monkeypye

The mountains

2008-03-03T07:04:00.000-08:00

In case you were ever curous. here is a topo map of where we are. That's the Aglar River cutting through the map. We are south of that, on top of the ridge of the mountain, east of Mussoorie.
This is a shot of Steve's trip to Auli. This is the first route they tried to get to Bhandarath (sp?). That road proved unstable, so they headed down the alternatie route to Auli.

Where they got stuck in the snow. And rescued by the Indian Eskimo Unit.

But the views of Nanda Devi were worth it. And then later the tiger they saw in Corbett National Park!

BRRRRR

2008-02-02T21:52:00.000-08:00

My main squeeze turned 38 last week!!

Did you know that we have inherited a budgie? Her name is

Jezabel II.

The real snow out back.

Roxy and the Deodars.

Along the Chukkar.

Inside on snow day!

Roxana's giraffe beetle. These drawings are just a small part of these huge worlds that Roxy is creating with her dear ole dad. She's getting pretty good.

We knew it would get cold, and thankfully we are used to -30 temps for Jan and Feb, in a cooler than usual home in the valley. Here, there is a fuel shortage in the entire state. Since early January there have been propane shortages and power outages all over this area to say the least. The average temp is around 0 these days. Which isn't very cold. But the houses and buildings are made of cement, tin, or plastic. Our house is so stupid. It is nice, but I am almost embarrassed when I go into a locals home and see how small and efficient the rooms are. I'd say most homes are...about the size of our living room. Or even smaller. This place is massive.

Steve summed it up how ridiculous this cold is one day when he came to the school. He was stunned as every room he walked by there was a scene of students and teachers tightly packed around one small heater in any classroom. It is the same sight if you walk down the hall and peek through any window in each door, if they are lucky enough to have a heater! I go to school in my coat, hat, mitts and LJ's underneath my clothes, and do not undress until I get into bed...and even then sometimes I only take off my jacket. There have only been a few days that I have had goose bumps so big that my skin hurt all day long! Otherwise, I actually am warmish. We have a bakari (an iron cylinder that is our stove) that we use . The wood is scarce, but no one has a choice really, unless they want to freeze, since we are advised not to use heaters for most of the day as the generators can't supply the whole school. Ha. Hot water bottles are a dream. Get the picture? Still, it isn't as cold as home. But if you have this picture of us sitting in India sweating our butts off, you are mistaken!

This is finally what we awoke to today! Yay! SNOW. The girls are in heaven. They are making their own snowwomen, and trudging around all over. They do miss the snow, and who wouldn't. It makes no sense for it to be cold without snow. Sadly however, there is no such thing as a snow day, or a "Below zero in the classroom" day. Often we joke that in North America there would be a walk out by now. Staff and students protesting that the teaching and learning conditions are not suitable. Nope. I love it.

So here we are. Toastie beside a fire listening to Sarah Harmer and burning insence. Watching the girls play outside, and thinking of our little Tanya Cole. Somethings never change. Tanya died a year ago now. I think I am happy to say that she is in my heart, and I do not get sad for her not having lived longer. I mean, ya I wish she was still here every second I think of her, but I am more comfortable with the reality that she is gone. I think I know what I have taken from her. For example, I am definately not up for dealing with bullshit. I am sure she will come to me in waves.

Bday

2008-01-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

Hello again. We are back from a month away, with brown bodies. That will be another blog. I feel like I dread writing here when I know that a recent event has happened that entails editing many pictures, and lessens the spontaneity.

But today, it was Asha's 4th birthday. And that is deserved of an entry. Yesterday, Steve and Roxy went to Dehra Dun to pick up a pair of speedy bikes. When she woke this morning it was like xmas. She was so happy it was her birthday. She woke me and said..."Mom, I woke up happy today". That's a good thing. So out she went looking for her bike. Found it, and did laps around the house before I was out of bed. She recieved many presents in the mail! Thanks guys. Polly pockets, Littlest pet shops, barbie movies, and clothes, playdoh, and the best...chocolate. They were covered in tattoes and had a home made uniced chocolate cake for desert. Then played with the playdoh barber man for a while and hot the hay. Thanks for the emails! The phone is down...so no phone calls.

Anyway, school starts next week. It should be interesting. We are short three teachers in science. Don't ask me how one copes with this...or what we are doing next week...but it will all work out.

Anyway, time to sleep. Happy new year everyone.

Roxy girl

2007-12-03T05:34:00.000-08:00

First...little miss Asha

Starring...little miss Roxy.

So here is the latest update..a picture of Roxy without her two front teeth. Now she can sing...all I want for xmas is my two front teeth. haha. She lost the second one today accidentally as she fell on it in the computer lab. Poor Raveen. Although she said she didn't cry and it was hanging and she pulled it out. She also told us that today for show and tell, Asha showed the hole in her stockings, right on her bum. Funny girl.

Here is the view from our deck one morning this weekend.

Not much new yet! We have the last day of classes tomorrow!!! And then exams.

FINALLY!!

2007-11-18T20:50:00.001-08:00

I am in the staff lounge working on the computer and in comes Roxy with her teacher...Finally, the tooth is out! Her other two teeth are coming in behind and it looked so sore. We have been begging her to remove at least one all week. And Mrs. Cooke, the best teacher ever, convinced her to let her see and dry in...and pop, out it came. Now the top two are loose as well. Gross. I hope I am brave enough to take them out for her!! Pictures to come.

Takarna

2007-11-11T02:43:00.000-08:00

Village

2007-11-07T19:46:00.000-08:00

The best experience by far. A few weeks ago was activity week. I was with a grade 9 group (11 of them), Chris and Dale. The idea for this trip was to go into the villages in the valley behind Mussoorie and experience village life. The kids were awesome, Chris and Dale were awesome...it was a memorable trip. Unfortunately when I came back to school, I was mildly depressed. It would be amazing to learn and teach that way every week. But alas, here we are.

We spent a few days hiking .... long uphill hikes to temples on top of mountains and then down again to the Aglar river. Crystal Blue water, caverns and rocks. It was so nice to swim. The kids were pretty good considering manyof them had never slept in a tent let alone hiked more than the uphill climb from school. They were hysterical with giddiness and fatigue most of the time. Each evening we all went to a host family and did whatever they were doung, whcih usually meant pounding daal, or milking cows. Their houses are pretty neat, with little bits of garwhali wood and architecture accenting the walls and windows. It was very magical in a way, sitting on the ground in a courtyard with 5 women, and many children all beating daal until 8 pm. The lighting, sugar cane sweets, chai, laughter and blisters. It definately took a while for the woman to really get why we were there. They were timid at first and laughed at us. Slowly though they started to slap be with affection and gave me a squeeze whenever they walked by, often slipping me handful of peanuts.

I have to say that we had an amazing group of students with us. They were fearless of the children and gladly ventured alone into the village. Our village was clean and freindly. But after visiting the other nearby villages we saw that this was not really the case everywhere else. Still though, our kids would play cricket in fields of dung and feces. Gross. I know. But what do you do. You sort of have to get into it or sit there in complete disgust in the sweltering heat. They were troopers. And really only one of our villages was that bad.

Steve came out for a night with the kids. They loved it. Asha was sweeping the daal and helping with all of the chores (in between fits of tears) and Roxy watched with curiousity. All of the village women thought they were boys. ??? Must be the deep voices. But really everyone thought I was a boy until I was 16. Asha sang songs to the village children.

We spent a few days clearing Khali gas to see if the grass would come back, ploughed the fields and cut down Daal plants. We taught english and math to some school groups, and ate the most amazing food.

Oh there is so much to say...but I have to go.
Rahat leaves tomorrow. She is going to be very sad. The kids will be very sad too.

Today is the start of Diwali! So we are going into town to check out the festivities!!!!

It's almost there!

2007-11-05T05:34:00.001-08:00

No chance with the door. nor twisting. Bumping into things seems to work. Maybe we will have to organise that.

A frequent pose

2007-11-03T19:46:00.000-07:00

It seems that the amount of time I can spend retelling stories dwindles every week. I need a new approach. Rahat is here, which is so nice. She has spoiled us with beef jerky, white wine, chocilate, gifts from grandma Pat, hot cereal, helmets, olive oil, sesame oil, vitamins and so on. It is great. We are having a ton of fun. Hiking, and exploring. Tomorrow she is coming with mke on a field trip up Top Tibba to see a farm with the grade 12 class.

The past few weeks were excellent. Especially activity week where we went to a local village to learn about the real life in India. I will definately post more about this, but in the meantime, you can look at Jeanne's blog to get the picture.

Here are some photos that Roxy created on the computer. It is weirdly amazing how old I feel when I see her work away on the computer, saving and editing pieces using the paint program. SHe is getting good. As well, tooth number 2 is loose and hanging by a thread. You can see her new one coming in....but the babies are still hanging on.

2007-10-06T02:51:00.000-07:00

Ganga. It was clean and cold. We stayed on a camp on the rivers edge. Didn't raft this time, but definately will next time we go. For those of you coming over here to visit, it is a definate must and on the way to Mussoorie. It is called Himalayan River Runners. And they have an amazing retreat down the river as well. We had a very relaxing time. Swam, slept, ate and drank beer. I think all of us needed to swim. Here is our view down the river.

Some of the tents along the beach.

Hanging out by the water.

Daddy and the girls rock hopping.

Swimming

Before going to the Ganga, we were in Rishikesh, and Roxy learned to cross her eyes.

And discovered a scull. This is her finding the scull. At first we really thought...oh dear...a baby's head. But then after further investigation it revealed itself to be a monkey skull. We were exploring a monsoon river bed and also found its spine, fur and broken leg. It was clean as a whistle.

Roxy noted that it had lost the same tooth that she is losing. Any day now, we keep saying. I think it has been loose since March or something. Also, the girls learned that if you don't brush your teeth...you can still get coffee stains.

I almost took it. But my better half advised that since we didn't have a bag, and monkeys tend to be sacred, that it wouldn't look so good walking around with it. I still regret it. Saley would have loved to opened that in the mail one day. I should have scooped it. Maybe one day, it is now in a good hiding place.

The view from our tent.

And here we have our visit to Fun Valley water park. Apparently there is another "better" park called Food and Fun. But we ended up here. They checked my bathing suit at the door and said that it would not do. "It is my wish that you would please wear a swimming costume." I say, "no I am fine" The man says, "You do not know Indian men. It is for your own comfort". Well, that was a rude generalisation. Not all Indian men like to stare at women's legs. Especially mine! And who cares. Although, it would be really disrepectful if I didn't. I can understand that part. So I had no choice...I rented the suit and swam in style. There were about 5 others in the park!

And this is where they were. Dancing.

Steve cruised down one of these slides super fast.

Asha lurking in the wave pool.

The wave pool.

This weekend we are resting and enjoying the amazing weather. Roxana had an appointment at the hospital this morning to get a cortisone shot in her knee. It turns out the aneasthetist volunteering at the hospital is Canadian, grew up in Burlington, did a two week stint at Joseph Brant Hospital, and has lived overseas on and off since. Whew were we happy. She was put to sleep with the mask, and then given two shots in her knee. It is wrapped up like a cast fo two days, so hopefully this will work, and no more medicine. Other than that, no new news. Rahat comes in three weeks. Happy Thanksgiving!

Mint Mischief

2007-09-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

My favorite chips are Mint Mischief.

The past few weeks have been busy. Marks, report cards, fair weather day, two long hikes up two great local peaks (Top Tibba and Pepperpot mountain, Led Zepplin night, board meetings, Jackie thinking that Steve was gone missing for a day (more on that later), steve teaching art, an invitation to our first Hindu wedding (Oulmilla's daughter), a day trip to Kempty Falls, learning to cook again, a day in Dehradun at the doctor for Rox, and a week long cry. It's a wonder why they call me a teacher. Anyway, 10 pounds later, I am pretty wiped. I think that my body is craving red meat. I think of it all the time. Especially when I am yawning not stop. I must need more iron. I am having a great time...don't get me wrong...but I always feel exhausted. It must also have something to do with the lazy life I had at home. I don't think that I can live like that again. I was so fat.

Quarter break is next week. I think we are going to Rishikesh for a few nights and then take the girls to Fun Valley for a day. Check it out: http://www.thefunvalley.co.in/.

Rahat is coming on November 1st...I can't wait...and I think that Sara and Loo are booking tix to come in April.

Pictures to come. If you want more and a good laugh, check out Jeanne's blog. It's on the right menu.

2007-09-06T00:45:00.001-07:00

This week was the annual Woodstock cross country run. Which is really along the Tehri road through the campus. Roxana was definately NOT going to run. All week, she complained about her knee and worked as a helper for Mrs. Cooke while others practiced. Oh dear. Steve and I talked and talked to her about just running or even walking to complete the run. She wasn't into it. Asha on the other hand was full of excitement. She came pouncing onto our bed on Tuesday morning and announced "The race is tomorrow! I am going to win!". Mrs. Cooke told me later that she had been winning the races in practice. Just perfect for her ego. (The race by the way is about 50 meters long) So Wednesday came, and the race was scheduled for 10:30 am. Roxy 's knee had been feeling better all week and the swelling gone down.

Asha and Roxy and I had some practice races in the morning on the way to school. Roxy of course was pleased to be the winner, and Asha satisfied with second. It was looking more and more like Roxy was going to run. Race time came, and Steve was there. He took some pics of the event. So damn cute. Here they are...

Roxy won, Mohima in second and Ashie in third. the girls were very pleased with their performance and have spent the last two days in the best moods ever! Nothing like a little confidence booster, even if they are the biggest kids in the class! Roxana later confessed that she simply didn't want people to watch her. Wonder who she takes after!?

Flag Hill and Rajpur

2007-09-03T05:03:00.000-07:00

Hi there...this blog is taking acceptionally long to make. The picture part I haven't mastered yet. Anyway, here are some shots of the path from/to our house...again...

notice the sun...

Here I am, admiring the girls new artwork above their beds.

Here is Chris, who may or may not buy this Royal Enfield. Katie, this one is for you. Especially note the sari step in the next picture ...for comfortable riding.

This one is for all the kids out there who have been following the bugs. This caterpillar is about 4 inches long. And 3/4 inch thick.

creepy camo

Here is the latest house spider we caught in Maija's kitchen. They are so fast. The next one I caught was in our bedroom. Roxy had fallen asleep and there was "Heart", the girls fond name for it, right above her head. So I tried to catch her, but she lost a few legs. oops.
This one is Rover 4.

Roxy in the woods on Flag Hill

Flag Hill

Last week we went to Flag Hill for my Grade 11 and 12 classes. It was great: we sketched and listened to our local expert and good friend Darab tell us everything about the local fauna. There really isn't anything that grows that isn't of some use traditionally or even commercially. It's pretty amazing.

The first day we hiked it was clear as can be. We could see the white capped snow peaks beyond Bear Hill and Pepperpot. The next day was completely fogged over, but we had chai and the girls and Steve came along for the hike. I think overall that the kids were pretty happy to get outside of the class. It is so easy to organise the outings, so I hope to get out with them every other week.

On the way up.

Here comes the family!

"It's Mr. Pye!"

Blue Pine

Kyle lighting the stove.

Hike to Rajpur

Above is Jeanne hiking down. Below is ...well...not really sure. No one was brave enough to peek. I think its Jeanne resting.

This past weekend Steve went with a gang on a day long journey from the Tehri road all the way down down down almost to Dehra Dun. Some of the pics above are from Rajpur where the hike ended and a bus was taken back up to the school.

And last but not least...a new outfit! And crimped hair. You will notice that we bought a TV. I know I know. But I am excited for it to get hooked up. We do get the newspaper everyday, but I can't wait to be able to watch late night news and movies. Roxy's arthritis flared up in the monsoon. She is OK and it seems to be getting better. It is more than likely that it is just monsoon dampness. Asha is loud as can be. But I have to say, she is really growing up.

As of today, I have been here for exactly 6 weeks: in Mussoorie at school. I say I because Steve has had some excursions to Dehra Dun on his own. I suppose the kids have been in one spot alos...but that is besides the point. As the sixth week has approached and almost gone, I don't feel the six week sadness that I have been warned about per se. (Although I did cry after I spoke with mom and Rahat) but I do feel a tiny bit of cabin fever. It is so ironic since we are in the most beautiful countryside in India (I would argue). But even though the monsoon has its own beauty...it does grow tiresome. One more month I am told. Leaving Mussoorie and heading down the hill isn't even super interesting to me...because it means I would be in one big hot city, and that's no fun. So I am tempted to wait it out right here, and then once the monsoon goes I am going to hike all over the mountains. I have been spending the past month researching and looking at all the treks from here. Next summer, I think we will have to spend 6 weeks exploring more and the surrounding Himalaya up closer toward Tibet. Anyway, that took way more energy than I thought. I am sure youc an tell, I am not really into writing. Next time I wm only going to write when there is really something to talk about. As Tanya would say...

Love and Laughter!

2007-08-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

Some things never change. The girls in their bathing suits on the deck in the make shift pool. Which I might add there is a pool here. We have been and it is pretty cold, but great. We will be there more when monsoon ends. This is Oulmilla our Ayah. She is amazing. Feels weird to have one, but really nice. The girls love her although it took Asha a while. Now they tell her they love her all the time. My honey

My little honey on the back road to town. Notice the orange mustache. The little devil has discovered orange pop. Fanta. And she loves it. The view of the Landour bazaar from the back road.
A view along the Tehri Road, east from the school.

Another weekend done. We had a quiet one and found ourselves reading travel books and other books...books books books. This morning we went up to Char Tucan (again, wrong spelling) along the Eyebrow Path, which is so beautiful. A little scant of a path in spots as it drops down many meters to the valley below. But you just have to be careful. Asha mentioned something bothering her foot, and behold..her first leech. She was good about it and I just picked it off. No blood this time. Of course I forgot my camera and this is the best walk for pictures. Next weekend. We met up with all the church going folk, students and staff. Of course to my embarrassment, Roxy's friend asked why we were not in church and she piped "We don't go to church. We don't believe in God." Oh dear... Steve looked at me and said "Well it's true". One day she can make up her own mind. It is not often that I find myself a minority in this respect. But today I did. We had an great lunch and walk in the jungle on top of the mountain ridge with our friends Radha, Lorenz and their kids Josef and Aloisa. We spent the afternoon reading and hanging out. Ben and Chris came home from Rishikesh and shared some stories, Chris stayed for dinner. Going to mark some tests and get some rest. New week tomorrow. Here are some pics from the weekend. Promise to get better ones in the coming weeks.

2007-08-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

Seems I am living week by week these days. Although, the weeks tend to melt in with the weekends. School so far has been great. The kids are awesome. I love every bit of them. They are friendly, interesting and smart. Today, I was delighted when one of my grade 12 students said "hey Chocolate Pye". Awesome. They actually know that I am brown. At home, I am used to more profane or maybe just perverted associations with the name Pye (all endearing of course), so this one is great. Lorenz told me that there is a treat here called Chocopie, which is the name he has heard. Love it. Another grade 9 student called me Ms. Jackie...which I sort of like. But was followed by a class full of giggles.

Tonight we went for dinner at the dorms with the Grade 9's and 12's. Take out for 150 people or more. The girls had fun and ran around with a student Jaza. Another student begged me to show her Mr. Pye. Ha. So I had to explain to her why I hadn't changed my name. No one seems to have problem with it. They love Chocopie. Anyway, after dinner we hopped on the scooter and headed up the hill. Foggy and rainy.

Roxy is loving Ramona the Pest at night, so we read for a long time. Asha can now sit and listen without the pictures. The girls are great. Roxy has a wee bit of a sore knee, but we are managing it. Gives me an excuse to massage and cuddle her for hours. She is loving school too, great teacher and friends. Only two other kids in her grade, so she gets exactly what she craves. She said the other night "we are so lucky to be here. It is so cool that we live in the clouds. I wish that Ava and Emma could come".

Everyone went to Rishikesh this weekend. We are staying behind to hang out and play. Seems a little quieter, but that is OK. Our friend Neeraj lost his mother yesterday to cancer. A sad thing. They are a very tight family and no doubt will be thinking of her as they sit on the Ganga this weekend. Speaking of which, I found Tanya's necklace in the bazaar. A friend told me where she saw one, she has a ring like it, so I am going to go and get it tomorrow. I miss her. sigh.

Steve has "mastered" the climb and drop through the bazaar on the scooter. Now he has to practice with all four of us on it. And I suppose I should get my ass out there and learn to drive it too. It is very handy. Especially because now it only take a total of 15 minutes to go and get beer and come home. Great luxury in the mountains. The new beer of choice is "Flying Fox. From the Great Himalayas." It is brewed in Dehra Dun just down the mountain.

So we are going to Goa for 3 weeks at xmas. I booked the ticket already. I was so worried that I would miss out on cheap flights that I just snagged the earliest one. I always get burned by these things, so...why not. May as well do it. We will never regret three weeks on a beach. And travelling in that area will be fun. Next summer maybe Leh, and then maybe next xmas in Thailand.

It is hard to believe that school starts in Canada in a week or so. I feel like my summer has been on hold. After monsoon I am going to relish every bit of sunlight that burns my cheeks for the next few months. The thought of it cooling at home makes me shiver. I won't miss it a bit. Even now when the clouds are gone for a minute, it is so hot. By October it will be perfect. But the summer is over I guess. I am glad I am not thinking that way. I always dreaded the summer being over.

Sorry that this is a pretty chppy and unintellectual post. That is what they will all probably be like. I read other people's blogs and think...nope...mine will never be like that. But I do love reading them. More later this weekend. And I think the phone is not working...I have been trying to get a line out for days...I should do something about that!

The "shy" spiders.

2007-08-19T04:56:00.000-07:00

I stole this from my friend Jeanne's web site. She calls him Rover2. These suckers are about 4 inches diameter. I wish I could say I wasn't scared of them. But when you are about to turn the lights out, and spot him on the wall beside the bed, and it flashes behind the bedside table...or you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and there it is, on the wall right in front of you. It is just the amazing speed at which they travel. blahhhh. Maybe Rover3 is at our place living in the door frame. And young Rover4.

The Market on Sunday

2007-08-19T04:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some new pics from today. The girls love their new Salwar Kameez's. The most comfortable outfit in the world. And for the big whopping price of a buck fifty.

Not very focused, but here is Steve heading out down the path off our front deck. He picks us up down the hill. The path gets a little narrow a ways ahead.

The walk down into Landour bazaar, before the gate to the main bazaar of Mussoorie, Kuhlri.

Islaam from Inam taylor's; Stevie's taylor.

An old building in Landour.

The start of the bazaar in Mussoorie. See Stevie and Asha?

At Kahlsang's, enjoying banana lassi's!

The walk home from Mussoorie. See Stevie and Roxy?

Beautiful sky the other day. Hopefully we will have more of these coming!

Growth on the trees.

A new bug from Roxy's collection. She is determined. Goes out most days and instead of catching them, she has wisely decided to take a shot of each. Which she will be sharing with you.

We just returned from a trip into the market. Usually we go on either Saturday or Sunday. Yesterday we went to a really great spot for lunch with Chris, Radha, Lorenz and their two kids Josef and Aloise. It was a great walk up to Sister's bazaar which is about three stores on top of the mountain peak. The walk continues around the backside and we ended up in Char Tu Kan...which I have completely spelled wrong... and means "four stores". Here there is a great place to eat. Which we did, in the company of the Prakash's and a few others. I had an omelete on a bun, and chai. The girls cheese toasties and french fries, and steve a veggie toastie. The cheese here is amazing. Way better than home, and everything is cooked with a little chili. Yum.
So back to today. We all piled on the scooter and headed for the top of the bazaar. It was fun riding in, and after we parked we walked down in search of books, wall hangings, lunch, bananas, and some toys: a plastic bird, beautiful kashmiri eggs, and plastic babies (oh yes, my favorite).

Independence Day

2007-08-15T02:08:00.000-07:00

The walk up to the high school and the assembly.

Today was a holiday for everyone. Secretly I felt really special while listening to the speaches about people who fought peacefully for the independence that was gained 60 years ago. My grandpa Hatim Darbar was a true freedom fighter. I have always been told this...but since I have read articles in the papers here about freedom fighters and more of my articles about Grandpa...I realise that he more than qualifies. Apparantly there are people who are trying to claim freedom fighter status for no more than "hooligan" behaviour ... but I think three times in jail, many Lathi beatings, and a dedication to his Muslim Brotherhood as well as the secretariate in Bombay during this fight, made Grandpa a true freedom fighter. In his file there are many letters from heads of state including Nehru. hmmmm. Can I capitalise on this in anyway? Beside just an mildly inflated sense of Indian patriotism, can I please have a passport? I am super keen to learn more about his life here when I get all of his article translated into english. the Hindi teacher here said that he would be happy to help me.

Roxy and Asha's teacher Mrs. Cooke. Her son Tristen is Asha's new "boyfriend". It is clear that she will have her way with the boys. You see how happy she is. Pathetic.

I wore a sari for the first time, and Steve a Kurta pyjama. So comfy. Everyone was in traditional garb, and as today was also the Korean day for independence, many here were dressed alike. The Korean suits are so beautiful. Others included Nepalese, Tibetan, and Bhutanese. We met in the school auditorium for flag raising, a tribute, some singing and the national anthem "Jana Gana Mana". There was this little boy playing table (I think he was 10 or so) so impressive. Anyway, the food began at 11 am, but I had to wait a little later with the high school kids so that the food area wasn't overwhelmed. There was a small dance in the auditorium instead. This was hilarious. The kids looove to dance and love to ham up the Bollywood thing courting girls and girating around. It was fun. Way better than a dance at home...with all the homies and naked girls. Although I felt naked in a way...but it was a good naked. Looks like I will have to adopt a different dancing style. All of you Indians at home, you would be so proud.

The food was so good. I can't remember the name of some, but there was chana masala, butter chicken, yummy potato dosas, rais malai, the best chai ever in mudka cups, naan and more. Eat eat eat, for about 2 hours. All the kids just go off here..the little ones...and play in the playground. It is great. No more supervised playground time, helmets, seatbelts, or hand holding (except up the hill maybe). The girls definately have more independence here. And since there has been work going on outside for a month now, and monsoon leaches, they get a little bored up here in our house with no play area. So when we get to the school they run wild. And so do all of the kids. It really is misty in these pics. Most times it is very hazy.

We are trying to decide where to go for xmas. Thinking Goa will be it. So we are in the beginning stages of planning. We have vacation from the middle of December to the middle of January. Any of you who are thinking of making a trip this way... better speak up now....
Roxy walking to our house up the path.

So back to classes tomorrow. I am really liking it. Although it is such a long day for me. I have been living a very cushy lifestyle up there in Collingwood. Now I have to get up at 6 to get the girls all dressed and ready for the walk, with rain gear in case of torrential downpour, get them to class and start my day at 8:30. Classes here then end at 4:10. We have tea break two times in the day for 15 minutes, once at 10:30 and then again after school. My teeth are staining. Then you prep, or in my case I go home to see what Oulmilla has cooked up and see the kids and Steve. So I prep later at night. I am teaching environmental science 11 and 12 which is awesome and we get outside alot once the monsoon stops. Also biology grade 9, which is a snap, and very fun. The school has an amazing library of bottled specimens. It is a true museum of dead things from about 30 years ago. Must be at least that old. Especially since there is a bottled human baby. Four in fact. But the biggest ones have been thoughtfully put away so that the children don't freak. and the staff. I will post a picture of little child that is missing half of its poor head. I don't know how they got it...but they have it. There is definately no question of ethics here...at home I would have a tirade of children lobbying for animal rights, and demanding that they have an alternative to viewing these things. Imagine if schools at home had bottled babies. No. I can't. Fetal pigs are where I draw the line. Only a few kids here shuttered when I placed a flying lizard on their desk. Few opened the bottles of other dead things and took a sniff. They won't do that again.

Asha and I looking down from the path to our house.

We were out for dinner tonight at Neeraj and Maija's. Was very fun. The girls ran around with Nayan their new friend and hunted for salamanders. Lots of people came by, we chatted and watched the clouds roll over us.

Back to school tomorrow.

Oh ya, Steve opted out of the motorbike for a scooter. A real family man he is. So now all four of us can take off into the hills.

2007-08-10T10:03:00.001-07:00

Today we went on an adventure into the Bazaar for dinner at the Tavern. The walk is worth it. Delicious butter chicken, biryani and Kingfisher. Yum. The girls were pretty excited to go out and we promised them that they could check out the well known "man" powered ferris wheel at Picture Palace. For 20 rupees a pop, we plopped the girls down on a rickety chair with a thin post, chin high, across the front of the seat. We were warned that it was not a good idea for the kids...but away they went. The man climbed up onto the metal girders that held the thing together and began to push, slowly at first, and then eventually into a swift run. Much like a mouse in a wheel. Pretty funny sight. Roxy was straight faced at first, Asha beaming. In minutes they were gripping hands and whipping around and around. They were having a blast, and brilliantly staying put in their seats. I really can't believe how fast they were going. I had to walk away near the end, couldn't watch. A wall of women bystanders watched with their hands over their mouths. Only one other 13 or so year old boy was on the ride. The man finally called it quits and slowed the wheel down. The girls ran off, demanding to go again. Of course we were surrounded by the night time crowd of Indian tourists who were congratulating the kids for a ride well done. Ya done made it out alive! The walk home was great. Typically Indian, with night life buzzing, and tourists pinching the girls cheeks. Now its time for bed!