Life OUT of the Big City!

We've had a week of not much internet connection, hence the lack of blog entries.  We're getting closer to a secure source, but we're not quite there yet.

This story is actually about life IN the big city.  Sara Tempest sent us a great article from the International Herald Tribune entitled "Urban Cowboys Struggle with India's Sacred Strays." The story is about the attempt to get the cows off the major highways in New Delhi (which they are committed to do before the Commonwealth Games, which will be in New Delhi in 2010.)  In the article it talks of "dozens of men who spend their days roping cattle on the streets of [New Delhi] as a part of a long and frustrating battle to rid India's capital of stray cows.  Since the slaughter of cows is banned throughout most of India, "there is perhaps no more stereotypical image of India than that of a stray cow sauntering down the middle of a busy street, seemingly oblivious to the traffic swerving around it."

These "cowboys rely on rope lassos and brute strength to capture the beasts, which often charge into traffic or kick or buck violently in an attempt to escape."  We have heard that there is a similar program in Chennai of trying to rid the city of it's thousands of cows, but we've not seen it in action.  I have included a picture, but this cow lives in Changleput, which is a much smaller city, and while there are cows everywhere, the town itself rather looks like there should be cows wandering in and out of the wild traffic.  This is an interesting problem that we have not encountered in Laguna Beach!

This week life Out of the big city, has us creating and using what Ron calls our "Indian tractor." We have had such a problem getting any heavy equipment in to smooth out our playing field, that Ron came up with a great design for our own dirt spreader--we think we should write John Deere and see if they wouldn't like to add it to their line of products.  It requires three men, and the one at the back has to be able to make the appropriate noises to keep the operation moving forward.  The guys were hilarious, and so proud of the fact that it really worked!  So was Ron...

We are also getting down our new walkways, which will allow us to walk from one hostel to the

other without slogging through mud in the rainy season, and sand in your shoes on dry days.  I have included only one picture of this, but we loved this man carrying the tiles on his head, as all building materials are moved.  It has been so fun to watch them making their cement, creating the base with very large rocks, moving the materials around, leveling with a long stick, and finally putting the tiles in place.  Next week a picture of the finished product!