While I was getting better at Sariska Game Reserve, my wife and son flew to India to meet me. While there, Dan took Griffin, my eight year old, down to meet the local kids. We had made friends with a number of the children due to our long stay in the area. Most tourists visit for a day or two. Dan introduced Griffin to the kids. He also introduced my American son to India's sporting passion -- cricket. While most Americans aren't familiar with the game of cricket, Indians are devoted to the game. It is the baseball, basketball, and football of India. Every village seems to have one empty field where the children collect to play this game in the evening. Men leave their jobs to watch a cricket match on televison. Others save and save to attend a live cricket match. Some of these games go on for three days, eclipsing the long innings of baseball by days.  

During Griffin's stay, I saw the universal language of play. Dan introduced a modified version of cricket to the village kids. Then he taught Griffin the rules. Dan is a bit of a hero to the children. He had bonded with a youngster by the name of Ravindra. Ravindra is a bright, polite, and helpful contact, so we bought him a new cricket bat, ball, and stumps. Previously, the kids would pool all their rupees for a year to buy a new bat for the village. The one they had when we arrived was a much-repaired piece of wood. The ball was ripped. The stumps consisted of some sticks. Their new equipment would improve their game playing. Soon Griffin was running, batting, leaping, and laughing with the other kids who all spoke Hindi while he is an English speaker. But they understood each other.

Griffin also had a chance to go look for tigers with us, ride one of our camels, Sam, and visit a fort on an elephant. Travel is great way for kids to get a real-life adventure education.

Next, injuries force us to make some hard decisions about our trip.