My time in India was supposed to be coming to an end next Friday, but as of today, I am officially staying two extra months! After a week of visiting the police station nearly every day, my passport came back today with the Commissioner's approval to stay through March 31. For a while, we were scared that it wouldn't work because of the political situation between India and America, but after a newly written letter that said nothing of the NGO, just that we wanted to stay for Holi, the color holiday, it got approved! I have never been more excited and my plans for 2014 are getting better and better.
I am staying at Tender Heart through the 31st like I originally planned, then taking a week to travel up to Amritsar and around there or down to Udaipur before coming back for the wedding of the slum teachers' brother. Then I'll head East to Darjeeling and hopefully into Nepal if my visa allows for it. I'll come back to Delhi for Holi on the 17 of March before jetting over to Paris on the 18th.
From Paris, I am spending ten days traveling around Europe with my good friend Liz- either starting in Ireland or Germany before meeting up with Heather in Paris for the weekend. From there we will go to Spain and Portugal before heading home on the 28th. Mini Eurotrip for the win. While Liz flies home, I will fly to New York to spend a week or two in New York and Philadelphia visiting my grandma and extended family.
This puts me back in Ohio around the second or third week of April. I am so lucky to have had this experience, and I can;t wait to continue my journey