(Excerpt of goals below, edited. Also, accomplishments noted were written later. Those in italics I just added now.)
Sunbathe on the beach next to a cow-DONE.
Touch the Bay of Bengal-DONE.
Touch the Indian Ocean. -Couldn't happen, our later trip to Cochin, on the Indian Ocean, was canceled.
Ride an elephant-DONE. Not recorded in my journal, but happened in a temple in Kanchipuram on one of the very last days of the trip. The elephant tried to kidnap me. No kidding.
Have an elephant bless me with a tap on the head-DONE. In Pondicherry. And Kanchipuram to, I think? Oh yes, it did. And it got snot all over me. Elephant snot is not a pleasant thing.
Successfully wear a sari.-DONE. Yeah, not to Indian standards, but my American standards are close enough.
Avoid malaria/dengue fever/assorted nasty illnesses.-DONE.
Get killer muscles.-DONE.
Examine how I relate to others.-DONE.
Make amazing friends.-DONE.
Learn how to not judge others.-DONE.
Absorb and assimilate into the culture as much as I can.-DONE.
Become less sympathetic to cows. (???)
Watch/play/understand cricket.-From balcony of building. Yeah, questionable. Looking back, I can't tell you anything about cricket even though I watched it.
See a movie (Bollywood or otherwise).-Yes! Right before leaving India, we saw "Wanted," in Chennai. Then on the plane I actually saw a Bollywood film-Shaadi No. 1--amazing!
Understand major issues of international development.-DONE.
Learn about India's history.-DONE.
Get used to the food.-LOVE IT!
Not close myself off from experiences.-DONE.
Build a structure of meaning.-DONE.
Create meaningful relationships.-DONE.
Make a difference in a place I'll most likely never come back to.-DONE.
Learn more about Hinduism.-DONE.
Learn basic Tamil.-Define "basic"...
...to be continued. (Except I don't think it was.)
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