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!