Surprise Mumbai Trip!

Last week got eventful, fast. I had known that a group from Kodaikanal International School would be venturing to Mumbai on March 4 for the National Science Festival held at NES International School there. What I did not know is that they were short a female chaperon. Last Monday I was asked if I would be willing to go and after a whirlwind of planning, plane ticket buying, and packing, we left Tuesday morning with seven excited students. Below you will find some of the highlight pictures from the trip. 

In case you aren't familiar with India geography, here is Mumbai marked on the Google Map:

Flying in over the Indian Ocean:

Some images from the National Science Festival. The school was very fancy and the even included a cultural program as well as traditional sand paintings:

Our students are all winners (cheesy I know) but these guys won the awards to prove it:

Then the principal from NES International School was so pleased that we had come all the way from Kodai that he set us up with a guided tour of Mumbai. We first visited the Taj Mahal Hotel, which was the site of the 2008 terrorist attack:

The hotel is gorgeous and right on the water. Here is our group photo:

Some incredibly colorful horse carriages:

The Gateway of India:

The Regal Cinema is the oldest cinema in Mumbai. This is a big deal because Mumbai is the home of Bollywood (Mumbai is basically the Hollywood, CA of the East):

The Institute of Science (this is the back door but we couldn't get through the gates to go to the front door):

Street scene. A chappal (sandal) seller:

Next we went to the beach! Here are my feet in the Arabian Sea/ Indian Ocean for the first time:

Pani puri from a food vendor on the beach. A unique and tasty culinary experience:

Haji Ali Mosque is completely surrounded by water:

Night time at the market. All of the colors laid out for Holi:

Eating Punjabi sweets on the plane on the way home:

Kodai Rain

In India they take the saying "when it rains, it pours" quite literally.

Lately it has rained every day beginning in the afternoon or evening. This has been very welcome given that Kodai is prone to droughts and the town's water often runs out in the dry months.

Working Away!

Hey all! Sorry it has been a couple of weeks but work has been very busy and I haven't gotten off the hill at all. Lots of teaching, lots of subbing, and lots of planning have resulted in a packed schedule with not much time to report back to home.

Not much to share but things are going great and the weather is starting to get nice and summery. Hope all is well back in the States. Here are some random photos from the last couple of weeks.

A sunset view of the science block:

At the school assembly we celebrated Korean and Bhutanese New Years: 

Watching the Cricket World Cup at my friend Beth's house. I still have NO idea how it works.

This is what scaffolding looks like in India:

Girls Kodai Open Basketball Tournament. They are playing a team from Dindigul.

 Kate and I got pedicures at the fancy hotel in town. Cost about $8 US.

 The kids had a rock concert. Their opportunity to be a star for a night:

Some views from the market:

Got a Valentines Day box from Mom and Dad. Now my snack shelf is well stocked with American delicacies (ie. Bugles and M&Ms):

Early morning view of the lake while chaperoning the Field Day cross country race:

We celebrated all of the Jan and Feb staff birthdays with a party in the staff lounge. The school made it look very festive!

Some of my kids' awesome projects! They had to make board games to teach photosynthesis:

My favorite way to eat breakfast on the weekends. With a book on the deck of my house:

Hopefully I will have some more exciting photos to share in the coming weeks. There may be some travel on the horizon. I will let you all know. 

V Day Weekend

Hey all! Hope you had a good Valentines Day and a good weekend.

This week was busy with work and taking on new classes. One of the teachers I am working with got sick so I ended up taking over his classes, which was a good lesson in how to be a substitute teacher. Also, I put together my first videotaped lesson on Friday, which I may have to redo because the lighting is bad and you cannot see the board from the video. Regardless, it was good practice and I realized that the kids were more bothered by the camera in the classroom than I was.

I am slowly ticking off the requirements for my student teaching portfolio and it is really starting to feel like I may be an actual teacher at some point in the near future. I have so many ideas and it will be nice to have my own classroom so that I may implement them and structure things how I like.

As far as this weekend goes, on Friday night I chaperoned a midnight walk hosted by Kevin, one of the dorm parents. We took a big group of 11 and 12th graders on a walk around town to see the graveyard, the 500 year old tree, and then for a late night snack. It was fun but I have to say that though the kids were ready to party all night, I was really glad to take the girls back to their dorm at 1:30am.

The kids climbing on the 500 year old tree:

Before going for midnight tea:

Saturday was Valentines Day (V Day) and for that I participated in a women's empowerment rally called One Billion Rising. The school has been hosting this for a couple of years now and it is part of a worldwide movement. This included a march through town and then we went to the sports fields where people gave speeches, one of the guys did a rap that he wrote for the occasion, and then we did a choreographed dance. You can find a YouTube video of the dance we did, performed by the original flash mob. We did not look that coordinated but it was fun, for a good cause, and we made up for our lack of talent with plenty of enthusiasm.

Getting ready to leave:

Marching through town:

On Bendy Field, getting ready to dance:

Today (Sunday) I have been laying pretty low but will be going to a potluck at a friend's house this evening. I made double chocolate cookies for the occasion that taste just like brownies. Its just about all I can do to not eat them all before I get there.

I hope everyone back home is doing well. Miss you guys.

Manjalar Dam Hike and Madurai

This week was a busy but short week for me. I only worked in the classroom Monday through Thursday and then Friday went with the kids on their hike into Tahr camp. Tahr Camp is a reward for the kids who have hiked the most over the course of the year. They take a long weekend and go on a substantial hike, ending in this case, at the vacation home of one of the students. It was a beautiful hike and a luxurious finish.

Here are some of the pretty views:

We jumped off this waterfall into the pool below. We estimated it was about 25 feet, though it doesn't look very high in this picture.

Some photos from the top of Rattail Falls. It felt like standing on the edge of the earth.

(All of the chaperons.)

You come randomly upon graves in the woods.

A view down to the plains. We hiked all the way to the near edge of that water.

Wandering through mango farms.

The coconut plantation where we ended our journey.

We were greeted with fresh coconut water. (It tastes much different from the stuff you get in the can.)

The backyard of the estate the kids "camped" at all weekend.

Two of the chaperons stayed with the kids for the weekend but Raja and I took the bus back to the school Friday night. We stopped on the ghat road and had dinner at this little restaurant. The food was actually awesome. Raja, Muniandi (our guide), and I all had dosa, omlette, and tea and the total was 130 rupee (about $2).

No rest for the weary. Saturday morning I was up and in a car at 8am, headed to Madurai with Benji and Kate. We went to Meenakshi temple and did a little shopping and wandering before heading back Saturday afternoon. The temple was beautiful, though we could only access parts of it being obvious non-Hindus. We did get to see a great deal but unfortunately the temple is only open limited hours on Saturday so we did not get to meet and be blessed by the resident elephant. I am told that elephants are a fixture at many of the temples in India so it is unlikely that I will go my entire trip without encountering one.

Our first glimpse of the temple.

The walls inside the temple courtyard are painted very intricately.

So are the floors. ( You have to check your shoes to enter the temple.)

Even the ceilings are beautiful.

This is the inner courtyard between the temples. This is not just one temple building but an entire complex with 4 different intricate gates in each of the cardinal directions and multiple different temples dedicated to different deities. 

Kate and I in front of one such temple.

The Meenakshi temple. Meenakshi (Minakshi) is the consort of Shiva and the official goddess of the city of Madurai. You can learn about her and the temple at the Wikipedia page.

 Detail of the temple roof. They are so intricate it is amazing. The plaque said one of the temple buildings alone has 360 carvings.

With such a busy Friday and Saturday I am reveling in a quiet Sunday. A trip to market, some religious education, and an ice cream outing were enough to keep me occupied today. 

Hope you all are well and know that I miss you!