adaptation.

PREFACE: this was written a few days ago as a word document…due to the faulty wireless router (that may or may not have been located in our living room), campus internet has been down for a few days. Good news: we’re back! School has been in session and going splendidly- I will update on that sometime soon. For now, just pretend it is Tuesday night all over again….

Today, in honor of the last day of summer, the sun decided to come out. The clouds cleared for almost half the day and we were able to get a full glimpse into what the view will be like come October…absolutely glorious.

I can’t shake the feeling that I am on a vacation in India- I find myself often wondering when it will feel ‘real’ (I suppose this is what professionals would call the ‘honeymoon’ stage of adjustment…) The arrival of students the past few days has been incredibly refreshing. We live at the absolute bottom of campus, right below the dorms, so the presence of people other than ourselves has been much welcomed. School begins tomorrow morning- I’m feeling good about the whole thing, I can’t wait to get things underway and actually meet the students who I keep hearing so much about.

Another week has gone by and little by little I find myself more acquainted with Mussoorie and more familiar with the lifestyle. I purchased my first few Punjabis (a three piece traditional Indian woman’s suit), in order to do so you first buy the fabric(s) and then bring them to the tailor who takes your measurements, sketches up a design and sets to work…talk about fair trade and buying local… I also dropped off some pants to be ‘copied’ –apparently these guys are phenomenal, I will let you know the outcome. After much browsing I found comfortable bedding and have a mattress being tailored, I do have to say I’m awfully excited to put my sleeping bag back in the closet.. I did some serious grocery shopping, loads of schoolwork, and had my first experience with the Indian stomach bug. A very eventful week I might add. The only thing I wasn’t able to do is buy a coffee maker. We searched the bazaar high and low and came up with nothing. Who would have thought that finding a coffee maker here would be so difficult? Nescafe just isn’t cutting it and while tea is wonderful, it just isn’t the same.. Drastic measures are going to have to be taken by the girls of Midland West if we don’t find a way to have our coffee and soon. (Desperate? I think so).

The other day Lauren and I left the house for literally five minutes and when we came back we found 14 monkeys in our yard. EVERYWHERE. Now, these monkeys are not nice monkeys…sure, they look awfully cute, especially the babies, but they are evil. After throwing many fistfuls of rocks, we were able to make it inside safely and two seconds later they all reappeared, thanks to the photography skills of Lauren, we were able to capture great video and pictures of the beasts. We also heard from our bizarre Australian friend, Ian, that there is a place we can purchase an air-soft gun in the bazaar…we also have a hole in our screen door that could perfectly fit the air soft gun…..
Proof of the monkey invasion. (Seriously, don't let the cute baby fool you)

Street vendor selling chai and sweet corn...thought it was an appropriate picture for those of you who will soon be celebrating kornfest... maybe they should turn the beer tent into a chai tent- they are quite complimentary tastes...





Signing off for the summer. Catch you on the flipside.