back at it.

Sadly, I have been failing in the blog world lately. In order to apologize and make amends, I promise two posts in one week... hold me to it.
I have been in a bit of a funk lately: feeling the need to hibernate at all possible moments.. even more so now that i have my new polar fleece bedsheets on. The other morning, while dragging myself up the hill, I stumbled upon a dead bird. He summed up my current energy level perfectly:

We only have a week left of classes before exams begin and so stress and patience levels seem to be skyrocketing. Luckily, I have had travel planning and good books to help take my mind and energy off of school work, and will hopefully be able to hang in there through the last sprint.

Things have been going well along with the 'hobo' project, however I am not going to post anything until February when the true hobo in us all comes out in full and no one is able to leave home without at least four layers on.

Today, I shot and hit my first monkey with my sling shot.
Normally I fire a few warning shots in the vicinity of the beast and they sense danger and take off. Today this was not the case. After shooting 2 warning shots and figuring the monkey must either be blind or stupid, I took aim, underestimating my ability. I hit him square in the side and oh did he get pissed.. I think. Actually I was so afraid of the fact that I hit him and possibly harmed him, that I didn't stick around to see his reaction, instead I bolted back towards the student dorms.
This was slightly embarrassing because 3 of my students were sitting outside and wondering why, after I had just passed them, I came sprinting back... (I made up a brilliant excuse, well lie, that I had just realized I left my camera up on the trail)

The world has this man to blame for equipping Emily Shriver with such a dangerous weapon.

There have also been numerous leopard sightings around our house so I have found myself on the constant lookout for an excuse to get near one; perhaps I won't be so shocked that I can't move, and will remember to take a photo.

The Woodstock cafeteria is not known for its high class gourmet food; in fact, some days it is better to just not eat rather than try to choke down the mysterious 'mutton' (I secretly think it is monkey meat) that they serve. Today I looked at my plate and knew it couldn't be a good thing when every single thing is a brownish/orange color and swimming in an odd looking pool of grease and spices.. and I forgot to mention, all carbs.
My least favorite lunch by far is the veg hakka noodles. Nan and I had made a plan way back that anytime this meal was served we would walk to cozy corner, a food joint down the road from school and drink chai instead. Last week upon checking the announcements and seeing the menu for lunch, we immediately planned to meet up for a walk right when the bell rang.
Preeti and Noel had just returned from taking the GRE in Delhi and brought us back a present..subs from Subway..with real salami on them (this is a ridiculously huge treat here). We set up a makeshift picnic, ignored the blatant staring tourists who formed a semi circle around us, and had the best lunch I have had on a weekday in a long time.

Lately I have been quite impressed with my ability to communicate with locals and coolies who speak absolutely no English. The other day the men who delievered wood for our bukhari on their backs, came in for a cup of tea and despite the extreme language barrier, we were able to have a good conversation that revolved primarily around their burlap sacks. This is a rather recent development, and I am not sure exactly what I overcame to have such a drastic change take place, because my Hindi has definitely not improved. Regardless, I have now had at least 7 conversations with the Shepards of the area and even was invited to sit on the path with these guys and they agreed to pose for a few pictures. I suggested that they seek out a career in modeling, sadly I think that part of the conversation was lost in translation.

That is about all I have to report; much of the past few weeks has involved attempting to stay warm and a variety of incidents involving bukharis and fire. I also had a thrilling adventure trying to catch an enormous and elusive spider in my classroom. It took about an entire prep period to succeed, but I was victorious in the end.

 

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a holiday that brings to attention just how far away from family I am. Luckily, we will be getting a large group together for a feast, pretending that there is a roasted turkey in the center of the table, rather than chicken and a lot of vegetarian dishes. While it might not be a traditional Thanksgiving celebration, it is bound to be an eventful time.

I wish you all a splendid holiday, if you take the time to read my blog, I am definitely thankful for you.