After adding some comfort on the problems of getting around India, we finished up seeing Rajasthan on a good note and ended up being more impressed by a village and the hard work of one woman than all the palaces and forts we visited.

Having a personal car and driver to tour Jaipur, Jodpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur was really nice. We stayed in some wonderful old palaces which had been either partially or completely converted into hotels. Sort of like a bed and breakfast with a maharaja!

The cities were filled with the usual Indian assortment of cows, dust, dirt and people. Each of these cities had forts and palaces on hilltops, great for viewing the countryside and watching for invading armies.

One highlight was taking a short camel ride out into the Thar Desert to see the sunset. The downside was all the wrangling we had to do to negotiate the price!

After we left our driver/guide in Udaipur, we were able to meet up with a wonderful Servas host and hostess, Raj and her husband. Raj, who is a doctor of social work, has spent most of her life helping people, either as a social worker, professor, or in the role we saw her in, helping tribal people in villages outside of Udaipur. To be honest, I don't think I can do justice to the work that Raj does through her non-profit called Sanjhi, or the people and places that we saw on our day trip with her.

The three of us took a local bus outside of Udaipur to the Barodia Village. The village is home to about 200 families of the Bihil and Gameti tribes. The village had a small school, several dirt roads and a series of houses constructed of concrete, mud and brick. Most had thatched roofs. The village is extremely poor and the people are in great need for food, medicine and stable employment. Electricity serves most houses, and families have access to water from several wells within the village. Most homes contained a small dirt courtyard where goats and chickens lived. Cows roamed freely.

On the day that we visited, the children in school displayed knitting projects, new pens and small chalkboards that were donated by Sanjhi. Children have meals at school of rice or beans. Although we were quite a distraction, none of the children seemed to suffer from any attention problems while learning in such a simple environment. Kids are rewarded when attending class regularly by teachers, for example providing buckets and soap for sanitation, or shoes and other clothes. Although basic, these supplies help everyone in the family. Imagine encouraging students in the US by telling them if they go to class they'll get soap and a plastic bucket. We also saw nothing but smiles on the faces of these kids. It was a visit that we won't soon forget.

We were put into service also, Matt took photos of all the kids and even did a little juggling for them--a huge hit! Robin took notes and wrote a short story for Raj to distribute to Sanjhi donors.

Again, internet is touchy here, so no photos!