it was such a great experience to have ali and his family come to the marriott. my driver angelo and i drove to pick up ali and his family which is about an hour and half away from panjim. it was such a nice drive. the area they live in is so quiet compared to where we live in goa. it is so green with lots of palm trees and winding roads and lots of big hills.

we got to ali's house and his whole family-in laws, cousins, aunts, nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters greeted us at the door. angelo and i were invited to come in for tea and cookies. nobody really said anything to each other. i felt like they were all just watching me. it was like they were expecting me to say something even though they new they would never be able to understand what i said.

as i was being watched by the family members, ali and his wife were getting cinderella ready for her big adventure to the marriott. i could tell they were so excited and happy that we invited them. ali's wife is so sweet. she speaks pretty good english so i was able to have some conversation with her. ali had told me that she might not use her english because she is very shy about speaking in english in front of him. he said that she would never have a conversation with him in english even though she could do so very well.

we left ali's house and drove another hour and half back to the marriott. angelo and i had some time to bond this day considering by the time this was all over we were in the car together for about four and half hours.

before we actually got to the marriott ali asked if we could stop at this woman's house who lives right by our hotel. this woman's name is emerica. she has known ali's family for a long time. emerica is like a grandma to ali. anyhow he wanted to surprise emerica (i like saying her name) with cinderella ( i like saying her name as well). she had not yet met her yet.

emerica offered us some tea and cookies and talked with us for awhile. angelo was also invited in. it was fun to have angelo along for the ride. i think he really enjoyed himself too. after spending an hour at emerica's house we finally arrived at the hotel and allan was waiting for us.

we gave them a tour of the hotel and then went to the lobby for a drink. after that we went to the restaurant for dinner. every sat the hotel has a buffet. one side is all western food and the other side is all indian food. they could not believe how much food there was. i think they felt most comfortable sticking to indian food.

when we sat down ali realized that one of the workers was a student of his. ali used to work for street kids and one of the kids he helped get back on his feet was employed at the marriott. ali had not seen him in years and never really knew what had happened with him. (you will see the picture) it was a very nice reunion for ali.

cinderella was sound asleep by the time we sat for dinner. we must have worn her out. after dinner allan, angelo and i drove back to valopoi. they invited us in their home again so allan was able to see where they live.

this whole day was such a nice experience. i really enjoyed it.

the mango house is still great. i really am enjoying it everyday. i began tutoring a little seven year old boy. he has a lot of trouble in school and there are not enough teachers to give him the attention he needs. we are working on his numbers right now. we are up to seven. in the past couple of weeks i have really seen him improve. he just needs someone to give him confidence and not get frustrated with him. he is such a sweet little boy.

this past week my friend theresa and i spent the day being tourists. we went to old goa which is only 30 mins away from the marriott. when we were there we felt like we were in another part of india, not goa. old goa use to be the capital of goa, now it is panjim. it is famous for its churuches and temples. i have posted some pictures for you to see

allan is very busy with work. it will be nice for him to have a vacation in november. i am not sure if i mentioned this before but allan and i will be going to china before we come home. allan loves it there and wants me to see what it is like. i am really looking forward to coming back home for a visit. i was telling allan that i think it will be more of a culture shock to come home then it was to move to india. i am not sure why i feel this way but i do. yesterday was my two month anniversary of being in india and it is allan's 3month and ten day anniversary.

on thursday we are going to go to ajuna which is a little beach area in goa. most of the volunteers live in this area because it is nice and has the least amount of tourists. one of the girls and her boyfriend are having a little dinner party. it should be fun. friday night we were invited to a party at the leela hotel. the leela is suppose to be another very nice hotel. we are looking forward to that.

on sunday all of the volunteers are invited to a party at the slums in honor of a holiday (not exactly sure what holiday). that should be interesting. i hope to have some pictures although some of the parents do not like us taking pictures because they think that we are selling them and making money off the pictures.

oh angelo's wife bought me a salwar kameez which is an outfit that hindu people wear. i will try it on one day and take a picture so you can see what it looks like.

anyhow that is all i can think of for now. i hope everyone is doing well

love abby and allan