deliberate delights.

This is the first weekend I have not had anything going on, and it is absolutely fantastic to sit in solitude and catch up on the little things in life. The past weeks have been filled with more rain than I have ever thought possible. The other day in class a Bhutanese student asked me, “Ms. Shriver, is monsoon over?” …as if I would be very knowledgeable on the fact… It’s becoming evident that the rain and lack of sunshine are seeping into the psyches of people here. This is the most rain India has seen in 15 years, luckily we only have a few weeks left- the only way to tell when monsoon really is over is when the ferns turn brown…I’m on the lookout for brown ferns.

I have been frequenting the bazaar quite a bit lately, it seems the chaos and commotion of Landour and Mussoorie are becoming comforting and essential to my daily routine. On the walk from Woodstock to town you pass through a few little villages, here are a few photos from various interactions.






Tibetan prayer flags are used quite a bit around this area; prayers are whispered into the flags and then hung in a place where they can blow in the wind with the belief that every time they blow, the prayer is carried in the wind and heard. Flag Hill is a quick hike from school (meaning doable in the rain)- and it is here that many flags have been hung. It is a beautiful oasis with its monsoon greenery and flowers serving as the backdrop for an abundance of color. It even cleared up for a few moments and we got a bit of a snow capped mountain view..



Paul, Noel, Lauren and I trekked down into Dehradun last weekend and I had my first experience with crossing the street. Total success Emily: 1 cars, auto rickshaws and motorbikes: 0. It was a great day away from school, and nice to see sunshine and have warmer temperatures (we went from 1000 feet to 200 feet in 40 minutes),
Bunty and Paul fixing our flat..of course we would get a flat in the middle of the city...

My advisor group; 9 kids, 7 countries represented…(they’re grade 8s)

ahhhhh yea!

The students had friendship day in which the seniors get to dress the freshman up- they take it pretty seriously, and it was hilarious- I especially liked watching the little Korean popstar boys dance their way around school all day. Total entertainment.