On Arrival and Hospitality

Quick log of things that have happened thus far:
Arrived- made it through the airport and spotted Tej amids a big crowd outside the airport...
His cousin and uncle came to pick me up despite the fact that it was 2 AM and then treated me to a meal despite the unreasonable hour. I ate. and ate... and then ate some more. I'm not even going to attempt to spell the names of all the food (I can barely even say/ remember all of them) but it was all incredibly flavorful and delicious- despite the fact that I could barely finish. (there is not a food here that is not well seasoned) After a much needed shower, (I spent 50 consecutive hours either in Airports or on planes) I slept and slept hard.
This morning I woke up slow, had a large and scrumptious lunch. Tej and I are headed to MIDS this afternoon to hopefully make first contact there... MIDS stands for the Madras Institute of Development Studies and will hopefully be a fruitful partner/ guide in our research... (http://www.mids.ac.in/aboutus.htm)

The most overwhelming/ striking thing thus far has been the gracious Hospitality of Teju's family- alluded to above in regards to my 2 am meal. Hospitality here seems to mean: kind welcome and food in large quantities... It is going to be a very good month here- these are kind and generous people.

I'm eager and excited to venture outside the house and begin our work here...