I have been on the road for over a month now, and I’ve finally found myself back in Mahableshwar, and on vacation until the second week of January. This break really couldn’t have come at a better time, as I am really feeling the effects of traveling and working for a month. So far, the trip has been:

• Fly into Bombay, 1 day recovery, then meetings all of week 1.
• Relaxing weekend in Mahableshwar
• Hectic week full of meetings in Pune
• Fly to Bangalore, repeat hectic week of meetings
• Fly back to Bombay, 4th week of meetings.
• Leave on Thursday night for Pune, for 2 more meetings on Friday.
• Leave Saturday for Mahableshwar.

All of this has been exciting from a career perspective, but extremely taxing in other ways. The transportation has been what makes it hectic, as each meeting requires careful planning in order to not get lost in the maze of taxis, rickshaws and trains in a metropolis area that takes 2 hours to cross from end to end (due to traffic) and has no roadsigns and no drivers that speak English. Thankfully, I’ve been able to find accommodations with family everywhere so far, which made things easier.

Also playing a part have been my eating and exercise habits. Staying with family means Indian hospitality of continuously shoveling food on your plate. This makes breakfast and lunch much heavier meals than I’m used to, and dinner is usually after 9pm. I’m still running, but it has been quite difficult in the cities.

I’m happy to be back with family in Mahableshwar, where I can run out to beautiful scenic points, relax during the day, and play with our new German Shepard puppy, who we picked up in Pune yesterday. We bonded last night as he kept me awake all night, and is now sleeping on my feet as I type. My family is arriving in two days, and my friend shortly thereafter, so while it doesn’t feel like a traditional Christmas, I’m looking forward to the holidays more than ever.

Every year when I’m home, I visit my Mom’s class to twist balloons for them. This week I visited her first grade class at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary on the west side of Louisville. I answered questions about my running and traveling, about Seattle and Brazil. The kids are kept up to date on my whereabouts by my Mom, and they don’t seem to forget even one detail. Sadly, most of them never have left the boundaries of downtown Louisville, and will probably never go abroad, or in a lot of cases, even outside a 100 mile radius of Louisville.

The kids come from poor families, broken homes and are often neglected, as is evident from their behavior, language and appearance in school. Multiple kids have lost siblings or family members to shootings or other acts of violence. It’s sad truth that most of these kids never really have a chance to realize their potential.

They were, however, looking forward to balloon day for months, thanks to my Mom. After introducing myself, I made each kid a balloon hat, which they were exceedingly happy with. Balloons have turned from a silly hobby to a medium for connecting with people no matter what their age, social class, or culture.

I had a great time.