Today we started out class with two tests. Then we had a guest speaker that was a lawyer. He was really interesting. He spoke of the different courts - of which there are many, and how long it takes to have a case get through the legal system. Businesses don't have much protection over here, which makes me wonder how they get anyone to invest. He also spoke of the different religions having laws that have been incorporated into the main law. I was very surprised at how little females are regarded over here. I would not have guessed that from my encounters so far. There are girls at the institute studying business. He told us about how some women will have illegal abortions if they know their baby is a girl. Boys are held in much higher regard. I was disappointed to hear that. I thought they were a little more civilized than that.

We were allowed to ask many questions, which made the discussion much more interesting. It was a lively class session. Then we went on a field trip to see the legal system in action. The differences between the US and here as far as the buildings are concerned were significant. I work in the court house and it is so well maintained with marble walls and floors. It is very clean and well kept. Over here the windows were broken, the carpet was peeling off the floor, and the rooms were very small. We saw two sessions in progress. The first one had a judge at the front with a lady typing on an old typewriter. The witness stood behing a wooden railing and was being asked questions by the lawyer. The lawyers all were blue suit coats with a little white tie, even the women lawyers. They'd have these beautiful outfits on and then this blue suit coat over it. Several lawyers sat at a table in the middle of the room. We as observers were not allowed to cross our legs or talk. I can understand the talking part, but I don't know why we couldn't cross our legs.

We then went into the second courtroom. We got there before the judge. The judge was in his chambers behind a dirty yellow curtain. When he came out, he slipped off his shoes and went up the stairs to his desk. We all stood when he entered. He asked why we were there and was fine with us staying. In fact in the middle of the testimony, he stopped and gave us an update as to what was happening, which was a good thing because they were all talking in the Indian language. The defendent came in with his shoes on, slipped them off and stepped up some stairs to the railing. The judge must have told him to get his shoes outside, because he went down, put on his shoes, walked outside and took them off, and came back in barefoot. It is much different than the US, but I really enjoyed the experience.

Next, eight of us took rickshaws into town. I had to buy a new hairdryer, since the power system blew out the one I brought from home. Then we started walking and walking and walking. We entered a street market that had lots of produce, perfume, flowers, and jewelery. The isles were very narrow with blue tarps hanging overhead to keep out the sun. What an experience. Then we got back on a main thoroughfare and found a store selling DVDs. I bought two that had English sub-titles. One of them we saw on the plane and the other is suppose to have lots of dancing. It has been running in India for 12 years. I hope I like it.

Then we found another side street and started walking down this smelly, disgusting street. I thought I was going to throw up. The exhaust was so thick, along with the smell of cows and their fresh manure and then I can't forget about the dead chickens hanging on some hooks. This man stopped us and wanted to take us to his store. Somehow the others thought he was taking us to a craft place, but he was taking us to his perfume and inscense store. Along the way we stopped so Gene and Harvey could play cricket with some boys. The sign above the building where they were playing said Dist. TB Control Center. That made me really nervous. Everyone was shaking all these peoples hands and I just had to get away. We finally kept walking and got to this store. Then he took us down this long dark hallway and into a back room. It was really creepy and I felt very uncomfortable. There was this little old lady sitting on the floor hand rolling inscense. Two men came from the back and started talking. Jinny's nose was having a hard time with the place so she had to get out. I didn't feel comfortable in there so I left with her.

Once outside I felt better, but the man that took us there wouldn't leave our sides. I asked him if we were safe there and he said yes. I told him he could go back in, but he wouldn't leave us. I really wanted to get out of there, but the rest of the group was still inside learning about massage oils and how this guy sells his wares in the US. Finally the group came out and we left. We took rickshaws back to the grocery store where three from our group decided to go back to the hotel. The rest of us went shopping some more. I went back to get my hand sewn garment, which had been completed. Then we asked the store owner to get us directions to a Subway restaurant. He called someone that spoke English who gave us directions. We took a rickshaw there and were so excited. We were laughing, joking and just really having a great time eating our Subway sandwiches. It was very similar to the US, but no beef of course. What a wonderful way to end the day.