OK, it’s more like Misty Mountain Trudge for this flatlander at this point, but the work at least is hoppin’. People keep asking me if I’ll have time for fun while I’m in India, or if I have to work the whole time. This question is nonsensical–my work is fun. So far, research has consisted of:

• wandering around on the lookout for sheep and goats

• trekking up into the mountains and staying overnight at a herder’s dera

• sitting around on the gapshap chabutra (gossip bench) outside my institute’s dining hall, spinning on my drop spindle and chatting people up about wool

And that’s just the first week. So I can’t complain, really.