After almost a full day of travel we arrived in India and lady luck was definitely on my side as I was able to sleep for the duration of both flights, miraculously waking up in time for meals and snacks and did not lose a single piece of luggage…Woodstock took excellent care of us all. They were waiting right after baggage claim to scoop us up and take us to the hotel to feed us and help us settle in. it was literally one of the smoothest arrivals I have ever experienced, even with the 10 and a half hour time difference.
Dehli was a great time, we had a full day of exploration, five of us crammed into a tiny taxi for the day experiencing the infamous Dehli/Indian traffic for the first time- let me tell you, it is ALL they have ever said it is and more…I found that just closing your eyes is one of the best ways to cope…We were able to pack quite a lot into the day seeing numerous sites: Gandhi’s memorial/burial site, Indira Gandhi’s home and memorial, the lotus temple, India gate, President’s house, and of course got to check out
one of the local bazaars where I am happy to report I bought my first sari. We left early in the morning to catch the 7:00 train up to Dehradun, the train ride was highly enjoyable, think the Darjeeling Limited (movie) style of bamf…from Dehradun we hopped into the Woodstock school bus and started up the mountain.
Where do I start with Mussoorie? Man. If you’re on the fb, check out the album and maybe you will understand a bit why I am speechless. I feel like I am in peter pan’s neverland every time I look around me. Campus is very spread out and I am just starting to feel like I have a grasp on where everything is. It’s absolutely beautiful, even with the monsoon rains; in fact, the rain has not been too bad, I was able to take a tiny 3 minute nap in the sun yesterday and our second night here we were even able to see the moon!
Our house is amazing! Lauren and I are extremely lucky to have Nan,
our other housemate who has lived here for a year and a half. We got inside and everything was clean and decorated and cozy, and because she is the art teacher and crazy creative, we fit right in. I’m still working on making my room feel like me, but with time and trips to the bazaar, it will all come together. We live at the bottom of campus and have about a 800 feet straight uphill hike to school everyday- it’s intense, especially with the altitude change. Once I am adjusted, I plan on videoing the walk so everyone can see I am not exaggerating (as is common) but that this is the real deal.
our other housemate who has lived here for a year and a half. We got inside and everything was clean and decorated and cozy, and because she is the art teacher and crazy creative, we fit right in. I’m still working on making my room feel like me, but with time and trips to the bazaar, it will all come together. We live at the bottom of campus and have about a 800 feet straight uphill hike to school everyday- it’s intense, especially with the altitude change. Once I am adjusted, I plan on videoing the walk so everyone can see I am not exaggerating (as is common) but that this is the real deal.
The people here are wonderful, it seems everyone has a never-ending pocket full of great stories to tell. There were about 30 of us new staff, all of which are terrific and we joined on with the old staff of about 60. It is a bit funny to note the difference between young and old staff, as well as between families and singles, but given the social interaction opportunities of the area, it does make quite a bit of sense. We had a dinner party at our house the other night which was a riot- turns out that corks in the Himalayas are more along the lines of glue- after prying and digging with every household utensil imaginable…
Staff meetings are staff meetings- I am definitely ready for the students to start arriving and the show to get on the road. The English department is of course a group of dynamic, crazy and sarcastic people who I fit in with well. After much discussion we have decided I will be taking grades 7 and 8 English, instead of 9 and 10. Long story short, there is a new teacher coming in September who has only taught in the Indian school system, which is much different than a European style- they want to be able to guide him and keep a close eye on him, and if he teaches grades 9 and 10 they can because he will be in the same office, where as if he takes 7 and 8 he would be in a different building with his own office…I was at first a little put off until I discovered the curriculum, which has much room for creative input (basically I can teach the books I want), I don’t have to teach for any test as they just dropped the grade 8 standardized, I have my own space and LOADS of room for creative movement. I think this is going to be a great gig, and I am sure the students will teach me lesson after lesson.
Holy long winded. I had a lot to say. For those of you who made it to the bottom, congratulations and thanks for caring! I know I probably left out tons but this whole concept of blogging is a bit new and honestly, I’m sick of talking about myself…my goal is to update this thing once a week, we will see how I do. I hope all is well on the homefront; I miss you all and will be sure to keep in touch- we have wireless here in the house and I love skype dates if anyone is interested….
Until next time.
Ps. I will not be proofreading at all. Please don’t judge….
