So I found a bar

So now I've been to the A1 Bar, 2 nights in a row and everytime I go I meet more interesting people.
This time I met a lovely girl from Germany who had her flight and flat paid for by the family who is paying her to teach their 11 yr old son! And she's my age, what a sweet deal!

Spoke for a very long time with a Englishman named Paul who lived in America all over for about 13 years and we had a great time talking about accents and football and soccer and so many other things. He is teaching English in a little jungle town about 2 hours away. That is even more primitive than Kochin. They know when the butcher will be open because he will tie a cow to a tree which gets decorated like a Christmas tree, the next day he butchers the cow and you point to the parts you want, every cut costs the same so it is a great deal!

Also enjoyed the Englishman Bill who I met the night before, he loves to bet but couldn't care less if he loses, so laid back and funny. I made him crack up laughing because when he looked at me, I stuck my tongue out and he was so surprised.

It's great to hang out there, where age and country don't matter, there is plenty of beer, and someone is always ready to make fun of you for not being able to name a single player on the American team

Carl and I walked the very long walk home because there was no rickshaw to be found, to be fair it was very late, it was 11:30 and the bar actually closes at 10:30. Things start late and end early here. We had a long discussion about how we came to be in India and about Indian culture. I learned that when a Indian woman in a non-westernized area even look a man in the eye, it is assumed she is hitting on him. Since Indian women do not have sex before marriage, this means that not only is she hitting on him, but that she is a whore. If a white man walks with an Indian woman, they get many stares and the woman is once again labeled a whore. But if a white woman is with an Indian man, he is considered lucky and people laugh and think "Haha way to hit that!". Indian men like to go for white women because they do not get married sometimes until they are in their early 30s and they don't have sex before marriage, since in most western cultures sex before marriage is no longer taboo, if an Indian man is seen with a white women, she is probably putting out, or at least there is a chance that she might. I was curious about the culture because most of the Indian men i know are very Westernized and I wanted to make sure that their friendliness was just that and not flirting.

On a more veterinary level, I am still poking Knuckles with 4 pokes, twice a day. The refuse to take him to the veterinary hospital so I don't know if I am just prolonging the inevitable.
I also removed a 4 day old bandage that was covering a foot wound that went down to the bone. Again, should be taken to the vet hospital, but what can you do.

I've just now realized I haven't mentioned the cows. They wander the streets at will, it is typical for them to be in the middle of the roads in town, on the soccer field, wherever they please, it is one of the oddest things I've ever seen.

Well after one day of sun, it is raining again and I'm off to watch soccer in the kitchen with Carl! I'm awfully itchy due to mosquito bites and some sort of rash up my arm and face, it is real fine but it itches. I must be allergic to something, but I really don't know what yet. Here's hoping it stops soon!