puke and rally in Dehradun

Things have been moving along nicely at Woodstock. My schedule is almost complete. It is hardly ideal. At WS they run on 7-day-cycles. Most of the kids have PE 3 days/cycle. How the schedule is working out is leaving me with teaching some of those kids once/cycle. It is going to be incredibly difficult to learn names, assess, and just run a smooth unit with this kind of infrequency. So life goes on.

Last night was a social mixer for the younger staff. It was a good time. There was some dancing but mostly segregation of new staff and old staff. I'm sure as time progresses, they will let us in the exclusive circle. It was my first time drinking in India, and my first time hearing Lady Gaga-success.

This morning we headed to Dehradun to do some shopping to furnish our home. The school provides most basic things but takes most of it back in two months. This means buying everything from forks to bedding. I brought some of my favorite things, so I wasn't in too much of tough spot. I did buy a rug and some other miscellaneous decorative items. My main purchase last weekend was a washer/dryer. I just felt like there was no way I was sending my under armour gear to a dhobi to beat it on rocks and wait weeks for it to dry in the monsoon. No thank you.

So today meant more spending of money that should be saved for things like traveling or groceries. I also bought a couple kurtas from an Indian shop that I would compare to an H&M mixed with an Urban Outfitter. We got stuck in some severe traffic that resulted in us having to turn around in the middle of the road. We also got hit by a moped, but the real adventure was the drive down.

The drive from Mussoorie is about 30 km, and it declines about a mile in elevation. No big deal. Well, I had planned on taking some motion sickness pills before I left because I had been warned about the drive down being much worse than the drive up. I was fine on the way up, but I figured I should be prepared. Of course I forgot in the cluster of a breakfast of pancakes with ice cream and scrambled eggs with cheeeese. Well, shortly into the drive I realize my mistake. I was sitting in the far back with one of those seats that faces in, not forward. I started to feel a little woozy, but I thought I'd over power it...

I spent about 40 minutes focusing on not throwing up in the taxi. Once we got to our first stop I got out to get some air. I felt like throwing up more than ever before. After the banking crowd returned, Lindsay offered to go inside to the bathroom with me because I must of looked like I needed to throw up. We found our way through a bank full of Indian men to the bathroom. Indian bathrooms are not as clean as I'd like for throwing up, but you do what you gotta do. I managed to throw up my ice cream and pancakes, and of course, there's no toilet paper or paper towels or anything. It was a situation to say the least. I rinsed my face and mouth as best as I could without ingesting the bacteria-filled water of India. I used my dress to dry off. Then Lindsay came to the rescue with bottled water and gum. The rest of the ride was fantastic.

throw up in a bank in India: check

Indian Updates

Living life on a mountain in India certainly has its perks. While my salary is worse than working part-time at McDonald's in the states, it does allow me to live a fine life in India. We're currently in the process of hiring an ayah-someone to clean our house/possibly cook for us. This will cost me about $10 a month. I know, do I really need someone to clean up after me and cook my dinner? Of course not, but if this opportunity came in the states, it'd be hard to pass up. They encourage us to embrace the culture, so why not have someone do my dishes?

Another perk is the ability to have everything delivered to our door for about 50 cents or free! Just a bit ago, Katie and I ordered some groceries from the local grocer. Within 45 minutes we were feasting on ice cream with cookies and bananas. We even ordered some cheddar cheese, which was the most expensive thing on the list.

It's not all gumdrops and lollipops though. I do have to hike up 1000 ft to get to school. I have to make sure I don't get attacked by monkeys on my way. I also have to make sure my clothes and blankets don't get moldy from the monsoon.

India is full of surprises. I never imagined that I'd be eating ice cream and cookies that just got delivered. I also never imagined that I'd be teaching at the junior school (elementary). When I was hired, I was hired for middle school pe and health. Now as it turns out, I will be teaching no health, mostly junior school, and some senior school. It's India. You gotta roll with the punches.

I'm full of feelings of disappointment, excitement, and some sadness. I did go on my first run today to ease the pain. Ingrid and I got caught in a cloud and decided running on the road was no longer safe and headed back. As mentioned, the roads are crazy, but sometimes, I think they just get as close to hitting us as they can just to freak us out.

Congrats. I'm officially freaked out.

Monsooning

I've finally made it to Mussoorie and am slowly adjusting to this monsoon business. The first couple days I was calling the monsoon bluff because it was raining sure but never enough to rain on my parade. Today however... Since it's Saturday, we've been given a day of freedom. I woke up around seven and finished the book I was reading before getting out of bed. This whole time I was thinking, I should go read out on our terrace. I of course don't and by the time I get out of my bed, it's raining cats and dogs with no signs of stopping. What an ideal time to start raining when we had all these plans of heading to the bazaar to do shopping.

My badger loving friend Katie and I moved into Midland Duplex. It's right by the girl dorms, which isn't ideal. It's also about 1000 ft vertical climb to the school. The perks however, are quite nice. It's a 3-4 bedroom house with one bathroom, a dining room, and a spacious living room. Originally, it was just me and Katie, but we invited Rebecca to join us after her living situation was less than fitting. So now it's me-PE and two art teachers living next to a couple other American girls who have yet to return from their break. I foresee a lot of fun to be had.

Our first night here was an adventure of the sorts. Upon arrival we were given buddies to help us adjust and figure out life at altitude. Our buddy gave us some general directions to his home where we were supposed to join him and a few others for dinner. After a little nap, Katie and I headed in a daze of sorts in the direction we thought was correct. After lots of doubt and hesitation we turned around and threw in the towel. Upon returning, we checked out a map and realized we had taken the wrong road to start with. Now let me remind you, we are still trying to come over jet lag, figure out how to walk up 1000ft without passing out, navigate trails, adjust to the water and food, and making sure we don't get attacked by any monkeys-it's not like we just walked a couple blocks and gave up.

Last night, we were rewarded for our sorrows and misery with an invitation to Rebecca's buddy's home. They were a lovely Aussie couple with two kids. We had some Indian wine and dined to some delicious food that was a mix of American, Thai, and Indian. Then for dessert we had pineapple upside down cake. Delicious. The kindness shown to us by the returning staff has been life saving for sure.

Things I never expected living in the mountains of India
-Falling asleep to the sounds of dogs barking and cars honking... really? Dogs are abundant in this area, but we are encouraged not to pet them. The care honking is due to people driving up the mountain and warning whatever may be right around the curve: animal, pedestrian, or car.
-Eating corn flakes. When we got to our house, it was furbished with various things and a few staple groceries: corn flakes being one of them.
-Most things being in English. Thank god, I can't imagine what cornflakes would look like written in Hindi.
-Being able to teach in the coolest gym I have ever seen-Pictures coming soon. There's a rock wall, squash court, weight room, and a space reserved for some gymnastics. For real.

Welcome to India

I arrived at the Dehli International Airport on the 19th around 4 pm. After my new best friend Katie (proud Badger from Mt. Horeb, WI) and I collected our luggage, we cruised by what seemed to be an optional customs line. We were quickly greeted by two Woodstock School employees. Then our driver picked us up on the curb, and we headed to our hotel-The Centaur, which was within walking distance of the airport.

The five-star hotel we are staying at has a pool with no water. There are approximately 10 light switches in our room, but we still struggle to figure out how to turn the bathroom light on. We also had a toilet flushing situation within minutes of our arrival-push in, not up or down. We dined at the hotel's Chinese restaurant last night, which tasted very much like American Chinese.

This morning we headed to Dehli and Old Dehli. Due to "Indian Stretchable Time" we managed to the leave the hotel around 11 this morning. The drive up was truly an Indian experience. If there are lanes, no one uses them. I saw one person use their blinker, and everyone else uses their horn. Later in the day, I got to experience crossing a street without a crosswalk and encounter cars that run red lights just for fun. Once I reached the other side, I quickly remembered that motorcycles and rickshaws drive on the sidewalk when necessary. I almost got hit twice before I realized my mistake.

We toured the Red Fort, attempted to see the National Museum, and had lunch at Karim's-listed as one of the best restaurants in India by Time magazine. It was hot, the streets were packed, and everyone stared at us. I didn't make any purchases yet because I am too much of a newbie to attempt, and I'm not sure what I want to buy.

Tomorrow our bus is departing from the hotel around 5 am to take the train to Dehra Dun. Then we take a bus to Mussoorie. We found out that Katie and I will be roommates once we get there, which is exciting because we can Badger the place up.

I'm feeling dehydrated and sleepy, but I can't wait to get to Mussoorie!