Mum-bye! :)

Well, folks, we're in India. Plus, we adopted a new travel buddy: Kit!  We have been met with the most hospitable and kind people one could imagine. Our past week in Mumbai has been spent riding in Vision Rescue buses, which visit slum areas to bring education and food to hundreds of children. The kids here are gorgeous and brimming with joy. It's not hard to get a smile or giggle out of them, and their little selves have made our days so fulfilling here. The organization's staff is comprised of beautiful souls, who teach and love these kids on a daily basis, and they have made us feel right at home from the very start.

In between all the fun with the kids and staff, we have had some unique opportunities. Look for us in Race 2 (an upcoming Bollywood film); thanks to our white skin, we were asked to be extras! But don't get too excited--after 12 hours of filming, we are unsure as to whether we even made it into 1 second of the film. Also, our new friend and tour guide, Michelle, secured our spots on a tour of Dharavi (the biggest slum in India, second largest in Asia). While the tour revealed many harsh realities about living in such a place, it also focused on the community's productivity and resourcefulness. They literally recycle everything imaginable, making an income off of what the rest of the city considers garbage. So much to see and learn in this city, so little time.

We are off to New Delhi on Wednesday after a couple more days with Vision Rescue. Stay tuned for more on our Indian adventure...

See ya, Sydney. Hello, Mumbai!!

We are en route to India, but wanted to tell you about our delightful time in Sydney this past week.  Since the Singapore airport allots 12 minutes of internet, we will get right to the point.  Our Aussie experience was very well rounded, from the hilarious and hospitable family we stayed with (the Wangs), to the kangaroos and koalas we befriended. The world renowned beaches did not disappoint, so we soaked in our fair share of the golden sun and roaring ocean surf.  The cushion that we started our travels with is deflating quickly, and tomorrow morning we will find ourselves encountering the most culture shock yet.  As we speak, Kit is also on his way to meet us in Mumbai, where we will spend our days teaching and playing with some beautiful little souls from the streets of the city of 21 million and counting.  We appreciate your thoughts and prayers for health and relief from the 90 degrees plus humidty.  And as we've warned, from here on out our updates will likely be fewer and further between.  Hoping that this update finds you happy wherever you are; thanks for tagging along.

A Town Fit for Queens

the remarkables rising out of lake wakatipu

For those of you wondering whether or not we ever made it off of the buses, we did! And we are now readying to fly out of this BEAUTIFUL country tomorrow. 

Lucky for you, Taylor here is chomping at the bit to tell you all about our bus ride to Queenstown.  So here we go, directly from my fine friend's mouth straight to your screen: "It was nice.  The four-day journey through this country offered an abundance of beautious sites."  The important point that she is holding from you is that there really are more sheep here than you could ever dream.  It was stunning, though, in all seriousness, and we are now finishing our week at our final New Zealand destination: Queenstown. 

a genuine NZ sheep

corie, matt, patricia, denise, keith and taylor by the beach on the southern-most point of NZ

the view from the first row of our speedy jet boat

Our lovely hosts here have been better tour guides than we ever could have hoped for at an information station.  It has been a treat to sit in the backseat of their car, and be informed of the landmarks here, as nonstop beauty passes by our windows.  They have taken us from places of untouched wilderness to the southernmost tip of New Zealand (neighbors with Antarctica!), where the beaches offer lovely gemstones and flopping flounders (Taylor stepped on one, so this part is definitely true).  We went jet boating, walking, running, and swimming.  Plus we made friends with perhaps the friendliest Swiss couple you will ever meet (currently staying with our hosts as well).  All in all, this has caused time to fly at warp speed, and we cannot believe we're wrapping up our last day in our first fabulous destination!  We're off to Australia tomorrow morning, and will be spending the next week in Sydney.  Thank you, New Zealand, for surpassing all of our expectations (high as they were).  Goodbye from us here for the last time!