from God!) i had to haggle price which was a truly amazing activity for my self esteem. I did the whole acting like you were outraged by their price (i was actualy) and then tried to get them to halve it (which was still more than i wanted to pay) but in the end it didnt cost me an arm and a leg and i was taken to a large taxi which airconditioning, so it was a success!!

I knew i shouldnt have gotten so excited when i sat in that cab for the final stage of my journey.

We hadnt even left delhi aiport before indjajesh (taxi driver) started to use his car as an insane swivel sweeper, going in and out of lanes-well actualy, WHAT LANES?!?! Indian drivers are CRAAAAAAAAAZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!! Instead of their indecators they use their horns (which is actualy the acceptable practise, most of the buses had signs on the back encouraging honking so they can make sure they knew little cars where behind them). I kept looking back at the drivers of the cars that my taxi was beeping at and expecting to see the finger (or whatever the indian alternative is) but instead there was placid acceptence of him pushing in front! Anyway, so not only was it the jerky-est ride of my life, sudden stops and manic manourvers, but it was also the loudest. To make matters worse, 5 minutes into the journey, he decided that he didnt have a clue where i wanted to go, and started to use his phone and occasionaly just stop in the middle of the road with tuk tuks honking and buses boaring in on us from every side!!!!!!!!

I didnt sleep a wink the entire 7 hours because i was just too paranoid.

the fact that he kept telling me that the roads we were taking (dirt, unlaned country roads full of trucks) where extremely dangerous with frequent pistol hold ups and bashings by gangs didnt help that. Or the fact that he kept asking me whether i was married and explaining that he was a single 36 year old man who would like me to come into the front seat so he could see me better when we talk, didnt help either. However he eventualy shut up with the single man thing when i told him of how i was actualy engaged to a man who works for the australian government in trade and i would prefer to stay in the back seat because all the oncoming headlights distrupted my sleep.

around 4 am i was starting to panic because he still didnt look like he knew where on earth we were going (this is 4 hours of of delhi) and he started ranting about how i hadnt payed him enough for the journey and threatened to throw me out once he reached 400km. Freaked at the possibility of being dropped off on the side of the road where there was nothing but homeless slum people (incredibly angering amounts of them as well! tiny kids, on their own >:( but thats a different story) and the occasional stand that sells coke cans. We sorted that out eventually though and here i am now. typing away, thinking about the adventure i just had and how i will only laugh about it in a few weeks time. until then, i never want to take a single taxi in India, ever.

I don't actually have much to say about the farm yet because today is a very different day that i expected to arrive on. The director of the mission died last night and they are having her funeral in a number of hours. The atmosphere is one of happiness because she is now in heaven with Jesus completely healed, but also sadness at losing such a crucial person ochanged the lives of almost everyone living here. im gonna babysit the nursery kids (kids under 4 years old) during hte funeral so all the indians can attend).

Di spite this happening however, they still welcomed me with open arms and I have a room much more luxurious than expected. I'm sure they will be changing me from the guest quarters soon. But until then, I can brush my teeth, and go to bed with the view of the lush green fields and the Himalayas from my window!!

i love you all!!!!