my digits...

come sunday when i land in san francisco, i'll have a pre paid phone. thank you james for doing the legwork!

Janice - 408.506.0422

Christy - 408.504.9429

call if you'd like, but i have no idea how many minutes i have and how long i can chat, but it'll be nice to say hi. i also don't know if i'll be textable. see you soon. xo, j

subtleties

as i was walking to catch the bus this morning, past the puppy and assortment of dogs outside my gate, i whistled and they all came running to greet me. despite the stares and sometimes smiles by onlookers, i insist on this a.m. ritual to give me much craved pet energy. i wandered out onto the road to taxis calling for my business and motorbikes whizzing past side by side with bikes and buses beeping at any thing in their path. the normal few random men were peeing on a broken down wall in the field unaware of the activity on the street 5 feet away. i passed the small hindu temple where women and men were exiting carrying woven leave baskets with the remnants of rice, flower petals and colorful powder, fresh from their morning pujas. the vegetable market was in full swing as vendors hawked their edibles and customers went about their early business of choosing food for the day. the cows were hanging out in anticipation, waiting for extra scraps much like a domestic dog at a dinner table. conversations i didn't understand filtered through my ears and countless billboards and signs went uninterpreted by my brain. women were out sweeping the roads and sidewalks with their 'witch-like' brooms to get all the dust back onto the road and all the garbage into the curb. other women were out frying various snacks and staples in large wrought iron vats of oil on the side of the road vying for morning competition. the men...mostly were sitting...but some were out milling about. even the occasional man and woman were out jogging. then, there was a separate group of kids donned in white karate-esque robes who were in-training for some martial art, jogging in a single file line directly past me. the air was crisp and cool; i could see my breath and had my hands deep in my winter coat pockets, fully bundled. many people weren't wearing a coat and were in flip flops.  i thought about leaving tomorrow for a month and if it would look the same to me upon my return. i've been here almost a year now and it all seems quite normal and doesn't phase me. i wonder if it will be strange to come back mid january. i will miss some aspects of the culture while away, but i'm also very ready to head stateside and catch up, eat up, drive and be with my own peeps. ready or not...here i come! : ) lots of love during this holiday season and always, j

phat contract

whilst sitting here in my apartment today after having taken the day off, waiting for my intestines to settle down so i can venture 5 minutes outside without worrying, i realized i hadn't updated people on what's happening with me next year. when i got to school in the morning last monday, just before we left for Explore Nepal and the last resort, our principle allan came up and asked to talk to me. we stepped aside and he quietly said "hey, i've heard a rumor that shannon (the woman on maternity leave for whom i'm subbing) won't be back next year." well, just a few days prior he had asked if i wanted to be considered for the position because shannon had said she wasn't coming back in august for the neeext school year. so i said "yeah, allan, we talked about it and i said you can consider me." to which he replied, "no, janice...she's not coming back in jaaaanuary!" this was a complete surprise to me...and obviously, to him. he told me to consider continuing until june and he would fill me in when shannon confirmed it with him, which was supposed to be within the next day or so. crap! from that moment on that's all i could think about on our trip! the whole ride up i talked to one of the other teacher/chaperones about it and having been involved with contractual things in the past, she was a great person to talk through it with. sure enough, two days later he called and told me shannon had contacted him. he tried to talk her out of it, citing a plethora of reasons, but she was holding to her wishes. she does not want to bring a 4 month old baby back to nepal. period. now next semester i was going to work 60% with a couple 8th grade social studies and a p.e. class, 2 out of the 7 cycle days off and a much more laid back feeling than this semester has been, plus a work visa continuation. now he said i would be at 100%. i struggled with the decision because of the new curriculum and time commitment, but after some negotiating, i wound up getting most of what an overseas hire would get (i'm considered a local hire) and i just couldn't pass it up. i'll get my salary tax free, cash in lieu of health insurance every month and cash in lieu of a round trip airline ticket home. when i finish my contract in june, i'll also get a 10% completion bonus that's intended to be used for retirement purposes. i reminded him i wasn't coming back until a week after the kids come back as i had made my travel plans before i knew i was going to continue and he said the school will work around it. he did not expect me to change my flight. plus, he said shannon was going to write up a more detailed outline of the semester and get it to me. ok. just before we left for Explore Nepal i had explained to my students that shannon was coming back and reminded them that our semester ends before we leave for winter break. oops. well, some of that is still true, but i told the kids yesterday that 'ms. carey' won't be back, so i have agreed to continue and they applauded...how sweet. well, at least the girls did...the boys just looked at me...teenagers! so after the holidays i'll be doing what i'm doing now, just getting paid more than twice i'm being paid as a permanent sub now. sweet! ...and i'll have sheela! hooray. i can do anything for 5 months. after reading one day in the life of ivan denisovich, and studying the russian revolution, my life seems like a piece of cake! just thought i'd let you know my latest news. now if only the dysentery would go away!! love, j

burp, squirt and gurgle

...aka dysentery. yup...after nearly 11 months living here, i finally got it. i thought my body was building up immunity and i was even thinking of considering maybe possibly brushing my teeth with the tap water, but noooooooo, not now. how have i gone from baby elephants to this? last week i stayed at a rustic camp, went canyoning in waterfalls and rafting down a river. any one of these could have contributed to my current state of affairs. hmmm...after a few episodes this weekend, i thought i was doing better this morning so went to work. big mistake. i'm on the third floor and the staff bathroom is across campus on the ground level. the cramps come outta no where and then it becomes a race to the lou. running down the steps did not help! ee-gads. and the noises my belly has been making? OMG...some i think whales could understand! i told my fabulous t.a., sheela, that i was having troubles and she didn't bat an eye. she told me to go whenever i needed; she was there. culture here is so different regarding it. because it's so common, it's just part of people's every day vernacular. 'soooo, how's your diarhea? what color is it? does it smell? what have you eaten? are you crampy? etc.' ...and evvvery nepali person has advice. 'eat rice...eat bread...don't eat...take this herb...have this (while shoving something completely unrecognizable in your face).  christy told her work people about it after i called to tell her that i was going to the clinic and they even asked her a bunch of questions! lol! i don't think i'd ever had such a conversation with anyone in my life...but here, it's like talking about the weather. fortunately i had only the first 2 blocks today (out of 4) and was free before lunch for the rest of the afternoon. i told our principle that i was having stomach issues and he said he was too and that his wife (our 4th grade teacher) was home today because of it. ugh. i set off out of the school in search of a taxi. the walk down the hill to the main road was scary and the 20 minute cab ride, tricky. i finally made it to the best clinic here, known as ciwec, where there are western doctors and nice facilities (i would not go to a nepali hospital...ever.). at ciwec there's even a doctor from chelsea, michigan! what a small world sometimes. but anyways, he was the doctor who, after inspecting my 'stool' sample (and i use the word stool very loosely...pun intended), told me that i had the worst case of dysentery he had ever seen. nice. sooooo, meds for 3 days for me. he said they wouldn't make much difference until 48 hours later, however, so i'm really leery to go to school tomorrow. just thinking about the bumpy bus ride gives me chills. i think the russian revolution can be independently studied tomorrow! ugh... the only good thing about this is it's a quick 'reduction' before coming home for the holidays where i plan to totally pig out! more later, love j

baby elephant at chitwan

great weekend!

chilldun kali pulling my hand into her mouth

we went south to chitwan national game reserve and stayed within the park at a place called chitwan jungle lodge. the rapti river was too cold for elephant bathing, but it was all very enjoyable none-the-less. i met some great people, saw some fantastic things, learned a lot about the flora and fauna, but the most exciting part, hands down, was getting to play with a 23 day old baby elephant!! OMG was she cute! she was so curious and playful and would grab your arm with her trunk and then suck on your hand! her mother was ever present and despite being blind, she knew exactly what was going on at all times. she is 35 years old and has been raised in captivity, but was impregnated by a wild male who wandered into camp one evening...22 months ago! we almost didn't go to the park this weekend, but i'm so glad we did because i wouldn't have wanted to miss 'chilldun kali' at this age. on the adults, we went out on 3 different elephant safaris and although we never saw the elusive one-horned rhino, we did see some other animals and some beautiful scenery. we were either out at sunrise with misty valleys or were able to watch the sunset on the river while on a pachyderm's back...not a bad way to spend your time. it's unbelievable how sure and silent their footsteps are. there were also 3 kittens at the compound that were adorable and actually wanted to be held. at one point i had all three of them piled up on my lap, fast asleep... so, this is brief, but i wanted to post a few pics...i have videos, but can't upload them now. i have only a half day to pull myself together to head up to the tibetan border in the morning with 24 tenth graders. we're going to a place called 'the last resort' if you care to google it. it's pretty cool; i am so fortunate! i'll catch up more soon when i'm home next weekend. hope all of your thanksgivings were great. welcome home bella!! love, j

happy thanksgiving!

long story...but in nepal the schools build in 'bandh' days much like schools in michigan build in 'snow' days. since there were no strikes (bandhs) for the first few months of school they gave us the day after thanksgiving off. we already had turkey day as a holiday, but they turned it into a 4 day weekend. ...scene 2. last week we had 2 bandh days due to some members of the ycl (youth communist league) attacking a couple guys, killing them and burying them by the river here in kathmandu. since there's no justice system in place, people have no recourse but to take matters into their own hands and create some havoc within the city. then people take notice. so, they stopped traffic, threw rocks at people who tried to scoot through, and burned tires in the streets to get some reaction from the government. this happens quite frequently in the 'du, but it's never targeted at foreigners or their intention isn't to harm people. the first time i saw one it freaked me out a bit, but now it's like 'uh...another bandh...' serious matters, but no big deal in terms of our safety or lifestyle. we just avoid that part of town. so because we had those 2 bandh days last week, school has rescinded the day off tomorrow. i'm still taking the day off, though because christy and i have rented a car and driver to take us down to chitwan game reserve. i took the above images off the internet but they're all from the park. i'll post my own when i return. we're going to do really cool things like ride elephants so we can get up close to the animals, bathe the elephants and look for tigers really early in the morning! i am so excited!! i love this kind of thing and was happiest in africa when on safari. i checked into the treatment of the elephants who are privately owned and their treatment is very fair and humane. if i find out any differently once there i won't participate. but how cool is it gonna be to bathe an elephant in the river!! and there's a breeding center with many teenie tiny babies. oooo i love this stuff! we will return on sunday and then immediately monday morning i leave for 'the last resort' which is an outward boundsy kind of place. i'll be up there for a week with our 10th grade class doing other cool things like rafting, canyoning down waterfalls, trekking, etc. it should be a lot of fun and help build camaraderie amongst the class...25 kids. so, that's what's happening with me...along with teaching the russian revolution...  all's well and i sincerely wish you all a happy thanksgiving. i have so much to be thankful for, and, if you're reading this...you're one of them! thank you! enjoy your weekend! lots of love, j

anything nepali?

i've asked a couple people individually, but if there is anything you would like from nepal, please let me know. i have just over 3 weeks before i leave to come back to the states and a week and a half of it is taken with travel. so, if you would like something specific; don't be afraid to ask, just let me know. my brother asked for a yak horn...i got it for him... : ) other items of more interest would be fantastic cashmere, lovely pashminas, inexpensive silver, buddhist and hindi items, and really nice, natural incense. just to give you an idea. i feel like i have most of my christmas shopping done and am not stressed about it so would be happy to look around for stuff for you. i feel i'm pretty safe posting this on my blog because not too many people read it anymore! ha! in any case, think about it and let me know before the 12th of december. that will give me a week before i leave. love, j

link to photos from friends' visit

the trek from when our two friends came to visit, beverly and karen, was up in annapurna. it was epic, to say the least with all kinds of craziness from flights being cancelled (again) to scary local busses to lunar looking landscapes. i'll try to post more about it, but for now, karen was kind enough to post all of our groups of photos online. the trekking photos are obvious, but then there are some from our stay in the lovely, lakeside town of pokhara and then some from sight seeing around kathmandu. this is the link to mine...enjoy! you may have to cut and paste it into another webpage...love, j

http://www.flickr.com/photos/karenschreiber/sets/72157609137242639/detail/

SAISA soccer in pics

3 days at a dhaka hospital. good times...

i last left you with our team going to the semi finals, right? i had spent 3 hours on thursday evening in the hospital with one of our players getting x-rays and ultrasound to her abdomen after she got nailed with the ball to her sternum. everything checked out ok, but she was extremely sore and didn't play the next day... friday we managed to pull off a win over lahore, pakistan after penalty kicks and then sudden death p.k.s. talk about exciting! it was really good because one of our goals got called back during regulation by a very poor official's call. i'm not playing the 'poor us' card...the refs really sucked and alllll of the coaches agreed with this point. they made crappy calls for and against everyone; they did not discriminate and did not call offsides... (suzie, i'll explain later!)  but, unfortunately, they let a lot go, as well, so on saturday during the semis, our pencil thin, 8th grade goalie who although was playing fantastically, was already sore from being decked the day before. well, she got pounded again and had to come out because she couldn't breathe and was in severe pain. in went our back up goalie...another skinny 8th grader, who after about 10 minutes into her stint, got kneed in the head after making a save, by a wreck loose dhaka forward. there were no calls by the referees in either instance. she needed to be carried off on a stretcher and passed out. the trainer said we needed to take her to the hospital and we might as well take the other goalie, too. so, off i went with 2 girls to the hospital, missed the 2nd half (we wound up losing by 1...grrrr) and then proceeded to spend 4 more hours in the e.r. with the 2 of them. spriha, the first goalie was conscious and scared, while the other one, manisha, was unconscious which made me scared. i split my time between cots and trying to explain to bangladeshi doctors what had happened while comforting spriha and waiting for manisha to regain consciousness. it was quite hairy for both of them, actually, for a while the doctors feared internal injuries.  spriha was released in time to make the consolation game, but manisha, although she came to, was admitted to be closely observed overnight. i stayed in the bed next to her and we watched a movie and a few 'friends' episodes to pass some time. nurses and all kinds of caretakers came in to look at the foreigners and to take care of us. they were very friendly and hospitable...a nurse by the name of 'happy' was with us through the night. bangladeshi people are very small and smiley. many of them wanted to practice their english with me and would just come in to 'chat'. i don't think i mentioned that bangladesh is predominantly a muslim country so women wear long saris and many cover their heads. here i was, feeling all comfortable in shorts and a t shirt within the american school grounds, and then finding myself in the local hospital...in shorts...eeks. at least i had my head covered with my baseball cap. what was i to do? i tried to keep a low profile, but the 5'10" blond amongst the teenie tiny bengalis, well, ... i found it hard to be inconspicuous... manisha was a trooper the whole time and did very well through the litany of testing...x-rays, ultra sounds, manual tests and even an mri. of all things, the iv bothered her the most! she slept alot of the time and i was in and out of the hallway answering calls from her guardians, the dhaka school and lincoln school. we missed the banquet and all of the other games, but it was the best thing for her to be safe. the kicker of the whole thing was, though, that because of a head injury, they didn't want her to fly with the team on sunday. i waited in dhaka with her and the next available flight wasn't until wednesday! ugh. 3 more days of missed school for both of us and hanging out in dhaka was NOT what either one of us wanted to do. the doctors wanted to keep manisha another night, too, but i put some pressure to let us the hizzell outta there and they finally did at 5 sunday afternoon. our team was already back in kathmandu, but manisha and i checked into a hotel near the school and hung out for the evening. a driver from the school took us out to eat and then we came back to the hotel. it was only then that our principle got ahold of me and told me that they found another flight on another airline to bring us home on monday. hooray! ...except that it was with biman airways which the dhaka a.d. told me 'they avoid' because it's a local airlines, old, and unreliable. crap...i was willing to risk it though! so, off to the airport we went the next morning and luckily it was on time and a decent plane aaaand a good flight. i even got to see everest out the plane window when the pilot drew out attention. i've had enough crazy flights lately and since i don't like to fly to begin with, i was veeeeeery happy to touch down in ktm. whew! manisha has a concussion and surprisingly came to school today, but not so surprisingly, went home with a headache. the other 2 girls with abdominal injuries went to local doctors today, but overall, it is good to be back. our girls are very sore, tired and disappointed by the 4th place finish. i am very proud of them for their effort and attitude throughout, though and i really believe we were the best team there. 3 fewer injuries and more consistent refs and who knows. for now, however, all i reeeally know is that i am so happy to be HOME! ahhhh.... love, j

SAISA tournament-dhaka, bangladesh

because i'm the assistant coach for the girls' high school soccer team at lincoln, i got an all expenses paid trip to the season ending tournament. because there are no other teams in our area, we scraped together a couple scrimmages, but all the kids aim for this one tournament. saisa trips are easily top highlights of their years at lincoln and the parents pay anywhere from $500 to $900 for their kids to go depending on who's hosting it. there are 4 saisa seasons per year...and some kids do a sport every season...you do the math! we left yesterday and arrived in dhaka an hour and 20 minutes later. it's easy to see how this area floods so much coming in on the airplane...sooo much water! some teams needed over 12 hours of travel time...yuck. other members of the Southern Asia International Sports Association, or something like that, include, delhi, bombay and chennai india, lahore and karachi pakistan, and colombo sri lanka. islamabad pakistan had to withdraw because of political unrest. we will play 6 games in 3 days and hopefully will wind up in the top 3...we're a very young, yet athletic, team. school goes on as normal back at lincoln, so the head coach and i had to leave lesson plans and our kids have homework to do on the road. there's lots of camaraderie and laughs between the girls so it's a fun atmosphere. we're all staying with host families from the american international school dhaka (aisd) and, of all people...i got placed with the librarian! too funny. she was gone last night when i got there due to a famous author doing a workshop here at the school. apparently, she's coming over for dinner tonight, so i'll get to meet her. people who work at this school have it pretty phat. it's a really nice facility completely outfitted with macs. plus, their commissary is stocked with everything they could want from the u.s. including ben and jerry's ice cream. how they get it over here in this incredible heat is a mystery. today it's in the mid 80s, full sun and high humidity and this is going into their winter! hot, hot, hot. good thing is i'm able to wear shorts and a t shirt while here because although it's a muslim country, the school is a little enclave of tolerance. it's strange, because i haven't worn shorts outside in such a long time i feel a little exposed! ...naked almost! so, we have another game in a couple hours and then 2 tomorrow and 2 more on saturday before flying home. i'm sure we will all be exhausted by then. i still have pics to post from annapurna, but haven't found the time. once soccer is over i should be able to get to that. time's going to fly before i come home...i'll be in a game reserve for thanksgiving break and then on a school event called 'explore nepal' where we take students on educational trips. i'll be going up to the tibetan border with the 10th grade class where we'll do canyoning, rafting and some outwards boundsy kinda stuff. it should be a lot of fun! alright, gotta run, but i'll post again soon. i love this school!! : ) lots of love, janice

langtang part 2

HELLZ TO DA YEAH!!!!

...it's been very interesting today because our friends are still here and so christy and i took the day off of work to go around sight seeing with them. i can't count the number of nepali's who commented about barack...albeit in a heavy accent...winning the presidency. watching the election and seeing how it has affected the 'rest of the world' is a good thing. hopefully our global image will improve and america can move in a positive direction. since we've been home, we've been glued to the tv watching cnn, bbc, and aljazeera. great coverage. we are quietly celebrating and happy to witness history. whew. love, j 

langtang part 1--briefly in words...

sorry i've been lax on blogging this past week. tons going on at school and now i'm coaching our high school soccer team after school which basically means i leave at 7 in the morning and don't get home until 7 at night. plus, i was fighting a cold and recovering from this trek; i was exhausted! i have tons of photos, but don't have much time to post. we have two friends in town and are leaving later today for another trek up in the annapurna region. 7 more days out in the mountains...hooray!! now our langtang trek was challenging, yet great. our two porter/guides were 22 year old kids who cracked us up the whole time with their wrestling and constant teasing of each other. despite their immaturity, they did get us vital transportation to and from the region and certainly helped with the language. one funny point is that j.b., the one with the vespa t shirt and flower shorts, wound up getting a cramp in his leg and couldn't carry our bag. he had to hire another porter who was already all loaded up with other people's stuff! the porter beat us to our destination which was 6 hours away and all up hill...the porters are amazing. the first few pics are of the drive leading up in the morning. it was dark and dreary until we rose above the low lying clouds and then it became so beautiful to look out over the sun rising and this river of clouds settling into the valley. the little girl was hilarious as she didn't quite believe and understand that i could get her photo in my camera...she kept doing different poses, waiting for me to snap the pic and then scurrying up to me to check the display. she was adorable. so, i have lots more pics, but will hopefully post more later. in the meantime, i'll be gone for 7 days up to annapurna. one of our friends is an awesome photographer and has already taught me tons in just one day...i'm so looking forward to soaking up all her knowledge. so, i'll be back next sunday. have a great week! lots of love,...oh and happy halloween!! we've brought goodies to pass out on the trail. j

langtang trek part 1

reflection

so i've had a few close calls in my life...cancer, armed student death threat, slips, near misses, car sliding on ice, etc and i've certainly been around my share of death, but for some reason, the yeti airline's crash last week has touched me more than usual and in a personally unfamiliar and unexplored way. christy and i were going to the everest region for the nepali, week-long holiday of dashain and due to time constraints, hiking 2 weeks to get there was out of the question. our only option, really, was to fly up to lukla. it's one of the highest airports in the world, but is mostly known for the precarious landing. apparently, the twin prop, 18 passenger, otter plane is flown by pilot sight only, no radar, and the runway is uphill, beginning at a cliff and ending at an enormous mountain. a sharp right turn must be made after a really quick deceleration seconds after touching down. then, on the return, when you take off, the plane gains speed coming down the runway and literally drops off the end hopefully with enough momentum to keep it airborne! well, this is only what i've heard because after flying to lukla on saturday of last week, we had to turn around just before landing because the airport had, only moments before, been closed due to cloud cover. 45 minutes there and 45 minutes back in this tiny, twin prop, so-loud-you-need-cotton-in-your-ears, non-pressurized (i was lucky enough to sit next to the door where i could see daylight around the not fully sealed door and feel a cold breeze rushing in through the crack), bouncy, no frills plane. we embarked up and onto a fold down stairway, but couldn't stand once inside; it was too compact and you had to crouch your way to your seat belt equipped bench seat through an aisle way you could only traverse shimmying sideways. the pilot and copilot were mostly visible in the doorless cockpit and the air hostess sat next to me holding a basket of mints to help with popping ears and cotton to decrease the loud buzz of the churning propellers just outside the windows. the flight was interesting, to say the least, but once i settled in and calmed my nerves, the view was spectacular! after about 45 minutes, though, the captain's hand motion swirling above his head told me something was up. sure enough, seconds later the air hostess leaned over and told me we have to return to kathmandu because the airport is closed in lukla. she made her way up the aisle and repeated her statement a few more times until all the passengers were informed. now this alone was freaky to me...because we had to fly through clouds in order to get there, but going back the sky was even more filled. i don't know how the pilot knew what was in front of us! i must admit, it was quite eerie. i was thankful to finally touch down back in kathmandu, but disappointed to have to go back and haggle for a new flight in the airport. yeti airlines is classically nepali and inefficient, yet boasts the most efficient and 'together' reputation of all national airlines. our guides did all they could to argue us back on an early flight the next morning, but all we could get was an 11 am flight. and seeing as we had already spent so much time in the airport we decided to not waste another day and rent a 4 wheel truck to make the 7 hour bone jarring drive up through winding, twisting, river covered and landslide buried at times, narrow, wash board and chuck hole filled, non guard railed roads to another region: langtang. doesn't that seem like a great trade off?!! well, it was...especially after 3 days into our trek we heard that a flight to lukla on yeti airlines had crashed. somberness abounded, but we gained some solace in the fact that our family and friends wouldn't worry, if they even heard of it at all, because all of the unfortunate passengers were australian, german or nepali. we went about our trek in our new destination and were exhausted with each passing day. it was fantastic to be outdoors and in beautiful scenery, but also nice to return home after such an intense week. i was rocked, however, upon getting on the internet and realizing that a few friends had, in fact, been quite worried about me being on the flight that crashed tuesday morning. i think most people hadn't put two and two together, but unfortunately, the ones that did looked further into things and discovered that based on my blog posting, the plane that had crashed, was in fact the exact one i was on 2 days prior. through some further research, they were able to discover the flight mandate and deduced i was not on the flight, but until that time were convinced i had perished. it's very strange to think how close things can be, but then to realize how people are affected by it...that was the most touching part of the whole experience. a few friends heard about the crash and genuinely thought i was on it...grim, but a loving reminder to not only be in touch, but how much my friends care and how important they are...thank you girls...and sorry for the scare. i've been exhausted since returning and fighting a cold which has delayed posting sooner, but i've been thinking about it all week. i can't wait to hug you extra tightly when i'm home! lots of love, j

DOH!

we were soooo close! about as close as you can get actually. after arriving at 6 am to catch our 7:15 flight, we found out we were bumped due to all the flights that were cancelled the day before because of weather. lukla, the world's highest airport we've been told, is way up in the mountains and since the pilots fly by sight only, no auto pilot, we can only fly if they can see the runway! we missed the window by 5 minutes! after tons of typical nepali nonsense, it was 12:45 by the time we took off and we were the last flight to lukla for the day...all flights to other locations went out with no problems. so, after 45 minutes of a bumpy, bouncy flight through clouds and over magnificent scenery and with the hum of the propellers in our cotton filled ears, we had to circle in the air and return to kathmandu. a whole bunch more nepali nonsense ensued back at the airport, but let's just say we got on an 11 am flight this morning after leaving the airport at 4 pm yesterday. what did we do with our free afternoon? called up lydia and went and had a fat meal with 2 glasses of wine before coming home and crashing...we were exhausted! hope today's better and...i hope you don't hear from me for another 8 days! bye...love, janice

heading off to everest

i will leave saturday morning and return next sunday (oct 4-12). 8 days of trekking in the everest region awaits. we've hired two porters/guides and have everything ready to go. unfortunately, lydia had to back out because of work commitments, but we still anticipate having a blast. the plane ride in, is supposed to be a trip...literally landing heading for a mountain on an uphill runway...turning at the last second possible without colliding into rock. ah well...so much for not liking to fly! i'll think of it as disney world himalaya...yikes! i'm bringing my good camera so get ready for tons more 'vacation photos' when i return. i wish you all could join me...really! talk to you when i get back; have a great week. lots of love, j

hike in nagarkot

bike ride with temple trip

bike ride with side trip to temple

last weekend a few of us went out for another bike ride through the valley. well, first we had to climb and climb before we could ride down through the valley farms, but it was a beautiful day so the huffing and puffing and oxygen debt of the steep uphills was largely marginalized. it would be a drag to live high and come down only to have to climb your way home. i much prefer living low, getting the sucky part out of the way and then gliding home! ram (r-ahh-m) is the finance guy at our school and his wife is one of my 2 t.a.s, poonam. we were with 3 other guys, but they split off for more technical stuff. glad we didn't go with them cause a) i don't like technical riding and b) one of them crashed and broke his collar bone. ram took us on an excursion to this isolated temple in a forest. as always, it was interesting and fun to see the locals preparing the grounds for the day. being up and out so early in the morning allows us to see more of the nepali way of life before it gets too hot. people are up with the sunrise and out and about. i thought the pollution would be less at 5:30/6 in the morning, but i was mistaken; that's when all of the women are out sweeping their stoops and curbs with 2 foot long straw hand brooms. there was dust being pushed up and into the street so face masks were, yet again, necessary. it was a good day in any case and i love being out in the country side. this time next week i'll be in the everest region trekking for a week...wow; it should be unbelievable!! lots of love, j

BUH BYE Matt!!!

...don't let the door hit you on the way out, either. who else can detroit clear out...they have some good momentum going...

JOY JOY HAPPY HAPPY

thanks to lincoln shipping, i was able to procure new bedding for the hardest-frickin-bed-i've-ever-slept-on-in-my-entire-life-bed that i've had for the past 7 months. I AM SOOOOO HAPPY!!!!!! i went to overstock.com and picked out a few items that didn't break the bank, but looked soft and plush and had them sent to the florida address. the internet's great! i gleefully checked the ups tracking number approximately every 6 hours to find its latest progress, delighted with any new city's scan or sign of it getting closer to florida. i'm not kidding...there was a chance that these items wouldn't make it by the cut off date and/or the bundle was already too heavy and they would have to send the shipment from florida early...delaaaaying my joy and happiness for another month. OMG! you should have seen me...i was like a child moping around when she doesn't get her way and is sorely disappointed by not getting the doll she wanted for christmas. i am nearly 40 years old...and am not proud of my behavior, but all is well because it did, it dID make the shipment by the thread on the pillow case and i've been delighted ever since. no more achy hips, no more shoulders falling asleep, no more tailbone hurting, no more not sleeping on my belly...i slip into bed on my pillowy soft topped bed, fall asleep and wake up in that same position because I want to flip over...not because i'm miserable. HOORAY!! as you can tell...this means a lot to me and i wanted to share. thank you for listening. : ) love, j    p.s. that's not me in the picture...

between a rock and a hard place

pulling rocks out of the river bed

lower caste workers crushing rocks by hand...albeit with a magnificent view

gravel loaded on trucks to be taken to road construction sites

smaller scale crusher

and the people who load it

needless to say, it's all backbreaking work. the lowest caste, who does all of this kind of work, is born into a life of thankless, low paying labor. i love the guy wearing the red cap in the lower photo, though. despite it all, and that i was a considerable distance away, he still gave me a giant sized smile. the rocks are crushed down and used for construction purposes, but namely building new roads. all of this was going on right next to the road in the middle of a small town with traffic and pedestrians moving past. incredible amounts of noise filled the air, not to mention never ending billowing dust. i just read a report from WHO (world health organization) that puts kathmandu at 2nd worst polluted cities in the world...next to beijing. great. i have my face mask and wore it during the bike ride that took me past this site. pretty. such is life in kathmandu...at least i'm not a rock breaker...geesh that would be a tough life. makes your job sound much better, eh?! love, j

it's all fun and games...

...until you have 50 papers on african imperialism to grade. doh! i forgot about that crappy side of teaching... should've given a scan-tron test! : ) other than that, all's going well with my job. i'm playing nice with all the cool teachers and making tons of new friends and contacts. it's so interesting to hear what brought people here and what has kept them here for as long as they have stayed--everything from lovers to orphanages, from buddhist callings to trekking, from anthropology to photography. i know i can't stay here much more than another year, but i just sit and listen to their stories and can't help but feel inspired to pursue other things i once thought out of my realm. days go by quickly here and i'm busy with after school activities or meeting up with new friends. on the weekends we've been riding our bikes up hill to prepare for two major treks coming up in october. at the beginning of the month we'll go to the everest region for 7 days and then at the end of october, a couple friends are flying in and we'll go to the annapurna region for 8 days. there are teachers at school who live for trekking and count the days in between breaks. they say the mountains are spectacular and the peace and tranquility is unmatched. i could use some of that! this is just a short note to say what's going on with me because my dear friend dean emailed me that i hadn't updated in over a week! hope all's well...love, j 

slug bug HUGE!

while out on this long mountain bike ride saturday, the nepali guy we were riding with (who's also my colleague at lincoln) took us to a forested area where there's a famous temple. so, we parked our bikes and walked along the pathway through the trees to see it. all along the way were these crazy, huge, slimy slugs. i put my shoe in there for perspective...it was ginormous! very interesting...i'll post more shots from the ride soon. love, j

BUH BYE Kwame...

...and don't let the door hit you on the way out...gheesh.

goal accomplished!

i was recently telling people that one of my goals here was to get my name and photo in the local newspaper! i don't know why it sounded appealing, but just a simple sort of challenge when you're in a new place. well, that was before i was in the tournament! goal accomplished. now i have to think of a new one...maybe to get on tv or something...i'll get back to you on that one. so, complete with disagreeing subject verb in the title and my misspelled name, i present you with the photo and the article. it was scanned and isn't the greatest clarity, but i think you can click on the image and blow it up. it's not that important...really! and it's not a terribly flattering shot, either. i have the ball and it seems as though i have a ridiculously receding hairline! in the article it says that stine (who's behind me in the photo) had 33 points...she did...and i had 15 assists to her as she was the only other teammate who had any hoop experience! ha! i showed the guards at our apartment complex and they looked totally perplexed and i was introduced at our school's assembly yesterday so i'm getting some good mileage out of it! : ) as in the previous photos i posted a few days ago, this one also doesn't show the gnarly ankle brace i was wearing. my ankle's still quite bruised and swollen...and sore, so i'm taking it easy. hope you're all well and adjusting to 'back to school daze' around town. love, j

LINCOLN SNOW LEOPARDS WIN TOURNAMENT!!!!

i haven't had a chance to mention that all week i'd been playing in a local basketball tournament on a team organized through school. when a coach at lincoln, zaheer, realized i had played 'pro' basketball, he was all over me to play in this gig. now nepali's tend to not include all the necessary details so i thought it was a one-day, 3 on 3 tournament. not...it was a full court, 5 on 5, all weeeeek tournament! we played last sunday and then every day after work except friday. saturday we had two games: 7:30 a.m. and 4 pm. i haven't done any of that in a long, long time, so i had to laugh at how silly it was. first of all, we played in a small gym (thankfully!) with bent rims and a balcony hanging over one entire sideline. the dim fluorescent lights cast a yellow hue to the venue, but i was grateful for them when they were on and it wasn't load-shedding time! seriously, we had to play half a quarter without lights or scoreboard...hilarious. i kept thinking where the heck aaaam i? we played with a rubber playground basketball that made a funny hollow 'ka-boink' sound when it bounced against the cement floor. every team's uniforms were dark blue...blink blink...but luckily a few at least had some red trim or different color numbers cause in a zone i had no idea who to block out after a shot! high up on a baseline wall, there was one of those horror movie, large blade ventilation fans that would churn a mesmerizing and blinding burst of flickering sunlight through to one spot on the court which was fun to dribble into... the spectators lined up along the balcony and were quite raucous, cheering and yelling down on us throughout every moment, call and score. an oversized stereo system cranked out 'bringin' sexy back' and a few other random tunes during warm-ups, quarter breaks, halftime and time outs at such decibels we could barely hear each other on the bench. and then, did i mention that the refs didn't know the rules?? omg...it was like they were playing an entirely different game! apparently, to compensate for their lack of much height, nepali's play far more physical hoops: i.e. grabbing your shirt, stiff arming you, pushing on defense, pushing on shots, pushing at any opportunity. finally, i just started keeping my elbows high and clearin'em out. lol! i have a ton of scratches, bruises and i sprained my ankle pretty badly on thursday. a teammate had a brace, so i played the two games yesterday without penetrating much; i just stayed on the perimeter and controlled the offense and shot threes. hmmm...i guess that's what i do anyways at my age! the finals went pretty well against a team that we beat by merely 2 points our first game. our team was mostly ex-pats, joined by 3 nepali's and we really didn't know each other initially, at all. throughout the week we learned each other's names, got a little system down and figured out where everyone should be. we were by far the oldest team, and we had several women who had never played before! it was fun to watch them improve and understand the game a bit more...a couple even scored which was delightful. so, with 6 games under our belts, we triumphed over the team we beat by only 2 the first time around, by around 20 in the finals. a large, heavy, yearly revolving trophy was given out after the game, as were individual medals we can keep. i was awarded a separate trophy as mvp, which christy is quick to point out really means 'tall person award.' as the organizer announced the mvp as 'janee kosman from the snow leopards,' i went up to claim my prize. he told me 'you stay in nepal and make our basketball good.' i graciously smiled and nodded, but in the back of my mind i was thinking 'buddy, i ain't gonna be aliiiive to see the day...' ha! today...i rest! how's your weekend?! p.s. the pics above are the only decent ones taken...sorry about the size. luckily, though, they don't show the unsightly bulky brace i wore to protect my left ankle sprain! : )

hob nobbin' with the royals

our freshly living in exile, ex-crown prince paras has decided to bring his 2 children to lincoln. apparently his cousin recommended the school because they've had such a positive experience and thought paras would want his kids to grow up in a diverse, english medium, college bound curriculum school. granted, the parents are living in singapore...meaning paras and his wife, and the kids will stay with the recommending cousins. this is very common within nepal, by the way...many kids live with relatives while their parents work or live elsewhere. extended families are tight and i appreciate that about this culture. so the young royals, young crown prince hridayendra bir bikram shah dev and princess kritika laxmi devi shah arrived at school in fashion...their entourage pulled up to a place i had never seen a car before, inside the gates and right in front of the office. a well dressed driver opened the doors of a burnt orange, sparkling new range rover and let the 6 year old prince and 5 year old princess hop out of the back. their blue power ranger backpack and pink barbie backpack were scooped up by one hand of a burly body guard who followed attentively behind the kids. the second guard surveyed the situation and scanned the crowd of students and staff interested in the spectacle. one stipulation made before they were allowed to attend our school is that the body guards not be armed on campus. they walk around and try to be discreet, but there is no one else on the school grounds who just 'hangs out' around the elementary wing. sometimes we see them outside at the tea shop, but it's right across from the only open entrance of the school...and all nepalis drink copious amounts of tea! the kids are cute and dress in western styles, run around with their classmates, play, and seem like just regular kids. too bad their family's so screwed up, but then again...so are most 'regular' kids' families, eh?! just thought you'd be interested to know with whom i'm rubbin' elbows...lol! love, j

riding my bike to work...

.........a.k.a. OMG!!! i've been scoping out the route now since school has begun and figuring out how to get there. although roads here are sometimes, sorta-kinda marked, it's difficult to find your way around the twisty, winding thoroughfares and i usually have no idea what the name of the part of town is where i am, let alone be able to try and tell someone how to get there! of course, the nepali's know the town like the back of their hand, but to an outsider it can seem like a maze of chaos. on a good day. so, i thought...why not try to ride my bike to school??! sounds reasonable doesn't it...lol! i just bought a used mountain bike--the bike i rode a couple weeks ago, and haven't had a chance to get out on any more trails yet. plus, several teachers ride to work and they think it's cool; you don't have to pay for taxis nor are you bound by the school busses schedules and traffic limitations. the last few times i've taken the bus home i've gotten car sick. on the way to school, it's pretty quiet and no one talks much, but on the way back, i always wind up talking to some staff member and looking back or to the side makes me wanna url. the feeling doesn't leave me for the rest of the day so i hate it. to prepare for today, christy and i rode the route on saturday morning because it's nepal's one day off a week and there isn't much traffic. we got out early though, anyways, and found our way there and back with ease. each way took about 25 minutes and we weren't riding very fast. piece of cake. so this morning i left earlier than usual...around 7 and took off on my bike...complete with mud flaps i had installed over the weekend (hey, there is no 'cool' factor in nepal during monsoons!).  it was super humid and overcast, but the rains held off long enough for me to arrive safely at school...albeit totally sweaty, but i had enough time to go in my classroom and crank both air conditioners full blast to dry off a bit before the kids came. had a great day at work and then it was time to ride home. 5 pm...rush hour...tons of cars, trucks, busses, motorcycles, bikes, tuk tuks, pedestrians, people hauling stuff, a calf, dogs and a partridge in a pear tree for cripes sake... it was a madhouse and i was right in the middle of it. the key is to find a lane and hold to it. because bikes are so narrow, they can keep going when cars are all backed up. any inch of open space is fair game, including the sidewalks. i know my helmet gave me a false sense of security, but i was cruisin along, weaving in and out of traffic, passing bikes, cars, dogs and motorcycles...and that one little poor calf standing in the middle of the road. the scariest part for me is when pedestrians play 'asian frogger' and try to wiggle their way through tons of congestion in an attempt to simply go about their business. there really aren't cross walks here and jaywalking is fully acceptable. none-the-less, they are the most unpredictable and freak me out. so, needless to say, i ride with both hands ready to pull the trigger on the brakes and i hug the left hand side as much as possible (traffic drives on the left)...and i am very, very happy to get home! wow. it was quite an adventure! love, j

life at lincoln

the view out my window

 school grounds

my classroom under the upper-middle corner

everything's going really well, so far, at lincoln and i am enjoying the whole experience. students are from all over the world and speak a plethora of languages. most speak at least 3...except for the americans...they speak one. there is an assortment of after-school activities for both kids and employees. on wednesdays i play soccer with the staff (i'm the only woman and they refer to me as "ma'am") and thursdays i'll be taking 4th and 5th grade girls for some soccer practice. it was yesterday, though, that got me thinking...there are aerobics on mondays and wednesdays for staff. one of the teachers is the instructor. we all meet in the multi-purpose room that has lemon yellow walls, tons of ceiling fans, big open windows along an entire side, ac,  wooden floors and sound panels on the walls. there are hand weights, hula hoops, large floor mats, stackable steps and a boomin stereo system with surround sound. where are we???! i don't do aerobics in the states, but there i was doin cardio with chaka khan, hula hoopin to donna summer and steppin to stevie wonder. surreal! at one point i couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. NOT what i thought i'd be doing in nepal!! but, i'd like to thank all of you tax payers for providing such a cushy environment for the lincoln school people. i'm sure you want me to be comfortable... what's happenin with you?! lots of love, j

shipping perk

so amongst all of the other really cool benefits offered from working with lincoln...did i mention i loooove sheela??! ...my bulletin boards look fabulous... yeah, so another great perk is that i can have packages sent to me far less expensively (than the exorbitant regular prices), through a consolidation service. the sender simply needs to pay for shipping to the florida address below and once a month they will ship everything over to the school where i would pick it up. i just have to pay for that shipping which is only $5-$6 a pound...considerably less than commercial rates. items that arrive before the 25th of the month will be packaged and sent out, usually only taking about 10 days, including clearing customs. now, don't interpret this post as a plea for swag just because i'm living half way around the world in a highly underdeveloped country...really... : ) i am, however, going to use it pronto, for a memory foam mattress topper: the beds here are insanely hard (i love the internet, too...almost as much as sheela). if you want to send something for christy, you still have to put my name on it, but i promise to give it to her unless it's something really cool and/or something i can consume on the bus ride home. ; ) hope you're all well! love, j

Lincoln School
Attn: Janice Kosman
1901 60th Place E
Suite L 2009
Brandenton, FL
34203

sheela and her block print border

click on photo for full size

I LOVE YOU, SHEELA!!!!!!!!!!

as if getting to move to kathmandu wasn't lucky enough...as if doing all kinds of cool things, seeing tons of amazing things wasn't fortunate enough...as if having a cook and a house cleaner wasn't enough to make me pinch myself...now i have a teacher's assistant (t.a.) named sheela. she's wonderful. dreamy. so good i can't quite believe it...really. i share her with another english teacher next door, but sheela makes me want to weep...on her shoulder! she's nepali AND efficient. her english is excellent; she knows where everything is, trains me on lincoln protocol, runs off photocopies, will check papers, will record grades, will take attendance, sub, stand in, clean the classroom and wipe my nose when i have the sniffles...i bet. what have i done to deserve this??! my favorite sheela moment so far, and there are many already in just 4 days working together, is when she came in the classroom the first day and told me she was in over the weekend cleaning and organizing my classroom. blink blink... ok, i guess there's a second part to this...then she asked me what colors i wanted on my bulletin boards. uhh...i'm not picky, sheela...you choose...you're reeeally going to do my bulletin boards?? ok. so, she comes back with red paper...lincoln school colors are red and black and then proceeds to wonder how she should decorate them. i have a meeting and must head downstairs, only to come back an hour later to sheela block printing the borders of my bulletin boards!!! she has paint out, a roller, a wooden block and has been experimenting with colors. miss janice (i've since rectified the 'miss' part), do you like this or this color? i thought this would match the curtains better! uhhh...ok. so she does the board and i think it looks great. another teacher meeting passes and i come back in the room and she has changed the paper because she wasn't satisfied...she found a different wood block and redid the whole thing. uhhh...ok. I LOVE YOU, SHEEEEEEEELA!  she's the best...i'm thinking of adopting her, except, i will have her daughter in grade 9. tricky. in any case i feel like the luckiest teacher in the world...or certainly in the himalayas! oh yeah, and tomorrow...she will hang up visuals on the boards and around the classroom. hoooooray! lots of love, j

back to work...for real this time

my first official day at lincoln school was today. i am a full time substitute for a woman who is on maternity leave for the semester. my qualifications fit the job requirements perfectly and being local it was much easier for the school to hire me. we will have teacher in-service tomorrow and next week monday and tuesday before the kids arrive on wednesday. this is going to be a much more demanding and hopefully, rewarding job than wenddy i house as 5th grade english as a second language, i could wing, but 10th grade integrated english and history, i can not! i'll be teaching kids from all over the world about imperialism, world war 1, world war 2 and the russian revolution. we will read four novels: 'things fall apart' by chinua achebe, 'farewell to arms' by ernest hemingway, 'animal farm' by george orwel and 'one day in the life of ivan denisovich' by the recently deceased  alexander solzhenitsyn. some of it's familiar to me and needs to be reviewed and some just plain needs to be learned. i enjoy the challenge and hopefully the kids won't have to 'teach' me too much. : ) so today all the staff met and introduced themselves according to years experience. new teachers first and all the way up to a woman who's been there for 33 years. really. she came overland from london on a trip and wanted to eventually settle in australia. she met her nepali husband and that was that! many very nice people and so many interesting stories. everyone is extremely welcoming and helpful and the feel around the grounds is that of a family. i've never been associated with a staff like this. there are buses that come and pick up teachers and students in the morning with two different arrival times and then 3 different return times in the afternoon depending on after school activities. i'll also be helping with the girls' soccer team which begins in october. they have really short seasons...maybe 2 months which culminate in a tournament of asian international schools somewhere within the region. i will definitely be going on the trip and look forward to traveling out of nepal a little more. one other exciting notable is that the famed chimp activist, jane goodall is coming to nepal and specifically wants to visit our school due to an eco-program that's been implemented. how cool is that that i will get to experience all of this in one semester. i will be finished teaching before i come home for christmas. plus, a couple friends are coming to visit in october and we will go for a major trek. (anyone else interested is most welcome!!) that and several other wonderful trips planned...and we bought used mountain bikes to get out and ride more. i'm even considering riding to school sometimes although it's about a half an hour ride on crazy kathmandu roads in crazy kathmandu traffic. we'll see. so, my first day was a splendid success and i'm happy to be meeting so many great people doing so many amazing things. i've attached the school's website in 'links of interest' on the right side of the blog for your browsing pleasure. take care; i'd love to hear from you! janice

mountain bike ride

saturday we went walking around thamel (the tourist part of kathmandu) looking for new places, when i spotted an adventure company offering a mountain bike ride the next day. i'd been itchin to get out and do something active and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. the man told us there were 2 american women signed up, but we wanted to know their intensity level before committing! we were all out for a nice, leisurely, non-technical ride through the country side so it seemed like a good match. then, another woman, minerva, from the philippines, joined in, but she had only arrived in kathmandu a day before from dubai...where she works. she by no means looked like an 'athlete,' but was game so she also signed up. the next morning came and we were all geared up with snacks and camelbacks in tow. the ride started out heading out of kathmandu at rush hour. ??  yes, we had to ride through traffic. i felt like a little duck following its mother, only santosh, our guide was way ahead of us. lol. also, kathmandu is in a valley, so whenever you head out of the city, you naturally head UP! we climbed quite a while before getting to our tea break. kari and lindsay are from montana and colorado and are young, so they did fine, but minerva was hurtin and lagged behind. we finally turned off the main road onto some less travelled roads, but that's when we hit the mud. i enjoyed it all tremendously, but it became more technical than we had bargained for! we were sloshin around in the mud and slippin our way through some deep truck tire grooves. the only scary part was riding along a 10 inch path that sharply fell down a mountain side to the right...hold on! 2/3s through we came upon the women from the video clip. they spotted us, so i waved and they waved us towards them. we ditched the bikes and worked our way along the narrow pathways in between paddies until we reached them, shin deep in the water crop. they were very jovial and friendly, offering us water (pani) and thrilled to see their image on the screen of my camera. christy gave them some gummie bears and they shared them amongst their group. it was really a nice excursion as i'd never seen how rice was grown up close like that. it truly is labor intensive work and demands so much water. 20 minutes later, we continued on our way, and after stopping for lunch at a local joint, did we arrive back in thamel...our starting point. tired, sore, muddy, sweaty, stinky, hot, and happy, we walked home to even more stares than usual...being in shorts and all muddy...we got many smiles, giggles and points! christy got a funky tan line from her shorts and mud spatters on her legs. it's so pretty... : )  good times...i love getting out and having an excuse to get all muddy...haven't done that in a looong time!  hope you get the chance soon. love, j

women of the rice paddy

mountain bike riding

goa

we spent about a week down in goa, which is 2/3s down the west coast of india. it's known for a party atmosphere, trance dancing, sherry wine, drugs and spicy seafood. i guess that's all during high season! we didn't see any of that...it was nice and quiet and peaceful. we rented a scooter and cruised around to different beaches and sights, soaking up the arabian sea air and enjoying the rush of the intense, monsoon tide. the water was too rough to swim, but it was still enjoyable walking or running along the sand. i got a few soakers while running and even got stung by some tiny, glowing blue jellyfish several times while strolling with my feet in the water. ...i prefer the soakers... : )  throughout goa there are tons of shrines. 80% of the population is hindu, but from portuguese settlement, 20% is catholic. the christians built a lot of shrines cause they were all over: on the roadside, seaside, under trees, awnings and any place imaginable where there was space. goa has its own language, too, that's only recently been recognized by the government. considering goa became an indian state in the '80s, things are much different there. the literacy rates and quality of life are both higher than in any other place in india. one of my colleagues from wenddy i house has family living in goa and asked me to go visit them. we embarked on about a 40 minute scooter ride through some rain and beautiful scenery before arriving at their home. it is so interesting to get inside someone's home...they had a beautiful sloping lot with tons of fruit trees and flowers. they were saying that they had so many mangos, figs, jackfruit and other edibles that they had to give most away and some inevitably wound up rotting. such problems... : ) they were nice people and gracious hosts. while in goa we stayed at an old portuguese style guest house. the rooms were fabulously decorated with antique furniture and were accompanied by lovely balconies overlooking the sprawling, luscious flora. they had 2 sweet kitties and a very friendly dog...all of which we found in our room on several occasions!! our time in goa was very quiet and relaxing...and already seems like a long time ago! so, enough of vacation photos...back to the 'du activities on my blog. i promise, when i'm home, i'll look at all your vacation photos if you want... : )  take care, love, j 

goa...LAST VACATION PICS!!!

sufi singers and raj ghat

these are the last photos of delhi...  one of our final nights there we met up with a guy who is an alumni of one of christy's friends. they had never met, but through the alumni association, we were able to connect with him and see the sufi singers. really nice guy...he led us back through the small alleys, past tons of prayer mat sellers, offering vendors and innumerable hawkers of anything muslim. just getting back to the dargah (mosque) took adept maneuvering and resilience. after removing our shoes hundreds of yards from the venue, we popped out at the dargah and realized we needed our heads covered. back we went into the maze to get some "little house in the prairie" head scarves. apparently there was a huge pilgrimage that week which accounted for the large number of people. usually there are a couple hundred, we are told, but easily, this day, there were thousands. the baskets of rose bearing men were queuing to get into the mosque while the women hung outside. after a while, the sufi singers came out and slowly started their rhythmic music accompanied by drums and a harmonium. apparently their songs are mostly of persian origin and are poems passed down through this oral tradition. i felt a little funny being there at first, being in a muslim place and the only clearly westerners, but i soon relaxed into the rhythm of the music and friendliness of the people. we walked around to the back of the mosque and were swarmed by people who wanted to take photos of us or with us. the one woman in purple from the slide show was so excited to be in our presence...we couldn't speak the same language, but she was touching and hugging us and insisted on photos. then the little girl couldn't get next to us quickly enough to have her photo snapped. the photo of the family, however, is the funniest one to me. the looks on their faces cracks me up...we didn't really know where we were, how to communicate, what we were supposed to be doing or what to expect, but we were very warmly received by all.

the next day we took a rickshaw over to raj ghat. this is the place where mahatma gandhi was cremated...a ghat is a cremation pyre. years later, nehru, indira and rajiv were all cremated here. as was ravi gandhi...very interesting and tragic family: the nehrus, if you are inclined to read up on india's history. mahatma was not related to indira, she was a nehru who married a gandhi. one of her two sons, ravi was killed while piloting a plane that crashed, indira was assassinated by her own body guards and rajiv, who took over as prime minister after her death, was also assassinated. now rajiv's italian born wife is high up in office, but does not want to be prime minister because she inevitably will be assassinated, too. in any case, this huge park is on the convergence of several holy rivers and all of the leaders of the country get their own ghat and memorial. all of the people i mentioned had very nice memorials and ghats, except indira...hers was a simple monolith with no signs, no words, no markers, no nothing and she was a huge figure in indian politics. we walked right past it without realizing what it was. rajiv's ghat was a lovely black granite pyre carved with 46 lotus flowers, one for each year of his life. he was a kind and gentle man and was highly regarded amongst his constituency. i didn't photograph nehru, indira or ravi's ghat. as far as mahatma's ghat, it is in a separate section of the park and has an eternal flame. every friday there are ceremonies held there as that's the day he was assassinated and, in addition, there are official services every year on his birth and death day.  it is such a big deal that any foreign dignitary who comes to india traditionally visits this site. george w. and laura bush made an appearance in 2006 while touring india. the mahatma gandhi museum is close by and very interesting...i knew very little about indian history. shocking. one more posting of india pics to go...whew...aren't you glad you don't have to sit through travel photo albums and stories??! lol. lots of love, j

sufi singers and raj ghat

sufi singers, old delhi

maoists take their ball and go home

president ram baran yadav

well, nepal held its first constituent assembly (c.a.) election on monday, re-polled from sunday's lack of a majority, to choose the first ever president of nepal. it's really only a ceremonial position and holds no real power, but out of 590 votes cast, 308 were for the nepali congress (n.c.) candidate ram baran yadav. the maoists are now pissed and are refusing to form a new government because their candidate, ramraja prasad singh, was defeated. did i mention it's a widely known fact that singh is suffering from alzheimer's disease and is often described as "lost"? really. so, that's how the maoists play...

old delhi (in words)

on the outskirts of old delhi is qutab minar. built by the muslims in 1193 as a monument of victory over the hindus, it's 5 stories high and a nice example of afghani architecture. most  impressively is how it's withstood all of these years with only a slight tilt. the iron pillar is 7 meters high and over 2000 years old and shows no signs of rust. no one can figure out how they cast it at that time given the technology that was available. one thing that happened time and time again wherever we went, but this time i could get a few photos for proof, is that kids follow us and people come up and want their picture taken with us as if we're tourist attractions, too. the two kids in the pic with christy were following us, yet keeping their distance. when we realized it, we smiled at them and they came closer until we could shake their hands. the kids were smiling and giggling the whole time...until...we took their picture! people don't usually smile in photos here; i think it has something to do with not letting the devil in their soul, but i'm not sure. : /  in any case, the same goes with the boy i'm with, sandeep. he had some homework to interview someone while at a tourist place. i filled it out for him and arranged, after many frantic phone calls by his mother, to send him the photo, or 'snap' as they call it, over email. he was smiling with me until...we took the photo. the two that were following us earlier, we saw again with their family outside. they were very friendly people and were all loaded onto a motorcycle ready to go into the heavy delhi traffic. no helmets and 5 people on a motorcycle. all you can do is wish them well...geesh. 

next we went nearby to jama masjid mosque. it's the largest mosque in india and built by shah jahan in 1656.  he's the same guy who built the taj mahal. apparently he had it built before his son imprisoned him! in any case, it holds 25,000 worshippers when full. we went up into one of the minarets and had a great view of old delhi.

old delhi is a much different experience than being in the malls and movie theaters of new delhi. old delhi is a maze of narrow streets that rickshaws rule and pedestrians swarm like ants knowing exactly where they are and where they need to be. it's amazing that it even all works! it's recommended to take a rickshaw tour through the twists and turns for 2 reasons: rickshaws rule and you won't get lost. we rode around through the different areas which specialize in selling certain things, metal goods, kites, and spices just to name a few. we went through a really old jain temple (where we got yellow tikas) tucked way inside the labyrinth and also stopped and walked around the back alleys of the spice area. the smells certainly changed when we were in the spice area and i found myself coughing a little from the potency. as if the street chaos wasn't enough, the back alleys were another series of stairways and pathways leading through tons of burlap bags of all kinds of spices. unbelievable that they consume that many of anything. we had some tea with our guide and then got back into the rickshaw to continue the tour. one more place we stopped was a paan shop. paan is a mild narcotic concoction that is wrapped in leaves and filled with all kinds of spices and sugars and ...well, ...stuff. you was it up and stick it in your cheek. apparently you're supposed to chew it up and NOT swallow the juice. you're supposed to casually (??) spit out the reddish brown slimy saliva and it'll give you a buzz after a short while. well, i didn't know that, so just kept it tucked in my cheek until it was time to spit it out. christy's was all gnarled and chewed up and mine was...still a big wad. it made a splat as it hit the ground, she had this shocked look on her face and we both started cracking up. maybe i'll try it again some day... : ) by the way, if you drag your cursor over the pics, it'll give you the caption and pause the movement. take care! love, j

old delhi