Posting has become more infrequent due to the fact that I haven't had a lot of time to spend on the computer here.

So far things have been good. I've spent most of the mornings having tea and breakfast with my grandfather, the afternoons and evenings going out with my cousin shopping or eating with his buddies. This week I'm going to see some historical sites around Pune and at the end of the week I'm headed to the coast with my aunt on my mom's side.

Going out to eat with my cousin has been a good way to see what young people in India are like, as well as a view of Pune nightlife. My cousin was telling me that Pune has about 200 colleges and universitys, and because of that there are a lot of young people here. Every other advertisment seems geared towards youth, whether it be ads for motorcycles, jeans or possible careers. Ones I've seen all over have been for vocational schools that teach airline steward and stewardess classes, schools for learning English and a cool black and white "LEAD INDIA" ad for the Times of India newspaper.

The thought of careers, jobs and the future seems to weigh heavy on the minds of youth of this city. Exams are huge here. My cousin was telling me that people stress incredibly over these tests and that to get into any sort of a decent university you need to get higher than 85%. Damn. I'm impressed with how hard these kids study. I don't think I knew anybody who took tests this seriously back home with the exception of AP exams. How much is too much?, I wonder.

We rode by a billboard last night one the way back from watching the cricket match at a local eatery that read, and I'm not kidding "It's not just a test, ITS WAR - It's not just results, ITS GLORY"

...

Seriously? There's no way that's healthy.

We stopped at a place to get cold coffee and even on a Monday night at 11PM, the place was freakin packed. There is a LOT of people here, a lot of young people.

Closing Thought: The food here, especially on roadside stands and the like, is really tasty.