kedar kantha.

We just finished activity week, a week in which there are no classes at all, and each grade goes on an adventure; I went with a group of grade tens deep into the hills on a trek to Kedar Kantha. There were 16 students, and 4 chaperones all together coming from ten different countries: Thailand, India, Bhutan, Nepal, America, Canada, Vietnam, Korea, Japan and Sri Lanka. We drove around 8 hours, following the Yamuna River, to the trailhead in Sankri, and trekked for six straight days, summiting the mountain (12,500 ft) on the third. The entire trip was marvelous, injuries were minor, a snow leopard was spotted, the scenery was breathtaking, weather was perfect (a bit cold), the students were crazy and the conversation was good.

The entire gang in front of the top of Kedar Kantha

Mike (group leader) and I at 11,600 ft.

We had mules tag along to help carry the load..thankfully!

While camping in a foot of snow, and trying to keep myself warm and fall asleep, I woke to ‘uh, Ms. Shriver, we have a problem….Bidushi puked in the ten’ the scene the ensued seemed to be straight out of a movie, I stomped the sleeping mat and bag onto the snow in an attempt to freeze off the barf while the other girls in the tent gagged. As a solution to their gagging, we had them put ‘move’ cream (basically icyhot) on their upper lips (turns out their faces went a little numb for the rest of the night). The next morning I found out that Bidushi had Pringles that she didn’t even think to offer her puke savior…I was not happy…

Top of the peak
Tenzing, our guide, giving us a geography lesson

pulling out all the stops to keep warm and dry

Back into the treeline

I was able to do a lot of contemplating and thinking as well as journaling and came back to school refreshed and ready to go. We returned to school for a shortened week; this Friday is Diwali, the most important Indian festival of the year, so it has been an easy return back into the swing of things.

One of the boys, Goltaj, found these and was so pumped that they came all the way back to Woodstock with us...

making haste.

Last week Thursday, we did not have classes in honor of sports day- a big event in which all the students race in track events Walking onto the field, I was one hundred percent sure I would look up to see a full on game of quidditch taking place (sadly it never happened) the houses were split into sections, each proudly wearing their color and saluting their house flag with more enthusiasm than is comprehendible. The day was filled with sun and fun- feeling awfully similar to an afternoon at the beach. It was a big day in the life of Emily Shriver because I earned my first track medal. Ever. Sadly, Lauren Terry did leave me in the dust but I’m blaming it on the fact that she was a track star in COLLEGE while I spent my days being unphysical and reading books in the library…

Eagles in blue

These guys were really concerned about the outcomes of the races...

Sang Hyun and Daryl and a suspiciously high number of medals

Sorab and Lae

experts.

Samiha, Shiny, Akansha and Stuti

ooooh yea.
The team with the most spirit won a ridiculously large chocolate cake. like Hagrid style large...it was delicious

Because we are graced with the presence of Paul and all his yoga teaching glory, we decided to have a sunset yoga session and campout on flag hill. It was a great session and wonderful to really embody mountain pose. We woke up at 530 to watch the sunrise and the peaks turn purple- as of now, the snow-capped peaks are mostly visible in the early morning and at dusk. Pictures do not do this view justice…in fact, they don’t even come close.



Sunday morning at 7am I leave to take a group of 18 tenth graders on a trek to Kedar Kantha for a full 7 days. In preparation for the upcoming activity week, those going on treks met Saturday morning at Hanifl, the outdoor education center, to check their gear, cover the basics and pick up tents. Here is Darab teaching the proper way to pack a backpack

miscommunication.

It all began with our ride to Haridwar. Our plan was to go from Woodstock to Haridwar, then take the overnight train to Jaipur, where we would spend a very full, very touristy filled weekend and then return on yet another overnight train, arriving back to school with one hour left to spare before the start of parent teacher conferences. We should have known this was a bad idea right from the start, but that would be admitting defeat. We were able to score a free ride from Arjun- a parent of one of Lauren’s students who offered the use of his car and driver and even packed us snacks for our journey. We painlessly arrived in the city and were dropped at the train station with plenty of time to make our train...
Prime example of why it is of utmost importance that I learn more Hindi. After pushing our way through crowds of Indians and talking with someone at the ticket booth, we learned we were to go to platform 9 for our train. We sat and sat, made friends with locals who were camping out there for the night, oblivious to the fact that well, there was only one train in the entire station and it was at platform 6. 8:00, the scheduled time of departure, came and went, and the train at platform 6 left but ours still wasn’t there- what was the deal? As the train pulled away a man came up and spoke adamantly in Hindi, which we don’t speak, then finally he gave up and left. We joked that he probably told us we needed to run if we wanted to not miss our train; turns out yup, he was.

Haridwar was very interesting because it is one of Hinduism’s holiest cities. The Mother Ganges flows through and pilgrims arrive in droves to bathe in the holy water. We spent much of our time meandering through the streets, watching the eclectic mix of the locals and the pilgrims. Haridwar is much less touristy than Rishikesh and we were the only white people in miles.

Superb bus system- Haridwar to Dehradun (1.5 hours) is approximately 80 cents

Rishikesh, made famous by The Beatles, and also known as the ‘Yoga Capital of the World’, was a total trip. The entire city has a serene aura of connectivity and calmness that I have never experienced before. It’s a large backpacking hang out; prices are ridiculously cheap and there is a ton going on. Ashrams, yoga and mediation classes are found around every corner, Sadhus (spiritual men) are scattered throughout the city and beaches, and the food and social scenes were great- it was really good to see and interact with other 20-30 year olds who are out exploring the world. We took the bus from Rishikesh to Dehradun feeling 100 percent revived.

Rishikesh

Embodiment of our Rishikesh stay

In Dehradun, we stopped at our usual places of interest, but also had the chance to stop at KKM- a leoprasy mission and home in the heart of Dehradun. It was absolutely fascinating. It is a place for those labeled by society as ‘lepers’ and not able to find work anywhere else due to the attached stigma, to find a sense of belonging. It provides its workers with homes, food, and jobs in the form of spinning, weaving, or tailoring, all on the premise of the mission. These women and men were really excited to interact with us, despite the language barriers. They carry with them a deep sense of understanding of the way the world works, and are surprisingly optimistic and carefree.

spotless

Two days of sun. 48 incredible hours. Everyone is asking the same question; is monsoon really over? I’m afraid I cannot answer that, however, Mother Nature is definitely showing signs pointing in that direction, brown ferns are everywhere, red berries are beginning to sprout on plants and the train tracks are re-opening. With the feeling of approaching spring, I have found myself incredibly optimistic, throwing all seasonal depression to the wind, feeling revived and renewed, ready to dry out and start again.

I have no idea where the past two and a half months have gone; quarter break begins this Friday meaning students have the chance to go home if they live close, attend the common wealth games in Delhi, go rafting in Rishikesh, paragliding in Dharamsala, hiking throughout Uttarakhand or just bum around the dorms and relax. Lauren, Noel and I are fleeing to Haridwar the moment school lets out and journeying to Jaipur via the overnight sleeper (it is very probable that it is the train ride I am most looking forward to). It is nice to have a change of pace in the future soon, although with the recent sun it seems as if Mussoorie is a completely different place, I can finally get out and explore these hills I have been living in.


Sunday Lauren and I took a hike up Witches Hill, a fairly easy half a day hike away. On our way we ran into a group of village kids playing a very organized game of cricket, in fact, they were pretty upset we interrupted their game. Despite the extreme communication barrier, we were able to learn a bit about the game of cricket and make some new friends.





Turns out, these kids definitely knew the English word ‘monkey’ after saying ‘you guys are like monkeys’ ten of them jumped onto the same branch above concrete bleachers. I was almost the cause of numerous deaths and injuries.


We also passed through the local dhobi ghat, where clothes and sheets were found around every corner, soaking up as much sun as they possibly could get. Dhobis are the laundry men here. They come around, door to door, collecting dirty laundry which they bring to their village, wash, beat against a rock, air dry and then return to you, if one or two buttons are missing it is considered a risk you knew you were going to take. Often times, it is unknown when the clothes will be returning. In fact, Lauren hears almost everyday, ‘Ms. Terry, I don’t have my P.E. clothes, they are at the dhobis’. I opt for a more personal laundry habit, a traditional bucket, a bag of detergent, a toilet brush I use to stir the clothes with and a drying rack. I have to admit I did laundry one whopping time during monsoon. It would literally take two weeks for clothes to dry, , and that is if you left a light on constantly to help dry out the air and regardless, it dries smelling like straight up mold. Not even worth my time/patience. Besides, we all know just how hygienic and clean I am….



Speaking of laundry..Lauren and I were invited over to the Paseventos last night, they fed us homemade chicken soup and ice cream AND let us use their laundry machine (keep in mind that one cycle takes about an hour and a half). It was absolutely perfect. I didn’t realize how much I missed the dynamics and the comfort of being around a family; the evening was just what I needed.

School is busy as ever, the activities only seem to keep piling up, far too many to document or discuss, but here are a few

Mr. Chelvam using his body as a mile marker in the interhouse cross country meet- check out that rain gear…I was jealous.


Students celebrating Hindi Day




Off duty coolies