Bengaluru - Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Now it's Saturday and I really did teach fourth graders for a whole week. I realize I haven't written about it yet, but you can trust me it was time for a weekend break!

We are now in Bangalore staying in a sweet small hotel with toilets that flush, showers you can stand underneath, electrical power you can depend upon, a distinct lack of bugs in our room, meals without rice, wine with dinner, and shopping to be done. I'm here with Kathy, Summer, and three other volunteers.
To get here we rode in the jeep again and I had the fortune of riding in the front seat with the driver. As we sped again down the road for over two hours I got to thinking about what the "Rules of the Road" must look like here. I'm thinking something like this:

1. Honk when approaching curves in the road.
2. Honk and pass motorcycles whenever you want because they can always go between the cars or on either side of the road.
3. Don't worry about lanes, just honk and try to get through.
4. Watch out for cows, dogs, sheep, and monkeys sleeping in the road, but don't worry, just honk and they'll slowly get up and move. No need to slow down.
5. Always drive on the right, or the left, or the right.
6. Don't worry about people crossing the road. Just honk. No need to take your foot off the gas pedal.
7. Rickshaws, motorcycles, and bicycles can go wherever they want so be sure to honk at each one of them.
8. Even if it doesn't look like there's room for you at any given traffic jam, there really is so just lay on the horn and keep moving forward.

SO. After we arrived and checked into our hotel, we luxuriated in lunch at Matteo's, a spot with coffee and sandwiches - and free wifi! Then Kathy and I took off in a rickshaw for Garudo Mall where we had an appointment at Kenko Reflexology and Food Spa. We had the best foot massage ever and then went into the fish spa for the most bizarre pedicure ever. Check it out!
We had a brief moment of near panic when we realized we weren't sure which street our hotel was on, but after gathering our collective thoughts we finally figured it out and secured another rickshaw for the ride back.

An upscale Italian restaurant tonight, grocery shopping and shopping for school supplies tomorrow will round out our weekend away.