Germany #3

Okay, so this one features my sweet bf John eating some pork knuckle off the bone and walking towards the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Also shown is a piece of the Berlin wall.

Germany #2

Here is John at the Museum in Munich, me 'sipping' a beer with one of the many lions in Munich and one of the many bakeries that are everywhere...for example, this one is underground at the subway station!

Germany #1

Here are some shots from Germany. These first ones are from Frankfurt where John and I arrived. Cool eh- looks like a gingerbread house!

One more time....

I am going to post this poem again (it was on my blog last August at almost exactly the same time!) just cause I think it is so beautiful and appropriate for when we forget what is important in our lives:
For Love Of The World
For Love of The World
Charlotte Tall Mountain
For the love of a tree, she went out on a limb.
For the love of the sea, she rocked the boat.
For the love of the earth, she dug deeper.
For the love of community, she mended fences.
For the love of the stars, she let her light shine.
For the love of the spirit, she nurtured her soul.
For the love of a good time, she sowed seeds of happiness.
For the love of the Goddess, she drew down the moon.
For the love of nature, she made compost.
For the love of a good meal, she gave thanks.
For the love of family, she reconciled differences.
For the love of creativity, she entertained new possibilities.
For the love of her enemies, she suspended judgement.
For the love of herself, she acknowledged her worth.
And the world was richer for her.

I am HOME!

Hello all,
Just a short note to tell you that I am back HOME for a few weeks!! Yay! It's so nice to be home in a place where the air is so fresh and clean. Yep, well....I am home until the 16th of August, so gimme a shout or an email. I will be K-town way on the 18th/19th and Ottawa way after that. I'll try and post some of my Germany pics soon. (I was in Germany on my way home for a week!)
Ciao,
JBW

Da Vinci Code

So, I saw the highly controversial Da Vinci Code last night at the theatres.....they delayed the opening (I guess worldwide....) a week due to controversies, but we got tickets here in B'lore for the second ever showing. Anyway, I was kind of nervous because I was thinking that some religious zealots might come in with bombs etc. Of course, security at the theatres is pretty good and that was just me being panicky, but oh well. Anyway, I liked the movie, even though it was very long. The casting apart from the two main roles was really good. However, Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon was not a good choice on Ron Howard's part. Tom looked kind of scruffy and dumpy and older than I expected Langdon to be. I saw someome more like Clive Owen playing Langdon, but a slightly older Clive Owen. I also thought Audrey Tautou was too young for Sophie Neveu. They needed an older, slightly more take charge kind of character to play her. They also downplayed her role in the solving of the mysteries/crimes in the movie, which does the female character a disservice I think. So, there is my film review! I think I should become a professional!!

Steak and passion fruit!

So, you may think that you can't get a good steak in India, the land of the 'holy cow'...but let me tell you- you are wrong! Last night I went with Kathy, Chris and Mark to a restaurant called The Only Place (where we had Thanksgiving dinner in November...) and had the greatest bbq steak I have had in a looong time. It was so tender and juicy with the best bbq sauce! Yum. My body hasn't ingested that much meat in one sitting since I was home at Christmas! Also, I tried fresh passion fruits for the first time. They are these strange little wrinkly fruits (being wrinkled means they are ripe) that have yellow pulp with blackish seeds inside. I was told to cut it in half and sprinkle the inside with sugar. It was good....but you DO need the sugar, as they are sour! I always thought they were super sweet (prolly due to passionfruit coulis that I would have eaten on desserts at fancy restaurants!) Anyway they are sour, and I still haven't decided whether I like them or not......I'll try another one and decide!
That's all for now!
Jessie

Close-up

Mangoes galore!













Here's a close-up too (I am so mean!) Yum- they taste good in a fruit salad too :) Washed well, of course!

Mangoes!

This is what every cart along the side of the road looks like right now-MANGOES, MANGOES, MANGOES! Jealous?!

Rugby Benefit

I went to this benefit party on Saturday night. It was put on by the Rugby Association of Bangalore and was to benefit putting sports programs in local Karnataka schools and orphanages. It was fun- and at the Leela Palace, so it was swanky.....but poolside so also casual. Anyway, the food and drink was great. It was lots of fun!

Baby camel!

Guess what I saw the other night? A baby camel! It was so cute! Just a scaled down version of a 'real' camel. It's funny...camels on the road are still novel for me :)

Side shot!

Okay.....I had to put this one in too! Cher and I got a little carried away doing 'beauty shots' for the cover of our proposal to start our own travel show about women travelling around the world. We are not actually going to do it (I doubt...) but it was fun anyway!!

ps- Yes, I DO have quite the 'distinctive' chin!!

Moi!

For those of you who have not seen me in a while....HERE I AM! This was taken by Cheryl at Little Italy- a GREAT Italian restaurant on 100 ft. Road in Bangalore. Still me...I still look the same!!

Pooja

Here is the scene from the pooja that I attended at my neighbour's house last weekend. Pretty elaborate!!

New stuff....

Hi!
So, I haven't been very good at keeping my blog updated...but most of you receive my emails anyway, so oh well! Some new little things that are happening around here...
1) It is mango season!! I used to think I didn't like mangoes, but boy, was I wrong!! I was just used to unripe, yicky ones from Canada...not sun-warmed, juicy ones freshly picked in India~ Yum- they are soooooo good. There are a bunch of varieties- but my faves are Alphonso....smaller ones (sweeter!) with a bit of red on the skins. The only thing is- they are hiiiigh in calories, so I can't eat them to my heart's content...just one every few days!
2) I am taking yoga again, with a girl named Deepa that some people went to last year. We go every Monday and Wednesday to Rachel's house. I went yesterday and man, was it a great workout!! After that last lady I had (I didn't like her- she was very critical...) I forgot how good yoga can feel! My body is thanking me for some consistent exercise! It is very similar to the yoga that Mom and I did with Valerie at the Lotus Centre in London. Same school of thought. I also re-discovered that I have NO upper arm strength...despite the fact that I'm lifting 7.5 lb. weights three times a week.....I still cannot lift my body weight!
3) Camels. They intrigue me. I was walking home from school last week and just happened to cross paths on my street with two boys walking their camels around. Now, camel are not as common in the South of India as in Northern parts like Rajasthan, so even some locals were gawking/looking. Anyway, I think life is pretty cool when things like that happen. They definitely remind you that you are NOT in your normal circumstances!
Kay, I am going to sign off, as I am afraid the power will die and I'll lose this email, so more is coming!
JB-W

New news!

Hello everyone,
Well, it has been a week yesterday since Bubba and Suzie left to go back to Canada…a week that simply FLEW by! I was involved with organizing the Earth Week at the school, so my days were consumed with logistical stuff with workshops and assemblies and all that good stuff. But, now it is over, and we even had Monday (yesterday) off because it is ‘May Day’ in India and an official worker’s holiday! Yay for Indian holidays J So, I haven’t really sent any news about trip #2 to Goa, so here goes….we flew into Daobolim Saturday afternoon and got a car to Cavelossim (down in the South, whereas I was in the North with the girls…) The driver was crazy and kept lifting his hands off the steering wheel to cross himself every time we went past anything Christian, which in Goa, is a lot!! Not to mention that he was about 70 years old (or looked it~!) and kept talking to me in half-English, half-Konkan (Goan language) as if I knew what he was saying. But- we made it alive. The resort was great. It is one of four Royal Goan Beach Resorts in Goa- the name of it was Haathi Mahal. Everything was there that we needed…pools, restaurants etc. and the beach was just a 7-10 minute walk away! The rip tides were strong, and we heard that something like 4 people had died in the past week in the Arabian Sea in Goa. We were careful though. The first night I had one of the delicious Goan specialties for dinner- Goan sausage! It is this amazing spicy sausage, something like chorizo- and they do it up with onions and capsicum (green pepper) and serve it with rice (to calm your taste buds!) It was so delicious, on the way out a week later, I had out taxi driver stop me off at a local market to buy some (ya know, with cows heads, and random bones all around….but fear not- I have eaten it since and I am still alive!) It is so yummy- Dad, you would LOVE it! We basically did a whole lotta nothing all week- but I did venture off on my own to Baga to see a colleague and her husband-and to go to the famous Anjuna Market (awesome!) for Wednesday. Then, Thursday I met Bub and Suzie in Old Goa to see some of the old temples and churches from the Portugese time. They were lovely. I’ll send photos. We also visited an organic spice plantation, where we saw many Indian spices I their natural state. We learned a lot, for example- did you know that palms are actually not trees? They are the largest grass! I think banana trees are the second largest grass. Cool. And cashews actually grow in a fruit that looks something like a small apple……and there is quite the process to getting the nut out and ready to eat. Guess that’s why they are so expensive!! Oh, and the funniest thing of the vacation was watching Indian men try to swim. They obviously don’t take swimming lessons as children, so they do something like a doggy-paddle/flail/mad gasping technique that really looks like they are drowning….but they are not! I really shouldn’t laugh, but it was quite ridiculous looking. Anyway, I am back into the swing of things now with only 6…yes 6 weeks of classes left! Amazing. I truly can’t believe it. What else is new…..oh! This past Sunday I went to a housewarming for my new neighbours who have been building next to me all year. So, an Indian housewarming is not a little wine and cheese open house, noooooooooooo sir! It is an all-day (6am start) extravaganza with 100 people present. So, I was kindly invited and went for the pooja in the morning (the blessing of the house) It was really cool, although more people looked at me than at the pooja! No matter how inconspicuous I tried to be, people were still taking photos of me, while trying to appear like they were NOT taking my photo. Anyway, life goes on. Then, I had a traditional South Indian thali meal (tiny bits of many different dishes served to you on a banana leaf that you eat with your hands!) Yum- it was delicious. So, I am happy to have such good neighbours as they will look out for me and already helped me to get veggies on the sly the day the whole city was shut down due to a death of a Kannada actor…..but that’s a whole other story. Email me and ask me if you want the full scoop on that! Yep, they are great. Also this weekend, we went to see the apartment complex where the school is housing the new teachers. It is towards Yelahanka (north of SahakarNagar) closer to the new school. Ahhh, the new school. Brian, my Principal swears up and down that the new school will be open this August. However, that is what he said when he hired me last year, and even what he told the ‘new recruits’ the year before that! So- people have seen the new school, and I guess they can’t even imagine that it will be ready for August…or even this coming January 2007. So, I am assuming that I will be spending my last year at CIS in the same old school (I have come to love it anyway!) and therefore am choosing to stay in my house that is a 5 min walk from school. Anyway, the area out in Yelahanka is not as developed, it is father away from downtown, and I just love my little village now- I couldn’t leave. Unless the apartments were spectacular and they were willing to provide me with a car. Which they are definitely NOT. This school can be the cheapest school I have ever seen! So- John and I will be in my little 3 bedroom, stuffy, hot apartment next year too. (It is just stuffy and hot now…..it can actually be chilly in the winter!) April and May are the hottest months, so I am halfway through the hot season. Then, onto monsoon. At least that will cool things off. So, anyway…sorry for the novel. I will send photos in another email as to not crowd your inboxes!!

Jessie

Coracle boat!

Just tilt your head a bit and you can see me in the mist at Kabini with our coracle boat and coracle boat dude!

The teachers

Here is a group shot from a restaurant called Sunny's. It was when John was here... L to R it is me, John, Shallin, Kathy, Chris, Kurt and Cheryl. Aren't we cute!?

Backwaters trip

Turn your head to see the beautiful backwaters scene!




Here is a long shot down one of the 'canals' on the backwaters tour.





Here is the boat we took for our backwaters tour in Kerala. The backwaters are called the "Venice of India, because the local people live and work right on the water and travel only by boat! very cool.

Fort Cochin

Here is a lady hand-weaving a sari Kerala-style in a Fort Cochin shop.





Here is a shot from a restaurant in Fort Cochin...the boat in the midground is half-sunk! But, isn't the sunlight gorgeous?!

Spices!

Here is John looking at all the spices at the Spice market area in Fort Cochin. Ahh, the smells! Cardamom, cinammon, anise!

Varkala!

Kay, turn your head to the side to see the mouthwatering menu that was offered at a restaurant we were at in Varkala (we had grilled crab!) Yum!









Here is John at the Kerala Bamboo House where we stayed in Varkala

Kathakali...means story play!

Here are the Kathakali actors onstage! Great costumes, eh!?








Here are the Kathakali actors applying their elaborate makeup before the Kathakali show in Fort Cochin

Fishing nets and fish!

Here is the fresh fish along the coast in Fort Cochin. You could choose them and they would fry the fish right there for you! Yum!











These are the neat Chinese Fishing nets along the beach in Fort Cochin- they are hundreds of years old, and still in use!!

Sculpture

There are tons of these decorative sculptures on pillars and walls near or in the Temples. So pretty!

My toe!

Here is my lovely toe- right in the centre of one of the carvings in the ground near the Temple in Belur.

Me at the Hoysala

Here I am with a flower in my hair at the Hoysala Village Resort where I stayed on my last long weekend

Temple shot

Here is a larger shot of the sculpture on the temples- so cool!

Ellie!

Here's one of the 600 ellies that surrounded the temple in Belur or Halebid.....I can't remember which one!

MC Day

Here is the crowd on the bleachers at school watching the Multi-Cultural Day show last Thursday

My new sheets!

So, I am pretty much crazy about everything Indian, in terms of shopping...and now I have found my ultimate bedsheets. Those of you who know me well will know how perfect these sheets are for me- aren't they cool!?
I also got some other neat turquoise and white ones for the single bed in my house. They were half price too after Christmas!!

The Beach!

Me, Ashi and Shallin at a new restaurant called 'The Beach' on the Wednesday before Republic day. They have a beach-y outside atmosphere resplete with sand and logs to sit on...and then inside is loungey and more posh...but still nice. We enjoyed mojitos and battered prawns outside-yum!!

The Bangalore Club

Here I am at the Bangalore Club where I spent Indian Republic Day. The Club is a country club that our Development Officer Penny belongs to. She signed me and Shallin in and we got to spend the day poolside!! It was 30 degrees and gorgeous...jealous!?

Poutine in India

Here I am with Shallin (middle) and Ashi (right) eating our POUTINE! Yep, that's right, poutine in India!! Ashi was craving poutine from when she was in Canada, so I brought gravy powder back with me at Christmas and Shallin bravely deep fried some potatoes and Ashi brought mozza cheese- bingo, bango, you have a delicious, extremely satisfying plate of the French Canadian delicacy- poutine! It's not Bubba's but it was pretty good!

Bryan Adams and me!

Hi everyone,
Here are a few key highlights from my life in the past few weeks:
- two of our elementary teachers are in hospital! The Grade 3 teacher fell out of bed on a leg that was asleep and broke her leg in two places and had to have surgery...they think she has osteoporosis, because a break this bad shouldn't have happened just falling out of bed. So, she is off for at least 6 weeks....then- our Grade 4 teacher is in the hospital after she lost feeling in her right hand. After a series of tests, they concluded that she has blood clots between her clavicle and shoulder....so they went in to remove those and found she had more small clots lower in her arm too- and she is only 40! So, they don't yet know why her blood is clotting....or why she hasn't yet got feeling back in her fingertips. Her pinky even started to grow gangrenous (is that the word?), so she had to have another operation to cut off the dead part of her finger! Poor lady. I went with another teacher to visit her last night in the hospital (luckily she's in the brand spankin new hospital right near us). So, she'll be on blood thinners all her life now, but they are still searching for more answers...they think she could be diabetic too. Makes me thankful for my health.
- As the title of this post says, I am going to see Bryan Adams (yes, the Canadian singer) on Feb 5th here in B'lore! I soon found out upon arriving in India that he is HUGE here! For example, go to any Coffee day or Barista coffee bar (like the equiv of Starbucks) and guaranteed, he will be played sometime while you are there :) So funny- his tickets supposedly went faster than when the Rolling Stones came to Bangalore!!
- I have found a new restaurant I really like- if anyone comes to visit me I am taking you! It is called Infinitea and sells a lot of cool flavoured fresh brewed iced teas...but also good food! I had an awesome fish dish and Kathy had a great stuffed chicken. Mmmm. Yum.
- Kay, well I have Thursday off...so I might not be in contact for a few days....I think we're going to this place called Golden Palms for the day that has a pool and a spa and a restaurant/bar etc. After all, it is 30 degrees and gorgeous here...just to make you all jealous who are withstanding the snrain (our family word for snowy rain!) in Canada!!
Jess

Me and kiddies again :)

Here I am one day when we had an end of term special lunch in the classroom.

Last day of school

Here I am on the last day of school before the holidays. We are making a shirt with handprints on it for one student who was leaving us.

Sideways...not the movie...

Darn it. I forgot this one was sideways too. Kay, well, turn your head again for this Zurich pic!

Closeup!

Here is a closeup of me along the river in Zurich. It was early morning, can you tell? Nobody else is out and about!!

Me again!

Here I am again- on another of Zurich's slopey streets!

Me in Zurich

Here I am in my lovely makeshift winter boots (!) in Zurich

Kids at Christmas concert!

Here are all the kids at the school after the Christmas concert. They all got together to sing a song- very decorative, eh?!

Zurich photo

Okay, someone will have to teach me how to make these go straight up and down!! Just turn your head to see this picture from downtown Zurich!

me and Niv

Here is a photo of me and the art teacher Niv from the Christmas party

my kiddies!

Here I am with my kids at the Christmas performance! Look at our hand-painted backdrops!

Here I am with Cheryl and a rickshaw driver Muniraju. So, this is what an autorickshaw looks like! This pic was taken in front of my house.

new photos

Here I am with my 'Rajasthani look' as Ashi called it!
I was wearing this at the 'Thanksgiving Dinner' in November.