India (By Guest Writer Drewzie Z. Greenberg)

Hello all! Guest writer Drew here. Now, former-and-current-bloggers Tricia and Julio and Kushal might be a bit intimidated by having me sit down to contribute to this writing effort, but I want to reassure them that I am just like any other blogger on the internet: I put on my Starfleet uniform one leg at a time.

The last week has been fun in so many ways. Julio sells himself short when he says it doesn't sound exciting -- we saw the Taj Mahal, for crying out loud! It's, like, one of the most famous structures in the world, up there with Mt. Rushmore and the Eiffel Tower and that weird striped house that Madonna built that one time. Anyway, it was magnificent, and seeing it with Jules and Sarita and Eddie and Sarita's family was an amazing way to do it -- they were great traveling companions, particularly because I found in Eddie a co-conspirator in my perpetual search for masala-flavored crunchy snacks. But also because they're all really fun. We've laughed a lot and eaten a lot (I won't even begin to get into the details of last night's Great Multiple Servings of Rice Experiment, but, um, rest assured,when we finished dinner? I was full.)

Of course, it's impossible to be here and witness such majestic sites as the Taj Mahal and other palaces, all of which were sumptuous in their grandeur, without noting the irony of what's invariably outside the palace gates. The poverty and neglect and general (and,in some cases, literal) crumbling infrastructure have to give you pause. And they do. No tag-line joke here. That part sucks.

Coming up, we'll be visiting Puri and Calcutta, and I think we're both looking forward to that part of the journey as well. For me, getting to spend time with Julio has been the highlight of this trip, and it reminds me how much I wish he would hurry up and have his life-changing growth experience seeing the world, blah blah blah and come home. I kid. Except not really.

Oh! Also? For all my friends in LA who wanted to know the answer, this one's for you: yes on the McChicken, no on the Big Mac. But they do have Chicken Maharajah Mac. And the most delicious thing called a Chicken Curry Pan. I'll try to bring a crate home if I can get it through customs.

Miss you all.

Love, Drew and Julio

"Into the Woods to Find the Giant..."
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