There's a squirrel under the TV! I saw it scamper from the balcony, through my bedroom, into the living room, behind the sofa, and finally under the TV stand. It's a tiny thing, the size of a chipmunk, but it has a bushy tail, so I'm guessing the critter is some type of Indian squirrel. I'm definitely going to be more careful about picking stuff up off the floor of my room now that I know that squirrels are passing through...

What I really signed on to write though, is that tomorrow morning I'm headed on my first vacation from my vacation. My four-week, three-state tour: First I'm taking a bus to Mangalore, on the west coast of Karnataka. I'll spend a couple days there with my aunts and their kids, and their kids' kids, and then head to Udupi, where my cousin and her husband just built a new house. Next I'll head to Kasaragod, a small city on the Kerala coast, to spend a week at my dad's eldest brother's house. That big, old house is like a second home to me, because I've stayed there on every trip since I was a baby, and it was always my favorite place to visit. From Kasaragod I'll head out on small trips to relatives' homes in more rural areas where my mom and dad grew up. After making the rounds and seeing everyone, I'll go back to Mangalore and from there take a night train to Chennai, on the east coast of Tamil Nadu. A weekend in Chennai with more family and then finally back home to Bangalore...I'm sure I'll be snapping photos like crazy, so look out for more pictures soon. Happy holidays!