Hi Everyone --

We've had a very fun week here in Pune. Interesting since Pune is now the Swine Flu Capitol of the World! Out of 1 billion people in India, about 800 have the swine flu. Of those 800, 400 are in Pune. The newspapers and TV have the whole place spooked. No one is out, schools are closed, the malls are closed, the movie theatres are closed, the markets are closed, the grocery stores are closed. Everyone that is out and about has a mask on for protection -- I'm just not sure whether the protection is from them or from everyone else. There have been 50 deaths attributed to the swine flu, and 21 have been from Pune. Did I mention that there are 6 million people in Pune? The statistical odds that we get the flu are very small. We have been out and about as usual without any masks. There are some other states in India that are not welcoming people from our state of Maharashtra -- meaning no travel. I think it is interesting that the Indian government is cutting off the food supply -- i.e. markets and grocery stores -- to contain the flu. I guess they just want to starve us outright.

That said, we have been out this week getting new glasses for Brice, custom tailored kurtas, medicine for his toes, shopping for electrical widgets, we've been out to dinner twice, and Doug and Brice went up to Mulshi Dam for a hiking/trekking experience. Brice and Dad have done some serious male bonding, including eating at various questionable Indian eateries. They insist these were not "street food" vendors, but legitimate restaurants. They are still doing some serious bonding by laying around and moaning and jumping up to use the toilet regularly. Brice started his medicine today. Dad is going to tough it out and be a man about it.

Speaking of Doug, this has been a hard week on his body. Monday, as he was walking up the stairs, he missed a stair step and caught it right on his big toe. It turned all sorts of colors of purple, blue, black and swelled up. It was so sore he had to come home from work early because of the pain. We think nothing was broken, just strained, stretched, bruised, and mistreated. Then, yesterday, as they were hiking at the dam, Doug slipped and bonked his elbow on a rock. It started swelling immediately and Brice got a nice picture of it. It has started to go down and he says it doesn't hurt. I don't have enough Advil to make it through the next few months at this rate!

Yesterday I took the funds that have been donated to the clinic where Sham's wife received her treatment for the kidney stones. He called today and said it was successful and her pain is now gone from the stones, but it will take 4-5 days of rest and medication for her to get back on her feet again. Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible. We have plenty of funds and feel that they have been used wisely. I will send a receipt to everyone for tax purposes.

It has been really fun to have Brice here. We've played lots of games and had lots of fun time together. He goes back Thursday afternoon (Aug. 20), just as he was finally beginning to get over his jet lag.

We hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Love, Lucinda

P.S. -- Extra special thanks to Dr. Ryan who has been on call all week taking the medical questions on broken toes, bruised and swollen elbows, and swine flu. Not all the world's medical outsourcing goes to India, some goes to Dr. Ryan!