Imphal

After landing at the Imphal airport we took a taxi to Churachandpur and we stayed at the Hotel Venus which was more like a guest house. We had four rooms and because it was so cool at night, I used both of the thick blankets that were in my room. We took a trip out to Sagang which is a small village where we were involved with a blessing ceremony and reception for Hrutching and his wife. On the way we stopped to observe the harvesting of rice which was happening right beside the highway. At the reception the groom had hired a cook especially for the food for the Canadian visitors and it was HOT. They had cooked up food for all of the people who came to the reception and they ate just outside. They also gave us a gift of a traditional shawl for the men and a traditional shawl and a skirt (phanek) for the ladies. After leaving the village we went back to Churachandpur to the Venus Hotel and the next day we left by taxi for Imphal. When we arrived we discovered that they only had two rooms for us so I volunteered to accept Shyam's offer to stay at his place. I also got to ride on a Shashi's motor scooter (he is one of the teachers at Brighter Academy). Shyam took the rest in his car along with my suitcase. When we got there, they had prepared a presentation of a program of dance/exercise that they had been practicing for three months and had already competed and won a local competition. (If they win in the district, they will go on to a national competition.