The Ladies of Loni.

The past weekend I traveled to Loni to visit my friends from Oregon. The bus ride was super long as I came from Pune instead of Rajgurunagar. I realized half way through it that I had no idea what Loni looks like, and since all the towns look the same to me, I had no idea where to get off. Luckily, I met a woman who was also going to Loni and I told her I would follow her lead.

Around 8pm the bus rolled into Loni, and as I was afraid I would miss the stop because the buses come and go so fast, I stood up as the bus was moving. I was trying to pull my backpack out from the overhead, but I couldn't get it. The man sitting next to me said he would help me, and I stood back. As I waited, the bus hit a really big bump, and I fell backwards into the lap of a well-rounded older woman. Thankfully no one seemed to notice, and luckily her belly broke my fall.

It was so good to meet up with my friends since I had only met them once at an orientation for our program. Sharon, Julia, and Andy are all doing medical rotations at Pravara Hospital. You know how it goes with chics, we all sit around together gossip, make each other laugh, and catch up on our experiences. We had ourselves a pretty sweet weekend consisting of delicious food, coconut water, a temple, a sugar/liquor distillery, a four hour drive to ancient caves, monkeys, and a look-a-like Taj Mahal.

Here is the journey in pictures: